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Last fired in 1986

Pizza_Man

Pizza_Man

1/2 ton status
Joined
Sep 24, 2009
Posts
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Location
San Diego CA
So, there has been a pickup sitting at my grandpas for a while. it happens to be a 1972 GMC C2500 custom camper. the engine and transmission was rebuilt about 2 or 3 thousand miles before it was parked in '86. he has owned the truck since new and it has about 150,000 miles total. now that i have a few greenbacks, i've decided to get it running again and use it to get parts, maybe DD, maybe tow with it. and it is the perfect other secondary vehicle to the jimmy, which is a 71.

Anyway, I started thinking of what all it will take to run again. and what i need to buy. and i decided to start a list, just to make sure i don't forget anything; Motor oil, auto trans oil, gear oil, and gas. thats all i got for what i need to buy. i'm just going to use the carb, air filter, and battery off the jimmy to save money and i know they all work. (the 72 has the gas/pane setup and no filter or battery). So what am i missing? keep in mind that this is a california rig that has just simply sat for 24 years.
 
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I'd check all the rubber fuel hoses and drain every last bit of gas if there is any. Fuel filter. Brake fluid is bound to be bad too.

A buddy of mine showed me a cell phone video he took on his first day of work. His boss asked him to startup a 454 pickup that had sat for a long while. A fuel hose burst and the entire truck went up in flames. A bad first day for sure.
 
I wouldnt plan on using a truck that has sat for almost 25 years as a DD without dropping an assload of cash before its close to reliable.
 
NONONONONO dont you listen to them, just get new spark plugs and wires, then dump starting fluid and raw high octain Gas straight down the carb and tell you buds to hold you beer and watch this...:haha:

Actually i would also recomend very highly of getting marvel mystery oil, spray your rockers well with a spray bottle, pull your plugs spray your cyclinder too, let it sit for a couple weeks. it will make a very very big difference! New battery, all fluids too. plugs wires. then after all hoses are checked then start it up and go from there. keep a fire extinguisher near by just in case:crazy:
 
That thing is probably locked up tighter than a nuns c_nt, and being that it was build in the mid 80's the gaskets would be suspect. If your gonna do it then just get a gasket kit as well as new rings and bearings. I would also re hone the cylinders and the valve seats will probably need to be hand lapped. Gaskets in the carb are surely dried and brittle as well. Fuel tank and lines could be subject to rust and varnish.
 
thanks so far, i haven't gotten to really look at it under the hood - due to a wasp nest under it... talk about a surprise. but maybe monday or tuesday i'll be able to get out there and look over everything.
i know my jimmy sat for 3 or 4 years before i bought it and all it took to run smoothly again was engine oil, carb rebuild, and dropping the tank to wash out the old gas.
 
Pizza_Man said:
thanks so far, i haven't gotten to really look at it under the hood - due to a wasp nest under it... talk about a surprise. but maybe monday or tuesday i'll be able to get out there and look over everything.
i know my jimmy sat for 3 or 4 years before i bought it and all it took to run smoothly again was engine oil, carb rebuild, and dropping the tank to wash out the old gas.
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3-4 years vs 25ish is a very different scenario
 
You guys need to risk it sometimes. Dad bought a 68 impala with a 327 at 60k miles. Old 4 door, ran under the back of a truck and got parked... 25 years or more ago. Some parts stolen off it. He put fresh oil and gas, rebuilt the carb and had that thing running in a day, and she runs goooood. What ya got to lose? Also filled trans fluid put the cheapest brakes he could on it and was driving it around doing burnouts in it lol. Radiator support was mashed so the radiators just wired in, but hey i can walk out there right now and crank it and fire it right up :haha:
 
KansasTwister said:
You guys need to risk it sometimes. Dad bought a 68 impala with a 327 at 60k miles. Old 4 door, ran under the back of a truck and got parked... 25 years or more ago. Some parts stolen off it. He put fresh oil and gas, rebuilt the carb and had that thing running in a day, and she runs goooood. What ya got to lose? Also filled trans fluid put the cheapest brakes he could on it and was driving it around doing burnouts in it lol. Radiator support was mashed so the radiators just wired in, but hey i can walk out there right now and crank it and fire it right up :haha:
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Words of inspiration, thats what I like to hear! I'm hoping to get it running with $100 and 2 days worth of work. Although there are some other problems i ran into already. Nobody knows where the key is. Anyone here know how to start it without the key? (my jimmy starts without it, but that requires bump starting and having my ignition kill switch on. and the jimmy in a manual) also, how much would it cost to register the c2500 (gonna call it mustard now, cause thats how i know it)... keep in mind that it is a 2wd, custom camper (long longbed), and a 3/4 ton. so how much would the cali-nazis want from me?
 
When my parents moved into their place there was a 78 toyota truck in the back of a shed covered in bird poop. Tags had expired in 88. The owners of the property gave them the title and they gave it to me. Washed it, It was already drained of gas, popped the plugs out and poured some oil down the cylinder walls, put same old plugs back in.

Poured 5 gals of gas in the tank and some in the carb. Started up in about 10 secs of cranking. Drove it down the street to get gas and then Drove it for about a year till i sold it.

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IIRC they can only charge for 3-4 years of back regestration, if it was already leined. Im not sure if it applies the same way if you have the pink.
Break out the lube in advance, and commense to sweet talkin the old gals down there, and pray they atleast give you a reach-around.
 
DeviousK5 said:
IIRC they can only charge for 3-4 years of back regestration, if it was already leined. Im not sure if it applies the same way if you have the pink.
Break out the lube in advance, and commense to sweet talkin the old gals down there, and pray they atleast give you a reach-around.
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6 Years in cali of a car not being registered it falls "off the books" has to be re inspected and new title is issued. Been through this process before, and 2 other of my friends have as well. Doesnt take to long to do. And you dont have to pay for back fees
 
Pizza_Man said:
Words of inspiration, thats what I like to hear! I'm hoping to get it running with $100 and 2 days worth of work. Although there are some other problems i ran into already. Nobody knows where the key is. Anyone here know how to start it without the key?
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Reach under the dash and unplug the ignition block from the key switch (or unscrew the bezel from the front and pull key cylinder) you can use a small pice of wire for ign hot and another piece to hit the starter. Cops love seeing no key and that block hanging down in my '70 :rolleyes:
 
It's not easy to pull the ignition out of the dash without the key--you need it to get the lock cylinder out,the bezel wont unscrew all the way,as the cylinder is a bit larger..

I'd run a wire to the coil positive from the battery positive (you can use a jumper wire from the red wire on the firewall junction block to energize the coil)--and to crank it over all you need do is apply a 12V hot wire to the thick purple wire at the fuse box on the firewall side and she'll crank..

I have an ignition switch with a key from a 72 Suburban,but you can probably buy one cheaper than shipping costs..how to get the bezel off without destroying it ifyou cant get the cylinder out,I cant tell you..

I collected over 200 GM keys from the junkyard I used to work at ,plus a friend who used to run a body shop gave me a bunch more GM keys--so far there has only been one truck's door lock on one side,out all the trucks I've owned,that I couldn't find a key for that worked!..guess they didn't have too many different "key cuts" in the 60's and 70's...
 
Your lucky to be in CA,where you have a much freindlier climate towards engines sitting unused for years..here its not uncommon for one to seize up in a matter of months,especially if not garaged..but there has been cars we got running at the junkyard that sat for decades,one that comes to mind was a '56 Packard with a straight 8,that sat since 1962 when it was towed in after being rear-ended..we fired it up in 2002!..didn't take much work,we pulled the spark plugs and oiled the cylinders and broke it free with a crowbar on the flywheel teeth,once it came free we turned it over by hand a few revolutions to ensure the valves weren't stuck shut..we felt no unusual resistance so we braved using the starter and it spun freely..We drained the old oil and filled it with some "good used" oil we'd drained from the boss's Lincoln
after its last oil change,and rigged up a gravity feed gas tank from a lawn mower to it,it started after 20 seconds,and it took about 5 minutes to get it to fire on all 8,I think some valves had stuck open..once it warmed up it ran sweet,but the carb kept flooding over..after we got the carb straightened out we sold the car to a customer for 800 bucks,it didn't even smoke !..we got many engines running that sat for years,some however,only ran good for a half hour or so and then started smoking or rapping,or locked up tight..(that may be due to the fact we didn't know why many of the cars were scrapped in the first place--some may have had "junk" engines !)..

Wost looking engine I though wouldn't run ever again was one my co-worker put in his Olds Cutlass..it was a 305 Chevy from a MOnte Carlo,he had swapped the engine into it 5 years prior,after the car lost its tranny he put it in the junkyard way out back near the tree line..car had no hood,and someone swiped the 4 bbl intake,and the engine was full in the valley pan area of acorns,leaves and about 5 gallons of water came out when we hoisted it out with the loader..I was like,ya,this is a good engine!..:rolleyes:..but he was stubborn,he removed all the parts he needed off his old engine,flushed the 305 out good with a garden hose,and put it all together--and to my surprise it did start and run,better than I thought it would!..it did smoke some and would foul two plugs rapidly,but he was able to use it for 6 months till he found another engine that was in decent shape!..

Oh yeah--another thing--here if a vehicle has a lein,its for "life" and you have no choice but to pay it to get it titled--if that aint possible (say the guy who was owed the lein is long dead,etc)--too bad,the vehicle cant ever be registered again!..there is no "forgiveness" if back taxes are owed either--I know a guy who bought a 1971 GMC 4x4 and took 7 years doing a frame off restoration,only to discover since he hadn't paid the sales tax within the 30 day limit when he bought it,it had now grown to 800 bucks,with all the late fees and interest that had accumulated!..another friend with a mint '62 Nova had to buy another car for the numbers and title,after learning it had an "active" lein on it from 1966,that could not be paid because the guy had died in 1977!..:doah:..I see more vechicles here in junkyards with NOTHING wrong with them,except the owners either lost the title or couldn't GET one due to leins or unpaid excise taxes,etc..its a sinful waste of good vehicles,IMO--
 
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