There's an early 40's classic car that has been partially restored and is part of an estate liquidation. Obviously I am interested in said car I know a fair amount about cars, but I'm no savant - all I know is the car has been sitting long enough to kill the battery, so I'd guess a year or two? Aside from that all I know about it (mechanically) is it has a straight 6, dual carbs, and a manual gearshift, all of which should be original, but likely have been rebuilt as the car is partially restored and everyone I know starts with the major mechanicals.

So.

Do you think it'll start? It's several hundred miles away, and I don't want to find myself stuck up there unable to drive back. I think it will start with a new battery, some fresh gas, and perhaps a flammable substance sprayed sparingly directly into the carburetors.

12/8/2006 11:12:42 PM

no

12/8/2006 11:14:01 PM

just wondering ... why do you think that?

When I was in high school, we had two different cars that we got to run - one was a 72 custom Impala that had been sitting for 3 years, the other was a 60 Falcon with a 65 slant-6 engine in it that had been sitting for 16 years ... the second one had to have a new fuel line, but that and some fresh gas got it running.

12/8/2006 11:41:13 PM

fyi the slant 6 was a mopar engine, not ford

12/8/2006 11:42:17 PM

leaning tower of power

no offense, but if you have to ask this sort of question you have no business trying to drive a 60 some year old car hundreds of miles that hasn't run in who knows how long.

12/8/2006 11:49:03 PM

yes, I know - it wasn't the original engine. My grandfather swapped it out. I specified so you didn't think it was the "original" engine. I know enough to (usually) know when a mechanic is bullshitting me but I'd be boned if I had to put together an engine without the manual I did rebuild a carburetor once, and I've done brakes and a little body work.

According to the description, the family has decided not to keep the car. The claim is the owner died, but drove the car daily before getting too sick. There aren't many cars I'd take this kind of risk for, but this one's definitely worth asking about.

Let's try a dif approach: If you were after a car - one of maybe 1000 or less like it - and you are bent on getting it, what could you do (simple things now) to try to get it to run without having to take it to a shop? If I fly up there, it'll be a Saturday, so I doubt there would be shops open.

12/8/2006 11:56:24 PM

rebuild the carb, new fuel filter, drop the tank and clean it out. that's at the least before i took the chance of driving it hundreds of miles. know that it was nothing short of a miracle for the cars you mentioned above to run/drive fine after sitting that long, assuming there were no prior storage preperations.

hell, even in top notch condition early 40's cars are no road warriors.

it's also very likely other things have deteriorated and need attention from it sitting, such as brakes.

imo, spend the extra cash and rent/borrow a truck and trailer.

12/9/2006 12:04:14 AM

Quote :

"imo, spend the extra cash and rent/borrow a truck and trailer."

...and then drive the shit out of it once you get it closer to home.

hahahahha you idiot!

12/9/2006 12:07:26 AM

even if you got it started the idea that it would make it "several hundred miles" with just 5 minute fixes is laughable. you dont need to know a lot about cars, thats still in the realm of common sense.

[Edited on December 9, 2006 at 12:13 AM. Reason : ^yeah get a trailer if you want it, or just dont get it]

12/9/2006 12:13:17 AM

it wouldn't have to make it the whole way, at least not in one stretch. It'd be nice if it did though I'm just not getting why it's unreasonable to expect a mostly-restored vehicle to run well; I've had good experiences with old cars in the past, and they were far from being restored. A plane ticket alone would be $300 (just checked) so for that and gas I may just have it hauled anyway ... I really want to make sure it runs as this particular car isn't for me, it's for someone else in the family

12/9/2006 12:19:58 AM

Can anyone tell me who might have, oh, say an E30 in this area, maybe at NCSU?

12/9/2006 12:22:14 AM

this sounds like a premise to a horror movie.

12/9/2006 12:34:07 AM

Quote :

"I'm just not getting why it's unreasonable to expect a mostly-restored vehicle to run well"

what's hard to get? i've already posted why.

1. you have no idea how longs it's been sitting

2. you haven't verified that anything has been rebuilt mechnically.

3. even in fully restored top running/driving condition, the large majority of early 40's cars are not suited for extended drives at modern highway speeds. it's also always going to be a car with 40's technology and age, the chances for compenent failure are high.

12/9/2006 12:42:19 AM

I got a reply back, actually ... motor, trans, and carbs were rebuilt to original spec. The tires and brakes have been checked and are road safe. Car is currently registered and legally driveable, but it does have an antique plate.

haha, no seatbelts though

yeah I'm not stupid enough to get on the interstate without seatbelts ... it makes sense - seatbelts weren't the norm for another 15+ years after this car was built

12/9/2006 12:58:53 AM

Why ask the question at all if you are simply going to argue when people don't agree with you?

Why not put the cost of a plane ticket towards a company to ship it to you?

12/9/2006 1:11:04 AM

I'm trying to learn ... what is it that happens - physically - that means it's not going to run after x weeks, months, or years? Is something likely to be rusted? Or is it just that something(s) have dried out? Not that that's a simple/quick thing to fix. I know seals naturally degrade and it goes faster without oil circulating (at least that's how my Dad explains it). While I understand how an engine works in concept I don't know the names and uses of all the internal parts. Obviously plenty of people (ok, everyone but me) thinks this thing isn't going to run. :/ and my last post was new info.

given there are no seatbelts and everyone so far is saying they don't think it will run, then regardless of my opinion shipping is probably a better move.

i just noticed the e30 comment up there ... nope, not that. This one's a "special interest" car from a company that got bought out decades ago. It'll go nicely alongside something like this:


and



and



the last one he has is together, and that same color actually. The stingray he just got. The other one's in the garage in process.

12/9/2006 1:39:04 AM

im interested in the stingray actually



pm sent

12/9/2006 2:54:32 AM

who wears seat belts?

12/9/2006 3:22:52 AM

Quote :

"who wears seat belts?"

Apparently this fellow

http://thewolfweb.com/message_topic.aspx?topic=449150

12/9/2006 3:24:41 AM

^ , might as well he paid a grand for it.

[Edited on December 9, 2006 at 3:25 AM. Reason : ,]

12/9/2006 3:25:11 AM

sorry those 3 aren't for sale (yet) ... they're Dad's projects. Once he finishes the 300, he'll want at least $20k for it as they're selling for $30-$60 now, and his has the original rumble seat. The stingray I'm not sure what he'll want - depends on how much goes in.

12/9/2006 9:27:07 AM

they had a thing on trucks about getting old engines to run.

there are a couple major systems you need to worry about:
fuel
coolant
oil
electrical

fuel:
check for cracked fuel lines, replace fuel pump and filters, drain, clean and refill gas tank, rebuild carbs.

coolant:
replace hoses, check/replace water pump

oil:
drain, change filter, new oil

electrical:
check for cracked/broken wires, replace distributor, points, cap, plugs and wires

also might want to change belts.
if it's frozen up, spray some penetrating oil in the cylinders and then break it loose after the oil has had time to penetrate.

after all that it will probably run and will likely run well.
of course, all of those things are goign to take you several days to do.

if it was in good mechanical shape before it was parked, it will like make it home. If you only do part of those things, you might as well just start it long enough to get it on a trailer and then tow it home.

driving a long distance you'll need to worry about more than the engine. You've got old tires that have been sitting and dry rotting, brakes that haven't been used and could be frozen or gotten air in the lines, an engine that hasn't been run or tested.

in short you could get it running, but i wouldn't want to trust it to get me home without knowing everything and replacing or atleast going through several different systems.

Since you are so confident that it will run and get you home, why don't you just fly up there and get it. You obviously don't like the answers people are giving you, so i don't know why you even asked if you've already made up your mind. You are NOT going to convince everyone else on here that the car will make it and you'll be fine. You may make it and be fine, but it will be because of luck, not because you can start any car that's been sitting for several years and expect it to drive you across state.

12/9/2006 12:23:41 PM

Quote :

"Since you are so confident that it will run and get you home, why don't you just fly up there and get it. You obviously don't like the answers people are giving you, so i don't know why you even asked if you've already made up your mind. You are NOT going to convince everyone else on here that the car will make it and you'll be fine. You may make it and be fine, but it will be because of luck, not because you can start any car that's been sitting for several years and expect it to drive you across state."

exactly. i love it when people come in here looking for "help" when they really just want approval/justification for their decision.

go ahead and drive it, let us know how it turns out.

12/9/2006 1:41:16 PM

it would take an ActOfGod.

12/9/2006 8:16:05 PM

There's a '76 Yarcharger in the backyard. I'm thinking about trying to start it and drive it alllllllll the way to the front yard. What do you guys think? Will it make it?

12/9/2006 8:29:18 PM

^only if you hit something on the way

12/9/2006 9:16:51 PM

Hahahaaaaaa!!! Too funny! I bumped the Trooper pretty good just for shits and giggles.

12/9/2006 10:58:55 PM

Quote :

"1. you have no idea how longs it's been sitting"

well, do ya? if it's been ran within the past 2 years, then yeah, you might have a chance of driving it around the block. but thinking you could or even attempting to drive this thing several hundred miles is just asking for trouble. save yourself a lot of trouble. just pay somebody a couple hundred bucks to get it here safely on a trailer.

12/10/2006 10:08:43 AM

Quote :

"save yourself a lot of trouble. just pay somebody a couple hundred bucks to get it here safely on a trailer. "

/thread

Quote :

"I bumped the Trooper pretty good just for shits and giggles. "

No love for the Trooper

12/10/2006 12:34:11 PM

Quote :

"No love for the Trooper"

Dude, that IS love for the Trooper.

12/10/2006 1:08:59 PM

I've gotten a bunch of old vehicles that sat a long time running and driven them a lot, but trusting one several hundred miles off the bat is another story. if anything you need more information about what has been done to it. also remember that brake systems don't like it when they sit up.

12/10/2006 4:18:38 PM

even if you travelled back to the 40's to buy this brand new i wouldnt count on it making several hundred miles home, at least not at highway speeds

12/10/2006 7:11:37 PM