Haha, yeah, it's pretty bad in some spots. This is probably one of those situations where ignorance is bliss and smarter people who have dealt with this type of rust before would be screaming at me not to take something this bad on. But I look at it like, I get to save a z, learn a new skill and become more knowledgeable about the car.
Iv'e seen your car around before too. I mean, in forum posts and what not... I don't know what all needs to be done to your car, but you should definitely get back at it.
Alright, so where did I leave off...
Oh yeah, back in the engine compartment. And here's what I'm dealing with, this tar like undercoating and a bunch of surface rust.
I wanted to get it cleaned up before I jumped into the repairs, so I began by removing all the wiring and other components. That way I could scrape off that black sealant using my 5-in-1.
I worked my way around the engine bay the best I could, then broke out the wire wheel to take off the remaining paint and primer, leaving the bare metal.
I quickly realized it was going to take more than just the wire brush, so I started using Aircraft paint remover to get the majority of the paint off, then would come back in with the wire wheel.
This method worked well, but is messy and smells horrible (even with a respirator).
After what felt like weeks, I finally got the engine compartment cleaned up. From the outside looking in, I know it doesn't seem like it would take that long, but trust me, this took some considerable time and I'd be lying if I said the thought of blasting the car didn't cross my mind more than once. Just the engine compartment alone took more than a week to do, and I've still got the core support, outer wheel wells, undercarriage and transmission tunnel / interior to do. But it's not really in my budget to get the car blasted, so wire wheels and elbow grease it is.