I have a 318/904 car I picked up from the original owner that's been sitting since '85. He claims it ran when parked. Other than changing the fluids and fresh gas, what else should I be doing or looking for before I try to get it running?

Take pictures for us of course.

Yeah I'm bad with pics.

I'm assuming you want to make sure it runs before you do anything else. For that, changing the motor oil and getting fresh gas into it should suffice. You'll need a fresh battery and should clean battery cables.

Once the engine is running, you will see any obvious areas to fix like leaky gaskets. I wouldn't do that before and I wouldn't change anything that doesn't leak until you have done every other thing.

Once you are sure the car will start, check out the brakes. If the pedal stays off the floor, they probably work enough for you to do a "maiden voyage" around the block. Applying the brakes every so often will help clean the surfaces. Once you get the car to operating temperature you'll start to notice other things. Take care of them next.

After you start to feel pretty confident that the car will start when you get into it and motivate you for short distances, it's time for safety. I've seen 50-year-old cars with original brake hoses but I'd say flush the brake system with new brake fluid, then rebuild the wheel cylinders and check out the drums and shoes/pads. Replace the brake hoses.

Then get under the hood and replace every hose and belt. It's just common sense, they can leave you stranded as you venture farther and farther from home. You may want to rebuild the carb and clean out the gas tank.

Do not bring out the chainfall or cherry picker and start pulling the engine or disassembling the transmission. This is the best way to assure the car will never see the road again.

Please note that you have not bought expensive things like tires or ignition components yet. You have not done any major disassembly and the car is able to be driven, if only to the grocery store and back. Proceed little by little and only buy parts when you know you are going to install them today or tomorrow. No looking down the road. About this time you'll replace the windshield wipers.

As you are moving around the car you may notice that the interior needs help. Plastics become brittle and cloth rips, headliners sag. Take care of them with chemicals or seatcovers, even an old blanket can prevent the disintegration of the seat more than it is already. It's easier to prevent damage than it is to fix it. This is a lesson it took me years and years to learn.

Changing ATF and filter comes after you've put a few hundred miles on the car and can be sure there isn't something major that's going to stick the car in the garage. And of all the lubricants/fluids in the car, the differential gets changed last, after everything else is done.

There will be those who start you out by replacing every gasket and seal, rodding out the radiator, etc. Don't listen to them. Do the things that can be accomplished easily first so you can get a better idea of the car before you drop big $$$ into it.

Good Luck!

R.

Sounds like sound advice. It's a 58k mile car and want to keep from restoring it. I just want to clean it up and enjoy it, and I'm in no position to be restoring a car right now. 3 year old son and 5 month old daughter. They get most of my spare time.

If you need any help Chris, just let me know.

Thanks Ed. Ya have to stop by and see it. It's pretty cool. ..,,,,,, and as for your quote about the early bird getting the worm, don't forget that the early worm gets eaten!

I'd also pre oil the engine, by pulling the distributor and running a shaft down to the oil pump. Use a heavy duty drill and run the drill in reverse and turn the shaft until you feel the fresh oil pressure build up. ..then let the drill run for about a minute or so.

Take note of the distributor and the rotor's position before pulling it out. Reinstall it exactly where it was.

Carb will probably need to be rebuilt before starting, be careful with the fuel pump rupturing and sending fuel into the oil.

Definitely pre oil it. You have no clue how much cranking it may take to get it going, and those bearings and all other parts have had all those years to dry out. Be sure and use an oil compatible with flat tappet cams. This is a must.
I would replace all the belts and hoses before anything beyond a test on jack stands. Ditto with the brakes. You are going to do this work anyway, might as well do it first and not risk a wreck.

Get the dampener at 90 deg (1/4) turn BTDC #1 compression & preoil the pass side. some dampeners have partial slit (3 of em) in addition to the full (TDC) slit that will work for this or cut a strip of paper 5.694" to use as a ruler. Turn dampener 20 deg ATDC #6 compression (use the tab as a ruler to go the extra 5 deg from 15 to 20) & preoil the drivers side. Note rotor position first before pulling the dist to see whaere you are at (if you are on compression or overlap). when done set the dampener to 15 BTDC & if the (15) is on #1 compression install dist so the rotor is pointing forward and if the (15) is on #6 compression install dist tang so the rotor is pointing rearward then with the can on the pass side with room to be turned turn the housing slightly till the magnet is dead even with the tooth & check that the rotor is under or near under the #1 or #6 cap terminal. Take out the idle mixture screws & blast a 3 second shot into each small port with brake kleen or starting fluid whichever can comes with the thin red straw so you can get into the port openings. EDIT on the rotor phasing, the vac can will shift it CCW on a SB from its at rest position & a 11 deg can will shift it 11 deg around the arc (& can add up to 22 deg to the total you see at the dampener/timing tab with your light)

Ha- true, true!

Yes, love to see it. Will swing by soon!

I have a 69 dart i am about to drag out of storage since 1988..the advice I will give you now is dont step on the brakes..the drum brakes might lock up the wheels from turning, its possible the springs will not return the shoes back in...so far my front wheels dont turn by hand..assuming the bearings dried out..guess I will pull on it and possible drag the car forward on its wheels to see if it rolls..

Have you cranked it over yet and/or put a breaker bar on the crank nut to make sure it's not seized? Been there, done that, tried to get a 69 coronet to fire up after sitting since the 80's. No dice.

I haven't touched it so I'll spray the cylinders and let it sit a bit. Someone also mentioned putting marvel mystery oil in the cylinders and letting that sit. Then prime the oil pump before trying to crank it.

Stuck valves are a common problem on small blocks that have sat for a long time, so remove the covers & oil the valve stems too.

As I was reading through the input I was thinking the same thing. Pre oiling for sure.

I like to spray the cylinders, take the valve covers off and spray the valve train with WD40 or something similar, let it sit a while, and then turn over with a breaker bar slowly, making sure all the valves go up and down.

I've run into a stuck valve more than once; a slant six, a 318 and a 413 now that I think back on this. Good luck and have fun!

Just a point of clarification for preoiling, small block distributors turn clockwise. Big blocks counter clockwise. If I'm wrong someone please correct me.

Yes you're correct about the rotation. ...., .....
..... And good thinking on the valves. That never crossed my mind, and that's why I posted the question, to pick other people's brains.

You can also remove the rocker shafts / arms while the stems are soaking. After they sit a while, gently tap each valve with a mallet. If any valves are stuck, they will sound different & you can concentrate on them.

Do not be too surprised if you tap one or more & they move but do not come back up right away. Just add more oil.

While they soak you can take photos for us.

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!

Well did you get it yet?

There is some good advice in this thread, some even from those people who think they are the only person who has ever rebuilt an engine or started a car sitting for long a long time. The quality of work people do is reflected in the amount of time & effort they put into it. Take a little time to do it right but don't throw money at it until you know it will run. Expect it to need a carb rebuild, hoses, belts, some gaskets & seals (especially valve seals) but wait until you know it needs it before you throw money at it. Make little improvements along the way (Oil filter plate, Wiring improvements, etc.) and you should have a good car for a long time.


And even more important... WHERE ARE THE PICS?