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S DELLINGER - 10 Jun 2007 16:33 GMT

Gotta a 79' 350 l82 that hasn't been started in several years.. want to try to restart. Can you think of a process to use before applying juice to the started (i.e.., light oil in cylinders, drain and refill old oil, etc.,.)

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Tom in Missouri - 10 Jun 2007 19:27 GMT

A lot depends on how long and what was done before the last time it ran. I
fired one up recently after 10 years of sitting.

1. Check in the air cleaner and down the carb for possible uninvited guests
or their living quarters. Mice can get in everywhere. In other areas, things
like frogs and lizards can, too. You don't really want to try sucking a
mouse nest down through your engine.

2. Change the oil. Use cheap no-name oil of the proper weight. Check the
level. 6 qt in a 5 qt system means something else got in, like coolant or
gas. That could mean you have a intake gasket leak or cracked block with
coolant or a bad fuel pump or carb with gas.

3. Pull the carb and rebuild. Most don't but this one was dried out and full
of crud. Best $12 spent. Change the fuel filter.

4. Spray or squirt a little oil in the spark plug holes if you can. It
isn't easy, so many don't. If you can't, mix a little gas and oil in a cup
and pour it down the carb. Two stroke oil works if you have it. This helps
soften any rust and gives a bit of lubrication for the first cranking.

5. Fresh or new battery. You want to have a full charge to crank the most
efficiently.

6. Check other fluids - transmission, brake, power steering, coolant.

7. Turn the engine over by hand to make sure it is free. It is best to get
a full cycle to be sure nothing is at the top of a cylinder that will cause
a problem. It is easier with the plugs out.

8. Check all the belts to be sure they are not ready to break.

9. Check hoses that they are not ready to break.

10. Fire it up. If it doesn't fire in about 10 seconds, stop cranking.
Give a shot of gas or starting fluid. Try again.

11. Have a heavy old blanket handy to smother any carb fire. A fire
extinguisher is nice, but unless it is Halon, it will make a terrible mess
to clean up, and you will have to clean it up immediately.

If it was running fine when last used, then there should be no real issues
with it starting now. The issues are light to heavy rust in some cylinders
from being open and things like blocks cranking if no stored with proper
coolant in freezing temperatures.

Vary the engine speed some, don't just leave it idle. Bring it up to 2000
or 3000 rpm occasionally for a few seconds. After you run a half hour,
change the oil. You were using this oil to mainly clean out any build up
and deposits that formed while sitting. I know some who substitute a quart
of transmission fluid for one quart of oil as the transmission fluid cleans
better. I also know some who go half and half, however, they often end up
with gasket leaks.

Vary this depending on the time the car sat.

Good luck and have fun.

Gotta a 79' 350 l82 that hasn't been started in several years.. want to
try to restart. Can you think of a process to use before applying juice to
the started (i.e.., light oil in cylinders, drain and refill old oil,
etc.,.)

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LR - 11 Jun 2007 03:35 GMT

You might also want to pull the distributor and use a drill and a large
shank and spin the oil pump shaft to circulate the oil to the top parts of
the engine prior to turning it over.

>A lot depends on how long and what was done before the last time it ran. I
>fired one up recently after 10 years of sitting.
[quoted text clipped - 59 lines]
> to the started (i.e.., light oil in cylinders, drain and refill old oil,
> etc.,.)

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Tom in Missouri - 11 Jun 2007 04:29 GMT

Many people do that, but it is a lot of work for very little gain. If it
were a new engine that never had oil, yes, because you need an oil film on
the bearings. But an old one still has some oil in those spots. Two things
you can do that is easier.

1. Pull the coil wire, pull the plugs. Crank the engine for about 15
seconds and you should see oil pressure. Very little load and faster than
pulling the distributor and then having to set timing.

2. Pull the coil wire, and crank for about 5 seconds at a time. By the third
time you should have 15 psi or so. This was standard practice on a couple
of race cars I was around, and these things lived in the 6000 rpm and above
world. Much was 7000 - 9000 rpm, so if there was wear and tear and damage in
that cranking from no oil, they would have come apart. The typical street
4000 rpm at best engine will live forever by comparison.

I did pull the coil and crank and forgot to mention that on the 10 year
storage car. But it is important that it fires immediately, instead of
fooling with timing, so that it is then running on the 30 or more psi of
oil. This it will do in about 3 seconds or less if it fires and you have
the idle up.

You go longer than that every time you change the oil in your car, even if
you prefill the filter.

One of the most critical areas is the cam lobes and priming it won't get oil
on there anyway on most of them. The lifters have to move down out of the
bore so the oil can drain down the sides onto the lobes and that only
happens when it is turning over. I've primed short blocks and looked.

> You might also want to pull the distributor and use a drill and a large
> shank and spin the oil pump shaft to circulate the oil to the top parts of
[quoted text clipped - 63 lines]
>> to the started (i.e.., light oil in cylinders, drain and refill old oil,
>> etc.,.)

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anon - 11 Jun 2007 02:56 GMT

I restarted my '71 after it sat for 7 years. I did everything as Tom
in Missouri said. I did one other thing. I pulled the distributor and
spun the oil pump with my electric drill with a long flat bit in it.
The base of the distributor has a slot in it that spins the mechanical
oil pump, but your newer model may have a different oil pump. Got
about 25 lbs of pressure on the oil gauge with the drill. I felt
better knowing some oil was in the top of the engine before I tried to
crank it.

>Gotta a 79' 350 l82 that hasn't been started in several years.. want to try to restart. Can you think of a process to use before applying juice to the started (i.e.., light oil in cylinders, drain and refill old oil, etc.,.)

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