Question: 1981 unstarted

[jge82]

I have a 1981 Corvette that has not been started in 10 years. It's been in a garage all that time - the garage is clean and dry. I just bought a new battery & I want to try to get it started. Before I try should I:
1) Drain the gas tank
2) Change the oil
3) What else?

Thanks!

 

[hotshotzny]

definetly drain any gas that was sitting in there, along with the fuel filter also make sure you look around the engine compartment for those annoying little pests that like to make homes and chew on wires.... im sure any gas sitting in it has turned to varnish many moons ago so ya know its gonna run like crap for a bit

but screw it ......its a vette!

 

[BarryK]

well, if you plan on starting it AND driving it I'd replace ALL the fluids including drasining and replacing the gas, coolant, brake fluid, and engine oil.
Replace the fuel filter and oil filter.
BTW, since that coolant has been in the motor for AT LEAST 10 years (who knows how many years it was there before parking the car) you may want to open up the freeze plugs on the block too to get all the coolant out. Without doing that and simply draining the coolant from the radiator you leave a good 1.5-2 gallons of old coolant still in the block to contaminate the new coolant.

I'd also very carefully check all the rubber hoses, particularly the fuel lines since they may have dry rotted. There are rubber fuel lines at the tank itself and also up front that go from the hard lines to the fuel pump.

might also be a good idea to pull the electrical plug off the distributor just before trying to crank it over. This will allow you to crank it over a few times without it starting to get oil thru the system. Than reconnect the plug to the distributor and fire her up.

 

[6880 Mike]

The carburetor might need a rebuild. It could be gunked up with old gas.

 

[tcxd40]

I too have a '81 Vette that sat for let say 15 years in a barn.

Before I did any of what the guys are telling you which is all good advice. I pulled all of the spark plugs. Disabled the distributor then made sure the engine turned by hand. Which it did. I took an oil can with a long spout and squirted the cylinders with oil. Let it soak over night. This will lube the rings and cylinder walls. When they sit that long they are dry as a desert. After the over-night soak I turned the engine over with the plugs out and distributor still disabled. The engine spun very well, this is a little messy so one should have rags on hand to cover anything that you don't want covered in oil. Checked all the spark plugs before puting them back in. Reconnected wires for the plugs and distributor, then fired it up. Had to prime the carb first. Smoked like crazy so do it outside. Car runs quite well with a small miss which I feel is a distributor or wire issue. I've done this with my 442 that sat for 13 years in the garage, it runs just like the day I bought it.

tcxd40

 

[Vette79]

All good advice. Definitely all fluids and spark plugs replaced. Check all rubber tubing and hoses and replace as necessary. Let us know what you find and keep us posted on how this goes. Good Luck! Would love to see the first crank...

 

[jge82]

I guess I got lucky...all I did was drain the old gas & replace with new. New battery & it started with two cranks. Ran like crap for 45 seconds ..... the revs came up & it purred like a kitten. Now I need new wheels which is becomming a challenge. Everyone I try to get wheels from asks me stuff like "backspacing", "bolt pattern", "offset", UGH!!! What is all this? Can't they just look in a book to get all this & give me my choices?
Any recommendations as to where I can get wheels without all this hassle?

 

[JohnZ]

The stock '81 wheels were 15" x 8", negative 0.5" offset, with a 5 x 4-3/4" bolt circle.

 

[jge82]

Hey - thanks a milion! At east I can go somewhere & give them this info, maybe it'll help. Thanks again!

 

[GerryLP]

It is a bit of extra work, but by using an oil priming tool (you have to remove the distributor), you can rotate the oil pump and check the oil pressure and flow some fresh oil in between the bearings (and hopefully wash away some metal shaving that has been in the bearing grove all that time.