But if I do that won't it hurt it's found in barn survivor status? Lol

that's easy, take some pics before you pull it out of the barn (just the way it sits/dust/debris everything). it'll be a good selling point & (likely) put more money in your pocket

Good advise to be careful with the valves. Resist the urge to just throw some gas down the carb and hit the key.

All good advise on the preoiling its a must do,I would also crank the eng around with the plugs out after the preoiling & also ck.for spark @ this time,disconnect the fuel line to the pump so you don't suck up any crap {if it works},prefill the fuel bowl through the top carb vent & pump the carb see if the accel.pump works {I use a hair dye bottle & top to prefill & spray fuel into carbs & keep engines running if need be its one tool I use almost every day},see if it will run before spending money rebuilding carb or anything else.

I like the hair dye bottle trick. Beats a 5 gallon can being poured out the vent hole.

and have a fire extinguisher close by. no toasted hoods

I would do the following.

1. Change the oil & Filter & when you change the oil change the filter plate to a 340/360/5.9l plate that has 6 or 8 holes. The biggest problem with 318's is oil starvation to the mains. You can change the plate out later but do it before you put lots of miles on it.

2. Clean around the plugs. Remove the plugs and while squirting oil in the cylinder hit it with an air hose. The air blown in the cylinder atomizes the oil and coats everything better than just squirting it in. The air can cause debris to get blown into the cylinder (hence the reason to clean around the plugs) so get a blow gun with a long tube on it to better control the air.

3. Preoil the motor with a drill and hex rod. I prefer to build oil pressure and then turn the engine over with a wrench/starter while you still have the drill running. Doing it this way, you will have to check the valve opening to be sure to reinstall the distributor correctly and not 180 off. Oil pressure by itself only gets to the bearings and not to the upper motor unless the engine is turning. Also it makes sure the whole bearing has a coating before it starts and not just the spot near the oil hole on the crank/block.

4. A good thing to do when possible or when the weather warms up is replace the freeze plugs. Chances are they will be leaking anyway. When you replace them pop them out and flush the motor with a water hose full blast. It's scary how much crap comes out.

5. Address other issues after it runs. you have

It will probably need valve seals and a carb rebuild. Valve seals will cause it to smoke while idling and belch smoke on throttle opening. This isn't a game killer. You can get an on-the-head valve spring compressor and change them with the heads on. They are rubber and harden then fall apart over time. Not expensive but a fun experience.

A handy tool to have is a electric fuel pump and 5gallon gas can. you can start it off that instead of the 30 year old gas and sludge in the tank.

All that being said If I had a dime for every car I just tossed gas in the carb and started it, I would be able to buy a fresh tank of gas.

Here we go, pretty soon this will have escalated to a full rebuild before it ever gets on the road. It's so easy to spend someone else's time and money. Pull the plugs out if you must and spin it with the starter to preoil. Squirting a little Diesel oil in the cylinders before you spin it will probably help too, if you want to go that far. Why not squirt a little gasoline in and see if you can get it to fire.

Believe it or not, after 30 years sitting in a barn there will still be a little oil between the bearing shells and the crank journals.

Literally millions of 318s have run with whatever the stock oil filter plate was with no main bearing problems whatsoever. I repeat, start out with the easiest things first. My '71 318 donor truck sat under a big spruce tree for 20 years and with a little prodding ran well enough to get it onto the trailer, then off and into its final resting place.

R.

Prime the oil pump, run a line from a gas can to the fuel pump, fill the carb bowl and start it.

OR, overthink everything, spend lots of money and time rebuilding it down to the muffler bearings.

And will add,



Change the oil and filter, change the points, plugs etc. Change the head gaskets, drain and flush the cooling system, Replace the radiator, change the belts and hoses. Replace the ENTIRE fuel system. Service the transmission, Rebuild the brakes and ??? OMG what else????

Sorry but, if it turns over with a battery, bottle feed the carb with fresh fuel, turn the key, and go from there.

Yes, just start the dang thing. Maybe it has a rod knock and all,that fixin' will be for not.

Does anyone repop muffler bearings? Or am I stuck trying to find NOS ones?

I have a couple of pair of NOS "CANADIAN" muffler bearings. The Canadian ones are a direct replacement but were built to a much higher standard. They ARE NOT CHEAP Pm me for info. LOL

As long as they are stamped MADE IN CANADA. That's the only way to tell if they are real.

I just did this with a '69 GTS that had sat for about 20 years. I'm not saying this is what you should do, just what I did.

1) It was full of oil, I left it. My thought is that old oil with a lot of zinc is better than the new stuff without.
2) I agree with using compressed air to blow out around the plugs, it's amazing what deposits in there.
3) I pulled out all the plugs and hosed the cylinders down with Marvel Mystery Oil and a syphon gun. About $25 at NAPA.
4) Turned the motor over 4 times by hand with a breaker bar on the damper bolt. That checks the stuck valve potential.
5) I hosed the cylinders down again with MMO and spun it over with the starter. I used a GOOD battery so I got oil pressure quickly.
6) I gapped the points and reset the timing with a test lamp.
7) Filled the carb with gas through the bowl vents, put 5 gallons of premium in tank with a can of SeaFoam.
8) Put the plugs back in, squirted some gas in the carb, and rolled it over.

Started right up. It took about five times before it would stay running but once it did I ran it on the fast idle cam for about 20 minutes to get it good and warm. Pulled the plugs again and checked compression, all between 140 and 150 psig.

Again, I'm not saying that's how anybody should do it, just how I did.

Did you pull the valve covers to see if no valves were stuck, or just count on it binding up when turning over with the breaker bar?

I did not. I've only had stuck valves one time and I could feel that. But there's nothing wrong with pulling the covers and making sure. Sometimes you have to do things just to sleep well at night.

yes they are stamped "MADE In CANADA" The included "NOS" instructions say to use grease made in TURKEY before the 1980 Coup or the warranty will be void. BTW I also have some 1970 TURKEY grease available. It's been in CLIMATE CONTROLLED storage along with the MUFFLER BEARINGS. Some say the grease is not critical but I will not warranty the bearings unless you buy the SPECIAL TURKEY grease. PM me for more information on these SPECIAL track tested Tom hoover / Richard Petty/ Dick Landy approved bearings.

There will be a lot of turkey grease available this Thursday!