i just bought a 55 crown vic with a 272 it has not been run for probably 10 years .it will turn over. any advice on things to check before i try to fire it up  Carl

Check oil in the crankcase,water in the rad, set points .016, make sure fuel supply is adequate with no leaks that could cause a fire, have a fire extinguisher handy and i'm sure having a helper would be nice to help trouble shoot during the startup. Be careful be safe, don't burn the garage down I'm only kidding!!! And a BIG GOOD LUCK and hope things go well.

-Gary Burnette-

If you have an extra set of valve cover gaskets, I would pull valve covers, remove plugs and turn the engine through a few times just to make sure that none of the valves are stuck. Fresh plugs, points, cap and wires or know good used stuff. The fuel tank probably has rust and crud in it, so some sort of remote gas container with fresh gas. The carb probably has dried out and may be full of white corrosion and crud so be prepared to clean it and install a rebuild kit before starting or install a known good carb. I don't know if this next thing is neccessary, but it want hurt anything. While you have the plugs out pour some diesel down each cyl and let it set overnight, when you are turning the engine over it will blow it out of the spark plug holes. Off course fresh oil and filter will be required  after doing this.

After saying all this, you might just through a batt and gas in it and fire it up! It's happened before.

Glen Henderson



Freedom is not Free

Letohatchee, AL

All good advice so far. I would also suggest that you dump an entire can of STP Oil Treatment or WalMart Tech Lube in with the fresh oil. The oil treatment will have ZDDP and your cam and lifters are going to need this stuff really badly after sitting for a while.



As mentioned, pull the plugs and crank it with the plugs out to circulate the fresh oil through the engine before you fire it up. Also, be aware that the rear main seal is made of rope and it is probably dried out by now, so cranking it will give that seal a chance to get some more oil in it so that it can swell up and help seal the rear main. If you run the engine with that seal dry, it will scorch and then you will have a leaking rear main seal for sure.



I knew a guy who used to drain his oil out of his 67 442, then fill the crankcase with diesel fuel and run the engine for a few seconds with that. Then he'd drain the fuel and refill the crankcase with fresh Delvac type oil. It kept his crankcase very clean. It sounded crazy but I later learned that diesel fuel actually does have lubricating properties. This technique might help with your dried out rear main seal and with sludge in the oil pan.

Best regards,



Paul Menten

Meridian, Idaho

Back in the day, the practice of filling the crankcase with kerosene and running the engine for a few min's was reccomended when changing oil in farm tractors. Of course this was before filters and detergent oils. I have a set of old books from the 40's titled Modern Farming Practices and one chapter covers engine maintenance. They reccomended changing oil every 150 to 250 hrs of operation depending on conditions and flushing the crankcase with solvent.

Glen Henderson



Freedom is not Free

Letohatchee, AL

Thanks guys for all of the good info.i will let you know how many mice i blow out the exhaust when i start her up  Carl

About 10 years ago,I bought a 272 that had been pulled from a low mileage car 15 years before that and stored in a barn and then in my shop.4 years ago I put it in my car,still with original plugs,plug wires and fan belt.I put a later model rebuilt carb on it,changed the oil and filter and after it turned over about 6 times it fired up and has run great for 12,000 miles,so far.Uses no oil,starts instantly every time and runs cool.If my experience is any indication,apparently very little prep needs to be done to restart an engine that's been idle for a long time.

 

Paul,

Boonville,MO