Dane Halsted (Port Augusta, SA)

Hi Allan, I’ve been slowly rebuilding a 350 Chev that’s eventually going to go into my Land Rover County that I’m slowly doing up. The motor has been sitting for a while, but it was running several years ago when I bought it. My question is, once it’s all finished and sitting in the engine bay, what’s the correct procedure to starting an engine that’s been sitting for the last couple of years?

The oil is all new and there’ll be fresh fuel being pumped into it, but I’m worried that when I go to start it, the upper pistons and head will be drained of all their oil and I may damage it in the time it takes for the oil pressure to build up.

What should I be doing to avoid this happening, or am I worried about nothing?

Allan

Dane, it’s a smart move to be worried about it. I would remove the spark plugs and squirt a bit of engine oil into the cylinders and connect a master gauge into the oil pressure sender unit tapping. Then turn the engine over on the starter until the oil pressure reaches normal.

However, you’ll need to watch out for two things: First, keep your eyes and face away from the spark plug holes in case there’s a little too much oil in the cylinder head it’ll come out like you wouldn’t believe! The second is to not let the starter motor turn the engine over for more than about 30 seconds at a time to prevent it from overheating.

Also, once you’ve got it running, remember to change the oil over after about 1,000 kilometers. Go for it mate.