78 L82 Parked for 10years
10-12-2003, 03:09 PM
#1
Racer
Thread Starter
78 L82 Parked for 10years
78 L82 parked 10 years ago, running fine, never started, turned over, nothing. What would you do and what are the chance of the engine and tranny being okay?
Car was blocked up in a driveway
Opinions?
:nopity
Car was blocked up in a driveway
Opinions?
:nopity
10-12-2003, 03:49 PM
#2
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Re: 78 L82 Parked for 10years (mxzx turbine)
Pull the plugs, and squirt some Marvel Mystery Oil in each cylinder let it sit for 24 hours, drain the oil, drain the cooling system. Refill the oil with fresh oil, pull the distributor, get a engine pre-oiler (you might be able to rent/borrow one from AutoZone or some other parts store.) Use the pre-oiler until you see good oil flow to the rocker arms. Then with try and turn the engine over by hand, by placing a socket and brake-over bar on the balancer bolt. If the engine is free it should turn over fairl easily.
After your taken it through complete revolutions, you can put new plugs back in it.
Then you have to worry about the gas, it has probably turned to varnish or worse, in 10 years of sitting. You need to drain the gas tank and flush the fuel lines. Siphon the gas out, put a little fresh gas in the tank and rock the car back and forth and siphon again. Disconnet the fuel lines at the tank and at the fuel filer near the carb, tie a old towel loosely over the fuel line, either end, and put the end of the line in a bucket. The blow the lines out, the towel will catch any trash and varnish in the line.
Hook everything back up, put fresh gas in the tank, get a fresh battery and hook it up. I should have mentioned draining the cooling system and flushing it. After the flush fill it up with water and anti-freeze. Check all the hoses and belts, you better plan on replacing them real soon. They are probably stiff and brittle by now.
After all that you should be ready to crank it up, it should start as long as there is clean gas getting into the carb and you are getting spark. When it starts it will smoke like crazy from the Marvel Mystery Oil, but should clear up pretty quickly.
You still aren't ready to move the car, the brakes are sure to be toast by now, at the very least you need to flush the brake lines, with new fluid, and make sure the air is out of the system.
Tires are something else that are sure to need replacing, old tires that have been sitting in the heat and cold are more likely to fail at high speeds and shred themselves very quickly.
It is a big job and takes careful preparation, I have just hit on a few of the high points, there are a ton of other things to think about.
As for the tranny, if it is a manual drain and replace the fluid with fresh stuff. On an automatic, it is harder to deal with since only about half of the 9 quarts will come out on a normal oil change. Pulling the pan and changing the filter might not be a bad idea,
Then get ready for some fun, for the next several months all sorts of small things will either quit working or work intermittently, then you'll be back on the forum asking questions on how to fix 'em. :D
Good Luck!
After your taken it through complete revolutions, you can put new plugs back in it.
Then you have to worry about the gas, it has probably turned to varnish or worse, in 10 years of sitting. You need to drain the gas tank and flush the fuel lines. Siphon the gas out, put a little fresh gas in the tank and rock the car back and forth and siphon again. Disconnet the fuel lines at the tank and at the fuel filer near the carb, tie a old towel loosely over the fuel line, either end, and put the end of the line in a bucket. The blow the lines out, the towel will catch any trash and varnish in the line.
Hook everything back up, put fresh gas in the tank, get a fresh battery and hook it up. I should have mentioned draining the cooling system and flushing it. After the flush fill it up with water and anti-freeze. Check all the hoses and belts, you better plan on replacing them real soon. They are probably stiff and brittle by now.
After all that you should be ready to crank it up, it should start as long as there is clean gas getting into the carb and you are getting spark. When it starts it will smoke like crazy from the Marvel Mystery Oil, but should clear up pretty quickly.
You still aren't ready to move the car, the brakes are sure to be toast by now, at the very least you need to flush the brake lines, with new fluid, and make sure the air is out of the system.
Tires are something else that are sure to need replacing, old tires that have been sitting in the heat and cold are more likely to fail at high speeds and shred themselves very quickly.
It is a big job and takes careful preparation, I have just hit on a few of the high points, there are a ton of other things to think about.
As for the tranny, if it is a manual drain and replace the fluid with fresh stuff. On an automatic, it is harder to deal with since only about half of the 9 quarts will come out on a normal oil change. Pulling the pan and changing the filter might not be a bad idea,
Then get ready for some fun, for the next several months all sorts of small things will either quit working or work intermittently, then you'll be back on the forum asking questions on how to fix 'em. :D
Good Luck!
10-12-2003, 04:01 PM
#3
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Re: 78 L82 Parked for 10years (Smokehouse69)
:iagree:
Probably couldnt hurt to rebuild the carb too....
Probably couldnt hurt to rebuild the carb too....
10-12-2003, 04:07 PM
#4
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Re: 78 L82 Parked for 10years (Smokehouse69)
Excellent list, Steve--you ought to submit that to the "tech tips" section.
JB
JB
10-12-2003, 06:40 PM
#5
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Re: 78 L82 Parked for 10years (mxzx turbine)
Everything listed so far is a must for sure. I just got my 1976 back after 16 years of being parked. Like yours, never started, turned over, etc.
Along with the list you have so far, I also had to have the master cylinder replaced, all the bushings, shocks, motor mounts, etc. Put it this way, basically anything rubber was rubbish - replace it all down to the wiper blades.
I can also vouch for finding more little things once all the big stuff is done. Leaks from the tops, vacuum issues with the headlights, internal gauges that sopped working, (Clock - dead, etc.). Oh, and the exhaust system needs a full check. I had/have Hooker headers and sidepipes. Both were in bad shape - rusted out.
I shipped my car to a professional shop that only works on Corvettes and specializes in restoration work. There's a ton of stuff that was done to get it back on the road. Took about 3 months. There's still more to be done, but it's back on the road again so I can at least drive it to the parts store now :lol:
Have fun - and yes, it was all ($$) worth it!
Along with the list you have so far, I also had to have the master cylinder replaced, all the bushings, shocks, motor mounts, etc. Put it this way, basically anything rubber was rubbish - replace it all down to the wiper blades.
I can also vouch for finding more little things once all the big stuff is done. Leaks from the tops, vacuum issues with the headlights, internal gauges that sopped working, (Clock - dead, etc.). Oh, and the exhaust system needs a full check. I had/have Hooker headers and sidepipes. Both were in bad shape - rusted out.
I shipped my car to a professional shop that only works on Corvettes and specializes in restoration work. There's a ton of stuff that was done to get it back on the road. Took about 3 months. There's still more to be done, but it's back on the road again so I can at least drive it to the parts store now :lol:
Have fun - and yes, it was all ($$) worth it!
10-13-2003, 09:33 AM
#7
Melting Slicks
Re: 78 L82 Parked for 10years (mxzx turbine)
IMHO a 78 that's never been moved or started for 10 years is a car to bypass unless you are getting it dirt cheap. You will be putting lots of time & money into this to get it back to dependable condition. Well mantained 78's are still plentiful and inexpensive. What's so special about this particular car?
[Modified by KenSny, 9:35 AM 10/13/2003]
[Modified by KenSny, 9:35 AM 10/13/2003]
