86 honda civic

There's no such thing as a free lunch... ;-)

Firstly, it probably wasn't started with WD-40. More likely Ether, or "starter fluid".

Honestly, if you know nothing about cars, it would be in your best interest to get it to a mechanic who regularly works on Hondas. You obviously need a muffler, possibly more in the exhaust system. You probably need a tune-up. The timing belt should probably be replaced. The carb probably needs to be adjusted, as will the valves. And there is probably more.

If you know about cars, or are [really] interested in learning, you could probably do most of these yourself with a good service manual and the proper tools. But without knowing much about cars, you will definitely want someone to at least give it a good once-over to determine what needs to be repaired. You could have potential safety problems in a car that old that hasn't been properly maintained, and if you don't know what you are looking for, it is easy to overlook many of them.

There's no such thing as a free lunch... ;-)

Firstly, it probably wasn't started with WD-40. More likely Ether, or "starter fluid".

Honestly, if you know nothing about cars, it would be in your best interest to get it to a mechanic who regularly works on Hondas. You obviously need a muffler, possibly more in the exhaust system. You probably need a tune-up. The timing belt should probably be replaced. The carb probably needs to be adjusted, as will the valves. And there is probably more.

If you know about cars, or are [really] interested in learning, you could probably do most of these yourself with a good service manual and the proper tools. But without knowing much about cars, you will definitely want someone to at least give it a good once-over to determine what needs to be repaired. You could have potential safety problems in a car that old that hasn't been properly maintained, and if you don't know what you are looking for, it is easy to overlook many of them.

If it needs starting fluid in order to start, then you should really check the timing belt. Sometimes when the timing belt is close to breaking it will slip a tooth or two. The car will still run but one common symptom is that you need starting fluid in order to start the engine. It could also be a problem with the carburetor but check the timing belt/mechanical timing first.

Eric

As Eric says, the timing belt will be a priority. It really should be changed because if allowed to fail your car will be back to being worth nothing. But that decision at this stage really is yours, because you have so little invested in it.

It's a safe bet the gasoline in the tank is unusable after a year and a half. It will have to be drained and the old fuel disposed of - call your local fire department for the procedure.

My experience with carburetors that sit that long with gas in them is that they get thoroughly gummed up and the engine won't run. The easy thing to try is to spray a liberal amount (say, 5-10 seconds' worth) of carburetor cleaner into the vent at the top of the carburetor. That vent is probably the top-most opening you see in the throat of the carb; if it looks like it angles off to the float bowl that's the place. Open the throttle all the way once to circulate the cleaner through the accelerator pump passages. Repeat every day or so for a few days.

Good luck!

Mike