Hi, I have recently bought a 78 that has been outside for 7 years under a cover. Once i get the hood open, any suggestions on what i should do before turning the engine over. this car has 90k miles, needs a complete interior, good body, i intend to make it into a driver
thanks

 

hmmmmm memory flashback!
Back in Feb I bought an original 9,489 mile '78 that had sat outside under a plastic tarp for the last 3 years.

I'd suggest first replacing ALL the fluids, including brake fluid, coolant, oil, drain the gas tank and put in fresh gas and even tranny fluid. Don't forget to drain the fuel bowls in the carb of the old gas also.
remove the spark plugs and squirt some Mystery Oil into the cylinders to lubricate them and let it sit for 24 hours or so. This would be a good time to install new sparkplugs while you are at it.
Than I'd distonnect the power wires from the distributor to keep it from starting and crank it over a few times to get some of the new oil circulating thru the system.
Reconnect the distributor wires and give it a shot to see if she will start.

keep in mind that after 7 years, if it wasn't properly stored to begin with the carb may be gunked up with deposits from the old gas so it may require a good cleaning and rebuild.

Once you get it running and it's run for a couple of hours I'd than dump the new oil along with the old oil filter and replace both.
I'd probably do the same with the new coolant you just put in - as it runs thru the system it could be picking up rust and other deposits from the car sitting so long so after a couple hours running time drain the new coolant and replace it again with more fresh stuff.

 

After sitting outside for so long, it is only reasonable to assume that the oil is pretty much dried up in the cylinder walls. So, start by pulling the spark plugs, shoot some WD-40 or PB into all of the cylinders, to loosen them up.

Drain the fuel tank, blow out the fuel line(s) with compressed air. Check with an inspection mirror, make sure there is no rust build-up inside the gas tank. Then replace your fuel filter. The one at the the fuel inlet to the carb is very small, and can get clogged easily. If all this is good, then fill the tank with fresh gas.

Next (though few people actually do this) is to bleed your brake system, putting in new brake fluid. After so many years, especially sitting dormant, the brake fluid will be bad. Simply put, the fluid absorbs moisture from the air, which in turn causes your brake system to rust. If your brake calipers are bad, better to find out now, instead of during your first test drive! (Don't ask me how I know about this... )

Now, you'll need to turn the engine over by hand, rotating the engine at least 4 full rotations. (Best if you do this with the spark plugs removed.) With a little luck, you'll be able to turn the engine relatively easily, without anything being bound up. After every 1/2 rotation of the engine, shoot some more WD-40 (or equivalent) into the cylinder bores, to help loosen things up quickly. You want the pistons and rings to slide freely, with no binding or scoring of the cylinder bores, so this is important...

Put new spark plugs in...

Now, change the oil, and throw in some GM EOS with the new oil.

Add a fresh battery, prime the carb, and try to fire her up...

Good luck!

 

Mayalso be a good idea to prime the oil system with a drill first...get some oil circulating BEFORE turning the engine on the starter....like you would do on a crate install.

Good luck, Bet she fires first time!!!!!

 

thanks, for all of the good ideas, i intend to do them all