Old trucks are commonly found in a condition that suggests that they have not been used for a long period of time. Unlike trucks today, which are commonly used on a daily basis, old trucks were mostly used solely to transport materials too large to be carried by a car. When the truck was no longer necessary, it was parked. Thankfully, old trucks have a fairly simply engine design and their gas tanks are easy to access, which makes starting the engine easier than with many other types of vehicles.
Fill the truck's gas tank with fresh gasoline. Gasoline becomes stale over time and can make starting the truck difficult or impossible. Therefore, the gas tank should be filled with at least two gallons of fresh gasoline. If the gas tank has old gasoline within it, the tank will have to be drained. Truck owners can be thankful that the vast majority of old trucks have a drain bolt located on the bottom of the tank. To drain the tank, the drain bolt is simply removed with a wrench. Gas tanks that do not have a drain bolt must be removed and the gasoline poured out from the tank's filler neck.
Change the engine oil. Chances are very good that the oil within the engine is contaminated with various deposits. These deposits can quickly cause serious damage to the engine once started.
Change the engine's spark plugs. Even if the engine has fresh gasoline, the gasoline will have to be ignited for the truck to start. Old spark plugs will either not produce a hot enough spark or produce no spark at all.
Replace the distributor cap and rotor. The distributor sends electricity through the spark plug wires and to the spark plugs. If the distributor cannot produce that electricity, the engine will not start. On the underside of the distributor cap are metal contacts, which are used to send electrical current to the spark plug wires. Over time, these metal contacts corrode, diminishing their ability to carry current.
The rotor is located directly underneath the distributor cap. The rotor's job is to carry electrical current to the metal contacts on the distributor cap. The tip of the rotor is made of metal, which, like the metal contacts of the distributor cap, corrodes over time. Therefore, the rotor should also be replaced.
Check the condition of the spark plug wires and replace them if necessary. The spark plug wires carry the electricity from the distributor cap to each individual spark plug. Even if the distributor produces sufficient current, that current will be substantially diminished if it must pass through damaged spark plug wires. When inspecting the wires, look for cracks along the length of each wire. Look for a greenish color on the metal pieces at each end of each wire, which indicates that the metal contacts are corroded. When in doubt, it is better to replace the wires with new ones.
