hi, i bought a 1992 firebird. it is a 305 TBI motor. the car has 5000 original miles. it has probably sat outside in a carport for 8 to 10 years only running a couple times. what should i do to make sure it is ok to drive besides changing all the fluids, belts, hoses, etc? i got this car for less than $4,000 so it was pretty much a steal. the car is 100% original and is almost spotless except for a little corrosion under the hood on the motor, not a whole lot, but some. any help would be great.
Josh

 

You pretty much covered it. Don't forget new brake hoses and bleeding fresh brake fluid through it. Chances are they are dry-rotted just like the belts and hoses. Brake fluid also goes bad with time like any other fluid in the car. A coolant leak is annoying but brakes that suddenly stop working as your hauling down from 60 MPH is far more serious.

If you don't know how old the gas is in the tank I'd siphon it all out and put in fresh. DON'T run it through the engine just to use it up- it can clog stuff up. Certainly a fresh fuel filter along with the new gas is a good idea, too.

Cars that sit with infrequent use look better cosmetically but they carry their own set of mechanical issues that are often much different than a high mileage car that got driven every day. Expect a handfull of things to break within the first few months of driving it since it's never been used that way in it's life before.

 

thanks, that was pretty much what i was gonna do. what are the chances that there will be big problems with the motor? like rotten gaskets and such? it does run which is good.
Josh

 

Try it and see. Just about anything could leak but I wouldn't go looking for problems. By 1992 gasket technology had gotten fairly good. If it was from the 70s or early 80s it would be an almost guaranteed leaker on the front and rear mains as well as the valve covers.