i have a 54 pontiac sitting here with 15000 miles on it and hasn't started since 1974. Any suggestions on what I should do before attempting to start it? Someone suggested pickling the engine for a while with******* fluid, just to lube it up. How would I go about doing that? pull the plugs and top up the cylinders with it?Is this a super bad idea? Thanks, sorry for so many questions. Hey, here is a picture of my 1 car http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid65/pef56cf3958440018a7cf81af3ea2e57d/fbf75000.jpg.orig.jpg
your link doesnt work... but... how does the oil look? is there gunk/oil in the radiator fluid? do a full tune up, plugs/wires, radiator fluid, oil/filter, fuel filters & check the gas... its probably bad... yank the valve covers, make sure there isnt any thick sludge built up, if there is... take your chances. once you have done the tune up, prime the oil pump for 10 min. you can find the tool in any jegs/summit magazine... or go to your local speed shop, they will have one... think its around $20 U.S.... (the oil pump primer hooks up to your drill)... after tuneup, fire it and give it some rpm...if nothing breaks, pops, farts, or*****s... you should be good to go.
Dump so autotrans fluid or Marvel Mystery oil in on top of the pistons. Don't use Type F fluid if you go with******* fluid. Change the oil and filter. You'll need to circulate oil through the motor, pull the distributer. the pump should be driven by the distributer (unless I'm mistaken). You can use an old distributer with the gear removed or a reasonable facimile there of. Spin it with a drill in the same direction as the distributer rotation. Drop the distributer back in its place, replace the points and set them. Time it. Roll it over by hand a few times and listen for things that go bump or clank. Make sure you got a good carb (or carbs) on it. Throw some plugs in it. Give it some fresh gas and light it off or not. did I miss something? ******in', Is it 15000 original miles or 1500 on a rebuild? Just curious.
Some folks think it is not a good idea to start an engine that has been sitting that long. To me, it does seem smarter to tear the engine down first. Oil seals and gaskets are gonna be dried up, shrunken and brittle. Valve springs that have been compressed for 29 years will NEVER go back to their proper height. If it ran, it wouldnt run well. Quite often valves, specially exhaust valves stick. You're gonna damage parts cranking it over. Stuck piston rings aint gonna unstick. Sludge stopping up the oil pump pickup screen aint gonna disappear just bcuz you changed the oil. If you care about the engine and the results, it may be best to do it right. Tear it down, check everything. Then you will KNOW you have a good engine.
Check this out... http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/showflat.php?Cat=&Board=UBB1&Number=169114&Forum=UBB1&Words=harrison&Match=Entire%20Phrase&Searchpage=0&Limit=25&Old=1week&Main=169054&Search=true#Post169114
I'd look at it Pragmatically, I think if you are going to go completely through it it doesn't matter how you prep it to start it. (as long as it has oil and water in it of course) On the other hand, if you are going to run it as is if it runs reasonably well, change the oil, squirt some penetrating oil or ATF in the cylinders, check the coolant (ya don't want to burn it up in the process,) put some fresh gas in it and fire it up. If anyone has turned it over, at all, it has already had the bearings and cam rubbing un lubricated against hard metal. so that's really no longer an issue, if there's going to be damage it's already done. Fire it up, if it runs ok, run it, if it doesn't then tear it down.
I didn't plan on tearing it down right away, I was hoping I could get it to run and rebuild it later. What is ATF? The 15000 is original miles
[ QUOTE ] I didn't plan on tearing it down right away, I was hoping I could get it to run and rebuild it later. What is ATF? The 15000 is original miles [/ QUOTE ] Automatic Transmission Fluid
15000 miles that a sweet as it gets . It doesn't look to bad either. Actually I might clean it and throw some clear on it so it looks the same for all time. HA Is it solid?
floor boards are solid, there is the patina everywhere but that aint no big thing, and there is a few dime size rust holes above the driver side headlight. other than that, it is sweet. The owner had the oil changed in 74(sticker tag still on the oil cap) and he died the same year, leaving it to his daughter whom was 12 at the time. She never drove it and eventually her neighbour bought it and put it up for sale at http://www.edsprojectcars.com/ check out the other pictures there. I was hoping to get it running and replace some gaskets, lower it and what not, then drive it as is for a while. Working on it as I go. and I am dying to commit to the chop!
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