VCCA Home Forums TECHNICAL - 1945 AND NEWER 1971-1979 How do I start a long stored car?

Have acquired an original ’76 Corvette that was driven into and parked in a garage for about 7 years without it being touched; what would be the correct way to go about starting this car?

Thanks.

As to starting the car after 7 years, first I would check the fluids, radiator, engine oil( a rusty dipstick could be a bearer of bad news) make sure it looked ok, not clabbered as if water had gotten into the oil and oil had not leaked into the coolant. I would then make a physical check of the engine, check the fan , see if the fan clutch will turn and the belts look ok.,,,,Replace the battery. Carefully blow the dust off the engine,and be careful not to blow the dirt & dust in the engine compartment into the carb. Drain gasoline out of the line and tank at the intake side of the fuel pump, replace the fuel filter near on in the carb.put a few gallons of fresh gasoline into the tank, gently pressure the fuel tank (I wrap a rag wrapped around an air nozzle and try to partially close the fuel filler opening, with the compressed air, and have some one watch as you force gas down the fuel line into a bucket or coffee can. check the gasoline for rust, dirt or crud, when you see fresh gasoline, it only should take a pint of so to clear the old gas in the fuel line, then reconnect the fuel lines, with a fresh battery installed check and see if the starter will turn the engine over smoothly (it should).......And try to start the engine. if it does not start I would remove the air cleaner and spray the carb with some B-12 carb cleaner, and after about 15 seconds time about just enough time to replace the air cleaner top and crank it should start on the B-12 if the ignition is ok. When the engine runs , if it backfires and misses, you may have some stuck valves, in my experiance that is unlikely with a Chevrolet v/8 engine.
Once you have the engine running warm it up and then change the fluids, Oil, Coolant Transmission filterin an automatic, and replace the fluid in the sump that was lost changeing the filter.

before you drive the Vette, there is a good chance that the brake fluid is evaporated or leaked around the wheel cylinders or disk cylinder may leak. Fill the reservoir and see if you can pump up the brakes, they may have to be bled or rebuilt.

I would count on hauling the car home, even a few blocks or miles away.

Follow Mr Macks instructions, we are constantly reading about broken rocker arms, bent push rods, ill running cars etc.. Most of the problems caused by valves that are frozen in place from sitting to long. My 52 was more than driveable when I purchased it, the guy that sold it to me mentioned that they had recently replaced two push rods as they were bent. I pulled the rocker arms checked all the push rods and found those two replacements were bent and found one more. Pulled the head and rebuilt it. This car was a once or twice a year parade car. I have a spare 52, 235 with 7,000 miles on a rebuild, this engine is on a stand, every couple of weeks I remove the plugs, pour oil in the cylinders then turn the engine over by hand.So far so good. Plan was to put the engine in this winter but some surgery got in the way.

Good advice above. I did this for a friend whose '55 235 had been stored for years without any maintenance...We pulled the plugs oiled the cylinders and pulled the valve cover and used B12 around the valve guides..Then we used the fan to turn the engine and found that two valves were still stuck. That way we avoided bent push rods or broken rocker arms...flushing the fuel line and tank is critical done as Mack said above

I would never start a 235 or a 216 that had been in storage over a couple of years without checking for a stuck valve before trying to start it, I have found that the v/8 engines were not as likely to stick a valve but one is certainly possible.

Thanks MM and all for the advice; I wondered how I could clean out the fuel lines, now I know how.

I am told the car did have SS brakes installed, does that mean that only SS sleeves were installed in the cylinders or what do you think "It has SS brakes" mean?

CAN I turn the motor over by hand?????? It has an auto tranny and is a L48.

Thanks again guys. Great help.

With the plugs out and in neutral or park you should be able to turn the engine , a little by the fan while holding the fan belt tight ( sorry about that, I was thinking a six without a fan clutch). I usually use the starter but keep an eye on the valve rockers to watch for a stuck valve. I would not worry too much about a stuck valve problem in a V/8 and use the starter but with the coil wire disconnected....I would still pour some MMO in the sparkplug holes a while before cranking WITH THE SPARKPLUGS REMOVED!!! before I tried to fire up the engine, it will be a bit messy.

I would think it means the wheel cylinders and maybe the master cylinder have been relined with SS sleeves, and possible the old brake lines replaced with SS brake lines, some or all of the above. Some of the Vette owners I know change to SS everything and also convert to DOT 5 silicone brake fluid.

Thanks MrMack, I will follow your advice. I have been told that Corvettes of this time period had some brake issues, don't know if that is true or not; but I think that is why it has the SS.

One of the guys I worked with had a Vette that sat for 2 years while he was working overseas and when he returned all four wheel cylinders and the master cylinder were bad, that is when he went to SS and Dot 5 silicone fluid.

I have problems using silicone in the older vented brake systems. Water that condenses in the lines and cylinders does not go into solution in Dot 5 as it does in Dot 4 and Dot3. it is possible for it to form puddles in the lines and wheel cylinders and turn to steam which can pressure up the lines and lock down or cause the brakes to drag, heating up and causing even more steam. in colder climates the water puddles can freeze and cause blockages.

So if the wheel and master are SS you would not use 5?

No, I would not use Dot 5 in an older vented system. I think it is fine in a newer system, (those with the bladder cover on the master cylinder) where hardly any water can get into the fliud.

Thank you.