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Car Forum / Chevrolet / Chevrolet Corvette / May 2004

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Not started in 6 Years, Where do I begin

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JGK - 12 May 2004 01:22 GMT
The Car:   small block Corvette with a 4 speed manual.
The scenirio:  Car has been garaged but not started or moved in six years.

I want to start getting this car back in running condition.  Where do I
start?
Initial problem seems that something is frozen / rusted... when car is in
neutral it can not be pushed.  Possible the brakes have rusted or maybe the
clutch to the flywheel?

Have not changed the battery or tried to turn the motor over yet. How should
I proceed on this project?

Thanks in advance
John
Tom in Missouri - 12 May 2004 06:01 GMT
If the car is in neutral, then you have brakes rusted to the rotors or the
drums.  It could be the emergency brakes were set and they are now rusted to
the drums on a drum brake car or the inner top hat of the rotor on a disc
brake car.

You will have to carefully open it up to free the brakes.

As to the engine, start with some oil squirted in the spark plug holes in
each cylinder.  Then crank the engine by hand. Do this until it feels free.

After it seems free, crank the engine by the starter with the plugs out. It
will make a mess blowing oil and junk out of the spark plug holes.  Be sure
to cover everything.  Listen for unusual noises - scraping, clicking,
banging.

If you have a compression gauge, run a compression check.  Low pressure
could be a combination of items - stuck rings, broken rings, stuck valves,
etc.

Drain the old gas out.

After that, check fluids, install plugs, pour in new gas, and try it.

If it runs, great.  Bring it up to about 180-200 degrees for about 20
minutes or so. Check for leaks.  Shut it off. Change the oil.  Change the
coolant. Change all filters - gas, oil, air.

With luck, you are ready to go.

On the brakes, you probably have all leaking if disc brakes.  Flush the
fluid completely.  You will probably find leaks at each caliper. If you live
in a small town or rural area, you can try bleeding the brakes to have
pedal, then carefully driving in the country to use the brakes and heat
them.  You make reseal with use. You may not. Normally the leaks are from
corrosion on cylinder bores if still stock cast iron (not stainless steel
sleeves) and on the piston seal ridges.  You can try putting in a seal kit,
but if the corrosion is bad, you probably have to opt for replacing the
calipers with a set of SS sleeved calipers.

Good luck.

> The Car:   small block Corvette with a 4 speed manual.
> The scenirio:  Car has been garaged but not started or moved in six years.
[quoted text clipped - 10 lines]
> Thanks in advance
> John
WayneC - 12 May 2004 06:27 GMT
> The Car:   small block Corvette with a 4 speed manual.
> The scenirio:  Car has been garaged but not started or moved in six years.
[quoted text clipped - 10 lines]
> Thanks in advance
> John

It might help if you tell us the year of the car. I'm assuming a
carbureted C2 or C3 for my remarks.

By jacking the car up, you should be able to check individual wheels to
see if they are frozen. If fronts are free but both rears are frozen,
then you could disco the driveshaft to see if that frees the rear
wheels; if not, you'll need to look at the clutch.

You said you put the car into neutral, so that's a good sign for the
clutch, assuming you used the clutch to do that. If necessary, you can
remove the bottom clutch/flywheel cover to see if it is being actuated
while someone else depresses the pedal.

Often an engine can be stored for extended periods and started with no
special prep, without ill effects, but here is a more cautious approach:

Drain the gas at the tank hose

Disconnect the gas line at the carb or filter and at the fuel pump and
blow the lines out with compressed air; reconnect the lines, replacing
any rubber hoses that look like they need replacing.

Change the fuel filter(s)

Put a couple of gallons of fresh gas in the tank

Check at least a couple of spark plugs to make sure they aren't rusted.
Some would say to spray a teaspoon of motor oil in each spark plug hole
and leave it sit overnight to run down to penetrate the rings and
cylinder bores.

Change the oil & filter (filling the filter before installing it is a
nice touch); a chassis lube job might be a good thing, too.

Drain the radiator, replace any weak radiator and heater hoses, and
refill with water (after you get the car running, flush, drain it again,
and refill with water & antifreeze mix).

Put in a freshly-charged battery, ensuring the cable connectors are
clean and tight.

Purchase & use an oil pump primer (Summit, Jegs, etc)... this requires
you to remove the distributor (so carefully mark it's position before
removing) and insert the primer and drive it with a power drill to bring
the oil pressure up long enough to lube the engine; then inspect and
reinstall the distributor. A less cautious approach would be to leave
the distributor in place, disconnect the coil wire, remove the spark
plugs, and use the battery & starter to turn the engine fast enough to
bring the oil pressure up for a few seconds.

Replace the spark plugs if you removed them, and the coil wire if you
removed it.

Crank the starter... hopefully it'll fire up when fuel reaches the
carb... you could also fill the float chambers with gas in advance, or
squirt some engine starting fluid into the carb to hasten starting.
Might be a good idea to have a fire extinguisher handy just in case. You
also could use jumper cables to a running vehicle to assist in the first
start.

Allow it to warm up to operating temperature before driving; check the
operation of the brakes before taking the car onto the street.
Diode - 12 May 2004 16:57 GMT
JGK spoke thusly:

> The Car:   small block Corvette with a 4 speed manual.
> The scenirio:  Car has been garaged but not started or moved in six years.

Couple of things...If the car really is in neutral, it doesn't matter if
the clutch is WELDED to the flywheel, the car should roll.  Next, I
would change the oil now, before starting or even hand turning the
motor.  After 6 years all of the nasty stuff is DEFINITELY on the bottom
of the pan.  This is a good opportunity to get rid of it rather than
pumping it around the engine.  Leave the drain plug out and let it drip
for 10-15 minutes.  I agree with the other guys about the gas.  If it
didn't get fresh stabilizer every year, dump it.  Hell, you might as
well dump ALL of the fluids and start over.  Maybe even the brake
fluid...sometimes, even though it's not supposed to, it can pick up
moisture.  Was it left with the parking brake on?  If so, let it off and
lightly tap the rear drums / disks with a hammer.  That might get them
to let go.

Signature

Shut up, Dave.

-|>|- Diode -|<|-
'68 L-79 Coupe
'79 Triumph Bonneville

CCred68046 - 12 May 2004 18:06 GMT
On 5-12-2004, Diode typed thusly:

>Maybe even the brake
>fluid...sometimes, even though it's not supposed to, it can pick up
>moisture.

Actually it is supposed to and will.
Regular brake fluid is hygroscopic.  
It will absorb water from the air.  Once it turns dark it is contaminated and
should be changed although most people never do.  The water lowers the boiling
point of the fluid and will cause pitting in the cylinders and eventual brake
failure.
There are some silicone brake fluids now that the manufacturers claim are not
hygroscopic.

Be quiet, Dave.  :)
JGK - 13 May 2004 03:06 GMT
Thanks for all the suggestions, hopefully I will  get a chance to work on
the car this weekend.
Ill let you know what I find.  By the way the Corvette is a 64 roadster,
Thanks Again
PrecisionPunches - 13 May 2004 04:11 GMT
The first thing you should do id realize you do not have the time it takes to
fix this car right! The you should e-mail me and srike up a price you and I
could live with.

I have a big...huge garage and toys only fill up about half, boat,harley,three
dirt bikes,1996 vette,1969 BB camaro,1966 chevy stepside..

Enjoy have fun, I do.
Diode - 13 May 2004 15:49 GMT
JGK spoke thusly:

> The Car:   small block Corvette with a 4 speed manual.
<snip>

Something else I should mention...When you go to turn the motor over by
hand, if you can't get a breaker bar on the bottom pulley, go under the
car and remove the flywheel inspection plate.  Use either a very big
screwdriver or a very small pry bar on the flywheel teeth to spin the
motor.  Before you actually start it, pull the coil wire off of the
distributor cap so it won't start.  Pinch off the fuel line so it
doesn't flood and crank the motor with the starter until you start
getting oil pressure.  You need a fairly well charged battery to do this
and be careful not to overheat the starter.

Signature

Shut up, Dave.

-|>|- Diode -|<|-
'68 L-79 Coupe
'79 Triumph Bonneville

 
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