I have a '69 E-Type Jag that doesn't get a lot of road use because of the weather here, it's either too cold, snowing, raining, sleeting or it's a million degrees and the car is black with a black interior..... So it lives in the garage and sometimes a couple three years goes by before I get around to firing it up again. This weekend i decided it was time to get it running once again.... I changed the oil and filter, added a contianer of ZDP for good measure, cleaned the fuel lines and fuel filter, pulled the tops off the carb bowls (SU's) and cleaned them out and blew some carb cleaner thru the jets for good measure. I poured a few ounces of Marvel Mystery oil down each cylinder (the guys who get old barn finds running swear by this stuff), stuck it in 4th gear and rolled it forward and back. It rolled freely and didn't make any noise so I assumed no rust on the cylinder walls. When I did the rustoration years ago I installed an electronic ignition, so I didn't have to worry about points. Screwed a new set of Champions in, stuck the fuel intake hose into a gallon can of fresh gas and hit the key. The pump thunked over and filled the carbs, so I pulled the choke and cranked it over. It only took a couple of trys and it roared into life again. I held it at 1500 and it smoked mightily while it burned off the MM oil but it didn't seem to have any power, or want to rev up. One of my neighbors was there watching and he commented that nothing seemed to be coming out of the right pipe! So tonight I took my big flashlight and got down on one knee and took a peek into the right pipe and sure enough there's some kind of nest in there, packed solid! Tomorrow I'll stick a coat hanger wire down there and see if I can dig it out - I'm a little surprised it didn't blow it out when I revved it up, but it didn't..... should be interesting to see if that's all that's holding it back.
Critters love stored cars. Hope they didn't take a liking to the wiring harness too. My Miata only sits for 5 months a year, but I put duct tape over the exhaust pipe & intake snorkel to keep critters out. Having a cat helps too. I few years ago a friend of mine could not get his 1913 McCormick Deering to turn over. It has a hand crank. The engine was locked solid. Turns out the cute little mice had built a nest in one of the cylinders. Their urine had corroded the rings & walls of the bore. A real mess to clean out.
I would gladly offer my garage as a safe haven for such a car as yours. I can guarantee that the car would be lovingly taken care of and kept free of all vermin. And with the lovely low humidity we have no reason to worry about rust or other types of nasty corrosion. Please?
I was driving a Saturn, we use to have, when the AC fan started to make an awful racket. I turned it off and went to the dealer, which was close by. The service guy comes out and says that the fan is fine, but the mouse died. :lol: Jim
Ha! My son has made a similar offer of his garage in Phoenix, and of course to keep it well exercised, battery topped off, fresh gas etc. Actually I may sell it this summer, not driving it is harder on it than daily use and I can hardly get in and out of it anymore....
And may I make the magnanimous offer to come over from St. Louie and give it some much needed exercise. Heck I'd even pay for the gas
This is what came out of the resonator, it was packed solid! I took it off cause I couldn't get it to come out using a screwdriver or a coat hanger wire... Packed solid! Even back into the tail pipe! Once I got it all put back together it fired right up, revved cleanly and sounded the way a Jag motor is supposed to sound! Next, I need to get the clutch freed up, then get the reg and insurance up to date and I'll be ready for an exploratory run around the block. I still need new tires and they're hard to find now in this size, surprisingly....
Probably, but do you see the size of those pin oak nuts? Can mice crack those? Cause they're just bits of them left..... I was thinking it might be groundsquirrels (chipmunks), since I have a problem with a couple of those too, and I know they can crack those nuts. No doubt there are mice in the garage from time to time, I've found the evidence, but I didn't see the typical mouse dropings and such in this mess. At any rate, the best cure is to drive it..... often.....then they can't get established like this.
My old Dodge Dakota had a squirrel nest years ago. Little buggers chewed threw the vacuum lines. Truck still ran, just hissed a bit till I fixed it:lol:. Mark