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Starting car after 25yrs

6K views 15 replies 12 participants last post by  fstfish66 
#1 ·
I Have a 1967 Dodge Dart with a 273 That hasn't been started in 25 years. What precautions should I take before trying to start it. I have been told several things like soaking the cylinders with tranny fluid, Hand turning the motor to make sure all the push rods are moving freely. Also, I am pretty sure I will have to pull the gas tank and have it cleaned because it smells awful. Any suggestions?
 
#2 ·
I recently started a 6.2 diesel in a 93 GMC that had been sittin for 12 yrs.I pulled the glowplugs,squirted a mixture of PB Blaster,WD-40, & Marvel Mystery Oil into all cylinders,then let it sit for a few hrs.I then turned the engine over by hand a few times.It took awhile,but,she fired up.Since yours is a gasser,I would put new plugs in.After letting it idle for about 20 min,I shut it down & changed the oil & filter & again after driving it for a 25 or 30 miles.
 
#3 ·
The same gunk in your tank is also in the fuel lines running from the tank,replace them. I would also rebuild the carb and replace the fuel pump and filter.Marvel Mystery Oil is your friend put about 2 oz in each spark plug hole and let it sit while you do the tank and lines put a pint of MMO in the tank with the fresh fuel.Install a cheap oil filter first and use a jug of this Chevron® Delo® 400-15-40-1 - Motor Oil | O'Reilly Auto Parts for your first oil change,why? Two reasons, high detergent and higher ZDDP after running it a while get a good quality (non-FRAM) filter and then switch to this Motor Oil, Transmission Fluids & Synthetic Oil | Quaker State
 
#5 ·
start up

well here is what we do at our rod shop when we get a old car that has no been running for some time.

1, drop gas tank
2, unhook all fuel lines
3, pull all spark plugs
4, spray WD-40 in plug holes
5, check old oil (it may be old but it will still work for start up)
6, pull coil wire
7, turn by hand ( make sure that there are no hang-ups)
8, now that its free turn over with battery
9, put old plugs back in (you do not want to put in new ones just yet)
10, hook up coil wire
11, put some fuel down the carb
12, now turn over and she should run
13, only let her run for 2 min then shut her off and clean all lines and tank and carb install all new plugs and oils and and check for any water leaks if no leaks you should be ready to go and that is how we do it here in my shop hope this helps

Roussels Kustoms
 
#6 ·
'64 through '67 used a solid, flat tappet camshaft, so don't be trying to adjust the valves as if they are hydraulic. First purchase you should make is for a factory service manual......
Faxon | Shop Manuals for Car & Truck Owners | DIY Service, Repair or Maintenance

Here's a blurb I borrowed from wikipedia.....
"The 273 (4.5 L) was the first LA engine, introduced in mid-1964 and offered through 1969, rated at 180 BHp. It had a 3.625 in (92 mm) bore and 3.31 in (84 mm) stroke. It had a mechanical solid lifter valvetrain until 1968 when hydraulic lifters were introduced; hydraulic lifters generally make for a quieter valvetrain. The reciprocating assembly included a cast or forged steel crankshaft, drop forged steel connecting rods and cast aluminum pistons. The valvetrain consisted of a cast nodular iron camshaft, solid or hydraulic lifters, solid pushrods and shaft-mounted, malleable iron rocker arms (stamped steel on later hydraulic-cam engines). These actuated the overhead steel intake and exhaust valves. The cylinder heads featured wedge-shaped combustion chambers with a single intake and a single exhaust valve for each cylinder. Spark plugs were located in the side of the cylinder head, between the exhaust ports.[1]
A high performance 235 hp (175 kW) was offered 1965-'67, this was standard in the Barracuda Formula S model and optional in all other models exc. station wagons. It featured a 4-BBl carburetor and matching intake manifold, chrome unsilenced air cleaner with callout sticker, longer-duration and higher-lift camshaft and stronger valve springs, 10.5:1 compression ratio, special black wrinkle valve covers with cast aluminum appliques, and a low-restriction exhaust system with a 2.5" exhaust pipe, collector-type Y-junction, and exposed resonator. In 1965 (only) the muffler was of "straight through" construction.
A special version was also available in 1966 only - it used a 0.500-inch (12.7 mm) lift solid-lifter camshaft, fabricated-steel-tube exhaust, and a Holley 4-barrel carburetor, producing 275 horsepower (1 hp/cu in). It was available in the Dodge Dart only, and the car so equipped was called the "D-Dart", a reference to its classification in NHRA D-stock for drag racing, which was the car's only intended purpose."
 
#7 ·
Just a word of caution. I once installed a 302 in my wife's '79 Mustang Cobra. the engine had only 6000 miles on it, having been taken out of a wreck in 1979. The motor had been sitting for over 20 years without being turned over. I did all the things suggested here, but after about 500 miles, the engine developed a severe knock. I pulled the pan and removed the connecting rod caps; the journals were badly scored as were the bearings. I heard that over time, the bearing material can become "welded" to the crank if the engine is not turned occasionally. I had to get the crank re-machined and install over-sized bearings. Next time, I would remove the caps first before turning the engine over at all and check the bearings. it wouldn't be a bad idea to look into the cylinder bores as well to check for any marks left from the rings sitting in one place for so long.
 
#8 ·
The 350 that I'm currently rebuilding was pulled in 2005.It has been sitting on the wooden cradle that my new engine was shipped on in an uninsulated concrete block shed w/ a tin roof.No heat/no A/C.All fluids were drained.When I tore it down back April or May of this year,the main & rod bearings still had a film of oil on them.I wuz totally surprised to see this.It wasn't varnished or rusted up in any way.The heads & cylinders were dry,but,no rust.I know that's not 25 yrs but still amazing to me that ea bearing was still lubed.I wuz expectin a lot worse.The only problem was dirt dobber nest in most of the open bolt holes.
 
#9 ·
Starting car after 25 years

I have had occasion to start several engines after extended periods of storage. After determining that the engine is not stuck I pull the plugs/glow plugs and spay an oil/marvel mystery oil mixture into the cylinders. After it has sat for a while I spin the engine over with the plugs still removed until the oil pressure builds and the oil has been blown out. Then with clean fuel I crank the engine and let it run until it warms up and the thermostat opens... Afterwards I change the oil and filter.
 
#12 ·
some of the things I read here are just rediculous!
replacing fuel lines? replacing fuel pump?? rebuilding carbs oil pump primer tool???what the F..
don't trow out your money out the door by doing stuff like that and then find out its al wasted because the engine is a lemmon
for starters there is no gunk in your fuel lines,fuel pump or carb. it takes only a couple of days for fuel that sits in those parts to evaporate or drain back to the tank and this happens while the fuel is still fresh so no problem.
do as the other guys say, make sure the engine is not stuck, a few squirts of oil down the cilinders, make sure there is oil in it, unhook the coil hook up a battery and crank it (there is your build in oil pump priming tool at work) hook up the coil put some fresh gas in it, clean the spark plugs and fire it up!
jeez! its a mopar! not an engine made out of chocolate
and once you are sure it runs, you give it the royal treatment with all new plugs, oil HT leads etc
 
#13 ·
Well you have choices to make. Error on the safer side or take your chances?
I'd pull a valve cover and see how it looks. I've had engines sit and have stuck valves that looked nice and clean inside. A slight tap with the hammer and I had me a runner.
25 years is a very long time. It can't hurt to play it safe while trying to start and what little you spend wont hurt that bad.

I'd fill the cylinders with enough Marvel Mystery (or whatever, ATF) to cover the rings all the way around. Yes it'll be messy.

I'd pressure that oiling system before you crank it over.
Once you have it pressurized, after lubing cylinders, I'd check compression.
That'll help you determine how things are going inside.

Just my take, do as you will!
 
#14 ·
After 25 yrs, the oil is still oil, but it's likely got a good bit of condensation and other debris in it, there's rust in the cylinders that had valves open, the rings are likely stuck...and the odds are this thing wasn't in pristine condition when it got parked 25 yrs ago. That was '87 is thing was a 20 yr old used car then. '60's mopars were known for a lot of things, but being bulletproof wasn't one of them. I owned a '69 Bee in '71 and it was pretty worn out then.

If it were mine, I'd play it safe and treat it like what it is - a potentially valuable investment. Forget about the gas tank (it's likely rusted inside from the condensation before the gas dried up) and fuel lines for now - they will all need to be pitched anyway. Pull the plugs, pour a couple of ounces of a good penetrating oil (Marvel Mystery. PB Blaster, WD 40) into each cylinder and let it set for a couple of days. Pull the distributor (the grease is dried in it, no need to take a chance on damaging it), and try to turn it by hand (meaning a breaker bar and 3' pipe). If it won't turn, repeat the process. If it doesn't turn after the second try, you now know why it was parked 25 yrs ago.

If it does turn, don't go any further. Pull the engine and tear it down completely. Do (or have done) a quality rebuild (block checked/bored if needed - it likely will -align bored, head rebuilt, new internals), replace the fuel system, rebuild or get a new carb, distributor and other components.

NOW it's time to start it for the first time. Contrats - you've got a "new" running piece of automotive history
 
#15 · (Edited)
I'd change the oil and fill it with new gas and a can of Sea Foam if it was sitting in a garage. If it was outside there are probably dead mice in the back seat. My 67 Cuda 273 did NOT have solid lifters, they were hydraulic. Maybe the Cuda S series had solids. The worst thing is to let them sit so long. Either way if it is seized, it's gonna be a a rebuild anyway.
 
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