Getting a 70 Roadrunner back on the road!!!

[Bradley 70 RR]

Hey guys, I let my 70 Roadrunner 383 car sit for a few years, 10 to be truthful. Depression sat in and I just lost interest in everything. ops: Now I want to get it rolling again as my oldest son is nearing age 15. I've got the carb off for a rebuild and am getting ready to remove the gas tank for inspection. Any tips for getting the old 383 primed for starting? Thanks, Bradley :tied up:

 

[Donny]

Glad to see you're getting off the wagon of sorrows! Get your hands dirty and bloody will cure the issue! If the 383 turns over, good! Change the oil, clean the carb out, check the coolant, fresh gas, fire it up!

Did the car sit outside for 10 yrs? Pics please!

 

[Bradley 70 RR]

The car didn't sit outside. I was thinking more along lines of what to prime the engine with etc. before turning it over.:tongue5:

 

[Donny]

You can yank the distributor out, get a long hex shaft (they make a special one) and insert it in there and attach to a drill, spin it and observe the oil traveling up the push rods, this tells you the oil pump is working, prolly a good idea to do this too.

 

[dave5237]

I ran the drill today to prime the engine. And my oil pressure gauge did not move a pound after running the drill for 5 minutes. I was going in reverse. Somebody told me that you will not see pressure since the gauge is at the very top of the engine and the oil will not make it up that high. I am stumped here. I guess i will crack the filter to see if i made it that far.

 

[Big Jim]

If you're looking at the original OP gauge, it won't show any pressure without the key "ON" (electrical gauge). If it's a mechanical gauge, it'll show regardless. As for pressure "not getting up that high" somebody told you wrong- if you're not getting oil to the top side,you've either got a spun cam bearing or a build up of crud inside the engine.