Dave's Cars Reviving a Sleeping Automobile home

Cars in storage suffer most from damage caused by water absorption in the brake fluid, which causes rust in the master cylinder and wheel cylinders surface rust or white corrosive build-up on the engine cylinder walls gasoline that has turned to foul smelling varnish that gums up the carburettor tire rot mice Change out all of the fluids change the oil and filter bleed out the entire brake system twice to ensure all old fluid is out this is a good time to switch to DOT 5 - Silicone brake fluid drain the radiator and block of coolant and replace with 50/50 antifreeze mix drain out all of the gasoline in the fuel system, totally For more severe, longer periods of inactivity there may be no point at all in trying to change brake fluid master brake may need to be rebuilt/replaced start by tearing down every brake cylinder for inspection and possible rebuild expect to replace several of them master & clutch slave may need to be rebuilt/replaced Likely the rear brake cylinders will have leaked fluid into the drum, which means new shoes if the carbs have plastic floats, the plastic floats will need to be replaced replace all the soft brake lines change all the soft fuel lines (to ethanol resistant) rebuild the fuel pump (same reason), etc have the radiator "rodded out" or replaced or recored. full chassis service; best practice is probably to disassemble, clean and relube anything with grease in it including wheel bearings, wiper motor and so on Take care of the engine remove the spark plugs and do not reuse using a plastic tube, fill each cylinder with Marvel Mystery Oil (available at most auto supply stores) let it sit for a day, then refill each cylinder as needed, MMO will seep past the rings and provide the lubrication needed for those rings when you start up if possible, turn the engine over by hand at least one full turn (360 degrees) without the spark plugs the engine should turn fairly easily install a new battery disconnect the coil wire engage starter motor until there is oil pressure indicated on the gauge replace coil wire and install new spark plugs clean carburetor including clean out the fuel bowls (carb rebuild may be required) add fresh hi-test fuel to the tank and include fuel system additive that has carb cleaning properties install a new fuel filter, preferably a clear in-line filter so that you can see if there is crud in the system start the car, chipmunks and other small nesting animals will be blown out the exhaust at this time run for 2-3 minutes, turn the engine off, and look underneath for fluids run engine up to normal operating temperature keeping an eye on the gauges, shut it off and look under the engine again home