looking for some advice after cars been in dry storage for almost 20 years

JeffB-61

Forum User
Hello all,

I have a 1981 280zx 2+2 that was quite radically modified in the mid 1990's.
Correction on above - Model year is 1979

Parts were sourced via Luke Borg (I think tht's the right name) and paint and bodywork by Ian Pendleton, both of Aldershot.
Mike Feeney was also directly responsible for many source's and also his knowledge back in the day.
Not sure if any of these people are still around today.

The power unit is an ex. Gary Martin prepared engine and the car is fitted with the IMSA bodykit and F40 rear spoiler.

Maybe someone remembers seeing the car back in the mid to late 90's.
It is quite distintive - painted in VW Sunshine Yellow.

Anyway - the car was removed from the road in early 2000 due to health problems (mine, not the car), and it was placed in a standard single garage.

The car wasn't prepared for such long storage and it was only supposed to have been stored until I was well enough to enjoy it further, so only the spark plug leads and battery were removed (although I seem to recal there was only a very small amount of fuel in the tank at the time).
The garage was attached to my father's property, and he would periodically place the battery on charge and spin the engine over to make sure it didn't sieze.
This was probably done every 3 to 4 months up to 2015.
After this time my father became ill and wasn't able to get into the car.
My father has since passed, and his estate is being disolved, so it is now time for me to take some ownership and decide what I do with this car.

At present the car is reversed into the space, so access to the engine is reasonable but tight.
There is no access to the rear of the car for now.
I have checked the oil for moisture content, and it appears clean and still viscous, have attached a new battery and spun the engine over the the plug leads still off, and it spins freely, exactly as it did.

My first question here is:

To move the car's location I need to get it out of the garage.
I cannot manually pull it as I guess the brake pads are seized to the discs.
I do not want to move it out into the daylight and not be able to put it back into the garage (short term).

I expect whatever fuel is in the tank now will be of zero use, and as the system is pressurised (my system is injected, non-turbo), so......

would it be considered safe to fill the tank with 20 or so litres of good petrol and try and have it fire so it can be driven forwards for a ccheck over, and then reversed back again until recovery is organised, or are there significant risks in filling the car with fuel at this stage?

As you might guess - it's a difficult time, and I'll more than likely be preparing the car for sale, but I'm not wanting to create any further issues for myself or the new owner.

If anyone has suggestions of what would be the best plan, please comment.

Thanks for reading
Jeff
 
Last edited:

Rob Gaskin

Treasurer
Staff member
Site Administrator
What is the garage floor and driveway like - could the car be moved on those dolly things that people use in confined spaces?
 

jonbills

Membership Secretary
Site Administrator
I wouldn't try to start it without getting rid of what's in the tank and changing the oil. Maybe a fresh fuel filter too.
If you drag/tow it out, it's as likely to break the brake bind as driving it out. If it doesn't break the bind, once its out you can get the wheels off and get agricultural with the brakes.
 

JeffB-61

Forum User
Hello Rob,

Thanks for the idea - I'd not thought about using dolly's, but that's a good idea.

The garage is just a standard single garage, with a driveway that inclines gradually.
The car is tight against the drivers side wall, with a few inches between the wall and the body, and that just about gives room to open the passenger door enough to climb into the cabin.
The car is tight to the rear wall with an up-and-over garage door that just closes witout touching the front bumper.
There is no rear access to the garage.
I should have taken some photo's, but the car isn't looking it's best after 20 years of dust, however I will take some images during the week.

I think though, my main reason of concern is should I attempt to part-fill the pertol tank and fire her up.
Also, if I do try, what is the best plan - i.e. is it possible to de-pressurise the fuel lines, remove the filter in the engine bay and crank it over until fresh fuel comes through the lines, or might it be best to just crank the car over a number of times with the fuel filter and everything in place and just wait for her to start?

I don't have much in the way of digital pictures, as most were taken with film, so I've tried to capture a few on my phone from printed pics of how the car was, back in the day.

WP_20190113_17_07_56_Pro.jpg WP_20190113_17_09_35_Pro.jpg WP_20190113_17_08_25_Pro (Large).jpg

Cheers
Jeff
 

JeffB-61

Forum User
I wouldn't try to start it without getting rid of what's in the tank and changing the oil. Maybe a fresh fuel filter too.
If you drag/tow it out, it's as likely to break the brake bind as driving it out. If it doesn't break the bind, once its out you can get the wheels off and get agricultural with the brakes.

Hi @jonbills - Yes - I somewhat agree that's the best plan.

My main issue right now I guess is getting to the fuel tank to check what's in there and draining it off, but If I can break the wheel bind and roll it out I should then be in a position to access the tank.

Is there anywhere you could recommend for oil and fuel filters?

Thanks for the reply.
Jeff
 

JeffB-61

Forum User
Ebay is good for both filters.

@jonbills - thanks for suggesting ebay, however I've never had a great deal of trust in chossing random and unknown suppliers of parts, as my experience has taught me to expect something that's hmmm - not quite what I was after!

Does anyone know if Mike Feeney is still around and supplying parts please?

Cheers
Jeff
 

Rob Gaskin

Treasurer
Staff member
Site Administrator
Jeff, ok I understand the situation with the lack of space.

I have had experience of trying to extricate a 260Z 2+2 from a garage where it had been stored for many many years.

It was amazing how seized the rear drums were, in fact once out (pulled by a car) the car was towed down the road to try and get the wheels to turn - no success. In the end the drums were cut off.

I hope you have better luck.
 

Farmer42

Club Member
I thought 280ZX's had electric fuel pumps due to the extra pressure required for the injection system. If that is the case, you can use it to pump the stale fuel through without risking cranking the engine until you have changed the oil.
 

Huw

Club Member
Hi Jeff

Welcome! I remember seeing that car not long after I bought my 280ZX in the early 90’s. It will be great to see that in the light of day and back on the road. Do you plan to restore it back to its former glory?

I would echo Robs comments and get the car towed out of the garage. It’s generally a lot less trouble than trying to start a car in confined spaces that have not moved for decades.

If the cars in as tight as you say, you aren’t going to get to the filler cap on the drivers side to put petrol in. After twenty years I also don’t think you will need to be too concerned with pressure in the fuel system.

However, it is easy to depressurise the system. Remove the negative cable off the battery. Disconnect the cold start valve, the injector next to the throttle body. Use a couple of jumper wires to connect the valve direct to the battery terminals for a second or two. Remove the jumpers and connect the cable and battery back up.

You might find the injectors maybe gummed up with old petrol after all these years. They are easy to clean, but best done when you have a bit of room.

Best of luck and keep us informed of progress!

Regards

Huw
 

Ian

Club Member
Get it pulled out with either car or jack up dollys.
Get as much old fuel out as possible and then flush the system through with fresh fuel, hopefully lines are not gummed up.

Make sure you get the oil pressure up before first proper start by turning engine over on starter using big battery and with plugs removed like you have done with spinning it over, I'd also consider fitting new plugs or at least having new plugs ready.

As suggested, I'd also change the oil and fuel filters, fuel filter is bound to be gummed up. And probably change the coolant once its up and running.
 

JeffB-61

Forum User
Jeff, ok I understand the situation with the lack of space.

I have had experience of trying to extricate a 260Z 2+2 from a garage where it had been stored for many many years.

It was amazing how seized the rear drums were, in fact once out (pulled by a car) the car was towed down the road to try and get the wheels to turn - no success. In the end the drums were cut off.

I hope you have better luck.

Hi Rob,

Thanks for postivity, and also the reality check.

I'll post some (sad) pics of the car later this week when I take a further look at the situation.

The (slightly) better news for me is that my car's got discs all round, so I'm hoping that once the corrosion between pads and discs is broken, it'll at least move without dragging black tire marks down the road.

I feel pretty annoyed with myself that I didn't pay a little more attention to my car while it was off the road - but life sometimes just gets in the way!

Cheers
Jeff
 

JeffB-61

Forum User
I thought 280ZX's had electric fuel pumps due to the extra pressure required for the injection system. If that is the case, you can use it to pump the stale fuel through without risking cranking the engine until you have changed the oil.

Hi @Farmer42 - I hadn't thought about using the fuel pump as a means of dredging the tank.
I can see how this might be useful, so thanks for the heads up, but I guess it might also cause issues if whatever in the tank and fuel lines is partially solidified or waxy.

Cheers
Jeff
 

JeffB-61

Forum User
Hi Jeff

Welcome! I remember seeing that car not long after I bought my 280ZX in the early 90’s. It will be great to see that in the light of day and back on the road. Do you plan to restore it back to its former glory?

I would echo Robs comments and get the car towed out of the garage. It’s generally a lot less trouble than trying to start a car in confined spaces that have not moved for decades.

If the cars in as tight as you say, you aren’t going to get to the filler cap on the drivers side to put petrol in. After twenty years I also don’t think you will need to be too concerned with pressure in the fuel system.

However, it is easy to depressurise the system. Remove the negative cable off the battery. Disconnect the cold start valve, the injector next to the throttle body. Use a couple of jumper wires to connect the valve direct to the battery terminals for a second or two. Remove the jumpers and connect the cable and battery back up.

You might find the injectors maybe gummed up with old petrol after all these years. They are easy to clean, but best done when you have a bit of room.

Best of luck and keep us informed of progress!

Regards

Huw

Hi Huw,

Thanks for the welcome.
My car looks a bit dated now, but back in the 90's it looked pretty good (IMHO). I struggle with covered storage space, hence parking it up at my fathers home, and the plan last week was to assess the condition and pass it on to someone who'd like a project - but as most who frequent this forum will certainly know, selling is not really what's on my mind.
If possible I will keep it and do my best to emulate those, like yourself, who have restored these beautiful cars.

I followed your rebuild project a few years ago now, and it brought back some great memories of my own project - however, your's is pure class - love it!

With the low front end on mine, and a slight incline of the driveway (7-10 degres at a guess), I'm concerned that any towing, up the incline, might cause bodywork damage.
I'm thinking about removing the bonnet and fitting a taller engine hoist eye, and using that as the towing point.

I think I'm more concerned that if I drag it out of it's covered home, if it's not "rolling", or the engine is not firing, I might not be able to get it back under cover (which is what I'd want to do until recovery transport is arranged to move the car).
I'll be crawling around it later this week and will try and lift the 3 accessable road wheels with a trolly jack and see if I can get any movement on the wheels.

Thanks for the info regarding depressurising the fuel system.
I've still got all the workshop manuals - chassis and Body, Engine, and Fuel Injection - and I remember (surprisingly as I'm getting old) the things to do before pulling the fuel lines off.

I'm sure I'll have plenty of questions though, and I'm enjoying scanning through the forum and making notes.

Cheers
Jeff
 

JeffB-61

Forum User
Get it pulled out with either car or jack up dollys.
Get as much old fuel out as possible and then flush the system through with fresh fuel, hopefully lines are not gummed up.

Make sure you get the oil pressure up before first proper start by turning engine over on starter using big battery and with plugs removed like you have done with spinning it over, I'd also consider fitting new plugs or at least having new plugs ready.

As suggested, I'd also change the oil and fuel filters, fuel filter is bound to be gummed up. And probably change the coolant once its up and running.

Hi Ian,

I think once the car is out of the current confined space it'll be somewhat easier to replace the service items, and then I can move on from there.
If it won't roll out or tow, then I'll find or make some dolly's for the wheels and coax it out somehow.

Thanks for replying.

Cheers
Jeff
 

Rob Gaskin

Treasurer
Staff member
Site Administrator
I would get yourself a cover so when it's out you don't need to panic if it's not rolling.

Good luck.

ps don't forget to take the handbrake off. :thumbs:
 

datsfun

Club Member
I would get yourself a cover so when it's out you don't need to panic if it's not rolling.

/QUOTE]

Not a good idea in my opinion if the driveway is exposed from roadside.

Lots of chancers out there who will not think twice and hook it up on the back of a transit van and tow it away.

Sadly these dimwits will not realise that it's a very rare and distinctive car so there is literally no black market for the car, whole or in parts.

Good luck with bringing it back to life :)
 

cosworth415

Club Member
Mine was tight up against a wall for thirty years, used eight bits of 3/4 ply 24"x18" and twelve pieces of 25mm steel conduit to get it away from the wall after watching a program on building pyramids.
 
Top