Hey guys, i've been lurking around V8 for a while now while i've been trying to buy a cherry '71 skylark. I finally got her and towed her back to my garage. I'm 17 now, and this is my first real car (hyundai as daily driver ou: ) and I was wondering what i will need to do to prep it to run for the first time in 10 years. It's a 350-2. Also, when i get her all fixed up, will i need to use a lead additive, and which octane rating do i need? All your help is greatly appreciated!
While I'm not an expert, heres what I'd do at a minimum. Make sure the battery is fully charged. Go ahead and change the belts and radiator hoses, and replace all vaccum lines to try and nip any vaccum leaks in the bud. Go ahead and change the oil and filter and when it does start make sure you have oil pressure right off the start. I'd also remove all gas from the tank, old as it is it may be no good. Also take the spark plugs out and spray a little WD40 or some equilivant into the cylinders for lubrication. The carb will be dry so dribble a little gas in the carb, not while your cranking it but before you turn it over. Probably have to do this a few times before you get gas to the carb and it runs on its own. Let us know where you hail from, you may be near someone who can help you out. I'm sure this is not all, but I am sure you'll get more replys! Dave Berry Carrollton IL
Sounds good so far, i appreciate it. I'm in Atlanta, GA - so hopefully someone may be within yelling distance :Brow:
I've only had expereince starting up a small motor that's been sitting, but same idea right? A lot has to do with how it's been put away, if done properly, you have very little to worry about. New plugs, gas,oil a little Wd into the cylinders. that's all the motor really needs. New hoses belts, fluids all around. that'll do it to start.
It's pretty much the typical little old lady's car. One day in '96 or so she just stopped driving it, so nothing special was done to it to prep for storage. Thanks for the input, i'll see if i can get her running within the week.
The belts, hoses, and vac lines are without a doubt a good "idea" to get it road ready, but don't overlook the biggie! GO THRU THE ENTIRE BRAKE SYSTEM! Don't even think adout moving it under its own power untill you do... I'm speaking from some embarassing expirence here, so believe me. A remanufactured master cylinder goes for about $20, shoes about $10 to $15 a set, turning the drums about $5 to $10 each, and new wheel cylinders are under $10 each. So for under $100 you can go thru everything, and believe me- that's cheap insurance! As far as actually geting it running after sitting so long, first check the oil. Don't actually change it untill after its running. Next drain the gas tank. An easy way to do this is to remove the 2 lines from the fuel pump. Plug up the smaller one and attach a longer hose to the bigger one going into a bucket large enough to hold all the bad fuel that's in the tank. Then put a compressed air line down the filler neck, and use a wet rag to form a seal... Get the idea? After getting a couple gallons of good fresh gas in the tank, next is to prime the carb. Run down to the dollar store and buy one of those cheap plastic restaurant style mustard-catsup squirt bottles. Fill it with gas and squirt it down the vent tube on top of the carb. It'll tale about half the bottle to fill the carb, and then just let it sit to re-hydrate the gaskets. At least a couple of hours. While waiting, remove the plugs and squirt some penetrating oil down each cylinder. Wd40 works good, as does 3 in 1 light lubricating oil. Personally I use marvel mystery oil, available at most auto parts stores. Get a good tablespoon or so down each one. Another cheap squirt bottle with a length of vac line makes this easy. Pull the distributor cap off, and visually inspect the points for surface rust. Replace if nessecary and put a drop of oil on the distributor cam. Check the coolant level, charge or replace the battery, and check the tranny fluid level. Ready to go- pull the coil wire and crank the engine for 20-30 seconds to get some oil back into the engine, replace wite and start it up! Of course there are no guarantees, but the above steps will protect the enginefrom damage. After it starts, if it dies after a few seconds, reprime the carb and try again. There's a good chance the carb will need a rebuild before its road ready, maybe a fuel pump as well. After its actually running, then replace belts hoses, vac lines, thermostat, oil change, etc. Try to do a little research as to why the previous owner stoped driving it in the first place. May be a larger problem that needs to be addressed. Good luck, and keep us posted
Good advice on the brakes, was just thinking about starting the engine. Course if I bought a car and got it started after all that time first thing I'd want to do is drive it.DUH Dave Berry ou:
She stopped driving it because on a rainy day she got rear-ended. No damage done to the car except broken taillight and a broken windshield. Everything else seems to be straight. Her husband died shortly before that so I think she just lost interest in the car. I was wondering if i should drain all of the old fluids and replace them before even trying starting up the car. I was under the impression that gas that has been sitting for a while will gunk up on the bottom of the tank and eventually clog something. My main concerns are about the oil and gas, should i replace them before or after i get her started up? I can't stand seeing her sitting much longer!
I say change the oil before you start it, and then again soon after you've got it running. Gas is something NEED to chage, it goes scuzzy within months, not years.
Lots of differing opinions on changing the oil before or after it's running. I say after because a new filter will be full of air, and will only serve to starve the engine of vital oil for the first 20 seconds of it's rebirth,,, unless you remove the distributor and prime the engine, but that's even more work. How about this one? Crank the engine over for 20-30 seconds with the old oil in it, but dont actually start it. [coil wire removed] Then change oil/filter and start it. Fair enough compromize?
...uh...fill the new filter with oil before installing it. uzzled: I highly recommend fresh oil before attempting to start. I also recommend priming the oiling system before attempting to start, its VERY easy to do. It would also be wise to plan another oil change very soon after getting engine going again. :TU:
Make sure it's not seized before you start. Put a breaker bar (1 1/8 socket) on the crank not and see if it moves. Mine seized at the bodyshop but it was outside. Still condensation can creep in.....I've seen some pretty damp garages......
I say start it up and drive it to the first gas station to fill it up. If the tank is low enough, pour in 5 gallons of new gas. Put a new battery in it. Hook up a charger or a jumper car to it. Pump the heck out of the gas pedal and go at it until it starts. Check the oil first. If it's low, top it off. Then change it within the next 100 miles. OK, I'm an optomist.
I would definatly prime the oil system with fresh oil. I'd throw in some real thin 5w-30 at first. some of the oil passages are probably gooed up pretty good. The thinner oil has a better chance of pushing through and around muck. I'd ru it until it was warm, check the fluids. Make sure the coolant is flowing. After that I'd dump the oil, give er a nice tune up- plugs, wires, cap and rotor. Adjust the point, and replace the air, fuel and oil filter again. I'd fill it with fresh gas with about 4 cans of cleaner. More than likely the car has more than a 1/2 tank. You'll never see an old lady drive with anything less than 1/2 a tank. I wouldn't change the plugs for a good amount of run time- your likely to send some very bad gas thrugh the system that will just goober the new plugs. Unless you completly flush the fuel system. I would probably change the fuel pump too. It will probably start leaking gas inot the oil anyway. I'd change the PCV valve too. Then I'd give everything a very thorough inspection. Pay special attention to the brakes, especially the rubber hoses and Wheel cylinders. The master cylinder is probably wasted too. Don't forget the tires. IF they are dry rotted, then they are junk. You should probably be able to do all this in a weekend. good luck :beer
I just wanted to say that it is great that you have a bUick, even if it's a Skylark and not a GS, it's close enough. Thank God, you(17 years old) and me (12 years old) have at least one muscle car. Anthony
Gee you need to pull the oil pan. It will look like molasses or perhaps a black brick. The oil screen may be at least partially stopped up.
Jim is right on this one for sure. The right way to do it would be to pull the pan and pickup, clean and reinstal. A sneaky way might be to drain what you can then flush with a couple gallons of clean kerosene. When the kerosene starts coming out clean I'd flush a couple quarts of clean oil through then put the drain plug back and fill the crankcase. Then I would prime the pump with a drill but you could use the starter and pull the coil wire and only reinstall it after the oil light went out. When I took my 350 apart after 3 years of sitting I was shocked at what I found in the oil pan. When I was driving my car I changed the oil every 2000 miles so the sludge wasn't caused by a lack of maintenance. Over time, the oil in the pan turned to sludge. The rest of the engine looked normal. I doubt the engine would have lasted very long if I had tried to run it that way. The pic below doesn't really show how bad it was but if you look close you'll see some of the stuff in that pan under the engine.
