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Starting Your Roadster |
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HYDRAULICS REPLACE the rear brake slave cylinders and BOTH master cylinders. You can look at the front calipers and rebuild them if they are in good condition. If there is too much pitting you will need to replace the cylinders. have them relined, or consider a Volvo brake conversion. Many
owners have found that rebuilding the aluminum master and rear slaves is
usually a wasted effort, and you are better off spending your money on
new parts while they are still available. If you can't get
new parts you may need to send the old parts out and have the cylinder
bores relined
before you install a rebuild kit. There are links to shops that do that work on my links page.
As a rule of life for me I have found that rebuilding disk brake piston cylinders is no big deal, but I have yet to succeed at rebuilding a Bendix type brake piston cylinder. I make it a policy to replace with new whenever possible. The
clutch slave cylinder will also need to be rebuilt.
If you can't get the piston out of it by blowing air into the
flex hose hole you will need to heat the
cast cylinder body up evenly all around until it stops smoking out of
the two threaded holes, then use an air hose to blow the
piston out of the cylinder (I never did find my piston).
CAUTION: DO THIS OUTSIDE. There is a lot of smoke generated from
that little cylinder. While not as much fun, it is
far easier to just spend about $33.00 and get a new one that will work
the first time you try it. In the end I had a rebuilt slave
cylinder that (like every slave cylinder I ever rebuilt) leaked, and I
ended up buying the new part anyway. Replace all 3 flexible brake hoses. You have no idea about the quality and strength of these hoses after all these years. Having one rupture could ruin your whole day. There is a note in my TECH page about flex hoses from Datsun pickups. After a lot of soul searching I replaced the metal brake lines to the rear. The crud in the brake lines can ruin the rubber in your nice new cylinders. You can use off the shelf pre-made 3/16 SAE brake lines as I did, or, if you have a double flare flaring tool you can custom build new lines that fit perfectly. While you are at it you should consider replacing all of the metal hydraulic lines to get rid of the crud in all of them. FUEL
TANK When you pull the plug on the bottom of the gas tank make sure the car is outside, and you might warn your downwind neighbors to close their windows. Whatever is in that gas tank REALLY stinks and you might get complaints from anyone not forewarned to plug their noses if they are downwind. Once
the tank has been drained remove it from the car and at least have it
steam cleaned. A better
idea is to have the tank professionally cleaned and coated inside with a
liner that will prevent future rust and gunk in your fuel lines.
Be sure to replace the fuel filter and carry a spare or two when
you start driving the car to take care of the crud in the fuel line. I had to blow my fuel line out with air before it would pass
any fuel at all. It is not a bad idea to consider replacing at
least the fuel line that draws fuel from the tank to the fuel pump. When removing the tank make sure you use flare or tubing wrenches with 5 flats instead of 4 to help prevent damage to the nuts on the metal hose fittings. You might consider soaking the the fuel line fittings with penetrating oil before trying to remove them. Even with 3 weeks of soaking in penetrating fluids I had to give up and cut one off and replace it with a section of rubber fuel hose. Remember, while the stuff in the tank was not really gas anymore, the metal of the tank itself has been soaked in fuel and could still become explosive if exposed to flames. It is best to resist the temptation to use a torch to free up these nuts. Things could still blow up in your face. Here is a simple modification to consider when you are reinstalling the fuel tank. Drill holes in the rear frame cross piece next to the tank hangers on the body to accept the hanger hooks. Now hang the fuel tank straps from the frame instead of the body. This will prevent damaging your trunk floor (if it has not already cracked) by removing the weight of the fuel tank from the trunk floor and putting it on the stronger frame member. ENGINE Priming
the engine is an important step before you even think about turning it
over. It is important that you start with an engine that is
not stiff when you try to turn it over by hand using a wrench or socket
on the damper nut. If the engine is stiff you will need to tear it
down and take a look before you go any farther. To
prime the engine turn it over by hand until it is in the 0 degree
reference position with valves closed on cylinder #1.
Then remove the distributor and observe and mark the position of
the slot in the dizzy/oil pump drive shaft.
Now remove the drive shaft.
At
this point the top of the oil pump is exposed.
You can now use a large blade screwdriver shaft mounted in a
drill motor to turn the oil pump without turning the engine over.
Rotate the oil pump COUNTER-CLOCKWISE at a slow speed.
Be sure to hold the dizzy oil line over the dizzy hole to return
the oil to the pan instead of the floor.
Have someone watch the oil pressure gauge to be sure you have oil
pressure and that it is steady when the drill motor speed is steady.
You should see oil begin to flow around the cam as oil fills the
passages. Run the drill motor for 2 minutes or so to be sure all of the
oil passages are filled and the crankshaft is properly lubricated.
When you are finished, install the dizzy drive shaft in it's
original position and install the dizzy. While
the engine is in the 0 degree reference position you can static time the
dizzy (assuming you have a point-contact dizzy).
Remove the cap and rotate the dizzy until you see a spark across
the points (assuming no electronic ignition).
If you can't reach the correct timing position by rotating the
whole dizzy assembly there is a second rotation adjustment screw located
on the bottom of the dizzy. You will notice it when you have the dizzy out of the car. The
carburetors may be primed by removing the overflow drains and putting a small
amount of fuel in each bowl. That
will make life easier for your starter.
Using a vacuum pump will save you from the fun of sucking the gas
up the fuel line with your mouth to pull fuel from the tank to the fuel
pump or input to the carbs. (Vacuum pumps are great for bleeding
brakes by yourself too. If you don't have one, I would suggest
putting a vacuum pump near the top of your tool to get list.) NOW your engine should be fully lubricated, timed, fueled, and ready to start. TRANNY AND DIFFERENTIAL In addition to the engine oil you should replace the fluids in the transmission and the differential. Some of the newer synthetic fluids will greatly reduce wear in these assemblies, but may cause leaks when used with the existing older seals. Don't be surprised if you find you need to replace worn seals as well. Good luck. Tom
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