starting an ancient engine

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cudaFS

cudaFS

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Ok maybe its not ancient, its a circa 1967 383 thats been sitting around for who knows how long, history unknown, rotating assembly condition unknown. It turns over freely by hand. I'm thinking of trying to fire it up, the question is...will the bottom end bearings spin or any other damage happen?
 
Pull the distributor and pre lube it and it should be fine as long as there was no prior damage.
 
Prime that oilpump !!!
Main thing, clean oil and prime pump . rotate and prime again. Done it many times with SB & BB.
 
Need a little more info cudaFS...

Is the engine in the car?
Any open holes/ exhaust ports, etc..

The reason I ask is that open spaces are notorious for attracting mice.

If its out of the car, I would pull the base pan and see what's lurking in there.
Do all the easy stuff like setting up TDC , timing marks on balancer,new plugs/wires cap etc if the engine is out of the car.

If all looks good and engine turns over freely by hand, add oil and filter,self- prime the engine by pulling the distributer and using a priming tool into the oil pump gear with a drill to circulate fresh oil.

Turn the key and see what happens!!

Cheers!!
 
AAndrews said:
Need a little more info cudaFS...

Is the engine in the car?
Any open holes/ exhaust ports, etc..

The reason I ask is that open spaces are notorious for attracting mice.

If its out of the car, I would pull the base pan and see what's lurking in there.
Do all the easy stuff like setting up TDC , timing marks on balancer,new plugs/wires cap etc if the engine is out of the car.

If all looks good and engine turns over freely by hand, add oil and filter,self- prime the engine by pulling the distributer and using a priming tool into the oil pump gear with a drill to circulate fresh oil.

Turn the key and see what happens!!

Cheers!!
Click to expand...
AAndrews said:
Need a little more info cudaFS...

Is the engine in the car?
Any open holes/ exhaust ports, etc..

The reason I ask is that open spaces are notorious for attracting mice.

If its out of the car, I would pull the base pan and see what's lurking in there.
Do all the easy stuff like setting up TDC , timing marks on balancer,new plugs/wires cap etc if the engine is out of the car.

If all looks good and engine turns over freely by hand, add oil and filter,self- prime the engine by pulling the distributer and using a priming tool into the oil pump gear with a drill to circulate fresh oil.

Turn the key and see what happens!!

Cheers!!
Click to expand...
yep there's a few places where a mouse could get in, should I pull the heads and check for nests? rat roaster LMAO
 
cudaFS said:
yep there's a few places where a mouse could get in, should I pull the heads and check for nests? rat roaster LMAO
Click to expand...
nothing ran out of the ports when we turned it by hand, so either its clean or the mouse got smashed and turned to pudding on the compression stroke
 
Lube her, prime her & Fire her up
Mopar Gods will take care of rest.
Use common sense, could blow out with air if u think need. But i have had blocks sit for over 20 years and they run just fine with a little lube.
Just did a 318 that had sat under a Mango tree for 25 years. All it had was a rag where carb. was and a truck hood on top. Pulled plugs , couple squirts oil. Pulled dist. and pickup, put clean oil & Primed with drill . Fired her up and it now running in my 66 Dodge Tow truck. Gotta luv Mopar ! Die hard
 
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cudaFS said:
yep there's a few places where a mouse could get in, should I pull the heads and check for nests? rat roaster LMAO
Click to expand...


Funny !! LOL!!

Its not the mice though, its the random crap they drag into spaces to make nests, **** like aluminum , sand, rocks and other engine unfriendly stuff. It would be unfortunate to go through all the trouble to get the engine started only to discover this later.
 
Really depends on of you want to use that engine in the future. If it is just for kicks, go for it. If you plan on building it, resist the temptation and just disassemble it.
 
:rofl:Mice crush and burn. Dam look at the spaces they get into! Hell started a 318 a few years ago that was sitting in a truck loose. Started it up after priming, ran great but smelled like burning acorns for weeks and also acorn blasted the shop wall.
:rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl:
 
halifaxhops said:
:rofl:Mice crush and burn. Dam look at the spaces they get into! Hell started a 318 a few years ago that was sitting in a truck loose. Started it up after priming, ran great but smelled like burning acorns for weeks and also acorn blasted the shop wall.
:rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl:
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That's funny lmao
 
AAndrews said:
Funny !! LOL!!

Its not the mice though, its the random crap they drag into spaces to make nests, **** like aluminum , sand, rocks and other engine unfriendly stuff. It would be unfortunate to go through all the trouble to get the engine started only to discover this later.
Click to expand...
good point
 
I bought a Dart with a warmed over 318, sat for 6 years. Engine was covered with debris from rat and mouse nests. Twigs, leaves, peanut shells etc. I got it cleaned up and fired using all of the mentioned steps. Man did it smell like burning rat piss when it got hot! Took about a week to go away. Lol
 
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