Mike,
I am sure others will have other comments, but my car sat for 15 years
before I started working on it last year. Here is an outline of what
I had to do to bring it to life again.
Depending on how long the car has sat your hydraulic systems may need
to be rebuilt. In my case I had to rebuild the front calipers and
install NEW master cylinders for the clutch and breaks. If you can
purchase new, don't waste your time and money on rebuild kits for the
aluminum cylinders. Many times the aluminum cylinder bodies will
require relining before a rebuild kit will work without leaking. I
also had to install new slave cylinders for the rear brakes and
clutch.
I would also consider replacing the three flexible brake hoses.
Rupturing one of these hoses could ruin your whole day. I replaced
the metal brake lines from the balance switch on the firewall to the
rear slave cylinders because the line was completely plugged with
crud. No brake fluid was reaching the rear brake cylinders.
Drain the fuel tank. Do this in a WELL ventilated area because it can
really stink. My neighbors complained 100' away. Remove the fuel
tank and have it steam cleaned at a minimum. There are kits and
companies offering coating surfaces to prevent foreign crud from
getting into your fuel. Install a new fuel filter and carry one or
two with you. Unless you replace the metal fuel lines you will need
those filters. I had to blow my fuel line out with air before they
would pass fuel.
When you reinstall the tank consider drilling holes in the frame for
the rear tank strap hooks. Someone suggested this modification a
while back. Moving the anchor point to the frame eliminates weight
and stress from the trunk floor, which causes cracks if you don't have
stress cracks now.
BEFORE you attempt start the engine retorque the head bolts and squirt
oil onto the cylinder walls through the spark plug holes(65 lbs for
your engine), then try turning the crank with a wrench on the pulley
nut. If it does not turn easily with the plugs removed your are going
to have to look into the engine to see what is freezing or frozen. If
it turns free you should be ready to prime the oil pump.
Before you prime the oil pump change the oil and filter. Set your
engine in the 0 degree BTC reference position, note where the rotor is
pointing to, and remove the distributor from the engine. Do not move
the crankshaft while you are working with the distributor. You may be
able to remove the distributor body from the extension bolted to the
block, which would simplify lining the distributor shaft up with the
engine position. I used a large modified flat blade screw driver
shaft mounted in a power drill motor to turn the oil pump. If you
remove the entire dizzy assembly from the block you will need to hold
the dizzy oil line over the hole in the block to return the oil into
the engine. MAKE SURE YOU ROTATE THE OIL PUMP IN THE COUNTER
CLOCK-WISE DIRECTION. While running oil through the engine have
someone watch your oil pressure gauge to be sure you have steady
pressure with a steady drill motor speed. You will find that spinning
the oil pump at high RPM is not a good thing. Keep the speed down to
keep the oil flow from the dizzy hose to the hole in the block
manageable.
Once you have the distributor reinstalled put a timing light on plug
wire 1, turn the ignition on, and hand rotate the dizzy until the
timing light flashes. Then tighten the distributor down. This will
static time the dizzy and should be very close to your final setting
with the engine running. If you cannot find a flash point you may
have the distributor shaft installed in the wrong position, the points
may not be correctly adjusted, or there may be other ignition problems
you will need to sort out.
You should now be able to install the plugs and wires and attempt to
start the engine. Once it starts pay close attention to the oil
pressure gauge for several minutes. I spun a bearing about 5 minutes
into the process (my crank turned a little hard and I suspect spun
bearing), so listen and watch things closely.
Other things I have found were sticky or frozen rear brake adjusters.
I had to disassemble these and clean them thoroughly, lubricating them
with white grease, before they worked correctly. Not understanding
this at first I found the problem about a year after I thought the
rear brakes were done. Check your rear end, tyranny, and steering box
fluid levels. I still need to replace steering box and rear end
pinion seals. The steering box should be completely full to the brim.
Before driving the car too much you should also check the front wheel
bearings and put new grease in the bearings. There are 20 lubrication
points to be checked too. Use the best grease you can find. Many of
the 19 points in the front end are metal to metal surfaces that if not
properly lubed will wear quickly. This can become very expensive. I
use a high quality synthetic grease and lube things whenever I change
the oil. I also replaced ALL of the zerk fittings because a number of
them did not seal the grease in. In my case there were not 19
fittings in the front end. I think I had to remove plugs from the
upper A arms and install zerk fittings in these holes.
Sorry about being so long, but I tried to remember most of what I
found and fixed before I could begin to enjoy my car.
Tom
69 2000 "Mr. Hyde"
Portland, Oregon
http://www.fransfancies.com/datsun
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