one of thee first things I sold off my parts 240 was the tank, you guys out east have it rough! that thing will run better now.
one of thee first things I sold off my parts 240 was the tank, you guys out east have it rough! that thing will run better now.
In reply to 2K4Kcsq:
Yeah, I didn't expect it to be so bad, but I guess it wasn't stored full or something so the rust developed. I'm hoping I can get the lines all cleaned out and hopefully my injectors aren't clogged. Injectors and new connectors probably wouldn't be a bad idea anyway, and I can get some remanned aftermarket ones for pretty cheap.
The one kicker is that the fuel sending unit/level sensor is discontinued through Nissan, and I've yet to be able to find one aftermarket. I might try to soak it with rust penetrant and get it moving again, hopefully it will work.
Looks like you had more rust then I did so hopefully you found the problem. My sending unit also was not working when i took it out so soaked it in acid, sanded the contacts, and so far its been fine.
In reply to PseudoSport:
Good to know, I figured that's what I would try with the sending unit. I think that can be changed with the tank in the car, so I can do it later if needed.
sethmeister4 wrote: In reply to PseudoSport: Good to know, I figured that's what I would try with the sending unit. I think that can be changed with the tank in the car, so I can do it later if needed.
I dropped the tank to put the sender in.It was way easier that way and then connected the wires with it back in.
Ok, good to know. Hopefully I won't have to change it again. 
Did you ever find some good cheap inline filters or a good reusable one for your car? I think I'm going to need one.
sethmeister4 wrote: Ok, good to know. Hopefully I won't have to change it again.
Well since your car is fuel injected you wont be able to run the clear plastic ones I run. They ones for FI are usually solid metal. I used to use 300ZX Z32 fuel filters in my SR swapped cars. Cheap and decent sized.
In reply to crankwalk:
I guess I could just put another one like the one that's in the engine bay. They are like $10 aftermarket.
Hello, I have been watching with some interest since I have a 76 280Z sitting in SLC which hasn't been started in 15 years. I have been trying to decide if I wan't to start what I have been putting off for 14 years. I know that every problem you have had I will be experiencing. I am sure the engine will be siezed. The tires are gone. The brakes didn't work well then and was the main reason I didn't even attempt to drive it. Some 20 years ago, I "sealed" the gas tank but 15 years ago with the gas that was left in the tank is some alcohol that was meant to help it burn cleaner. However, that just introduces water. It will be interesting to see. Now you will partially understand why I reluctantly look at the thread knowing I will be thre someday. Anyway the fuel sending unit may just be stuck with the varnish. It is rather simple. I would test it with an ohm meter. There are three wires. Resistance between 1(B) and 2(Y) should be between 10 to 80 ohms. Test resistance between 1 and 3(YL) while it is submerged in fuel. The remove it from the fuel and then the resistance between 1 and 3 should be different. I would try cleaning it with B12 chemtool, but not for very long since it is pretty aggressive. Zcarsource rebuild them at a hefty price. http://www.zcarsource.com/gas-tank-sending-unit-280z-75-76-rebuilt_8_55266_52787.html They also have some fuel filters for about $9.00. If I ever get to SLC and get the car somehow back to Vegas, I may have a "few" questions for you. In the meantime I'll just keep reading in horror.
In reply to utahznevada:
You need to get on it man! You live in the desert, you'll have way less rust than I do! Seriously, this kind of stuff just comes with the territory on old cars, I enjoy the experience of it all. Once it's running and on the road I will have plenty of fun stories to tell and pictures to show about what it took to get it there. The only annoyance I have is that I have to wait longer to be able to drive it. Other than that, I'm enjoying the ride!
My 1,000th post...am I a dork now? 
Yep!
FYI I bought a brand new sending until and lock ring (which you'll need) for like 40 bucks from Nissan 2 months ago. Way better than trying to polish a rusty well.. fuel sending unit.
Really enjoying this thread, keep up the good work! It's nice to see some practical non over the top builds like this.
crankwalk wrote: FYI I bought a brand new sending until and lock ring (which you'll need) for like 40 bucks from Nissan 2 months ago. Way better than trying to polish a rusty well.. fuel sending unit.
The EFI cars use a different sender than the early cars and as far as I know, they are not interchangeable. Nissan has long since been out of stock of the 280Z senders.
jimbob_racing wrote:crankwalk wrote: FYI I bought a brand new sending until and lock ring (which you'll need) for like 40 bucks from Nissan 2 months ago. Way better than trying to polish a rusty well.. fuel sending unit.The EFI cars use a different sender than the early cars and as far as I know, they are not interchangeable. Nissan has long since been out of stock of the 280Z senders.
Yup, the guy at Courtesy parts said they were discontinued 8-10 years ago. The 70-74 ones are available, though. I did find a rebuilt one of mine on Z Car Source-I think the price was $252 + $150 core. 
In reply to crankwalk:Tell me how I can get one!!!!!
Just in case you need to take some rust off parts, I have used this. http://www.metalrescue.com/metalrescue.aspx It works really really well. I just dumped my parst in over night and coated them in oil or paint them and they were good to go.
If you are trying to get the brakes or the fuel filler cleaned up I would really recomend it.
I was just thinking...(dangerous). The fuel line from the tank to fuel pump is actually not a pressure system. Therefore, any cheap filters will do. I am going to plan on putting a filter there. There is however one problem, the fuel line is 12mm while the rest of the system is 5/16" or 8 mm. Some have said that a supply of 3/8" works fine. I am a little skeptical. However, you should easily be able to get adapters from the 12mm (0.47 inches) which is close to 3/8". There are several 3/8" clear filters on the market. Mr. Gasket 9706 is about $9.39 on Amazon and it has reusable cores for about $1.50 each. Then you can see what junk is coming out of the tank in the future. (The one problem is that this one is glass. I still want to try it. Rocks shouldn't get up there and it is thick glass.) I am curious what you do and curious about the size issue 12mm, 3/8" or 1/2" of the supply line. Also, keep in mind that this section does not have to be the expensive fuel injection type hose.
Well, I've got the Klean Strip, brake hoses, and one wheel cylinder. Now I just need to order the other wheel cylinder and find the time to do all the work.
I'm thinking for the tank I need to just put a good layer of the acid stuff in it and let it sit for a day or so. Then I can carefully slosh it around and pour it out as I go. Is this the best method?
Check the instructions on the acid....there may be a time recommended. Depending on the strength and amount put in, you could begin to eat away the tank material if you leave it in too long.
Or you could have a situation like my motorcycle where I found out the rust had very nearly eaten through on it's own, and had to patch a couple small spots .
Good luck! My offer for a beer is still open whenever you can drive it up to Richmond!
In reply to Flynlow:
Good point...the last thing I need is to be hunting for a "new" tank. I will definitely take you up on your beer offer-my buddy was just asking me the other day if I want to drive it to Richmond for an autocross once it's done. I sure do! I think a back road drive to Richmond would be a blast! I'll keep you posted, I gotta get this thing out to at least one auto-x this year!
It's been a busy week, so I haven't worked on the car at all. I had a 4 day weekend last week, then spend most of Labor Day weekend camping in the Blue Ridge Mountains with my wife and son. We had a blast, and I even took the CR-V "off-road" a little bit!
I'm hoping to tackle the gas tank cleaning next Tuesday, so we'll see how that goes. I'm not going to make it to the September Cars & Coffee, so it looks like the new goal is the October one!
I started the gas tank cleaning this morning. The instructions say to let it dry overnight, then wipe it down with a cloth...yeah, I won't be able to do that, but once it dries I will assess what needs to be done. The tank has been sitting, and the inside had dried out pretty nicely. I poured out another pile of rust, and honestly it looked pretty decent in there with all the rust out. I actually had to get the vacuum out and suck up some of it because the last little bit didn't want to come out. I'm thinking maybe just blowing it out with the compressor once it dries might do the trick.
Here's what I pulled out-
Here's the inside after dumping out the dry rust-
I poured in the acid etch stuff that PsuedoSport suggested, and I carefully sloshed it all around and tried to get it in every corner and surface inside the tank. We'll see what it looks like in the morning, but I think it's gonna do the trick. I'm debating on whether or not I want to just replace the injectors while I'm messing with the fuel system and also splice on new connector pigtails (they can be purchased from Courtesy Parts). None of the connectors have the locking clip, and they are all pretty worn and cracked. I can get remanned injectors pretty cheap from RockAuto, so I may end up doing that. Anybody have a recommendation for a good brand of remanned injectors?
I continued the tank cleaning this morning. It definitely needs some help-the acid had oxidized a little and it's still not nice clean metal. I poured fresh acid etch in, and sloshed it around a bunch throughout the morning while I did other stuff. I got the fuel sending unit as clean as it's gonna be, so I think that should be fine.
I then pulled off the fuel pump assembly, and discovered that the screen that is in the line for the inlet to the pump was plugged up solid with rust. I took the top of the pump apart and used brake cleaner to clean out the screen. Thankfully I think that screen kept most of the rust from going into the lines. Now I can blow throw both lines up to the engine bay. I think I'll put another fuel filter in there before the pump to keep any residual rust out of the pump. I'm thinking just between the tank and the pump, is that right?
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