How long can it sit before it goes bad? Engine Car

How long has your project or car you bought been sitting before you actually went to start it and use it? I was surprised this weekend when I went to start my bike I haven't ridden in a year. Turned the gas on, and the hose to the carb leaked, it had rotted away at the carb end. This is a new (3 year old) bike. Fixed that and the float was stuck in the carb. The hemi powered truck I just got was sitting for ten years. It fired right up with new gas but within minutes the water pump, and fuel pump and hoses were leaking. No oil leaks and 160 pounds of compression. On the other hand my Merc flathead fired right up after almost 25 years of sitting and needed only new gas. It still runs. Any long term storage success stories? How long can this stuff sit?

 

It was one thing when car manufacturers started building cars to fail, but I wouldn't be suprized if todays gasoline does the same.

Thats why the new flex fuels are only good for the flex fuel vehicles, it'll eat all the rubbers, hoses, etc...

 

If you are going to park something,motorcycle,mowers,equipment buy a bottle of STA -BIL to put in it,keeps gas from turning bad and this best thing on a bike is to turn off gas and let it run to empty carbs,the gas left in carb will turn into thick gunk and stop up everything.

 

I'm a small engine mecanic and I tell ALL my people to "dump out the fuel run it till it quits, leave the gas cap off, and put it away" put the gas in your car NOT on the ground...

 

you mean like 4 foot 3 small or.....

 

I got a 64 Riviera running after it sat outside in Illinois for 25 years . I had to replace the carb and distributor with good spares,rig up a gravity feed fuel tank and wire in a starter button, mice had eaten the dash wiring,The exhaust system was falling off and the radiator leaked so fast I just stuck a running garden hose in the filler neck. When she fired we laughed. That motor got pulled and replaced a 401 with a cracked block.

 

I have a mopar that has been sitting since 1991 that i was told was good so i've got penatrant oil in the cylinders. any other tips before i try to break it free and then crank it over?

 

Yep, it's the gas. Now that I got into it, all the rubber stuff in contact with the gas is junk. Gas cap rubber is gooey too. It's 91 octane pump gas, not flex gas ethanol whatever. Won't make that mistake again. Does Sta-bil stop that problem or is it still better to drain before parking it?

 

It's never a good idea to let an engine sit for a very long time. If it sits long enough, like my SBC did, it will require a pre-lube to pump up the lifters. That was MY experience anyway.

 

Yeah,the sta-bil works for the gas but parked for a long time especially a bike,shut the gas off run it till it shuts down on its own and as easy as it is on a bike to do drain the tank.old cars that have set a long time,gas lines and entire fuel system has to be dealt with,.

 

Overnight. California gas is shit.

 

I've had to work on quite a few lawn mowers/ motorycles that were geled due to Sta-Bil. Run it dry and fill it up when it comes out of hibernation.

 

Ive had 2 vehicles that sat for a long time. The first one was a 70s Chevy Van. Tags expired in '88 and it still had gas in the tank from back then. Someone had robbed the carb so I threw a spare I had on and she fired up and ran on that old gas!

2nd one was a '66 Mustang I just picked up. Has the 200ci Inline 6 that has been sitting for over 20 years. I cleaned the points off, gave it a shot of starting fluid and she fired right up like the day she was parked!

Gotta love old shit!

 

You were not worried about scoring up the cylinders, I'm afraid to do that on a mopar i'm messing with. Dan

 

A couple weeks ago I worked on a '70 Corvette that had been parked for 20 years. I drained the gas tank and Holley Spreadbore carb, changed the oil, put in new plugs, points, condensor, plug wires and battery. I also cranked the engine while the plugs were out to build up oil pressure. With the help of some starting fluid it fired up, smoked for a couple minutes and then ran fine.

Car was a 4-speed and the clutch was stuck. I jacked up the rear and sat it on jack stands. Started the car in 4th gear, ran it up to 50 MPH and then I slammed on the brakes. The clutch broke loose and worked great after that.

 

My 54 Chevy was sitting since 77. We pulled the plugs put some oil in the cylinders rebuilt the carb and changed the fluids she fired up after sitting for 33 years and runs smooth.

 

I did squirt oil down the cylinders a day before I tried, and unpluged the coil and cranked it over a few times to build oil pressure before I actually tried starting them. Yeah, I wouldnt recommend just dropping a battery in and going!

 

We drug a '60-something Ford Galaxie out of a field years ago. Put a little mystery oil in each cylinder, put a temp gas tank (boat tank) on top of the engine, drug it down the road until it fired... that engine is still going strong and we did this in '87...

 

My 42' dodge truck hates sitting. Went out and fired it up and an exhaust valve was stuck open.

Its only been sitting for 4 months

 

My 42' dodge truck hates sitting. Went out and fired it up and an exhaust valve was stuck open.

Its only been sitting for 4 months

 

My SBC was sitting through the winter from October to March inside a garage and somehow broke a Comp Cam valve spring. It's a mystery but have since heard this has happened to others, anyone else experienced this?

L.P.

 

A buddy of mine bought a '49 chev 1 ton in about '05 that was parked in 1970 with a full tank of gas. Had to cut trees down to pull it out of the bush and had brought four rims/tires as all were flat. Pulled it out and found that all four tires were still holding air and had only sunk into the ground. He put a battery in the truck and, on something like the second turn of the key, it fired right up. It started to run rough after 3/4 of the gas was burned up so he filled it with fresh fuel and it ran perfect. still running it.

 

My '47 Dodge had been sitting since '79, I squirted some oil down the cylinders, put in fresh plugs and wires, and sprayed a little starting fluid down the carb, and it fired right up.

Got the carb and fuel pump rebuilt, and it purrs. Just have to pull the radiator out to get it boiled and cleaned up, and a new water pump.

 

my 53 ford set over 20 years...(302) new tune-up parts and it started....ran gas out of a can.car had to be rewired..all the fuel lines replaced,,the clutch was rusted to the flywheel.had to chain it to a tree.start it up in 3rd gear ,then kick it off a bumper jack. the clutch broke free and i drove it for 2 years before it started knocking.

 

Today's gas suck's after 6 months, or at least it seems that way, plus it stinks when fresh.

 

A few years back, my father bought an old Catapillar crawler. I mean old, from the 20's it had a three digit serial number. It setting back inside a big cattle loafing shed. It had been there since the early 40's. We had a 2 1/2 ton truck with iron flatbed to haul it home on. I looked at it and said, how are we going to get that thing out of there and onto the truck. My dad said..drive it of course. He proceed to check the tank, it was a gasoline 4 cylinder with updraft carb and gravity feed fuel. Tank was bone dry. we put in 5 gallons of fresh gas. Took out the spark plugs, shot in some Reslone oil. Turned the engine over...with the crank, with the mag grounded. Put the plugs in, gave it two cranks to check fire from the mag. It worked. Turned on the gas, choked it twice and on the third crank..it fired and took off. My dad drove it out of the shed with live mice and nests flying out of the exhaust stack right up and onto the truck. That was a really good old Cat. We cleaned it all up and painted it. The tracks had been replaced a year before they parked it. Sold to a guy that had a gold mine up by Central City, Co. Last I knew, it was still in that mine.

"Wasn't anybody there except me and Little Skeet"

 

Bought a original 39 Chevy 2 door sedan. It had been parked since 1952. Filled the motor with diesel thru the carb until it overflowed. Let it sit for 2 weeks. Drained it, put oil in it, put a temporary gas can in - and plugged a battery to it...it started and actually ran great! we laughed and drove it around the back 40 without brakes for awhile. Good Times.

 

I started the firebird motor after sitting 20 years ,,,No radiator or nothing just got it running to see what was good,After that I started the restoration process .The motor was degreased and regasketed before went into car ..... And that was it........

 

I drained the gas tank of a Stude that had been parked since 1969. The gas looked and smelled fine, so I ran all 6 gallons of it thru my lawnmower without any issues.