Hello guys! I am brand new to the forums but I read quite a few helpful threads and decided to turn to you guys for some advice..
So I own a 1987 Cutlass Supreme Brougham with the v8 305 engine. I have owned the car for 5 years and it treated me great until the Canadian winter came the first year I was driving it.
It was a project for me and my Father to get it in good running order and we did a couple things to it. It was running fairly good it even did a couple highway trips back and forth and never had any issues.
My Father sadly passed away when I was 18 and I didn't have the knowledge or any friends to help me work on it. I eventually gave up and parked the car and got myself a 2008 Dodge Charger for a daily driver..
A few years have passed and I feel horrible now that I have grown up and the car is sitting in my backyard untouched. I really wanna get it running and make my Dad proud that I want to have cars as a passion just like he did.

The car has been covered by a good automotive tarp and I sprayed the carb down with wd-40. The battery is disconnected but its probably garbage at this point so I already tracked down a good Interstate replacement battery to start off with.

Onto my big question -

So my question is ; it has been sitting for 4 years without firing up or even hand cranking it over. What are some steps I should take to ensure myself a good/successful time for trying to restore this vehicle. I know I was stupid to not put it in storage properly but I was young and could have cared less at the time. I realize now there is a checklist for follow when storing a vehicle for extended periods of time. I would appreciate any advice or things to check for that I might not have on my checklist to get working on it again.

 

Welcome, my condolences on your dad. You did not mention why it was parked in the first place.


The first thing is get the old fuel out of the tank and fuel system. Then see if the cooling system holds water.

 

I appreciate the condolences, it means alot to hear that.
Onto the reason I parked the beast.
Well where I live it gets a brisk -50 Celsius at some points in Jan-Feb. So to say the least it wasn't a reliable winter car in the sense that when it got extremely cold it was hard of starting or didn't want to start at all. Not good when you get stuck at work or can't even make it to work.

From what I have read/been told. The fuel is probably varnish by this point so draining it is one of my early plans. As far as checking for leaks in the cooling system I think I will be conducting a leak check all over the vehicle, who knows that time did to the poor thing. Aswell as checking my gaskets,seals,hoses,belts for the infamous 'dry rot'

 

Welcome and thanks for sharing your story. Sorry you lost your dad.

After a good look over everything, I would see if the engine at least turns over. Either by hand, or with your new battery connected. I should mention to make sure the air cleaner housing is clean and no critters have stored any food or junk in there. Don't over look any wiring you see, that might have been chewed on.

If the engine turns over at this point, put a little gas down the carb and see if it will fire off a little. Hopefully this will be a "start"

 

also check oil and tranny fluid as well make sure no moisture got in there

 

I was thinking a good flush/change of every fluid would probably be a smart idea. Aswell as an oil change before I even attempt to crank it over by hand or with a battery connected.

 

I haven't ever had mice bother me in my home but ill be sure to give my car a good check because that's probably a good spot to rent if your a mouse.
If I do find evidence of vermin what should I do? Compressor and give it a good air blast..? Kill it with fire?(haha kidding ofcourse)

 

Ok then. Don't throw any money at it until you know its doesn't leak coolant. My next worry would be something has froze.

Any reason to believe the coolant/anti freeze wasn't up to the job these years?

If no worries, see if it will fire up. Then change your fluids. Good luck.

 

All the fluids in it were changed upon purchase and bought for my province conditions, as the vehicle was from out of province. I live in Saskatchewan and the cutlass is from Ontario. The anti-freeze should have done its job, if something froze up I assume that could be a boat-load of problems waiting to set sail my way.