My tips were for an engine thats sat for about a year.. if it's sat longer, simply dumping a bunch of fresh gas in the tank probably isn't a good idea.. if its sat any length of time with no gas cap, or if it's sat with a gas cap on it for more than 2 years, I reccomend flushing the tank before sending any of that fuel to your carb.
My tip about changing the oil is mostly so you have some sort of lube up in the top of the motor (the fresh oil will lube stuff on the way down to the pan) since motors that have sat for awhile tend to get mighty dry up there twards the top.
The truth is, in most of the 6's in old chevy trucks, a fresh battery, some WD40 down the cylinders, and some gas in the carb is all you need to get 'em running.
With every 6 I wake up after a 20+ year slumber, i'm always amazed at how well they spring back to life... but it isn't just chevys.
That flathead 6 - 230cid motor in that '52 Dodge 1/2 ton I bought for my Dodge freak father in law was the same story.. little gas in the carb, some fresh plugs and wires, new battery cables and a fresh battery, and she fired right up.. and that truck hasnt been running since 1971!
Ok, ok.. so it needs a fuel pump.. but thats probably the reason the old guy quit driving it in the first place.
These engines were made to last, and to be strong. They were made by folks proud to build them, by folks who worked hard because it was the only way they knew how to work.
Todays junk is made by a bunch of UAW whinebags who grouse about paid time off and anual raises.. and the car companies are more concerned with getting you to buy a new truck every few years than they are making 'em last.
Todays trucks are built so you need a PHD in electrical engineering and several thousand dollars worth of special tools and testers.. yesterdays trucks were built so a farmer could do most of the repairs himself with little more than a crecent wrench and a shade tree. (shade tree optional)
Ok.. thats my rant for the day.
