Whats some tricks you guys use for starting old engines? I 've got 2 right now that both turn over by hand. 1 i know will start as it was running a year ago. The other has 17k miles on it but hasnt been cranked in 18 years....As far as I can tell it looks to be in good condition, been covered in a dry enviroment. I was goin to spray some PB penetrationg oil in the cylinders but someone said that might be a bad idea. I am going to clean the oil pick ups and carbs first. Any advice will be a big help. Thanks
Some guys use WD 40 and those types, but im not a firm believer in that. I've been doin it for 40 years, with a mix of #1 or #2 fuel oil and gas at 1 part F/O to 2 parts gas and allow to sit over night or longer depending on the persieved engine condition, and I have always had good luck. You dont need to over do it, i just squirt a little in the plug holes and then shoot some air in so it coats the entire cylinder wall. "Dont overdue it". Trans fluid will glaze the walls if the engine gets near operating temp before it's burnt out. Good Luck Wil
Hi, Make sure they will build oil pressure before starting, I'm going to fire a 430 that's been sitting for 6 years and the pump had lost it's prime. Bruce
Marvel Mystery Oil, is what I used when I cranked My Olds 455 for the first time in 10 years. I put some in each cylinder through the spark plug hole and some down the carb. I let it sit like that for 24 hours. In the meantime, I put a new fuel pump and water pump, and all new hoses belts and plugs and wires. Then I cranked it with the coil wire unhooked. Hooked up the coil wire, cranked it; vrooom! Never, a moment's problem, after.
first put in a fresh oil filter and fresh oil and a bottle of ZDDP additive in the crank case then Put enough atf in the gas tank to lube the valves and some atf in each cyl.... then with the sparkplugs out roll the engine with the starter untill it frees up and the oil pressure comes up.....then start it up and let it idle untill it fully warms up.... assuming that you have plenty of coolant in it....
I put some in every tankful of gas. And, I use it to polish the engine bay. Dad had a 1940 Cadillac that had a Marvel Mystery Oil reservoir on the firewall. A tube ran to the intake to oil the flathead's valves. Dad used it in his Ford flatheads, too.
1976 Columbus Georgia. My Dad polishing the Roadmaster. In the foreground, notice, the Marvel Mystery Oil can.
X 2, but I would do this outside; if you were to fire the car up in a garage you'd smoke it out...and be sure to notify the neighbors otherwise someone might phone the fire department. (Seen it happen!) I've had good luck by just pouring oil down each cylinder and cranking it over by hand with the plugs out (at least 3 or 4 complete revolutions)before trying to fire it, but I can see Doc's method would work really well with a half-stuck engine. Remember to dump the ATF contaminated oil after the initial run-up, ATF has a lot of nasty detergents in it that will clean out all the gunk and varnish that's holding an old engine together. Also; - don't ever fire up with a cylinder full of oil; the hydraulic lock this causes will destroy your engine.
Thanks. We had some Skylark wires to put on it. But, then it would'nt have the spinners, nor the red rims.
A friend of mine, Pete, was moving and we had to tow his '58 Austin Healey to his new home. The engine was frozen in the Healey and he thought that one way of getting it to unfreeze as it was being towed would be to put the car in gear and slowly let the clutch out as it was rolling down the road. About a week before, he started putting "lubricants" in the cylinders through the spark plug holes. The car had been stripped down to basics and didn't have a windshield on it, and Pete buckled himself to a milk crate. Pete gave me the thumbs up when he was ready to let the clutch out. My truck bucked and jerked a couple of times and I could hear the tires on Pete's Healey chirpping as they'd bounce off the pavement. All of a sudden the engine freed up. A whole lot of oil, not oil smoke, came from the freely turning engine. Pete's face, except for where his sunglasses were, was covered in oil, as was the windshield of the car behind him. We were close to his new home, and by the time the guy behind Pete could get his car stopped and clean the windshield off, we had the Healey safely tucked into its new garage. NOT a good way to free a stuck engine but it was kind of funny at the time. If the guy behind Pete would have driven around the neighborhood a couple of times, he would have found Pete taking a bath with the hose trying to get the oil out of his hair and off his face. Pete never did find the sunglasses he ripped from his face when the oil hit him and he could once again see where he was going.
I helped a buddy of mine tow a 52 Roadmaster home with his pickup many years ago. It hadn't run in 20 or so years, and he figured it was toast. He had a battery in it, and not knowing much about Buicks, couldn't figure out how to activate the starter. (There was a wire off on the carb) So he decided to take it home and work on it in his shop. He inadvertantly left the car in drive (not neutral) with the ignition switch on and started dragging with a short chain. We began to realize there was a problem when the car would bump his truck every time he was at a light. When he finally got it to his destination, we got out of his truck and watched as the old Buick bumped the truck and started pushing it; - it was running, and very quietly too!
This, from the 55 Buick owner's manual; Pushing or Towing Car to Start Engine - If it becomes necessary to push a Dynaflow Drive car to start the engine, place shift control lever in Neutral (N) until car speed reaches approximately 15 MPH, then shift into Low (L). Continue to increase car speed until engine cranks (approx. 25 MPH). After engine starts, return control lever to Neutral (N) for engine warm up. It is safer to push car than tow it.
Jeez am I old! I remember reading that in my first '55 Buick owner's manual. I still like the Dynaflow!!!
I had a 59 that did the same thing ,, only difference was that I was sitting in it as we were towing ..... I did not realize that it had started but the power steering got real easy to turn all of a sudden.....:Brow:
Me, too. It's really fun to drive, Smooooooooth. My Dodge Durango is a 5 speed auto. It's constantly shifting in city traffic.
