Friend of mine at work, his GF has a 1983 z28. long story short, its sat since '95 and doesnt run. buddy from work has zero knowledge in cars and asked me to check it out, so i am going to go over there wed and see what i can do. I know it is a z28 and has a auto.. THATS about all i know about the car *and all she and he knows about it*. what are some things i can start with?

im already going to bring an extra battery of mine to see if its the battery. im going ot check the plugs and cap, fuel filter and fuel lines (from last she remebered, there was next to no gas in the car, so hopefully i can get lucky.. there is less then 1/2 gal, and i can just clean the lines and put new gas in). What else can i check? she mentioned something that last time before she parked it.. someone said something about the cat. im not sure how im gonna get that sucker off if its welded on. but if its clamped on.. ill check it out.

anywho.. and quick tips on this model year of car or just in general id appreciate the friendly reminder.

 

If its a stick car, check the Z-bar in the clutch linkage for cracks... its a simple thing to check for, just run your fingers down the levers on the bar. Its right by the firewall, under the steering shaft. These parts are notorious for cracking... have been since the '60s.

 

If it has an intank pump it is probly bad. Other than that it should crank if it is not froze up, try pooring gass down the carb/tbi i dont know if it will work with tpi. The motor that is in my car sat since the 80s. It fired up first try. I did do a tuneup b4 i tried top crank it tho.

 

If teh car has been stored for over 10 years, and the engine has not been run periodically, you'll potentially have a lot of work ahead of you. And send your buddy or his girlfriend on a shopping trip SOON or well before you arrive to reduce wasted time. Have them acquire:

1. 8 spark plugs for the engine. Just plain old AC plugs - Nothing fancy;
2. One stock air filter;
3. One stock oil filter;
4. Five quarts of 10W30 mineral oil;
5. One small bottle of two-cycle oil;
6. A five gallon can (or more) of the lowest octane gasoline available - NOT high octane;
7. Three gallons of coolant concentrate (don't waste your money on the pre-mixed coolants);
8. A small pump oiler, or a 18" piece of 1/4" vacuum/emissions hose;
9. A tire pump, compressor, or some means of inflating the tires to 35 PSI minimum;
10. A can of spray-type carburetor cleaner;
11. A can or spray bottle of penetrating oil, preferably B'Laster!PB or CRC 5-56 for this exercise;
12. A cool, shaded place to work (good luck with that one).

Since the car is an '83, there's a 99.99% chance that it has the E4ME QuadraJet on it. Plan on taking some tools if they don't already have them:

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Before you arrive, and as soon as possible, have your buddy or his friend go shopping and when they return:

• Apply some of the penetrating oil to each of the spark plug areas. There is no need to remove wires or the plugs, just apply enough penetratng oil to soak the plugs and heads around them thoroughly. You don't want to have to fight one of these when you arrive:
  
  
  
  If they apply penetrant to the area soon, it may have had a chance to do its job by Wednesday;
• Have them remove the battery cables and clean them with a wire brush, baking soda, and clear water rinse;
• If the battery is intact, get it charging as soon as possible. Personally, I'd be very impressed if a ten year old battery had any hope of survival, even in a warmer climate. Still, it would be worth filling the battery with clear water and charging it if possible BEFORE you arrive to work;
• Have them remove the air cleaner, intake ducts, and THERMAC pre-heater tube, and clean out any rodents or scorpions which may have taken up residence ;
• Have them apply some penetrating oil to the carburetor linkage, body, accelerator pump area, choke plate, secondary AVs, and even down the bores;
• Have them pour in the fresh fuel. I would suggest you not use premium fuel because lower octane fuel is actually more volatile, so it can help dissolve varnish and deposits;
• Have them apply some penetrating oil to the distributor cap hold downs. Don't worry about getting it on the distributor, since it actually may help;
• Have them drain the oil if possible, and install a new filter and fresh fill of oil;
• Have them inflate the tires, just because.

When Wednesday rolls around, you'll want to remove the plugs first. If you're lucky and get them out, use the pump oiler filled with two-cycle oil, or the length of 1/4" hose stuck to the funnel tip on the end of the bottle to administer about an ounce of two-cycle oil to each cylinder. DO NOT install any spark plugs at this time. Once it's in there, you get to test the battery and starter. Crank the engine about 10 seconds at a time to distribute the oil and help break up any rust or scale on the cylinder walls. If you're lucky, you won't break a ring doing this. Allow the starter to cool a minute or so, and the battery charger to recover, then crank again for ten seconds. Repeat this several times until you feel the excess oil has been pumped out of the cylinders. This cranking should also have been operating the fuel pump, and the fuel bowl in the carb should have liquid fuel in it by then. You can test this by operating the throttle linkage and checking for accelerator pump shots. If you're getting good pump fuel, you're lucky again. All the cranking should also have started pumping the newly changed oil into the filter and through the lubricating system.

If the old spark plugs are reasonably clean and useable (not rusted to pieces) reinstall them, otherwise gap and install the new plugs. Clean the ends of the plug wires from the excess penetrating oil and connect them. With fuel in the carb, try starting the engine. Expect smoke, misfire, and odd noises. Once it starts, use ONLY enough throttle to keep it running, since you don;t want any excessive RPM at this point, even though the cam may not be getting a lot of lube at idle. If you hear any heavy knocking or serious noises, shut if off immediately and investigate. If not, let it run for up to a minute, then shut it off. There should be no serious leaks, no parts sticking out the side of the block, and no unusual noises. Allow the battery charger to recover again, check the new engine oil level, check the coolant level, and if everything is correct, start it again and allow it to run for 3-5 minutes. You'll probably still get smoke from the two-cycle oil and possibly from blowby on poorly sealing rings. It should slowly start to clear out as the engine runs and warms up. After about a five minute run, check the fluids again, including the auto trans. If you're still lucky, the engine will not be overheating, the oil will still be in the sump, and all the major parts will still be bolted to the crank. Start it, run it, and make sure the vacuum lines are all connected, the PCV is working (carb cleaner), and nothing is significantly wrong. Install the new plugs, pull the distributor cap for a quick inspection, and start draining the coolant for a flush. Follow the flush procedures, including running the engine as necessary. Keep an eye on the transmission oil as it runs.

You'll want to remind your buddy that the car will need a change of transmission oil, rear end gear oil eventually, abd that even though the climate is relatively dry, a brake fluid flush and change are a safe bet.

After the first tank of fuel is used, the fuel filter should be replaced if you haven't had to do so to keep it running. Don't be surprised if it plugs again in the next few months. other commong problems may be oil leaks from about anywhere, coolant leakage and heater core failure, wheel bearing noises, brake wear and noises, and miscellaneous nuisance problems.

You should also advise him that the brakes could very well be stuck. They certainly will be rusted unless someone applied rust prevetive to the rotors when it was stored.

They will need to change oil and filter again once it's been run for about 10-15 hours. And a thorough inspection and chassis lube should be performed.

And I'm guessing they'll find more once they start driving it.

 

a few more things for your shopping trip:

2-3 fuel filters. They're about $2 per, and easy to change. You *will* need them.
A 5/8" line wrench, and 1" wrench to put them in. Forgive me if this is obvious to you, i'm not sure if you're familiar with q-jets though.

a can of seafoam perhaps would be a good idea. One third to the gas tank, one third in the crank case with your new oil. After it's running ok, maybe the last 3rd into a vacuum line. Bottle of water to wash it down too

oh, if you want, get your buddy to start spraying the exhaust manifold to y-pipe bolts with the penetrating lube as well. If you suspect the cat is plugged, you'll (or someone will) be fighting those bolts soon.