Starting a Terc that has been idle

[MootsMan]

I have a chance to pick up an '83 SR5 with 144K miles on it, but it's rough. It's been sitting in the guys yard for over a year, and probably hasn't been started in that long. We put a battery in it this afternoon , and cranked it a few times, but never did get it started.

I was hoping to get it just for hauling it off, but not sure that's going to happen.

What do I need to do to get this thing running without doing any damage to the engine or the fuel system ?? I'm thinking the carb will need a little gasoline in it, but I don't want to do something that will end up harming the car. The guy said it ran "ok" , but had some carb. issues. Also, the transmission will not stay in 1st gear in 2WD.

[Gasoline Fumes]

A small trickle of gas into the carb should get it fired up. Or like I prefer, carb cleaner or starting fluid. Easier to control how much you put in.

[Typrus]

I'd recommend blowing a little starting fluid in there, and if it fires up, follow with a CAREFUL application of a good carb cleaner, like Seafoam's Deep Creep or Berryman's B-12 Chemtool. By careful I mean don't kill the engine you just spent so much effort getting started. If it flat won't start, spray some B-12 into the float bowl via the vent tubes. Block one and spray down the other. Don't be afraid to be liberal with this application. Let it sit for 15-30 min then try again, with whatever method you use to overcome flooding as it likely will be that.
Just an idea.

[takza]

It's a good idea to use a little oil in that gas to get it running...to avoid ring damage. The gas in the tank is going to be in poor condition. You might get it running...or at least find out if it will run.

[xirdneh]

[quote="MootsMan"]I have a chance to pick up an '83 SR5 with 144K miles on it, but it's rough. It's been sitting in the guys yard for over a year, and probably hasn't been started in that long. We put a battery in it this afternoon , and cranked it a few times, but never did get it started.

a friend recently asked me to help him get a tercel running that had been sitting for three years. it would not start until we primed it with a quarter cup of gas dumped into the carb throat. it fired up but would not keep running. we rigged up a gas tank off a lawn mower by hanging it from the open hood. we ran a hose from the tank to the carb. the diameter of the hose was just slightly larger than the stud that sticks up in the center of the carb for holding the air filter lid on. we shoved the hose over the stud and it allowed a slow flow of gas from the mower gas tank to dribble into the carb. the tercel started right up and continued running. she smoked for quite a while (blue smoke out the exhaust) but after about fifteen minutes the smoke was gone and the enging sounded good. i went home and got a spare carb. we switched carbs and he drove it home. i plan to dissassemble the old carb soon to see what s in it

[MootsMan]

Well, today I spent some time trying to get the car started, Put gasoline , starting fluid, Deep Creep, into the carb., and did get it to run....until what was in the carb. burned out, then it would just die. The gas gauge was showing dead on empty, but the light wasn't on. I put some gasoline in it, and the needle moved up to just below 1/4 tank, so I know the needle works. I'm figuring that the fuel system is just stopped up somewhere. Took the line coming from the fuel filter off, and there was a couple of drops of gasoline that came out , but no flow of gas at all. This appears to be a decent car, but the body needs some work on it.....several spots of surface rust, and the paint is in really bad shape. looks like several places have been bondo-ed, The car has new tires on it, and because of that the guy that owns would like to get a couple hundred dollars out of it. I think I'm gonna offer $50 and see what happens. Don't know how good the tires will be after sitting for a couple years.

Any more ideas or suggestions ??

[ARCHINSTL]

MootsMan -
This is not a suggestion - just a passalong about a "friend" who did this on an old Singer Roadster with a similarly clogged fuel pipe:
"He" ran a long rubber hose of the appropriate diameter all the way from the fuel pump back to the gas filler neck and thence down into the tank, but not all the way to the bottom, in the event a lot of sediment was present. The hose was duct-taped to the body. This Singer had an electric fuel pump, not that that should matter. Anyway, it got "him" home from a late night date to "his" garage.
Needless to say, my "friend" did this on some back streets of St. Louis to avoid ATTENTION......and "he" was a lot younger then....
Tom M.
P.S. Again, this is not a suggestion - just an "anecdotal relation"....

[takza]

Might try using an air tank to blow that line out back to the tank...might visually inspect it...but all it would take is a pinhole to stop the gas making it up front. New fuel filter? Check the fuel pump?

With those kinds of miles...I'd give it some time.

[MootsMan]

Thanks, guys ! All ideas that sound worthy of a try. I'm going to have to take my weedeater out there to get through the tall grass enough so that I can crawl around up under the car. If it was summer time, I wouldn't even fool with trying to do any work on it where it sits for fear of getting bit by a copperhead or rattler coiled up underneath !

[Finder349]

Well just as a interest point. I picked up an 85 that had been sitting for 1.5 years. Some starting fluid and a jump and it was running. Has an exhaust leak and was ruff for a while but added some good gas and cleaners and now it seems to run just fine. No smoke or anything.

232K miles.

[Typrus]

Pull the sparkers, clean/adjust them, and do a very quick squirt of starter fluid or B-12 in the hole.