Do's and Don'ts for sitting vette

[Dale P.]

long story short I have a 68 427/400HP that has been sitting for about 3 1/2 years. Not moved and not started. I just drove into the garage one day and it has set since. I am looking to develop a good check list of things I should do before trying to start the motor and then what I should do before trying to move it.

[Mark K.]

Re: Do's and Don'ts for sitting vette

A few things to get started:
1. Take the plugs out and squirt a decent amount of oil into the cylinders. This would allow you after a few days to turn the engine over. You can change the oil as well.
2. Raise the car up and see how the brakes work. Do the wheels turn? Do the brakes work? Is there leaking at the calipers? Does the emergency brake stick?
3. Check for corrosion at all the electrical connections.
4. I would pull the carburetors and refurbish them with a rebuild kit. Note this will only work is the metering plate is not warped. If so, you may need to send them out. 3 plus years can lead to internal corrosion in the carbs so you need to check.
5. You will need to clean out the fuel tank if there is fuel in there. The fuel won't be any good. Check for rust in the tank. If not, you can check to see if the fuel pump works (using new fuel). You can set up a can to catch whatever fuel is pumped.

Perhaps the next bit of advice is to drive the car once you get it running - even it you only use one tankful per year. Good luck.

[Kenneth L.]

Re: Do's and Don'ts for sitting vette

Drain fuel tank and put in fresh gas (with some Stabil)
Charge battery
Change oil & filter
Remove spark plugs and squirt some oil into each cylinder
Turn engine over slowly by hand with wrench on crank pulley bolt (plugs out)
If it turns over smoothly, put in new plugs (since the old ones are out anyway) and FIRE IT UP!
Replace the coolant when you get the chance too. The radiator may have a lot of scale in it though, and might need a recore.

It's also a good idea to pull the distributor and prime the oil pump with a shaft on an electic drill, to get the oil flowing first. But then you've got to be careful that you place it back in the correct position, otherwise you'll be trying to get the timing right to get it to fire up.

Nice vette!

[Patrick H.]

Re: Do's and Don'ts for sitting vette

I'll answer "it depends." Why?

You can probably do a minimal amount of work and it will start and drive just fine. Odds are that you can charge the battery, start it and drive it. In fact, I'd put it at a 95% chance. The 5% is stuff that would have broken or gone bad anyway over the 3 year period.

Whether you should do - or will do - do anything else depends how much time and effort you want to put into it. The gas is probably entirely "burnable" in your engine but fresh would be better. The brakes - assuming no obvious leaks - will work fine but it's probably time for a bleeding and fluid change anyway. Not a big deal to change the oil as long as you're working on it. If you want, before you start it you can put a bit of oil in the cylinders as others mention and also use a "pre-lube" tool with your drill (remove distributor and insert tool) to bring the oil pressure up before starting it. Then, turn it over with the plugs out before reinserting them and starting it "for real."

Do you have to do all that? Nope. You do the work that you feel you need to do to be comfortable with the car.

And, as others mention, my recommendation as well is that every car should have a tank of gas run through it each year.

[Don G.]

Re: Do's and Don'ts for sitting vette

As an extra precaution, I would fill the oil filter before installing especially if you are using a long filter such as a PF-29 that is correct for a '68. This eliminates the momentary "starving" of oil flow at start-up.

[Edward B.]

Re: Do's and Don'ts for sitting vette

Don't overthink the issue - three years is not that long a time. Patrick has it nailed. Charge (or change) the battery, start it and drive it. Fix and repair as necessary. If you do all the things some advisors would have you do you'll be deep into a restoration and won't get it started for another three years.

[Duke W.]

Re: Do's and Don'ts for sitting vette

Agree. You should have at least changed the oil before you parked it, but don't do it before you fire it up. The galleries and filter are now full, so oil pressure should come up within a couple of seconds of firing - not much different from a cold start if the car had only been sitting for a week.

It will fire up a lot faster if you prefill the float bowl through a bowl vent with fresh fuel. If the fuel in the tank does not smell "bad", it should be okay, but has lost a lot of the light end components. You can siphon out the old fuel, put it in a daily driver if you want, and add a few gallons of fresh fuel, but I don't consider this mandatory.

Just do some basic checks - oil and coolant level, tire pressure, and make sure the brake pedal is firm.

Once you get it fired up and warmed up your list of things to do is an oil/filter change, coolant change, and brake fluid flush.

An engine can sit for many years (as long as it's not in a condensing humidity environment) and not suffer any damage. If you pulled it and took it apart right now, you'd be amazed at how much oil is still in the bearings and other lubricated parts.

Duke

[Jean C.]

Re: Do's and Don'ts for sitting vette

Brakes...getting it started then putting it on the road for short drive is not the time to realize the brakes aren't working.

Best regards,

[Kenneth L.]

Re: Do's and Don'ts for sitting vette

Don't overthink the issue - three years is not that long a time. Patrick has it nailed. Charge (or change) the battery, start it and drive it. Fix and repair as necessary. If you do all the things some advisors would have you do you'll be deep into a restoration and won't get it started for another three years.

If it was a '68 small block I'd skip the precautions too! But a 427/400 Tri-power?!! Spending a weekday afternoon doing it right isn't too much trouble for this valuable classic IMO. Hell, I'd even polish that triangular air cleaner before I start it up! Nothing is too good for that baby. Spoil it.

[Glen C.]

Re: Do's and Don'ts for sitting vette

Within the past month, I started my 64 327/300 after 7 years of setting. Bought a battery in January, but did not get around to starting it until May. Checked the oil, water, master cylinder, PS. Put a little squirt in the AFB & cranked it. Won't start! no spark, file the points, got spark, started right up. Ran rough on old gas, I must have put Stabil in the tank at some point. Oh, Yeah, it has a back up electric fuel pump, so I got a little gas spill on the intake, which I mopped up before starting. Fire extinguisher was on hand. Before driving I had to add almost 4 quarts to the Powerglide, must have been pretty low when I parked it. Called Hagerty for Insurance, next the DMV, & I'm on the road. Brought it back & changed the oil & filter. By the way, I used a PF-25 filter when I should have use a PH-25 filter, had both of them, use the wrong one, 3 Quarts of oil on the garage floor. First time out evening show'n'shine, dark & rainy, only one headlight comes up & wipers do not work, luckily the top & windows worked, limped home, OK!
Hope you have better Luck.

[Ridge K.]

Re: Do's and Don'ts for sitting vette

Agree with Edward that Patrick nailed it.

My 43,000 mile '66 Chevelle SS396 had sat in a barn for ten years before I pulled it out during the purchase.
The fuel tank was bone dry from evaporation.
Without any other options considering it's remote farm location, I put five gallons of fresh gasoline in it's tank, and filled the tires from my portable air tank.
Primed the carb, hooked up battery jumper cables ...and fired it up.

Checked the brakes, and after topping the fuel tank off at the nearest gas station, drove the car 135 miles to my home.

Eight years and 5,000 miles later,.......it still runs perfect.