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Classic/Antique Car Repair/Starting an older engine
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Question
I have a 1956 Buick special, 8 cylinder engine, that I purchased yesterday. It has not been started in 5 years. I am in the process of restoring in and would like to start it . Can you advise me on how I should go about starting the engine ? Is there anyway for me to check if the engine is "frozen" ? Please also advise me on anything else that I will need to know about getting it running. I appreciate your advise.
Daniel
When a car has sat this long, you really should take the oil pan down and clean out the crud before you even try to rotate the engine. The reason is that there will be a half inch of gritty mud in the bottom of the pan (even though the dip stick will look like there is new oil in there) because all the grit and dirt will have settled to the bottom of the pan. If you crank the engine, the oil pump will suck this stuff up and ruin your bearings very quickly.
Once you have the pan down (you can do this from under the car) you can use a pry bar against the flywheel teeth to slowly rotate the engine, a few degrees at a time, to see if there is any hard resistance to turning. Put some oil in each spark plug hole first, so that you are lubing the cylinder walls as you do this. Leave the plugs out.
If you feel any resistance to turning, STOP! , before you bend a push rod or worse. If it turns all the way around TWICE, (so that you've also rotated the cam 360 degrees), it is safe to put the pan back on, fill the oil, and try the starter. The points will have to be replaced before it will start, but you don't want it to start right away anyway. You want to run it on the starter, with no spark plugs, to circulate the oil underpressure. Watch the oil pressure gauge to see if oil pressure builds up - if it does, then it's safe to put in new plugs, points, condensor and see if it will fire up. You'll have to put liquid gas down the carburetor, then put the air cleaner back on before you crank it, because otherwise you can get a nasty fireball back out of the carburetor if an intake valve is stuck open. It may start at that point, but I'm sure you are going to have to clean out the fuel system rebuild the carburetor and replace the fuel pump before you can drive it.
I know this is all much more work than just "dumping some gas down the carburetor and hitting the starter", but it will also save a lot of damage if you do it the slow, careful way.
Good Luck - these are beautiful cars!
Dick
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Questioner's Rating
| Rating(1-10) | Knowledgeability = 10 | Clarity of Response = 10 | Politeness = 10 |
| Comment | Hi Dick, Thank you so very much! As a single woman restoring a classic car, I have entered a realm far beyond my expertise. I do explicitily trust my mechanics and I know that they'll resolve the stalling problem without repeatedly charging me for the tweaks. But, it would be wise for me to get a cell phone in the mean time! (I run a small e-commerce site, and answer questions all day long--the last thing I wanted was phone calls all night, too!) The body work is now the scarey part. The mechanics had a high-end body shop come out to look the car over while the motor work was under way. The body guy was the one who suggested I might want to talk to Maaco due to the high cost. I did want to get some sort of insurance beyond basic liability, and that's why I took it to the appraiser. I guess insurance value is my concern. When I was young, I was hell on wheels ('70 Dodge Challenger--a girl's car!), but I haven't even had a ticket in the past 20 years (driving Buicks). I think I've got Murphy's Law covered now. The appraiser at "Oldies But Goodies" in Englewood, Colorado (metro Denver) did give me contacts at a couple of body shops that do the cars (classics only) on their lot. He also mentioned since I have a black vinyl top, it'll help with the paint a bit. Six of one, a half-dozen of the other... The original color is a dark turquoise green with metallic flecks in it. I think I saw somewhere online this was called "fire" paint in the late '60s. Probably the most expensive kind of repaint? The sun is intense at high altitude. I appreciate your mention that a lesser paint job might not last beyond a couple of years. It seems ridiculous not to do it "right." I also appreciate your explanation that there basically are no #1 cars. Since I just had the appraisal done on Wednesday, I don't have the paper document yet. It looked like he had given the car a "4-good" rating as is. It looks like that's a pretty broad category. From something I printed out online, "3-very good" is the 20-footer, "2-fine" is a show car that can be driven minimally, and "1-excellent" is an impossiblity. All of this does help with my decision. Although a $5k paint job stings a bit, it sounds like quality is the way to go. Back to the wood dash: If that is really wood veneer, it's paper thin. Without pulling any more of it off, it looks and feels like grained contact paper, although it is rigid. Rectangular portions have fallen off and are missing. (Too bad, because there's no reason that couldn't have been glued back on.) It looks like the "wood" was one piece with knob holes, etc. cut out of it. If I could find a sheet of the stuff to match, would it be acceptible to patch it rather than replacing as one piece? The parts that have fallen off go with the grain and they're all about 2" x 1" max. The dash is flat, not rounded at all. Sounds like I'll be able to find keys. The hunt for them will give me something to do. ... Dick, thanks again for everything. You have helped a "car-guy-lady" in distress. Best regards, Margot aspencountryinfo@aol.com | ||
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Classic/Antique Car Repair
Answers by Expert:
Dick Benjamin
Expertise
I can help on most American passenger cars built between 1930 and 1970, and Imperials through 1983. I have over 50 years experience in restoring and maintaining antique and classic cars, including 20 years operating a classic car repair shop. I am now retired, but I am willing to help with any questions of a technical or mechanical nature. I have more experience with Packard, Studebaker, Hudson, Imperial and other luxury makes, but I do have reference material and experience with most makes.
I do not know anything about modifying cars - if that is what you want to know about, pick someone else. I keep them the way the factory built them, and I advise you to do the same, to maintain the value of the car and also for your safety.
Experience
I do not know anything about modifying cars - if that is what you want to know about, pick someone else. I keep them the way the factory built them, and I advise you to do the same, to maintain the value of the car and also for your safety.
Past/Present Clients
Currently support a technical advice service for the Imperial club, responsible for the technical data section of the Packard Club website. Served as a technical expert for "Expert Central" before it was recently absorbed by this service.
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