QuestionI am thinking of trying to get a 1970's Toyota pickup running. A tree fell on the cab, but when I popped the hood, it looked in excellent shape. It has probably been sitting for a solid 10 years. If you could give me some advice on where to start and/or things that I need to go ahead and replace straight off the bat.
AnswerThis really depends on how long it was actually sitting without being run. 10 years is sort of at a divider line between needing a complete cleaning out of the engine oil pan or just an oil & filter change and ignition tune-up.
It also depends on what part of the country you are in. If there's no danger of the block having frozen up and cracked, then proceed. Otherwise, put some water in the cooling system to see if you have any major leaks and where they are - then decide whether or not you want to bother with it. If it has sat with water in it, and you are in the frozen north, forget it, it is most likely too costly to get it going again.
The fuel injection or carburetor (depending which year it is) will no doubt require a going over, as the gas will have turned to varnish by now, but you can use the method of pouring an ounce or two of fresh gas into the air intake to see if it will run, at least briefly.
Pull the spark plugs and fill the cylinders with 5W30 engine oil, then try to move the engine by hand (wrench on the crank center bolt) Leave the plugs out! If it will turn two complete revolutions, you're in luck, nothing is stuck fast, and you've just lubricated the cylinder walls and piston rings. If the crank won't go all the way around two full revolutions, you have at least a stuck valve, and maybe worse - it's "off with her head" as Henry the Eigth would say!
If it goes all the way around twice, you're ready for the next step now. Put in a new set of spark plugs, and make sure the plug wires are all OK.
Unless you want to be absolutely guaranteed that you won't do further damage to the engine (remember my business is Classic cars of the 20s-50s, where they have sometimes been sitting 40 years or more, and where parts are unavailable), I'd just start out by putting in a fresh battery and trying the starter to see if it will crank. If it won't crank on the starter, try bypassing the solenoid to see if that will wake it up.
Once you get it cranking OK, dump a tablespoonful of gas down the carburetor or fuel injection air intake to see if it will fire briefly.
If not, investigate the distributor - if it has points and condensor (depends on the year), the points are probably dirty - clean them with fine sandpaper, blow the grit away and try again. If it has electronic ignition, you're on your own - just check the wiring to make sure everything is getting 12 volts, and if that doesn't wake it up, you need someone with experience with later models than I have.
Once you get the ignition system workign, I'm betting it will now fire right up - these are bulletproof engines. The odometer probably goes to 999,999 miles before it turns over (depending on year, again) and if so, check the mileage on it. If it has less than about 200K on it, it will probably give many years of service once you get it going.
Dick
