Should I try to start it

[Tooljunkie]

My 51 flathead 6 was last registered in 1965. Siezed. Pulled head and soaked cylinders. Broke it loose,freed up valves, changed oil and got 40 psi before i fired it.

Bar it over a little. If it turns, dump oil and fill with fresh. Pull plugs, spin it til oil pressure comes up. Clean up carb, remote fuel tank and crank it up.
There may be nothing wrong with it. Could do a compression test to be sure.

i have fired up lots of engines that have sat for extended periods. I just dont rev the snot out of them once i get them fired up.

old guy did that with a 302, on the old gas and burned a valve.
Wouldnt listen to my advice.

 

[DentalDart]

DentalDart,
I meant no disrespect about your age, if that is how it was received, disregard that. To decide to become a dentist is something important and to be respected, I’m just a working man who knows how to use tools and equipment to make a comfortable life and enjoy a couple of hobbies, what you are doing will help the individual directly and that’s important. Cars are a fun type of therapy for me. I hope you’re having fun.

Oh not received bad at all I dont think any profession is better than another, heck half the time I wish I was better with tools and equipment. It would make it to where I didnt have to redo stuff 5x lol.

 

[harrisonm]

And not trying to be a Debbie Downer here, but have a fire extinguisher close at hand...
Don't ask why I say that.

That's not being Debbie Downer; that's being Connie Common Sense. Anybody who doesn't have a fire extinguisher in their garage is stoopid!

 

[ch1ll]

Its a good age. He probably has some awesome mopars from having a mopar dad.



Happens daily...

there will come a time when you get tired of the self inflicted carnage. then you will know you have arrived.

honestly I spun a rod bearing on a dry start before it even fired, I heard it squeal. it sat only a year and a half. I knew it the second it happened and felt like the biggest dumbass.

 

[Professor Fate]

That's not being Debbie Downer; that's being Connie Common Sense. Anybody who doesn't have a fire extinguisher in their garage is stoopid!

Yes, absolutely- and what I was getting at is to have it THERE and ready, not hanging on the wall across the shop where you have to make a mad dash tripping over tools, creepers and air hoses to get to it- things can escalate in a hurry. I've been called paranoid, but I haven't burned my shop down yet...!

 

[67Dart273]

I'm pretty sure I'd be tempted to "see how it runs." If you are just going to do a brief fire for 30 seconds don't worry about cooling. Depending on "your best guess" (look at the dipstick) I might be tempted to not change the oil. Pull the plug loose enough, that with a glove on, you can drain a sample right out of the bottom. This will not only give you an idea of what the oil looks like, but if there is any/ much water in the pan.

I would follow with pulling the plugs and squirt oil or atf in the cylinders. Bump the engine to distribute the oil, let it sit for awhile. Light oil as opposed to heavier. You want it to penetrate. You might mix a big of diesel in to thin it or even a small amount of gasoline, same reason. Maybe 2 parts gas to 8 oil. You just want to thin it a bit

After it soaks awhile, several hours, get the battery in get it to crank, and spin it around a bit to expel oil. At that time you can determine if it has spark

You may or may not be able to get the carb to even work, so you may have to prime a bit of fuel into the throats directly. You can try filling the carb with a syringe/ squeeze bulb.

Disconnect the tank fuel line and either cap it or direct it into a safe container with hose.

If you have "enough stuff" you might try a siphon can from above, connected to carb inlet.

When I was about 27 my dad bought a junk Case tractor. It had sat for at least 25 years with the exhaust elbow "up." But it had a drain hole at the bottom of the el. Amazingly the cylinders were clean as a whistle. We ended up doing a valve job, but for fire up to "see what we had" it required a working magneto and squirting fuel into the missing carb manifold. This is it after Dad painted it the year after we got it "tuned up"

On a side note, LOL those fenders could be a problem........you "can't see." After Dad got it running he was plowing one field. The thing started to get stuck, but what was really happening is that a tube had failed. The thing walked the wheel right out of the tire before Dad realized what "it was doing!!"

 

[harrisonm]

Yes, absolutely- and what I was getting at is to have it THERE and ready, not hanging on the wall across the shop where you have to make a mad dash tripping over tools, creepers and air hoses to get to it- things can escalate in a hurry. I've been called paranoid, but I haven't burned my shop down yet...!

LOL, LOL, LOL. You should see my shop (AKA Garage). Unless I was standing RIGHT beside the fire extinguisher, I'd trip over something heading for it.