Waking up a dormant 79 Spider

[mullioni]

I have begun my attempt to wake up my 79 spidey from a deep deep sleep. So far, so good. I have her up on jack stands. I drained the radiator and the block. The 25+ year old anti-freeze had much more green color than I expected. I removed the radiator. It’s currently at the shop for a cleaning, and any repairs. I’ve ordered all new hoses, 175 degree thermostat, and temperature new sending units, and a 180 degree fan unit. Water pump, timing belt, and tensioner.




The gas tank came out without too much trouble. I removed the sending unit, which looked great, with just a little debris on the sock. Then siphoned out about 3.5 gallons of old 1990’s gas. The inside of the tank looked incredibly good. I think this might be the only area with no rust This was seconded by the radiator shop who looked inside and suggested to just clean it with some dawn and hot water. The outside will need some help as there is surface rust.




Questions 1 - the rubber fill tube that connects to the bottom of the tank is still rather flexible and looks like a PITA to change. However, I’ve read some threads where the older rubber is susceptible to the newer ethanol gas. Should I keep what’s there, or replace with a new one?
What about the other lines, again, the appear to be in good condition. Only a small amount of corrosion on the retaining crimps.

I’ve removed all four brake calipers and preparing to take them apart for a rebuild. New stainless steel hoses are on order. All suspension rubber looks old/cracked, and I ordered parts to change out the rear pan hard and rear trailing arms. I also ordered new lowering springs and shocks.

Questions 2 – any recommendations on the change out order – change out trailing arms and pan hard first, then shock/springs? Does it matter? Does a jack under the differential help to take load off the trailing arms to help with disassembly/assembly?

Question 3 – Anything else I should evaluate/change while I am working on the rear suspension, and moving on to the front? Planning on Differential fluid change.

I also dropped a little marvel mystery oil down the spark plug openings. This weekend I plan to take off the water pump, timing belt cover, and attempt to pull the heater core. While in there I plan to look at the timing belt change procedure as this is also in the plans. I'll post a few more pictures as reading the threads, it may also be of benefit to change out any leaky seals on the front once the timing belt is removed.

[AriK]

Hello mullioni,
Seems like you've done your homework and you're proceeding correctly. The 25 year old fuel looks cleaner than expected because back then fuel was pure gas as opposed to whats offered today. Still, dispose of it correctly for the environments sake. Change out that fuel filler hose, AR sells them as ethanol resistant. While you're there change the 5/16 and1/4" hoses and make sure it's of the FI type. They're more expensive than regular fuel hose but it's also ethanol resistant. Inspect/change the metal lines too, you're already in there (project creep).
Basically you want to replace everything rubber on a car that hasn't run in a quarter century.
Allow that Marvel Mystery to sit several days and try turning the motor by the crank.
Seems like you're working on several areas at the same time, motor, brakes, suspension, fuel systems, dash/heater core etc.... Watch you don't get too overwhelmed with all the parts taking up your floor space, you risk getting discouraged mighty fast. I tend to like to work sections at a time, but thats just me.

[81SPIDERMATT]

don't know if you have a manual or auto ..but if you are changing fluid in the tranny .... be sure to remove fill plug first .... seems the drain plug is an easy removal and then no way to fill it because that fill plug can be a bear .... several attempts at getting it out resulting in hulk like rage for me .... and I would do the trailing arms one at a time ... makes it easier .... and with panhard rod removed and body jacked up and supported it will be easier to muscle around the rear end to remove and replace rear springs .... and pay close attention to the rear calipers ... real close attention when disassembling .... little tricky getting them back together and e brake working if you don't .... maybe add front engine seals to the list ... search that bottom crank pulley nut .. it is also a pain ... and leaving the old belt on while loosening everything on the front ...if you decide to do the seals .... will help .... also some searching on the correct spring compressor with regards to removing front springs will help .... Matt

[klweimer]

Hi mullioni,

I agree with AriK, you've got things moving in the right direction. Tons of good info here. I think his point of not having too many sub-projects going at the same time is also good advice.

Kirk

[mullioni]

It is a manual transmission Matt. Thanks for the advice everyone. I'll try to keep the "creep" to a minimum if that's possible.....My main goal is to get the brakes, fuel, and cooling sorted and then try to get her to start.

[nelsonj]

New "everything" is a great luxury but it isn't always necessary or "worth it". Do you plan to drive the car, show it, or sell it? For example, why all the attention to the suspension? Was something wrong with it (and was that why it's been stored for 25 years?)

Perhaps I'm lazy, but my philosophy would be to focus on getting the engine all set up , change the trans oil and differential (as noted ALWAYS remove the fill plug first!) and then DRIVE IT!!!!! One more tip - make sure the cam gears are in good shape. The teeth on the gears can wear, especially if they are plastic. The gear should be sharp little rectangles, not smooth or "dip in the middle" rectangles. If the gears don't look good and square, replace the gears. Otherwise you can slip your timing belt (don't ask how I know this...) and do major engine damage.

Get the car on the road! - then you can then evaluate if the suspension needs work or if its reasonable "as is". New shocks would be the first place I'd start if I had issues.

One other tip for consideration - after you get the engine running (with new oil of course), my philosophy is to change the oil and filter after say 500 miles. Who knows what sort of crud has built up, what get's knocked loose, and what metal grinding happens until everything get lubricated. You want all that crud out of the oil and out of the engine. Then I'd change the oil again after about 1,500 miles for the same reason. After that, I figure I'm good and can follow a regular schedule.

Again good luck, but DRIVE the car. It will help you prioritize your projects, and hopefully will motivate you to keep it on the road, rather than spread out in parts over the garage (for another 25 years).

P.S. I had a 79 in the same color. Tan interior and top. Great memories, but that's for another post...

Peace.
Out.

[RRoller123]

Not sure if these were mentioned: Replace Timing Belt and while in there, all the front engine seals (2 CAM, 1 Aux, 1 Crank). A new Water Pump is really inexpensive. 2 Valve cover gaskets, 4 valve cover screw seals, adjust the valves once engine confirmed free rotating.

Pete

[nelsonj]

Two more important safety items:
1) Replace the transmission "donut" - the rubber thing that connects the drive shaft to the transmission. These things dry out and crack, and if it fails while driving, the drive shaft will drop to the ground and even worse things happen next. Replace it.

2) Check your break linings - the rubber tubes that connect up to the disc calipers. They also age/crack - I'd replace them.

Safety first.

Peace.
Out.

[AriK]

1) +1 on the donut
2) he meant the brake hoses, the linings are the friction materials on the brake pads, but check them too for safety's sake.
3) Peace should be on the top of the list

[mullioni]

I have the front brake calipers apart and looking for advice. It appears that there is a small amount of corrosion on a portion of the pistons. As well, there appears to be a small amount inside the cylinder. They are still very dirty and I am now soaking in some cleaning fluid. Are these candidates for rebuild or should I just go ahead and purchase a set of rebuilt calipers?

[81SPIDERMATT]

mine looked about like that ... but I was on a budget and wanting to learn .... been several thousands of miles and doing fine .... Matt

[DRUMMOND]

So long as the corrosion is above the piston seal line should be ok. remember the piston slides on the seal
If the caliper seal line is pitted below or on the seal line then you will get seepage past the seal

[mullioni]

The caliper body's have cleaned up nicely and just a few nooks and crannies to go.


as have the insides


one of the pistons has some scoring/corrosion near the middle, so I am thinking of getting new pistons just to be safe.

[DRUMMOND]

Yup, new pistons needed there. will cut the new seals in no time.