Car has been sitting for 10 years

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mrhinsjc

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I am thinking about buying a car that has been sitting in a garage for 10 years. The owner drained all the fluids when he put it inside.

So, I am trying to guess what I am going to have to do make this car roadworthy. New tires, battery, gas and rebuild the carb for starters. Do I need to worry about seals having dried out and leaking? Anything else I'm missing?
 
Expect the worst, hope for the best.
Why was it parked?
 
If it's a Holley, the gaskets have likely shrunk and dried. The humidity in the garage is important over time. - If there's a humid season, moisture will work in over time. I'd inspect the gas tank with a mirror. Trans might be ok.
 
mrhinsjc said:
I am thinking about buying a car that has been sitting in a garage for 10 years. The owner drained all the fluids when he put it inside.

So, I am trying to guess what I am going to have to do make this car roadworthy. New tires, battery, gas and rebuild the carb for starters. Do I need to worry about seals having dried out and leaking? Anything else I'm missing?
Click to expand...
Freeze plugs, valve guide seals, belts, hoses, fuel pump, fuel tank, radiator, alternator, wiring, spark plugs, oil and filter, trans oil and filter, starter, light bulbs and others can add more. What kind of car?
Steve
 
I work at a garage part time with about 40+ B bodies that we’re slowly making drivers again. So far we’re almost at 100 percentage for Mopars needing a new Carter mechanical fuel pump. The fuel pumps just crap up and stop working. Next we replace all of the rubber fuel lines (the ones near the fuel pump, carb inlets, and on the back end near the sending unit). Next we replace spark plugs (spray some marvel mystery oil in there while you’re at it). Oil change and then we will prime the motor and see if we can get it to start. You would be amazed at how many of these Mopars will fire right up; after sitting for XX years.

Edit: We bottle feed when trying to first start the car and gradually will try to pull from the fuel tank (after we’ve ascertained that the fuel pump can pull fuel). We have run into several tanks filled with varnish (Red wine colored liquid that used to be gas). In the extreme cases... the tank gets replaced along with the sending unit).
 
Make sure to prime the oiling system like it was a new engine.
 
My dart sat for 4 years in a garage in So Cal about 3 miles from the beach. It had a 1/2 tank of fuel the entire time. I knew I would be rebuilding the carb, draining the tank, replacing hoses etc. but figured let's see if it fires. I sprayed starter fluid in the carb, and gave it a crank. Another spray, and it fired up. Good oil pressure, and to my surprise it kept running. Following weekend took it to be snogged, passed no problem. 3 weeks later I removed the carb to rebuild, didn't need a wrench to remove it or disassemble as the gaskets were that dried out.

Moral to the story... Unless you can see an obvious issue fill the fluids and fire it up.
 
RustyRatRod said:
Make sure to prime the oiling system like it was a new engine.
Click to expand...

That is good RRR, don't think it gets done very often though. I think about it all the time with cars and engines that have been sitting for a long time.

Lately I have been taking a 3' long section of brake line and push it down the dipstick tube hole, then hit it with compressed air so it bubbles the oil in the crankcase.

Doing this i try to create an oil fog in the crankcase so that some of it floats up and gets on the cam. Also use a little 2 cycle gas oil mix poured into the dry carb and intake so some 2 cycle lube can make it to the cylinder walls and rings to lube and help start building compression until the oil gets there.

But yeah, hate to think how dry everything is in those engines that have sat for 2 to 5 years.
 
Here is my $0.02. Unless the person selling it can start it and/or prove that it will run, You need to price it as though it will need everything. If a guy says something like, "It was running fine when I stored it. Just top off the fluids and it will start right up," I would doubt it. I always figure that if it was really going to be that easy to get it running, they would do it so as to be selling a running car. Just be careful.
 
I bought my 65 "S" in 1996 IIRC, and it had '76 tags on it. The guy said he hauled it out the back of a warehouse and dug up the title to set it out in front of his muffler shop to sell it. I bought it, put 4 gallons in the tank and brought a battery and drove it 20 miles on the freeway back to my house on 5 of the 8 cylinders. Brakes worked, motor didnt get hot...everything worked! Put 8 new plugs in and 2 sets of points and that thing ran like a top. Changed the tar that was in there after idling it with a can of motor flush in it and chunks were glopping out the pan hole. That carter carb was fine after 20 years of sitting but I think the leather pump shot was a little weak. Replaced that, tested OK. Even had the bias ply tires still on it. Smooth ride, but the grooves on the freeway made it float. 25 years later I still got it.
 
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