Sometime around the first of the year I will be starting up my '34 Standard's motor. It was completely rebuilt then by my father-in-law. He started it up a couple of times and let it run for only a couple of minutes since the radiator was not installed yet.

I have a plan for what to do between now and at the time I start it but thought some of you with more experience might have some suggestions.

Thanks for your replies!

If as you say the engine has been running and left sitting I would remove spark plugs and disconnect ignition. Make sure you have a good battery and crank until you have oil pressure refit spark plugs a reconnect ignition and start. Some others on this site would also suggest a reasonable squirt of MMO in each cylinder prior to cranking which will do no harm.
Cranking up oil pressure is much easier and quicker without the plugs because of the lack of compression. There is also less load on the bearings allowing oil to flow more freely and they are not loaded dry. You can do more damage in 30 seconds of dry starting than 300 miles of driving.
Tony

One thing to do is pull the valve cover and check for a stuck valve. Tap on each rocker arm gently with a small hammer and see if there is a thud, a solid thud means the valve is stuck in the guide. then before starting the engine put some Marvel Mystery Oil in a squirt can and put a couple of squirts in each sparkplug hole and into each valve spring, try to get it onto the valve stem. With the battery charged spin the engine several rounds and watch the rockers and then put in the spark plugs and prime the carb with a small bit of gasoline or starting fluid and see if it will run.

Guys,

Thanks for the two suggestions. I had thought of both of those but didn't know how to check for a stuck valve. I had planned on removing the plugs and using the hand crank to slowly turn the engine while watching the valves.

Do you think it would be a good idea to change the oil before starting? It was fresh but has been in there for a long time.

Also, any suggestions for what I should do to the carb before cranking the engine?

It does not hurt to change the oil. Likely all you will find is a little water. The carb should be okay but you can check to see if the float is stuck.

Yes change the oil.Also you can prime the oil system by removing the distributor and turning the oil pump with a shaft mounted in a drill. Turn it until you get oil pressure on the gauge and it will save your battery and your bearings.If it were mine I would clean out the carb and also the gas tank and add some mmo to the tank in addition to following the above suggestions.

I curious about your suggestion regarding the removal of the distributor and spinning the pump. I have heard that before and wondered why it would be more important to do on a car that has set for a long time than one that has set for a few days or weeks. Oil returns to the pan rather quickly so I don't see the difference.

It is the oil that remains between bearing surfaces and not the oil that runs to the pan that is important. Then there is the water, other contaminants and oil eating bacteria that eventually remove the oil in the bearings and bushings.

Got here a little bit late. One suggestion I have when starting any old engine that may have a rope seal for the rear main bearing seal is to overfill the crankcase for several days, so that oil can get the old seal lubricated before starting, thereby preventing ruining a rear seal by a dry start. You can let the excess oil in until it starts, or drain it before starting. Just a tip on reviving old engines and doing as little damage as possible.

Well we (4 shade tree mechanics) spent the day trying to get the '34 started. Briefly here's what happened: First then starter would not work. We figured out the contact inside the "switch box" on top was dirty. We cleaned it up and the starter worked good- on the bench. After re-installing it, it would not begin to turn the engine (remember the engine was rebuilt about 20 years ago and ran only for a few minutes then). We had removed the plugs but the engine was still really tight - so much it was hard to turn with the hand crank. We jumped the 6 volt with a good 12 volt and finally got it to turn. But with the plugs back in it would not turn. So we pulled the plugs again and turned it over again for a few seconds at a time watching to not get starter hot. Eventually we were able to get it to turn over with the plugs in. I'm not exactly sure what loosened up but it does turn over - still only with a 12v jumper. The fuel pump is working good, we have a good spark, and we adjusted the timing as close as possible to specs. But due to time constraints, we stopped the process due to a leaking carb. The W-1 was rebuilt at the same time as the engine. Today, when turning over the engine it was seeping out the lower throttle linkage on the front side. I'm not sure why but it had to be coming from above and running down to that area. Could the float have been stuck to the bottom of the bowl? I pulled the top off and there is some crud in the bottom which I will clean out. Right now there is gas still in the bowl above the jet and it is not leaking. Any thoughts?

With the engine not running at all I would expect quite a bit of flooding inside the carb from a good accelerator pump being pumped severely, which is natural to do when you are trying to start the engine, and yes I would expect some gasoline to run out around a throttle shaft. When the engine is running the gasoline will be sucked into the intake and won't run out.

In the old days what we would do with an engine like yours, tight, recently overhauled (By recently, I mean has not run 200 or 300 hours on the road). We would hook a chain to the front of the car and in second or third gear we would pull it around the section, trying to get it to start Check the spark, the gas vaporiziation inside the carb and if we think that it is flooded hold the accelerator to the floor without pumping it, and with the choke open try to pull air into the cylinders and displace the gasoline rich mix in the cylinders and the gasoline washing down the oil from the cylinder walls. With compression , correct distributor and valve timing, compression (well oiled cylinder walls) good spark at the CLEAN, DRY sparkplugs and air flow in and exhaust flow out (be sure the exhaust is not restricted by mouse nests, etc.), as long as the rear wheels are spinning the engine the thing has gotta start and run! Pull it a quarter mile then stop and check for exhaust, intake air, fuel flow and spark. Don't wear out your starter or kill your battery, remember we didn't have booster cables until automatic transmissions made booster cables needed, when pullint the car would not start the engine anymore!...think about that for a while!....! But that is how we used to do it....

We really weren't pumping the accelerator as we tried to start it. We just opened the throttle cable a bit and had it partially choked so I am still a bit concerned that there may be something wrong.

And we discussed doing exactly what you suggest regarding pulling the car. There is a fairly steep hill on my street so we may use gravity.

Thanks for the reply and any that follow.

Good luck with your project!
Please keep us updated with your progress.

I saw the "tow" car pull the "disabled" car. The disabled car started, plowed into the tow car. I'm a "gravity" fan.

With anything involveing machinery there are some people that should avoid participating in anything requireing some basic mechanical ability!

Now fellas, the tow rope can't just be a few feet long. Get one of those 30 footers and also have the tow car constantly accelerating until the one in back either starts or slings off the end of the rope. Oh, yah! almost forgot make sure the horn works loudly so the guy being towed can signal the tow'er to slow down or stop carefully or that it is time for a potty break.

If you don't like towing then try pushing. A tire between the two vehicles will work to protect the grill and trunk lid if the road is level and smooth and the bumpers line up and the guy in front doesn't veer off course trying to shift or turn on the ignition switch or talk on the cell phone or drink a coca cola.

Just thought of a possible solution. Put the tow rope through a piece of pipe. That way the ends can be flexible but keep the vehicles apart. When the pipe drags on the road the folks will hear it and know to change speed. Of course that assumes that they can hear over the roar of the newly started engine without muffler (or when it was torn off by the dragging pipe). Oh darn, what if they use a pvc pipe. Drat too darn complicated. The hill seems better all the time. Oops, what if it does not start by the bottom? How do you get it back up to the top to try again. Shucks, back to the towing or pushing? Naw! call AAA.

Guys,

I'm already nervous enough about this towing thing. But anyway, I will only be trying to start it while being towed going uphill and with a long rope as suggested. Then if that doesn't work I will let it coast downhill without anything in front. In a long conversation with one of our tech advisors, Doyle Stokes, I am fairly certain the new rings are what has the engine so tight - but it is getting better. I pulled the plugs today and put a good squirt of MMO in the cylinders again then turned the engine a couple of times with the hand crank.

By the way, when I was putting oil in the cylinders (with a syringe), I accidently gave one cylinder too much. I would guess close to a teaspoon full. Any chance that might cause be problems?

Too much oil in the cylinder? No, just turn the engine over a few times with the spark plugs out before you put the sparkplugs back in.....

......Towing only uphill? towing downhill works about the same way except it is easier on the tow vehicle!
Just tell the one trying to start the car being towed to use the brakes to keep the tow rope/chain tight!

I guess that is why someone invented bumpers, because we didn't have personal Computers, Chatter II, and the World Wide Web internet or booster cables way back there 60 years ago?...Now I know how my Daddy felt when I asked him questions like we now ask on the Internet! However we get the answers is what counts, anyway.....

I'll definitely be the one driving and I have a friend with a lot of common sense and a strong tow vehicle who will be towing. He suggested the tow uphill and coast downhill method rather than all the battery work we did yesterday. He was right and we probably would have got it running. But we discovered the carb was leaking so I will have to deal with that first and get the new gas tank installed. I don't think my 1 gallon plastic gas can (we used yesterday) will drag along the street very well.

OK, some more questions on the towing the car to get it started. I had to have the carburetor rebuilt and I replaced the wire in the electolock. Now everything seems to be ready to tow (or run hopefully).

My questions are: 1. How fast should we be going and what gear should I have the car in (the slower the better for me) and 2. How long or far should we expect it to take to get the engine running. 3. When the engine does fire should I put the clutch in or let the tow continue to keep the engine running?

Remember it was completely rebuilt almost 20 years ago and has been sitting after only running a few minutes then. I have been squirting MMO in the cylinders and turning the engine over for a couple of seconds with out the plugs at least once per day for the last two weeks.

The speed is not all that important, just so the engine is turning over consistently. I use 2nd gear for the towed car. As soon as the engine starts, depress the clutch and allow yourself to be towed untill, you have the engine running. Signal the tow vehicle and place your foot on the brake and apply only enough to keep the vehicle from overtaking the tow vehicle.

Ray is right (as usual). I'd like to add a caution and a recommendation from someone who learned this the hard way many years ago. You can easily damage a car doing this if you don't know what you're doing. Things that can happen:

-- Towed vehicle starts, overtakes and crashes into towing vehicle.
-- Tow cable goes slack and is run over by towed vehicle, fouls in undercarriage and damages car.
-- Tow cable goes slack, towed vehicle overreacts and brakes hard, tow cable snaps taut and damages towed car at attachment point.
-- Towing vehicle driver stops faster than towed vehicle is capable of stopping resulting in crash.
-- Driver of towed vehicle "pops" clutch at high speed, damaging drive train of towed vehicle.

It CAN be done safely, but one needs to know what they're doing. I recommend that you find someone in your area who has done this before and get them to help you. Try your local VCCA region or AACA region if you don't have a friend with the towing experience. I would not try this for the first time having never seen it before. Maybe one of the guys on Chevy Chatter II who lives near you could help out.

Just my two cents worth. I'd hate to see you damage a nice old car unnecessarily.

All the Best, Chip

Why not take the starter out and have it gone through. Install new battery cables and make sure you have a really good ground. Then get a fresh battery either new or properly charged one that you have. I'd also consider backing off the valve adjustments and check for a sticky valve. I've gone through the process of getting a sleeping engine running many times, takes a lot of time and patience. I've never used the pull method to start a sleeping engine. I will admit to pull starting stuff many times over the years, and as mentioned use lots of caution. Don

Well, the old girl is running again!!! After using the 6V battery to turn the engine over for about 15 seconds several times a day (for two weeks) I put the plugs back in and almost got it started with the 6V battery. But with a 12V jumper it took right off and ran perfectly. It actually surprised and startled me a bit.

So I pulled the throttle out and let her run between 1500 and 2000 rpm for about 5 hours periodically running the rpms higher and also back down to idle. It smoked just a little for the first 15 minutes then that went away. There were no oil or coolant leaks except the rear main left about a tablespoon full of oil during the 5 hours. The oil pressure gauge stayed at about 15 or higher and the temp gauge stayed at around 170-180 the whole time.

When I finally turned it off a small leak started at the water pump where there is a large nut that surrounds the shaft. Since I am not familiar with this type of pump am I correct in this is just a seal? I turned it less than half a turn with a large wrench and the leak stopped. It was not very tight so I am wondering how tight it should be. Also, I am curious why it did not leak during the long period the engine was running?!

I called my Mother-in-Law and let her hear the engine running. This was the first time she had heard it run since back in the 1940's. She informed me that she has just found the lost (20) pictures of the car when they re-purchased it in 1979 and prior to any restoration. I had almost given up on finding them. Then I ran some errands and stopped to wash my pickup and the person before me left almost 8 minutes of free time.

This has been a great day!!!!

The water pump seal is a packing material that can wear down particularly if the shaft is a bit rough. The packing nut (large brass nut) is only tightened to be snug and not wrench tight. Be sure to lubricate the shaft by putting water pump (does not have water soluble soap) grease in the grease cup and giving it a partial turn occasionally.

The reason that the water did not leak when the engine was running is the system is not pressurized. The water pump impeller creates a low pressure area that will suck air into the coolant. That air will displace coolant and reduce the heat transfer efficiency. It will also mean that you will need to add coolant more often.