The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Engine Shop waking up a motor from 4 year nap

Hi all-

Probably a familiar story for some of you. I have a stock 54' 3100 that I parked inside about 4 years ago that I'm attempting to get running again. The brakes went out on it at the same time as we moved, and between moving, having a kid, changing jobs, house projects etc etc, it just got pushed to the back-burner. Anyway, the brakes are done at this point and I'm trying to get it fired up. Keep in mind, this truck "ran when parked" as the saying goes.

Here's what I have done so far:

- The battery was on a maintainer, so it's good to go, cranks nice and hard.
- I drained the gas tank and flushed the lines as best as I could.
- I changed oil and filter.
- I pre-filled the lines with fresh gas, and pre-filled the carb bowl a little thru the brass tube.

I cranked for quite a while and cannot get it to start, so I tried a little starter fluid and would not even get a cough or get it to "try". Normally this would lead me to think that I'm not getting any spark, so I removed the lead into the distributor, and opened the points. I got what seemed to be a 1/2"-3/4" blue spark to the block which I think is strong enough? It just seems odd that if I were getting spark, that it would at least cough a bit when I hit it with starting fluid. No moisture under the distributor cap that I could see. Maybe tonight I will try sanding the spark plugs a bit in case they varnished over.

As you can tell, I'm trying my best to eliminate all alternatives before tearing into the carb. Probably wishful thinking on my part. What else can you guys think of? Thanks in advance.

If it didn’t fire on Starting Fluid it most likely is not the carburetor. Run a compression check.🛠

First, congrats for owning a 54 3100. I wish I did. 😎. Since you know the trucks history and that it was indeed running when parked gives you an advantage. There’s no reason to think anything happened to it while parked, is there? Have you removed the valve cover and the dist cap and cranked it with the starter and watched the valves going up and down, and the rotor spinning? Just to be sure all that is working as it should. Could be worthwhile...
It’s probably something really simple. Good luck.

Check to be sure the coil wire is firmly seated in both the coil and the distributor

Make sure the carb bowl has adequate fuel in it.

Be sure to give t full choke on the first crank.

Make sure the key is in the “ON” position!! After 4 years you may have forgotten which direction is on. Don’t ask me how I know that.

Have you confirmed that the spark is actually getting to the plugs? I've seen distributor rotors short out (or get misplaced) and even if the coil is firing, the spark doesn't make it to the plugs. Pull a wire off one of the spark plugs and use a spare plug or even a 1/4" bolt or something similar to test for spark to ground. I've also seen plugs get rusty and/or fouled during long term storage and leak firing voltage away without jumping the gap.
Jerry

Chuck,

I’ve been frustrated a few times when my truck wouldn’t start, especially when I realized key was in off position!

Chris

Really? Key in the off position?
That only happens to rookies,



and every last one of the rest of us, because we are "so smart."

Squirt a little light oil down the plug holes.

Getting spark from the coil with the key off? I's like somebody to show me how that happens!
Jerry

Make sure the exhaust system isn't plugged up. Mice and mud wasps can be problems there.

I would do as Hotrod lincoln suggested and go to the plugs and see if spark is actually there. Throw a timing light on it and see if it strobes the light when cranking. Pulling the points apart can give you a spark at the points but it doesn't mean the condensor, distributor cap, coil wire, plug wires, or plugs are any good. I would bet after sitting 4 years moisture/corrosion has gotten into the ignition system.

Jerry,

I was frustrated when my truck wouldn’t start due to key being off. Once I turned key on, it started right up like it should.

Hey we are talking about high level stupid moments where you find spark at the at the points, then you need another beer so you turn the key off, then you come back to check for spark at the plugs and forgot to turn the key back on.

Carl,

Always have to have the right tool to get the job done! Your reason sounds better then mine, so I’ll go with it!

Chris

I had plenty of spark from the coil wire with the engine cranking- - - - -no start! After about 15 minutes of checking everything I could think of, I finally found the distributor rotor sitting on top of the battery!
Jerry

All of the previous statements are true. I let my 54-3100 set for two years inside but this is Florida, polished steel will rust in less than an hour. Try running a 1/2 tablespoon od transmission oil and a squirt of Blaster in each cylinder and VERY slowly turn by hand or crank, take grill off and turn with a T shaped steel rod with 3/8 round piece drilled and put in place. I nearly had a fit with my 54, sounds like the same exact problem after letting mine set. Two new coils,two sets of points and a very good GM condenser It sparked very blue. New wires didn't hurt. It fired like it had never set. Cheap condenser's can cause most problems. Will spark one minute then not the next. Disregard The previous two sentence's if motor turns easy. I wish I could be there to help. Neonman has a very valid point. Doc. PS give the spark plugs a good brushing as Btzguy suggested.

Tinkering with used spark plugs has a placebo effect- - - - -it makes you believe you're actually doing something. The places a possibly shorted plug would need to be cleaned can only be reached with a sandblaster, and even if that's done, I've seen perfectly-clean-looking plugs that wouldn't fire- - - - -the voltage was leaking down the surface of the insulator instead of jumping the gap. Now, one proviso here- - - -those situations were 40-something years ago, and the plugs had been flooded severely with lead-additive gasoline. Our therory after a new set of plugs made an engine start that we had been fighting with all day was that the flooding had deposited a layer of conductive lead compounds on the insulator that effectively shorted the porcelain insulated center electrode to ground. At any rate, a set of new plugs fixed the problem, even after the old ones had been thoroughly sandblasted.
Jerry