So me and a couple of friends want to restore my uncle's 1991 'Bird 5.0L V8 TBI. He gave tme he car since he moved away, but it's been sitting there for about 5-6yrs. What should I look out or during the restoration?

Before the car was just sitting there, it for sure had a bad fuel pump.
Iv'e looked under the hood a couple times, and the air filter holder is broken off. Anywhere I can get this?
Brakes are bad.
And other little minor things.
But from sitting there, what happens to it?

Thank you for your help, and hope this turns out a success!

 

When I bought mine it had sat for a few years. Some of the things we replaced straight away were the tires, drained and replaced all fluids, some of the hoses were dry rotted, all the filters.. fuel, oil, air. Some of the fuses were blown... well that's where I started. Hope that helps a little. I am no expert, but these guys are great and I'm sure someone will come along with some more info. Good luck!

 

Thanks and has your car been workin well dispite sitting there for years?

 

Well, I am still having an issue with it stalling and losing power. It is drivable though. It is an intermittent problem. When I started this project I came to terms with the fact that if I haven't replaced something, I can pretty much expect it to go bad. lol The guy who owned it before me had taken pretty much everything apart in the engine compartment and we had to put it all back together after we bought it. We still have no idea why he had it all taken apart.

 

Oh I see, my car isn't very complicated fortunately. When my uncle was still cruisning in it, it rode strong and great with no problems. But now that he moved away time pretty much ate the car up. Has minor problems as I see it. Well, hopefully you resolve your problem and hopefully mine comes back to life.

 

it's had fuel sitting in it for 6 years. It's had coolant sitting in it for 6 years.


It's had a tranny sitting for 6 years

it's had brake fluid and ps fluid sititng for 6 years

what would I plan for vs hope?

dropping and cleaning tank- you said it had a bad fuel pump as well

replacing some fuel and brake lines

replacing heater core

replacing radiator

replacing belt and hoses

rebuilding the tranny or maybe just maybe you might get away with a flush and then trying some white shepherd in it

adding white shepherd into the engine to soften the seals

replacing cap/rotor/plugs/wires


basically, have on hand at least $1,000 and tools. THe way to look at it is you'd have a $1,000 car that needs a little more work.

 

Basically you will need to change all the fluids (oil, trans, fuel, coolant, brake, and gear) New tires if they are weather checked, probably a new battery, and new filters all around. Check for rodent or other pest damage to wiring and soft parts. Lastly turn the motor over by hand before starting for the first time.

 

In addition to the advice in the posts above, I would go as far as to re-adjust the valve lash on the rocker arms. An engine that's been sitting for 6 years means that some valves have been sitting open that long, putting the spring pressure on the those valve's components.

 

Ok I see, I got about half of that saved up so just need a lil' more. Thanks for the advice!

 

Im a newbie lol so how do you turn it on by hand?

 

he did not say "turn it on"

he said "turn it by hand"

remove all spark plugs

pour a little oil into each cylinder.

put socket on crank pulley and turn slowly clockwise

having sat for 6 years the chances of it being "seized" are quite good but you must find out.

 

My dad had parked my firebird in 1994... It had not been touched until I picked it up in 2009... All I did was a new battery, oil, plugs, dist. cap, rotor, wires, fuel pump and a few vacuum lines and fuses... Once it was running, the things that went bad were the things I replaced, but to be safe, I would go ahead and do all of the recommended above.

 

Yea ill change as many as things I can, but the weird thing is why did the "new" things you replace go bad?

 

Ok sorry lol newbie here