How long can a motor and transmission sit?

[68rrdream]

I'm looking at a 383 with a 727 for sale. Seller says it ran and drove well when pulled. They've been sitting for 4 or 5 years with fluids he says.

In the past we've thrown old V8s that had been sitting in cars and they ran fine. Just curious what some of your experiences might have been.

 

[davek]

My 318 sat 18 years in car, poured mystery oil in cylinders and sat for 2 days. The engine fired up and ran with great oil pressure. Maybe I got lucky.

 

[MoparLeo]

All fluids that have been opened has a life.
All engine and transmission seals are designed to be run warm and with clean fluid to keep them supple and sealing.
Old oil contaminates turn sludgy, The main seals get hard and leak, Transmission seals no longer seal. Hoses and belts harden and lose flexibility, hoses deteriorated from the inside out. Core plugs if steel type, rust from the inside Water pump, power steering pump seals go bad.
Here is a good analogy. Say you were a healthy human and someone put you to sleep for years. No exercise, vitamins etc...Then one day you wake up. You get a meal and then are told to stand up and walk a mile.
What would happen ?

Old engines and transmissions should be resealed and gaskets replaced. All fluids changed, core plugs changed, hoses, belts etc...
I have used and replaced used engines before and I would at a minimum put on engine stand and pull the pan and heads.
This way you can check the condition of the valves and bearings.
If ok I would flush out all the gunk and blow it out with a high pressure air hose.
Replace the oil pump timing chain/gears, all seals and gaskets, water pump, core plugs with brass.
paint the engine and install.
You can also put some oil on the bearings when you check them.
Just use the maintenance schedule as a reference and know that those intervals are with for a well maintained car.
If you want something to perform properly and last a long time, you do your maintenance.
Or roll the dice but as soon as something fails, you will be pulling it out to fix it, so do it ahead of time and save yourself a lot of work.

 

[dadsbee]

My Bee, 14 years in a marine container. I turned the key....

 

[RemCharger]

MoparLeo is correct. But I have driven cars home from the junkyard 150mi that had been sitting for 20+ yrs.

T- boned too

 

[68rrdream]

MoparLeo...I think we all know you're right. Hoses and belts go without saying. But I'd like to do all I can before I put it in. Timing chain (cam is coming out anyway lol) seals, oil pan, head gaskets, freeze plugs, etc. Would be cool to have a leak free engine.

 

[493 Mike]

The engine in my avatar to the left< sat with no attention for 18 years here in midMichigan, in a unheated pole barn. I cleaned up the dual points, prelubed, and it fired right up (I had rebuilt the 6 pack carbs several years before so, they were fresh).
Mike

 

[68rrdream]

The engine in my avatar to the left< sat with no attention for 18 years here in midMichigan, in a unheated pole barn. I cleaned up the dual points, prelubed, and it fired right up (I had rebuilt the 6 pack carbs several years before so, they were fresh).
Mike

I love station wagons!

 

[Unkle Krusty]

My camper van had been sitting for quite a few years. Had it delivered by trailer to my place, towed it in with my 41 Ford tractor, blew out the old gas, bought a new fuel pump, cleaned carb and it ran. Replaced most of the wyring, bought a new carb, and went to the Arctic for a test drive.

Three winters later I have the engine and transmission out, and they are really clean. Cam chain was quite sloppy, and I was concerned the fibre cam shaft gear would fail. About 65,000 miles. 318 and 727 are in surprisingly good condition.
We needed a bit more power for the van. It weighs 6,600 loaded.

 

[66 Sat]

Like most things there's a Theory and a Reality. You can go to the nth degree but probably unnecessary.

If it's been stored well I'd give it a thorough inspection and change fluids, plugs etc and then run it. 4-5 years is not that long.

 

[#41]

It all depends on the environmental conditions that they sit in. On TV shows they fire up and engine that has been sitting in a field for 30 years, yes, but how great and the rings and valve seats even though the engine runs?

If you have any doubts at all, buy yourself a cheap borescope. It's worth it.

 

[rickseeman]

I'm not saying it's the right thing to do but recently I started 4 cars (Challengers and Road Runners) that were sitting for 25 to 28 years. We are doing the last one in 2 weeks. It's been sitting 35 years. The owner is afraid it's locked up it's been sitting so long. I told him the 3rd one was sitting outside for 28 years, I'm not afraid of this one after sitting in a garage for 35 years. And I told him, so what if it is? We'll yank it out and overhaul it since it's his favorite car (a 69 Road Runner with 30,000 miles). How hard can it be to overhaul a 383? Before we started this project I told my buddy that there is no way this is going to work. I told him they are all frozen up and full of rust. But that wasn't the case.

 

[71RRHI]

I'm getting ready to start a 340 that's been sitting since 1995. Last time it was started was 1997 best guess from previous owner. I put a breaker bar on the crank shaft pulley and the engine moved. So it should start.

 

[RemCharger]

I'm getting ready to start a 340 that's been sitting since 1995. Last time it was started was 1997 best guess from previous owner. I put a breaker bar on the crank shaft pulley and the engine moved. So it should start.

It would be a good idea to pull the valvecover and verify the valves are moving freely. The exh valves are the first things to rust

 

[rickseeman]

On the last one we pulled the valve covers and shot oil on the valve stems and the rockers arms and shot WD-40 in the cylinders. He already had the intake off for some reason so we put cam lube on the cam and oil on the lifters and I tried to shoot some oil on the timing chain. Then we primed the oil system real good. He also changed the oil and filter first. He said the oil looked perfect but he said I guess it should have since I changed the oil before I trailered it to the Mopar Nationals in 1999. That was the last time it was driven. We had the normal carb and fuel system issues but we got it running and he's very happy.

 

[CJG]

I'm looking at a 383 with a 727 for sale. Seller says it ran and drove well when pulled. They've been sitting for 4 or 5 years with fluids he says.

In the past we've thrown old V8s that had been sitting in cars and they ran fine. Just curious what some of your experiences might have been.

I parked my 66 charger in 1985 because the clutch disk was stuck to the flywheel and I didn't have time to fix it. Then life intervened, and it sat, indoors, till 2015, 30 years! I moved and trailered it to my new house in 95. Bought a used two post hoist and I was laid off most of the summer of 2015 so I decided to resurrect the charger. New clutch, new seals front and rear of the trans, freshened the carb, plugs, new gas tank, pump,filter, oil, filters etc. I had the original radiator recored for originalitys sake, new hoses too. That was 10 years ago and it is still running good. Hardly leaks at all. I use premium with lead additive and it runs great.

 

[440 4 speed]

My camper van had been sitting for quite a few years. Had it delivered by trailer to my place, towed it in with my 41 Ford tractor, blew out the old gas, bought a new fuel pump, cleaned carb and it ran. Replaced most of the wyring, bought a new carb, and went to the Arctic for a test drive.

Three winters later I have the engine and transmission out, and they are really clean. Cam chain was quite sloppy, and I was concerned the fibre cam shaft gear would fail. About 65,000 miles. 318 and 727 are in surprisingly good condition.
We needed a bit more power for the van. It weighs 6,600 loaded.

We bought a 68 TNT 300 in 1995. Knew the car from the time it was sold. 1974 it was traded in to the dealer. He kept it and basically didn’t drive it. It sat in an unheated quonset. I offered to purchase it in the mid 80’s, but his wife liked it. My folks passed away, and my brother in 1992.
Gordon warmed the car up twice a year might have put on 50 miles each year. We had the farm auction in 1995.
Gordon came to me and asked if I wanted to buy the 300 that Dad had originally been interested in. I said yes. 47000 miles on it.
Came home, about 2 weeks later went back to get it. I had purchased 4 fuel filters. Put a new one in. Drove home 200 miles and used 2 more filters.
That car did a 14.98 in the quarter. Usually low 15.