The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area General Truck Talk 350 sitting for 5 yrs/about to turn it over?

I just bought a 55 Chevy that has a running 350/700r4. It has been sitting for 5 yrs.
I am going to change the oil, gas, and radiator fluid. Is there anything else I need to do before I turn it over?

JUST MY THOUGHTS Guess i would pull the plugs and oil down each cyl. let it set a day then roll it over with the plugs still out this should help free any stuck rings and get the oil pumping to all bearings/ then clean up your mess from oil shooting out the plug holes and try to start it.

FILTERS,FILTERS,FILTERS

gazim has very good advice here. take the plugs out and pour a little oil down each cylinder and let it set for a day or so. then come back and crank the motor and shoot out the oil, cleanup and put plugs back in. replace all fluids. i would also put in new fuel lines or clean the old ones very very well. clutch is right about filters, cahnge all of them; oil filter, fuel filters, and the like. you might find the need for some type of starting fluid, but probably not. jsut take your time and do not rush, i will bet that someone more knoweldgable than myself will help you out too. good luck friend.

PRAY?

Thanks guys! I figured I had to change all of the things mentioned above. But I am worried about things that may need to be changed that I do not know about! Thanks again. I will let you all know the outcome!

one last thing I would crank it for a while with the plugs out to get the oil pump moving oil to all the parts that are dry.

You may end up doing a carb rebuild. It seems to me that if a carb sits too long, the gaskets dry out and leak.

Also, any gas that was in the carb might bubble away and leave you with goo in all the passages.

Pull the distributer and spin the oil pump until everything inside is prelubed. Most performance parts outfits sell a priming tool for a pretty low price. All big and small block (except 348/409) distributers are the same so if you have an old junker available just grind off the gear teeth and weld a nut on the top of the shaft for a socket to fit on. Some just remove the gear but the gear has a bore in the bottom to capture the top of the oil pump driveshaft and hold it centered. If you use a speed handle to spin the pump with (clockwise of course) it will get hard to turn when everything is pressurized. Continue spinning for a couple minutes and everything in the engine will have lubrication. Rod bearings, main bearings, cam bearings, rocker balls, pushrods, valve stems, EVERYTHING will be lubed just as though the engine had been running but without having to turn it over dry. Good luck

I'd spray some rust inhibitor (wd40 or some other) into each spark plug hole. Change the oil and filter, put one quart of auto tranny fluid in the oil with regular engine oil. The tranny fluid is high detergent and will help soften up the seals. After the engine has sat for a couple of days with the cylinders lubed, turn it over with no plugs in place and get the motor lubed real good. put in your plugs, points and wires and static time the engine. Check that your fuel supply is good and prime it with a couple of table spoons of gas or use starting fluid. Get your air cleaner in place before cranking it over and give it a whirl.