BrownCar

I'm picking up my Dad's old '72 Supreme 350 4-barrel in a couple weeks. I drove this car through college, but it has been sitting in my parents' garage for probably nine years without being run. I pumped out most of the gas a couple years ago from the tank. Surprisingly, the battery was still holding a charge! I'm planning to push it up on a trailer and move it across country, but don't know enough as to what needs checking, service, or draining, before trying to start it up. I'm fairly mechanically inclined, but not a mechanic. If I can get what the processes are, I can probably do most, or make an informed decision to have it professionally done. I appreciate your help.

oldcutlass

First give it a good cleaning inside and out. Start with getting the engine running and see where the repairs lead from that, perform a tune up and fluid changes. Once the engine is running move on to the brakes and then getting it to move under its own power on the driveway and in front of the house, change fluids. Replace tires before driving any real distance or speed. Then work on suspension, front end, electrical gremlins, etc. Now that its pretty much safe to drive, go get ice cream. And at last... cosmetics, make it pretty.

BrownCar

It's the getting the engine running part that worries me! The car is in great shape, it's just been sitting in the garage. I wasn't sure if I could cause more problems by trying to start it with that old fuel still in the system?

oldcutlass

You can go to a lawn mower repair shop and pickup a used ride on tractor tank to run a hose from it to the carb just to start the engine. Or, (it will have to be done eventually anyway) you can drop the tank and clean it out. Reinstall it, blow out the metal fuel lines, and replace all the rubber fuel line hoses.

BrownCar

Thanks! I'll start looking that up.

By the way, is this worthwhile? Any other good manuals?

Sugar Bear

1. Take before and after pictures of everything and everyone you can associated with car before moving it,

2. Clean it, take pictures,

3. Get the ownership papers squared away,

4. Do not try to start it without confirming that engine will turn by hand. Pull the spark plugs, put oil in the cylinders, turn it by hand a few times, let it sit for a couple of hours if it turns easily, crank it with the starter while the plugs are out. Change the oil and filter, put the plugs in and try starting.

Good luck!!!

oldcutlass

That is a reproduction manual, there are plenty of originals for sale both on here (Misc. Classified Section) and Ebay.

69CSHC

Perfect, BrownCar this is one of the most important sequences that should be followed to the letter. I had a 67 Cutlass that sat 7 years, with an empty gas tank.

I did what Sugar Bear recommended to the T. One soda cap full of motor oil in each plug opening. Car eventually started and ran well. A 72 Olds is a great car, it should work out beautifully for you too.

Exactly, This sentence is the beginning and the end of what is most important to getting the car up and running.

BrownCar, once she is ready to run and all fluids are up to factory spec, make sure the emergency brake works. And make sure you can apply it easily. Once the engine is safe and you can absolutely stop, everything else is gravy....

Love that ! along with all the great information you provided. We must always remember what working on cars like this is all about. Living and loving life !

BrownCar

Picked up the car, hauled it 1600 miles home. I think I was wrong and it has been sitting 14 years.
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I may need to start some new threads on finding different issues. I plan to power wash the underside and degrease it and the engine bay, drain the oil and see what it looks like, and see if I can figure out disconnecting the fuel lines while it is up on the trailer since I have easier access. The part number from the carb is a square bore 500 CFM Edelbrock (#1902)? I don't know if that is an adapter plate underneath or not, but I thought the engine was supposed to be a spreadbore? I have also read the original Quadrajets were 750 CFM. I'm concerned that a search of these forums doesn't come up with a single mention of the Edelbrock 1902, and my ex-father-in-law, who was a mechanic, took one look at it about 15 years ago and said, "that's not the right carb." When I search 1902 on Edelbrock's site, it says it is for a Ford Windsor 302. This is not the original engine to this car, as the original, working one was replaced when restored in the early '90s, much to my Dad's chagrin.
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cdrod

BrownCar:
What you need more than the assembly manual is a 1972 chassis service manual. The service manual will tell you how to work on the car. The assembly manual is a great resource if you plan on doing a large scale restoration or taking the body off the frame.

Rodney

oldcutlass

That is a remanufactured Quadrajet by Edelbrock

Fun71

I wouldn't worry about the carb showing as a Ford application as it should work fine (and apparently had for some amount of time). It also appears there is an HEI distributor which should make tune ups a lot simpler.

oldcutlass

As long as you don't use the original tune up specs.

green1972

Looks Great, get it running and check brake and fuel lines and Drive it! Tim

green1972

Looks Great, get it running and check brake and fuel lines and Drive it! Tim
Nothing like Having Dad's Car!

BrownCar

I might have a service manual. I have a couple of books my Mom gave me this week from the car file, along with the tag below.

I think I only drove it once since that carb setup was put on it and it had NO power!

Dad ordered it from the factory, traded in a light blue '68 Cutlass Supreme Convertible to get it, and took delivery 3/8/72.
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Fun71

If the initial timing was set to the book specs with the HEI distributor installed, the total timing is likely 10* or so short and that can significantly affect the power. Or the carb isn’t jetted and tuned correctly. Lots of things can affect power.

BrownCar

No idea how anything was done before, and I don't have the knowledge to change any of that. I'm mechanically inclined, but never been a car guy. I can do most things after seeing a reference of how to do it.

Fun71

OK just ask questions when you get to it and folks will give you the info you need.

droldsmorland

Find a good mechanic you can trust to work on this car.
Join a club, go to local cruise nights and car shows, and ask around.

White vert tops can be a challenge to keep clean. Do your homework on that. Mothers is a good source for cleaning/detailing supplies.
A local professional auto body supply house will have everything you need for cleaning and detailing

Don't use cheap will fit chineasuim junk parts. Fusick, OPGI, Year One. Other GM reproduction houses are out there. GM A-bodies do have many parts in common. So look at Chevy Buick Pontiac for general purpose parts if you cant find Olds Specific. Calipers Rotors brake pads chassis parts as some examples, Rock Auto is a good source for some parts.

If the car has most of its OEM parts keep them or rebuild versus replacing with new. Don't toss or turn in parts for core charges.

See attached doc for awaking a hibernating car.

BrownCar

I appreciate all the guidance! I ordered a Wix oil filter, 5 quarts of Lucas Oil Hot Rod & Classic Car 10W40, an ACDelco 180 degree thermostat, and a coolant service kit that someone on here recommended.

Thank you, droldsmorland, for the document! I do great with lists! By the way, this has always been a Texas car until Saturday when it arrived in Virginia until I can retire home to Texas.

BrownCar

What did this go to?
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Looks like I'm missing a belt off this thing.
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Better look at the distributor and carb.
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oldcutlass

1st picture is the cap for the windshield washer tank.
2nd picture is your a/c compressor that's missing the belt, probably because the clutch is frozen.
3rd picture shows the rebuilt Rochester carb and an Hei distributor

Everything looks pretty clean, should be an easy start up once you make sure there is no stale fuel in the tank.

BrownCar

Thanks. The a/c compressor spins freely. I'm not sure why the belt was taken off of it. I remember my Dad said the windshield washers no longer worked, but assume he was talking about the motor for the wipers.

jaunty75

I've been reading through all of the posts in this thread, and they're all good advice, but, dang it, for now, you just want to make the engine run, right? Fixing brakes, changing belts, hoses, everything else. That can come later.

I faced a similar situation to yours three years ago. I bought a '78 Toronado that had not been started in 14 years. Yes, there were a million things I needed to do to it to make it roadworthy, but roadworthiness was not my first goal. I just wanted to hear it run for a minute or two.

So here's what I did.

1. Put a wrench on the engine bolt and turned it to make sure it wasn't seized. It wasn't.
2. Installed new spark plugs and new spark plug wires because animals had chewed on the old ones.
3. Changed the oil and filter.
4. Made sure there was actually coolant in the cooling system (but I hadn't changed it yet).
5. Put in a new battery. It was cool to hear the key buzzer when I had the key in the ignition and the door open, and it was cool to see all the interior lights light up when I opened the door. The car was coming back to life!
6. Put about three gallons of fuel in the tank.
7. Made sure a fire extinguisher was handy.
8. Pumped the pedal a few times, crossed my fingers, and turned the key. It took a few cranks and a few more pedal pumps, but it did start, and it was so cool.

I backed it out of the garage into the driveway, discovered that I had practically no brakes, and pulled it right back in again. Let it run a minute or two longer, and then shut it off and got to work. It was probably about a month later before I had done enough things to it (repaired brakes, serviced cooling and fuel systems, etc.) to have a reason to start it again, but it was more fun doing all of that knowing that the car would actually run.

BrownCar

Exactly. But I want to be the sponge and soak up everything anyone is willing to share with me! I am very appreciative of everyone's help and time.

Fun71

It looks as if the pickup tube for the washer cap is missing. The tube should be almost as deep as the reservoir and have a filter screen on the bottom. Can't draw any water out of the reservoir without it.

The HEI distributor looks to be all fairly new - cap, wires, vacuum advance - as does the carburetor, so likely all you need at the most are minor adjustments to get it running properly.

BrownCar

I didn't even see the reservoir!

The carb and distributor were probably only on there 3-4 years before it was parked around 2006. The entire car had a body off restoration worked on and off (more off than on!) from '88-'94, that included a replacement engine that was not part of the instructions. I had an accident and damaged the front passenger quarter panel in Fall 1998 when slowing down to a stop on a downhill from 25 miles an hour after the first drizzle in Austin in months and the tires couldn't get traction. The body shop put on the quarter panel from a Vista Cruiser, I'm guessing, with an antenna, and didn't do a good job of lining anything up. My parents drove it occasionally until 2006, then my Dad would start it monthly for a little while. About two years ago they said I could have it, again, so I pumped out as much of the old gas as I could while I was in town for an overnight.

BrownCar

By the way, where would I find this "engine bolt" to manually turn? I'm assuming somewhere on the front, but google doesn't give any clues.

oldcutlass

Its inside the lower pulley.

BrownCar

Thanks. I was guessing it probably was. Am I supposed to take the pulley and/or belt off first?

jaunty75

I don't think "engine bolt" was a very good term, but I didn't know what else to call it.

I didn't disconnect anything, belts or otherwise. I just wanted to turn it enough to verify that it wasn't stuck. A quarter of a full turn was enough. I just found a socket that fit on the pulley bolt, attached it to the biggest breaker bar I had to get the most leverage, and then turned it. It moved pretty easily, and that's all I wanted.

BrownCar

No luck getting my hand or a socket in there between it and the fan blades. If anyone has a suggested size socket to start with, I'll keep trying.

I swapped out the old battery for the one Autozone says is correct. The new one doesn't have posts for the terminals. The kid at Autozone was asking me about the battery and had no idea about my questions, so I took it and figure I'll get an answer here and exchange it if needed.

It looks like this is the negative cable I would need, but I haven't found a positive cable listed anywhere. Should I just go back and get a similar size battery with normal posts?
https://www.autozone.com/batteries-s...3222_1073719_0

Fun71

The crank snout bolt is huge, it takes a 1 1/8" socket. Go ahead and buy one as you will need it at various points in the future. It's just one of those Olds specific tools that need to be in your toolbox for "that time".

Batteries come in side post and top post configurations, so get the one that matches your battery cables.

BrownCar

I turned the crank bolt without any trouble. Swapped the battery for a top post model, and pulled a spark plug to take a look. A buddy has a compression gauge I can borrow, too, once I'm running. Looks like some new plugs are in order.
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jaunty75

Those two plugs look clean and hardly used. Checking the compression would be good, but you don't need to do it before trying to start the car.

BrownCar

They're definitely hardly used. I bet they only have about 100 miles on them. I just figured the black gunk would affect it. I'm happy to try them, though! I guess it's just the gas issue. Since everything else seems okay, should I try cranking it? with a little new gas added?

jaunty75

I would. You've checked that it's not seized. Put some gas in, pump the pedal a few times, and start cranking. My guess is that it will surprise you and start relatively quickly. It's been sitting 9 years, not 90. When I went to start my Toro the first time after 14 years, I didn't do anything to the fuel system. I knew there wasn't much gas in the tank as that's what the gauge showed, and I assumed it was working. But I didn't worry if it had turned to varnish or anything because I did shake the car around to see if I could hear any fuel sloshing around. I thought I did hear that, so I assumed that whatever was in there was liquid enough to be sucked through the fuel system. I figured that I would reduce any potential problems it might cause by diluting it with new gas. I never had any problems with fuel.

Now, if you REALLY love all of us, you'll position your phone's video camera to capture the drama, and you'll upload it to youtube and post it here so we can all enjoy this first attempt to start a 9-year-sitting car. I wish I had done this when I first started my Toro, but I didn't, and it's too late now.

BrownCar

I gave it a try, and video'd it. No luck.

jaunty75

No luck on the video, or no luck on getting it started? It did crank? How long did you crank it? It may take a bit of cranking to get fuel drawn all the way from the tank through the pump and into the engine if the entire line was dry.

You have to start troubleshooting. If the plug wires are OK, I'd assume you're getting spark. I would check the fuel system. Look in the carburetor and see if it smells like gas. How much gas did you put in the tank? The fuel pump may not work. Those are relatively cheap and easy to replace, but if you're going to replace that, you might as well replace the rubber lines that connect to it. You might also remove and replace the fuel filter. Your fun is actually beginning, not ending.