So, I just bought a 1977 Champagne? convertible Triple White

[garyt]

Re injectors, they are expensive.

The old ones arent made of fairy dust, they are quite strong, and mine were left for a while and were ok. You can take them out and clean the end carefully. The bosch manual on it says to do this and that the main problem is varnish on the outside of the tips folding over the end slowly. You need the right Bentley manual.

I think the main prob with rust in the tank comes from the top of the tank which you can't easily see, flakes of rust due to condensation. So when you fill right up it comes off.

Its not so easy to keep changing the proper filters given where they are before the fuel pump. So I would flush the tank with fuel a few times, then use any filter that can filter crap and is easy to re-use (btw I had bits of plastic in my tank that were not magnetic... so...) and put it back together. Take photos of how it is (even though connections may be wrong anyway).

[garyt]

Btw really you've got to make sure it doesnt leak especially at the under the tank connections x2 and at the filler neck boot.

[garyt]

I heard of this trick, put some 2 stroke oil in with the gas (petrol), helps clean. Seemed to work but of course its hard to tell.

[garyt]

Oh yes, with the injectors out you can also do a continuity test on them with a multimeter. Touch the connections with one point and the body with the other.

[Randy in Maine]

I send my injectors off to this guy.... (about $100 and they come back all cleaned and calibrated with new hoses and injector seals). About 1 week. Send the cold start valve in also.

http://cruzinperformance.com/

Beats $60 each new from Bus Depot.

[chrisarnt]

So you are saying the $30 ones on amazon are shite?

[Randy in Maine]

I am just saying that I would rather have my Bosch injectors serviced than take a chance on new ones. Cruzin has done about 4 or 5 set for me (including Jeep and Subaru injectors).

Witch Hunter also does a nice job.

http://www.witchhunter.com/

[chrisarnt]

I think the previous owner was trying run this on some new bio-fuel

[Randy in Maine]

And you still don't want to remove the engine?

[chrisarnt]

Point taken.

Actually it was a momentous day.

My buddy Andy came over to help diagnose.
I didn't want to go banging on the valve if that wasn't the problem.
I had two gallons of diesel in it is as an engine flush.
The only container low enough to catch that much fluid was the lower part of my shop vac so I drained into that.

We pulled the rocker trains off and the damn thing spun freely.

High fives and tallboys of Narraganset!

We put a battery and a little starter fluid in it, turned the key and it chugged away exactly as it should.
It didn't start. Then Andy found this.

Luckily it all sat on the throttle plate. and was so packed in that it kept the plate from moving. Also, the throttle cable being frozen solid was a good thing in this case.
So I poured the diesel sludge from the the shop vac into a five gallon bucket and was able to vac it out all the nuts then ran a long extension tube down the intake but nothing else came out.

Long story short. No spark coming off the coil.

It was a good day.

I'll get a wider section of flexible plastic tubing today and run it down the intake connected to the shop vac just in case.

I'l bust out the tester today to see if the coil is getting juice.

I'll pull the fuel injection electronics and inspect it. Probably give it a good soak with PCB board cleaner and soak the starter with electric motor cleaner.

[chrisarnt]

[chrisarnt]

OK. So I just got my pre cut fuel line kit from german auto supply.
Ordered it on the 20th and got it on the 30th.

Scott was good to deal with.

It came with beefy looking fuel line with germany printed on it. Nice sturdy looking crimp clampz and screw clamps, better than anything I would pick up.
Injector seals, fuel filter and firewall grommets.
instructions on how to use the crimp clamps properly and a diagram of where it all goes.
Overall, I'm very happy with my purchase.

https://www.germansupply.com/home/customer/product.php?productid=18155&cat=409&page=1

[Randy in Maine]

Pay careful attention to how the existing "shorty" hoses are clamped for the injectors. It is a tight fit to get them right.

[chrisarnt]

So how are people flushing these tanks?

The old siphon method?


Has anyone considered putting a magnet in the tank to grab rust?

Is there any reason not to do this?

[chrisarnt]

How about cleaning the tank with vinegar?
It's about as cheap as gas and not as volatile.

Maybe flush with the garden hose first. to get the junk out

Pour in and let sit for about a week.

But will that get any varnish out?

Ok. So, now I'm thinking of this process.

Tell me if I'm totally out of bounds here.

Remove the sending unit and

Pour a gallon or two of gas to get the gunk loose.
Connect a rag to a coat hanger and rub it around in there a bit.

Drain

Flush with hot water and a little Palmolive from a garden hose connected to the basement slop sink. Repeat with Coat hanger rag.

maybe then use shop vac with long tube attachment for any chunks.

Then fill to top with white cleaning vinegar and let sit for a week or so.

Siphon out and pour on weeds.

Apparently you then need to neutralize the vinegar with baking soda and water.

Then fill with gas. Or coat the inside of it with some diesel or other oil if you are not going to fill it.

[chrisarnt]

So I pulled the tank out yesterday and I was feeling pretty optimistic about it because it looked so nice and clean.... on the outside.

But then I got a look inside.

I called Hawthorne Radiator to ask how much to boil the tank. But they don't do that any more.


I decided I needed a new tank, but figured I would give a youtube trick a go before calling it a day..

I poured a box of nails in there and a few handfulls of gravel and some dish soap and some water and shook it back and forth vigorously for about a minute.
And this came out.

I repeated this process about 3 times and it looked like this.

[size=24]Since playing with dangerous chemicals is up there on my list of fun things to do, I'm gonna pick up a gallon of muratic acid and see what that does.

I realize that I need to buy a new tank.[/size]

[chrisarnt]

I bought a sealing kit for the tank. Should be coming soon.
So I just spent several hours descaling and blowing out the underside of the car.
I used a bottle of rust bullet rust remover. Seemed to work well, but I need to do it a couple of times. The rail on the driver side is shot and will need replaced.
Pans not so great, but not so bad, should do fine with a patch for now. Looks like when the pans were replaced they forgot to paint the welds... That sucks.


It looks like the prime ingredient is phosphoric acid.
Is there any reason not to use a concrete etcher rust remover? Same main ingredient phosphoric acid.

[Randy in Maine]

Muratic acid is what the concrete guys use (I think it is a weak hydrocloric acid) and yes you can use it.

Here is how Ratwell did it....

http://www.ratwell.com/technical/FuelTankRestoration.html

[whobba]

What Randy said. I bought a '76 las summer that had water in the case, I pulled it apart and am glad I did. Replaced the cam bearings and also found the piston rings had rusted and actually were compressed to the point they wouldn't seal. If you run it ugly like that, there's a chance you'll damage the internal components to the point that you have yourself a chunk of magnesium alloy junk, instead of a kick ass air cooled VW.

[chrisarnt]

I hear what you are saying...

And I hear what Randy is saying...

Don't you think I would see lots of smoke if the rings are shot when I eventually start it?

I flushed the hell out of the engine already and will drain and fill and drain and fill the oil after I run it for like 20 minutes and change again.

What difference would pulling it out make if I dont have the skills to tear it down?

If if it runs awful I'll pull it and get a manual to rebuild.