I found a limited-edition muscle car that has been sitting in a garage since 1984, when the owner died. Don't worry, nobody is swindling some old widow - she knows the cars is worth 6 figures. Obviously the rubber bits will need replacing. I think most parts for this car are available (apart from the 8-track cartridge player!). I noticed the brake fluid was empty; must have seeped out somewhere in 26 years. What happens to an engine that hasn't turned over for so long - are there any risks?
drain the old oil, and put in some new stuff. Turn the crank by hand to make sure the motor will still move. Drain any old fuel out, but a new battery in and fire her up!
I worked on a MR2 that was sitting for 15 years. It even barely ran with the old fuel in it. I was surprised as hell.. Nothing leaked.
Well, If a car is worth 6 figures, you don't take any chances with it. I would not even try to start the engine. Pull it out and have it refreshed with new rings bearings and such. If its original number engine, why risk anything?
If its a 4 speed manual, drain the gear oil and replace it. Ifs its an automatic, do the same with the ATF. you probabaly got a 50/50 chance with an auto that something is going to be sticking or such from sitting so long. Same with the rear end
The brake wheel cylinders are probably rotted away. rebuild the wheel cylinders and the master cylinder. then inspect brake lines for rust and leaks and replace as needed. have the drums and rotors turned as needed.
before you even try the engine, you'll want to make sure it will STOP if you do get it started... so you'll want to completely go through the brakes, including replacing the hoses and replacing or rebuilding any hydraulic cylinder. Then stand on the pedal as hard as you can to find any soft spots in the hard lines.
After you do that, you'll want to replace all belts, hoses, and fluids. Oil, coolant, whatever's in the transmission, gear oil in the rear end, power steering fluid if applicable, repack the wheel bearings while you're doing the brakes.
Don't be surprised if any rotating accessories (alternator, water pump, etc.) give up the ghost shortly after resurrection. Bearings and seals don't like to sit for long periods of time.
After you've got through all that, pull the distributor and spin the oil pump to get oil through all the whirly bits of the engine. Use a long screwdriver chucked in a cordless drill, or for common engines purpose made tools for this job are available. Keep it spinning until pressure shows on the gauge plus a little more.
Now you're ready to reinstall the distributor and try to start it... if it uses a points type distributor you will probably need to at least file the points as they will have oxidized...
THEN if it runs, moves, and stops you can start seeing what else it needs...
I wouldnt spend the time and money to re-do all that until I found out if the engine will basically start. But if it DOES start, then you have given him a good check list of expense items before he can drive it.
I still want to know what sort of six figure car this is... is that in Pesos??? Or has he found something really hot?
Put a little of oil in the spark plug holes, clean and gap the spark plugs, or replace as needed, check the contact points.Fresh gas, a good battery.See if the engine will run. What car is it? cuhulin
Jay Leno bought an old Dusenberg car from a woman.That car had been sitting in that garage for many, many years.He/they tried to get the engine running before they loaded it on a trailer and hauled it away.
A few months ago, I read about a British built car in England that had been sitting up since the 1930's.They put in some fresh gas and hooked up a battery.That car started right up.Usually, old Detroit Iron will start right up too after sitting up for many years. cuhulin
bad fake? like " snipped-for-privacy@nospam.nix" is not a bad fake? does that make you a troll too?
more likely the guy's just a sometime lurker who has seen some of the mob rioting caused by using real names on usenet and who also thinks they're going to get rich off some barn find. [not likely though since if he has to ask about this kind of stuff, his lack of knowledge means he's going to get the hose somewhere down the line. much to your enjoyment no doubt.]
yes there is:
Registrant Organization:Pennsylvania Automotive Recycling Trade Society Registrant Street1:355 North 21st Street Suite 306 Registrant Street2: Registrant Street3: Registrant City:Camp Hill Registrant State/Province:PA Registrant Postal Code:17011
Forgot to mention, if this is really a truly valuable car, don't *ever* take, say, the alternator to a parts store and swap it out for a reman one. Most concours judges will look for date codes, correct fasteners, etc. Either replace the parts yourself that have actually failed (brushes, diodes, bearings, etc.) but keep the original castings and hardware or else send it off to a place that will do a show-correct rebuild on it ($$$) even your local auto electric shop will not get it right, they will do a quality job but might paint over the varnish on the windings, paint the case a shade that is close-but-not-right to the original unpainted cast aluminum, etc. etc. etc.
Also important to some people are the stampings on various bolt heads, any identification tags, etc. etc. etc.
The truly anal retentive will insist on original style ignition wires etc. and to make matters worse some of them were printed with mfgrs. identification and date codes... throw NOTHING out even if it is bad until you are sure that you can find exact reproductions. (yes, some of this stuff is available... I know a guy who was involved in the manufacture of some show-repro spark plug wires for old musclecars. Unfortunately, some are NOT e.g. the old red/maroon spark plug wires used on 60's Studebakers - but Studebaker club judging is more driver-oriented than some other clubs *cough**corvette**cough* so nobody really cares other than for personal satisfaction anyway)
Please, PLEASE if it still has the original wiper blades do not replace them. If they are Tricos (and maybe even if they are not) I actually have some info on my web site that may help you with that one small detail.
Ford wires have had the model year on them for decades.
Even manufacturer OEM parts are often hell usually, different for service than what came on the car from the factory in cosmetic ways.
Just getting silver metal blades is a pain. I tossed what were at least era correct blades for my '73 in a box. I painted a set of modern blades silver and use those. The old clips can make for one losing a wiper blade while driving down the road never to be seen again.
Ever look at the brake rotors of a car after its been sitting for a while?. Rust builds up on them. same thing happens inside eventually in places. Personally, i would not risk it. Rings stick, break, then possibly score the cylinder wall. Just makes for more expense latter.
This is patently false. I drove British cars for years and I never saw one of them that just "started right up" even when they were brand new at the dealer's.
I had two MGBs: 1978 then a 1977. Both of them were very reliable. They did "just start right up". I drove the 77 for 14 years and escaped the dreaded "Prince of Darkness" problems. Best little car I ever had. Sold it because a bitch attorney in my bankruptcy case said that they could take it, so leased a Ford Explorer(POS). I cried when that car went to another collector, but at least I knew it would be taken care of.
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