Engine How To Start-up An Engine Thats Been Sitting 10-12 Years?

Hi Everyone.
New to the forum.

Long story short, my dad past away from a car accident in 2001. I have a 1967 mustang fastback w/ a 289 thats been sitting in my garage, since 2001. Last time it was running, was during his funeral during the procession. I probably started it up in 2003 for a bried 5 mins, but then it died. Eventually would start back up....Im assuming the engine needed to be warmed up or something along the lines of that.

I've always been a car guy, and hung around him when he worked on the mustang. 25 years of age now, and FT job....I am getting back into the groove of cars and auto-mechanics. I have a subaru forester that I love.

Peep my journal for it here:
http://www.subaruforester.org/vbulletin/f115/apalacpac-2006-garnet-red-forester-143425/

Haven't done much, but have been able to do the suspension and lower it by myself. As well as adding some more suspension stuff, and stuff to the exhaust. Not much engine stuff....well because its not worth it on a N/A Subaru.

Anyways, I would love to make this mustang a good project car. I think that I am mechanically inclined, and able to do anything as long as I have a plan and good set of instructions/path of where I want to go and what I want to do.

First thing I want to try and do is get the engine fired up. Car doesn't neccessarily need to be in driveable, but just want to hear some life come out of it. In the long run I'll eventually swap a 351W, but for not I just want to hear the beat of the engine ROAR.

So what steps do I take to possibly revive an engine that has been sitting there so long. I've heard of siphoning the old gas, and drain all fluids...etc. Are there any good DIY articles for something that been been sitting for so long? More particular to my engine? Anyhelp would be great!
 
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Hi Everyone.
New to the forum.

Long story short, my dad past away from a car accident in 2001. I have a 1967 mustang fastback w/ a 289 thats been sitting in my garage, since 2001. Last time it was running, was during his funeral during the procession. I probably started it up in 2003 for a bried 5 mins, but then it died. Eventually would start back up....Im assuming the engine needed to be warmed up or something along the lines of that.

I've always been a car guy, and hung around him when he worked on the mustang. 25 years of age now, and FT job....I am getting back into the groove of cars and auto-mechanics. I have a subaru forester that I love.

Peep my journal for it here:
http://www.subaruforester.org/vbulletin/f115/apalacpac-2006-garnet-red-forester-143425/

Haven't done much, but have been able to do the suspension and lower it by myself. As well as adding some more suspension stuff, and stuff to the exhaust. Not much engine stuff....well because its not worth it on a N/A Subaru.

Anyways, I would love to make this mustang a good project car. I think that I am mechanically inclined, and able to do anything as long as I have a plan and good set of instructions/path of where I want to go and what I want to do.

First thing I want to try and do is get the engine fired up. Car doesn't neccessarily need to be in driveable, but just want to hear some life come out of it. In the long run I'll eventually swap a 351W, but for not I just want to hear the beat of the engine ROAR.

So what steps do I take to possibly revive an engine that has been sitting there so long. I've heard of siphoning the old gas, and drain all fluids...etc. Are there any good DIY articles for something that been been sitting for so long? More particular to my engine? Anyhelp would be great!
like you said i would change the oil and filter .the gass will have to be drained from the tank and the tank should be flushed out .blow out the fuel lines and replace the rubber lines. the carb may need a kit .remove the plugs and clean .it wouldnt hurt to try to prime the motor, all these years the oil would have drained from the rod and crank bearings. check for water leaks /freeze plugs and water pump
 
I would start with pulling plugs and spraying some lube like WD-40 in the cylinders. Make sure you pay attention so you get the plugs back in the right holes. Then let that sit for a while. Then make sure the engine turns over. If it's a manual you can put it in the highest gear and rock it. If it's an automatic trans you can put it in neutral and put a socket on the crank. Make sure the engine rotates freely before you try to start it. You can damage a ring or piston if you don't make sure the engine is free first. It's easiest to spin the engine manually if you don't have the spark plugs in.

I agree with the rest of the advice.

If the car still has the original points distributor I would highly recommend going to a Pertronix electronic ignition under the cap. You'll get better fuel economy, make more power and you won't have to service the distributor nearly as often. In my opinion it's not worth learning how to work with points.

You could purchase the Ford factory manuals for the car. They have a lot of good details. Otherwise, nowadays you can get most of what you need to know through internet searches.

I'll reserve any comments about the scooby. Glad to hear you're getting into an American car.
 
the very first thing you need to do is make sure the engine is still free. to that you need to put a breaker bar and the proper socket on the crank bolt and turn the motor by hand. it should rotate freely. if not them you need to pull the spark plugs and soak the cylinders with a good penetrating oil, royal purple has one that should do nicely and is available at your local parts store, over night and see if that breaks the rings free. if not repeat the process.

once the engine is free, you want to change all the fluids. when you change the oil filter you want to fill it with fresh oil before you install it to help avoid a dry start. you should also change all the rubber hoses as well as the fluids as they have deteriorated over time.

you want to drain the fuel tank, clean it out as much as possible, and install fresh fuel. you should probably also flush the fuel lines as well and install two fuel filters, one near the tank and one near the carb.

you should also change out the fan belts as well as they also have deteriorated over time.

now is the time to install a new battery, prime the carb(after rebuilding it), and pull the coil wire a crank the engine until you get oil pressure. reinstall the coil wire and fire the engine. DO NOT let it idle for the nest 20 minutes, but rather run the engine at about 1500 rpm. during this time check for leaks, watch the engine temperature and oil pressure. once the engine has reached teh 20min mark, you let the engine idle, adjust the carb and the timing, and then go for a drive, take it easy though for the first drive to let the rest of the drive train loosen up properly as well(hopefully you changed those fluids as well).

i am sure that i missed something.
 
I don't have anything to add, as far as firing up the engine goes, you already have really good advice. I just wanted to agree with buying the ford shop manual, most valuable book you can have when you own one of these Mustangs.
 
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