10-12 year parked motor

[coronet340]

I am looking at purchasing a car that has been parked for 10-12 years. According to the owner it was running when he parked it.
I originally thought it had been parked for maybe 5 to 6 years max. I figured I could throw some WD-40 down the cylinders and roll it a few times by hand to make sure everything was kosher. Get a battery and fire the bad boy up.:iamwithstupid:
Now I'm thinking not so much. Anybody have experience with this?

BTW the radiator was bone dry with some rust powder on the inside. There was oil in the pan and it didn't look like water had gotten to it. But it did look like oil that has been sitting around for a bit. The motor is completely assembled from the oil pan to the top air filter bolt.

Many thanks in advance!!

 

[Cranky]

10-12 years.....depends on the conditions where it was stored but I think I'd at least pull the heads and take a look.

 

[Dako]

Mine had been sitting a good 15 years. No squirting anything in the cylinders...just a fresh battery, a hose going from a gas can on the fender to the fuel pump (tank was full of gunk), and filled the carb bowls by spraying carb cleaner into the vent tube of the carb. I did remove the thermostat in the event it had failed in the closed position...filled the radiator with water, cleaned up the points and inside of the dist. cap, and she fired right up! You should be fine.

I would imagine the tank to have rust. Most of the country has had ethanol in their gas longer than your car has been sitting. I would also be wary of the wheel cylinders & master cylinder. They may be froze up do to sitting. I had three out of four wheel cylinders locked up. Okay for around the yard, but not for going down the road!

If it only runs as long as you are spraying starter fluid or carb cleaner down the throat, you likely have a ruptured diaphragm in the fuel pump.

Good luck, and let us know how it goes.

 

[Albert Spangler]

Like Cranky says, it depends on conditions. My 66 Imperial sat for over 8 years. I pulled all the spark plugs, squirted oil in the cylinders, cranked it over with the starter until the oil pressure came up, filled the carb with gas, put new plugs in, cleaned up the points, and fired it up with no problems. I do still need to clean out the gas tank, though. I bought a dodge van with a 440 that had been sitting for 3 or 4 years. I got it to run but it didn't have much compression. When I tore it down, I found all of the piston rings were stuck to the pistons so they weren't sealing to the cylinder walls. I would check the compression. It is easy to do and will tell you a lot about the condition of the engine.

 

[Duda]

Mine sat for 30 years.
Rebuilt the carb
Pulled all the plugs and placed a tablespoon of marvel mystery oil in each cylinder.
I Let mine sit for a wheel.
Drained the oil and put in 5/20 and changed filter
Kept plugs out and cover plug holes with towels to catch mess. Turned motor by hand then cranked till the oil was out of cylinders.
We put a fuel line from the pump to a fuel container.
Put new plus in and she fired wright up.

 

[Tempest 455]

Ditto on above. We started a '63 Vette that sat for 10+ years once. Pulled plugs, squirted oil in bore. All we did was put some fresh gas in tank and carb. Car fired right up.

 

[khryslerkid]

I'll agree with all of the above for the exception of pulling heads. Now I only have one question.

What the hell, kind of car is it???

 

[BumperMan]

I mixed Marvel Mystery Oil with PB Blaster and cranked on it for about a week and it finally broke, mine sat for 40 years though

 

[coronet340]

I'll agree with all of the above for the exception of pulling heads. Now I only have one question.

What the hell, kind of car is it???

you're not gonna like this but it's not a Mopar. In my defense it is a very cool car and I just want to flip it to make a little cash to put towards the coronet. lol

 

[Lowhound]

I would definitely use a rubber hose & a container of gas from the fuel pump to fire it up. Any gas you put into the tank will mix with what is left of the old dead gas & rust in the tank.

 

[kiwigtx]

Mine had been stored for like 20 years before I bought it. Poured some gas down the center carb, a fresh battery and bit of cranking - fired up no problem. Ended up rebuilding the engine due to broken rings and a desire to make the car perform. All good now

 

[Jonnyuma]

Getting long-dormant engines running isn't too hard, just pick and choose the steps you think are necessary from the previous posts. The harder and more expensive part (assuming a functional engine that hasn't rusted into a lump) is the hydraulic system(s). I recently had to pass on a super-cool 66 PowerWagon because the clutch and brake hydraulics were so FUBAR that it was gonna take twice what the truck was worth (about 3x what I was paying for it) to get it all un-F'd...even tho I got the engine running in a couple of hrs using the type of steps outlined above, ie: PB Blaster and Marvel's, new points, and fresh gas bypassing the cruddy tank. I got it running but when I found the other problems I had to back out...told the guy "Sorry, no deal. But at least it runs now...no charge...you're welcome", packed my trash and walked away.

And yeah, what kind of car IS it? A lot of us like other junk too.

 

[Garys1969RR]

My 440 in 69 RR sat for 12 years. Put in a fuel pump, changed oil and filter, and Primed the oiling system with a drill while spinning the motor over. I think its important to get the oil flowing before you start it. Put some Carb cleaner in into the air horn, and it started right up. Had to re build the carb as it sprayed gas all over. That 440 ran great! Well it had been resting for 12 years! Lol

 

[coronet340]

Mine had been stored for like 20 years before I bought it. Poured some gas down the center carb, a fresh battery and bit of cranking - fired up no problem. Ended up rebuilding the engine due to broken rings and a desire to make the car perform. All good now

the broken rings is what I am worried about.

- - - Updated - - -

Getting long-dormant engines running isn't too hard, just pick and choose the steps you think are necessary from the previous posts. The harder and more expensive part (assuming a functional engine that hasn't rusted into a lump) is the hydraulic system(s). I recently had to pass on a super-cool 66 PowerWagon because the clutch and brake hydraulics were so FUBAR that it was gonna take twice what the truck was worth (about 3x what I was paying for it) to get it all un-F'd...even tho I got the engine running in a couple of hrs using the type of steps outlined above, ie: PB Blaster and Marvel's, new points, and fresh gas bypassing the cruddy tank. I got it running but when I found the other problems I had to back out...told the guy "Sorry, no deal. But at least it runs now...no charge...you're welcome", packed my trash and walked away.

And yeah, what kind of car IS it? A lot of us like other junk too.

I was also worried about the hydraulics. My Mopar sat for a few years and I just had to replace the wheel cylinders and brake hoses.

- - - Updated - - -

 

[khryslerkid]

What's that a Canadian Ford? The four headlights has me confused and I can't make out that long name above the quarter trim.

Will the engine, 260ci, 289ci?, turn over by hand? It sure has seen a lot of moisture sitting there...

 

[coronet340]

What's that a Canadian Ford? The four headlights has me confused and I can't make out that long name above the quarter trim.

Will the engine, 260ci, 289ci?, turn over by hand? It sure has seen a lot of moisture sitting there...

65 Fairlane 500. From what I understand it was the only year of the front end. Its got a 289.
Yea south texas weather. Plenty of coon **** too. lol
I decided to pass on it. More then I want to take on without a shop.

 

[khryslerkid]

65 Fairlane 500. From what I understand it was the only year of the front end. Its got a 289.
Yea south texas weather. Plenty of coon **** too. lol
I decided to pass on it. More then I want to take on without a shop.

I think you made the right choice ;-)

 

[Cranky]

I'll agree with all of the above for the exception of pulling heads. Now I only have one question.

What the hell, kind of car is it???

Not sure I wouldn't pull the heads...depending on where it was sitting for so long....like in Galveston Texas. I've pulled 8 3/4 chucks out of cars and trucks that were in a junk yard just near Galveston and saw the effects of sitting for long periods of time. My place is 9 miles from Galveston Bay and have lived here since 63 and have seen the effects of cars that have sat around for many years. Some were not pretty. At least pulling the valve covers may tell me how I'd go about it....

 

[khryslerkid]

Not sure I wouldn't pull the heads...depending on where it was sitting for so long....like in Galveston Texas. I've pulled 8 3/4 chucks out of cars and trucks that were in a junk yard just near Galveston and saw the effects of sitting for long periods of time. My place is 9 miles from Galveston Bay and have lived here since 63 and have seen the effects of cars that have sat around for many years. Some were not pretty. At least pulling the valve covers may tell me how I'd go about it....

I hear ya Cranky. The way I look at it is if you have to pull the heads you might as well figure on rebuilding the whole engine. If it turns over by hand without any resistance it might be fun to see if it will fire off, providing you have all of the elements. The thing that always concerns me is why did the previous owner stop driving it. Used too much oil? Rod knocking? Water consumption? When it was parked was there ample antifreeze? Might have a cracked block if not. There's lots of things to consider even buying a bare block...