Triumph Repair: 78 triumph spitfire, triumph spitfire, clutch system

Question
dear sir, my brother a i have a 78 triumph that has been sitting for 6 years. we are seeking info on what things should be done before starting and driving after all these years. we plan on changing oil and plugs and draining a 1/4 tank of gas and replacing. we tried to jump the car yesterday and it did turn over but we stopped at that point so we could do the afore mentioned items, also we replaced the tires yesterday because as you can imagine they were flat and dry rotted. any info you could provide would be greatly appreciated.

Answer
Hi Scott,
I have had many cars brought to me in shops that have been stored for long times and I have to recommend the following procedure depending on weather the owner is the one who stored it.

If you don't know for sure, the history of the car you need to change ALL the fluids out, Fuel tank, Engine %26 filter, Transmission, Differential, cooling system and the clutch and brake hydraulic system. All of these systems can and usually do collect water from the air and condense on the walls of the internals. If you were the one who stored it and it was in a low humid area you can probably get away with just draining a small amount of oil from the bottom to see if any water is present. 6 years is too long for any gas to stay in and should be discarded no matter where you are. It is hard to check the oils for water in the bottom, as Triumph (BLM) chose to eliminate most drain plugs. Dumb move. You will know if water was present after driving it a short time as the oils will turn brown. Then you will need to change it twice to get it all out.
I would also still drain the cooling system and brake system and clutch system (use DOT 4 only) I don't care if your book says DOT 3. USE DOT 4.

Brake disks and drums will probably be rusty and you should try to sand as much of them that you can before driving. Good time to grease the car too. Examine belts and hoses too. Most batteries don't last that long too. Use high test gas and adjust the valves and set the timing and after driving a short time readjust the carb. and replace the air filter. You might be surprised to learn how many little animals like to store nuts in the exhaust pipe too.

Keep in mind that your tires are probably now called "Maypops"

Good luck.

Howard