The engine in my 73 already has 10,000 miles on it, but has not been started in about six months. The car was in the paint shop, and I have been slowly getting everything put back together. I am now ready to start the engine once again. What precautions should I take?

Can I simply pull the power wire to the distributor, and turn the engine over with the starter until it has oil pressure? And then reconnect the power wire and fire it up? Or is there a better solution?

I really want to be starting the car and warming it up at least once a week while I work on the interior.

Thanks!

I would treat it like a new engine. Change the oil and filter, replace the coolant if you haven't done so already, clean the carb of old gas and prime the oil pump with a drill. When you see oil at the rockers, then you can fire it up. I would do that instead of cranking the motor to prime the oil. This way you know oil is at all the bearings and such. Check all plugs and wires and dizzy cap and rotor to save any headaches with electrical problems. Good luck, ZF.

also, gas goes bad in a matter of weeks.. especially the crap they make today. So, if you didn't put in any sta-bil or the like, I would replace the gas before you crank it.

Thanks for the reply. The tank was just installed today with a new fuel sender. So there is no gas in it at all yet. Just added fresh coolant, and the oil and filter have like 20 miles on it. New plug wires too!

we.. cranked engine over for oil to get pumped cuz we didnt have oil primer it started tho and sounded mean, we did it slow tho

I would treat it like a new engine. Change the oil and filter

Ok, I am going to fire the engine up this weekend. I did have a quick question. The oil and filter that is in the car is about a year old, but only has about 20 miles on it. Should I still change the oil and filter? The oil is clean as can be on the dip stick. Does oil degrade from sitting in the bottom of an oil pan for that long?

Thanks

They say oil will go bad after time. If it were me, I would kill power to the coil and crank the motor a few times to get some pressure then just fire it. Run it for 15 minutes then change the oil while its hot.

IMO, if the oil and filter are that new you shouldn't have to change them. However, I would still prime the pump. Cranking the engine to prime means the bearings, cam, lifters, valve guides and others will be moving with no lubrication. A motor sitting that long has very little if any oil on these surfaces and the motor will run a short time before any oil reaches these points. I took a 1/4" metal rod about a foot long and ground down the sides on one end to fit in the top of the pump where the dizzy engages. Hook up a powerful drill and spin the pump till you see oil coming out of the rockers. This way you know the oil is available as soon as the engine fires. Of course you have to set up your distributor again. Make note of where the rotor is before removing. You will have to turn the pump shaft manually with your 1/4" rod to line up with the bottom of the distributor. It is more work, but not that bad, and is cheap insurance considering the alternative.

Thanks for the info guys!

Thanks for the info guys!
Oil and filter are about a year old? Personally I'd spend the $30 on new oil/filter...

Ok, I went ahead and pulled the distributor. I then used a 3/8" round rod and ground a flat on the one end. I used my drill to spin the oil pump. It was a bit difficult keeping the rod engaged with the oil pump rod. I have my old oil pressure gauge installed under the hood. I was only able to get it up to about 25psi. If I ran the drill any faster, it was too hard to keep engaged.

Anyway, I got it fired up afterwards, and it ran great.

When my car sits that long, I just hit the starter for a few seconds. After 6 months, it isn't going to have gas in the carb so it won't start right away. Then pump the gas pedal a few times and crank again. On the second or third try, it will fire right up and it will have oil pressure because I had to crank it a little while. You don't need to fret the small stuff with these old cars. They are a lot tougher than the new high tech things they make today.
I've been abusing mine like this for almost 37 years now, so it is getting used to it.

When my car sits that long, I just hit the starter for a few seconds. After 6 months, it isn't going to have gas in the carb so it won't start right away. Then pump the gas pedal a few times and crank again. On the second or third try, it will fire right up and it will have oil pressure because I had to crank it a little while. You don't need to fret the small stuff with these old cars. They are a lot tougher than the new high tech things they make today.
I've been abusing mine like this for almost 37 years now, so it is getting used to it.

Yeah, I may have gone a little overboard with the whole priming thing, but it was Saturday, and a stay home day. Had some time to kill! I am just glad to get it started. What a good winter time motivator!