Restarting a classic

My father has a 1936 Chevy in our garage, but he hasn't driven it for about 10 years . It is 99% original and could probably run smoothly if we fixed it up. My question is, how do you restart such an old car after so many years? Any other help would also be appreciated. Thanks!

 

Good looking car ! It more than likely will have a dead battery that is 6 volts and not 12 volts like todays cars, so that is problem #1. I read that you should squirt a few drops of oil in each cylinder and put back the plugs so the top of the piston rings have oil and will not scratch the cylinder walls. You may find other ideas on a site like My Classic car .com or some other classic car forum. When you do drive it, it will not handle like todays cars since it has no power steering, brakes ect. and the steering will have much more play in it. Guess you will have to get a new licence and inspection and also the cars of that era used leaded gas so you will have to see if you need to add something to the gas of today so not to harm the engine.

Good luck and let us know how it goes or if it goes.

 

This has some ideas too. Also I remember older cars smoke alot more than todays cars so don't let that alarm you. Might tick off the EPA but that is anouther can of worms.
http://www.allpar.com/ed/2003/storage.html

 

TA,
ALL cars built before the Citroen Traction Avantes in the 30s had starting handles, so starting shouldn't be too much of a problem. What you have to watch is the 6 volt batteries; if it doesn't start in the first couple of turns, switch off and wait.
As regards petrol, in Britain there's a petrol additive you can buy. Before the advent of 'unleaded' petrol (there's actually NO such thing chemically!)you squirted this stuff into the tank after filling up and it helped the petrol burn smoothly. I drive vintage Citroen wedding cars, and the boss buys his petrol from scrap yards, so it's so mixed up ANY car would run on the stuff! Failing that, turn the engine a couple of times to get petrol into the upper chambers, and THEN try and start it.

 

He said the car has not been started in 10 years. Would you want to crank on a car that has been sitting for ten years !!! The poor guy would trash his back and if it kicks he will break some bones for good measure. Also a Chevrolet engine is much larger than a Citroen engine.
AFR, if you have an engine crank throw it away and find a way to charge the battery. Those British are still mad at us for winning the war.

 

Aye, single-handedly too! Congrats on the new gong btw.
Is it an automatic? If not, try bump-starting it. Find a downhill slope, keep your foot on the clutch with the gears in second (and the ignition switched on, naturally!)and get someone to push the car as fast as their backs will allow! Once the car is moving at a decent pace, let the clutch back up sharply. That usually starts most cars.

 

Find the starting handle, remove the plugs, squirt a little lub. oil into the cylinders. Leave for an hour or two. Then try to crank the engine by hand - out of gear, of course. If it won't budge - put in gear and try 'rocking' the car back and forth - in gear. Then try cranking the engine again on the handle - out of gear. If it turns OK, give it a couple of dozen gentle cranks to get everything turning nicely.

Before attempting to start, charge the battery or hook up a new one. Change engine oil - after ten years, you may just have a heap of sludge in the sump.

And before hitting the button, be sure to keep a hand fire-extinguisher close by.

Good luck !

 

Yes, a fire extinguisher would be a good idea and the push start idea is good if you can find a place with no traffic.

Gordon what is a self respecting British subject doing driving a FRENCH car ? Might as well be driving a Yugo or something.

 

I have actually driven a Yugo! It was a great little car, but I owned it after Yugoslavia ceased to be and found it impossible to get spares. It was so economical on petrol, I found myself checking the mixture repeatedly to see if I'd made a mistake in tuning!
The Citroens are great cars! They were actually made in Britain in the '50s, but remained left-hand drive. I work part-time for a wedding car company which specialises in them; there were only nine Citroen Avante stretched limos (honest!)made in Britain in the '50s, and our boss owns three. Along with another four Citroens (3 B-15s from the late '40s/early '50s and a Light 15 from 1942), four Daimlers from the '60s/70s and two Rollers, one '60s and the other '70s. The Light 15 is my favourite; it's got a 1500 engine and handles like a modern Mini. If only I had 8 Grand to buy it......
This is the Traction Owners Club website

 

Then you guys don't want to hear, I'm sure, that my own 'project' car is a 74 Lotus Europa TC Federal disassembled and buried in the garage.

 

You may enjoy this site Gordon. My favorite is the Yugo portapotty.

Did you get dropped on your head alot when you were a baby ?

http://www.cruisin66.com/stl/yugonext.html

For parts you should have come to Texas.

http://www.yugoparts.com/

 

Artistic or what?!
In my defence, I actually bought mine second-hand for £50 (which included six months road tax!).

 

Do as Martin said...in the garage.
Jump starting it down a hill is'nt a good time to find out the brakes don't work.
Anything rubber could be dry-rotted,too.

 

Remember it doesn't need to be a hill, just a slope! My street is on enough of an incline to get the car rolling gently-with an extra pair of hands shoving it can move at a fair pace.
In case of an urgent stop, shove it into gear.