I've got a car that has been sitting in my grandfather's garage for about the last 10 years and hasn't even been started. It's got only 26,000 miles on it. I don't think anything was done to prepare it for storage. What do I need to do to get this car running (safely) again?

 

first, change all fluids, change battery, possibly belts, put in new plugs and wires, install points (?) or whatever ignition components you have (cap, rotor, etc...) fire away!!! good luck!!!!

 

Wait! Also make sure you drain the fuel tank an flush it to get rid of the old bad fuel that is left, chance the fuel filter, and check for cracked fuel lines. Your still not done. Hopefully when you changed your fluids you did the tranny and filter too. You should remove the tq converter and fush it also, it gets to be a real mess in there after a few years if it was not preped for storage.

Good luck, let us know if it starts!

 

well i meant those too, but thank you for stating them to cast out any confusion that may have occured. NICE CARS!!!!

 

I would just like to say that screaminformula stole okfoz's avatar.

 

He knows

 

battery
all belts
tires
oil & filter
coolant and flush
air filter
pvc
trany fuild & filter
complete ignition tuneup including plugs & wires
drain fuel tank & flush
new fuel filter

So does this sound about right?

How exactly do I drain and flush the fuel tank? Do I have to pull the tank?

How do I flush a torque converter?

Do the brake pads age well or should they be changed even if they look good? How about brake fluid? Does it need changed?

Vacume lines? I haven't looked at them yet. Should I automatically assume they need replaced?

Any other ideas? Your help is appreciated.

 

The vaccum lines are most likely fine but you'll know if the car idels well or not. Brake pads should be fine but you should change the brake fluid because brake fluid actually attracts moisture.

Now wait, are you just trying to start the car to move it for now or are you reconditioning it to be a driver? I ask because there is a BIG difference in all the stuff you have to do...

BTW, what kind of car is this?

 

Pull the plugs, squirt oil into the cylinders. Turn the engine over by hand to get the rings moving again. I destroyed a 327 in my 68 Camaro that had sat for years. We fired it up, I drove it down the road and it ate the oil rings. Sucker smoked forever after that.

 

I can't believe I forgot that

:hail: Thanks Rob, I can remember doing that to a few old Porsche's that sat for years, of course those are allot easier to turn by hand

 

I'd like to get the car into a drivable condition without doing any kind of full rebuild/restoration yet. Even getting the car to run well enough to take my Grandfather for a ride while he is still alive would be a good starting point. Eventually the car will become a toy/show car that I could take to car shows with my Dad (he has a really nice '71 Corvette convertable).

(My daily driver is a '91 Camaro so I visit thirdgen.org often but haven't seen much on this particular topic. The garaged car is a '77 Ford (... I know!) Ranchero GT with a 351. Even though it is not a thirdgen, I respect the knowledge available at this site and the info I seek would also be applicable to a thirdgen.)

"Pull the plugs, squirt oil into the cylinders. Turn the engine over by hand " I figured that there were some tricks like this that I never had a reason to think of. That's why I'm asking.

Thanks for all the responses so far. Any more ideas?

 

I personally wouldn't go through the trouble of pulling the plugs. I'd dump some light oil down the carb

 

I guess that could work. But pulling some plugs is easier than pulling the motor, heads, crank and pistons to fix the trashed rings. One of the harder lessons I've learned with car engines. The other is don't use a screwdriver to pry off the intake manifold. Tips can unknowingly break off and drop into the number one cylinder. But that's a story for another day

 

Good christ dude, you broke the tip of a freakin screw driver off into the cylinder! Hehe, I guess we've all done stupid things

 

Yep. I was pulling the intake off of my L98 motor to port and polish. I had no idea the tip snapped off. I put the whole thing back together and fired it up and got this *** aweful engine knock. I'm like WTF? Started checking things and found the number one spark plug mangled. Popped the head and I found the tip embedded in the number one piston. But before it embedded itself it got alongside the piston and crushed the rings. Believe it or not it did not hurt the cylinder wall. I had to pull the tip out with vice grips! Luckily it missed the valves when it would impact the head! I took the dremel and ground the gouge down to avoid hot spots but the damage to the piston rings and the main bearings was done.
That lead me to the ZZ4

 

Belker, If you follow all the instructions here you should be good to go on the ranchero. I just did the same to my new car ( 48 chev coupe) And it started right up. I couldn't believe it, it'd been sitting for 17 years in a garage.

 

If you're going to drive it:, flush the radiator, boil the thermostat, and put some kerosene in the oil to break up the crud that has accumulated throughout the engine while it sat. Run a thicker oil, like straight 30 or 40 for awhile. Whatever you do, don't put oil down the carb. check the tailshaft seal in the trans to make sure it hasn't dried out. It would also be a good idea to change the trans filter. all of this should costs only about 40 bucks, a few hours, and a couple of trips to autozone. It's well worth it to prevent any problems down the road.