Just bought myself a 85 coupe, 4cyl , 5spd , been stored indoors for a decade. on jackstands..original tires..original everything... 18,000 miles, black with gray guts , sunroof , AC, cassette, never winter driven.

going to get it on sunday...

any advice?? Im taking new plugs , battery booster box , going to change the oil.

any distributor concerns??

I will post pics sunday.. getting it from the original owner.

JM

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Jonathan McCreery
86 GT Northstar
86 SE autocrosser in progress

SAVE THE SHAUN!!!

I've bought two cars that had been stored for 5 years each - one inside, one outside. In each case, if the car was running when it was parked I had no trouble getting it going. Just check the basics and put in a new battery and it should be ready to go.

Good luck!

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I would expect several problems..... among them:

Before you do anything... put a big wrench on the crank bolt and see if the engine can turn... If it has been sitting there is still a chance it is stuck or even siezed. (Do Not trust statements from the owner...) If you can't turn it with a wrench then hitting the starter is likely to break things. If it is stuck take out all the plugs and shoot WD-40, CRC 556, or some other lubricant into the cylinders. let the oil work and try again.

coolant.... Even tho the car has been stored... the coolant is bad. At the very least it needs an imediate flush. it could easily have corrosion problems in the radiator, heater core, and water pump. this is because the coolant will separate if left sit for extended periods. that leaves only water in the upper parts of the system. It is very common for stored cars to barf up the water pump shortly after returning to service. I would take tools and a spare pump. I would run the engine to full operating temp and keep it there awhile before any attempt to drive it.

oil... You already know to change that... Do that before you even start it. Use cheap oil because you will probably want to change it again soon. God knows what fresh oil may wash out of a stored engine.

While the plugs are out... and if you didn't have to do this already... shoot a little WD 40 or something in each cylinder to lube it a bit. That motor is bone dry...

battery is toast. Don't even waste effort on it...

Belts... replace them. They age even when sitting. Run the engine a few minutes and let the old belt scrub off any pulley rust before you install a new belt.

tires... they also age just sitting. If you have to do a long trip be very careful with them. You may need to replace them. I would take the tires off another fiero and drive home on them instead...

Transmission fluid should also be replaced asap. Manual tranny, use Synchromesh fluid. (This is available from GM or Quakerstate/Pennzoil dealers.) Automatic use Dexron III. (There are notes about draining the automatic in my cave.)

Stuff still ages on a stored car. Rate of age depends on just how it is stored. You may also want to read wire service in my cave... I would replace the battery cables and braided ground just as a precaution. That and some things can probably wait until you get it home...

edit... it may also need brake work. If it was stored outside it could need allot of brake work...

brake fluid will fail with simple age and it will often allow damage to other parts as it does so. At the very least I would grease all the slides and flush fluid before any trip of lenth. Use Valvoline Synpower fluid. Notes about why are in my cave.

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Nobody loves me. Everybody hates me. Guess I'll just go eat worms.

[This message has been edited by theogre (edited 07-25-2003).]

after that long, the fuel system could be a problem, the fuel filter could verry well be dried up and rotted out,or rock hard before even attempting to turn on the key, id spent the $10 and 10 min, and replace the fuel filter aswell, its a 4 cyl, so the fuel filter couldnt be easier to do on any other car

and ya, plugs, and a battery

good find!! did ya get a good deal?

suspension wise, it should still drive like new

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I think I can,I think I can....

Fuel system... good catch. left that one out.

suspension wise...

it may actually need work there as well... rubber parts all age just sitting. again, this could probably wait until you get it home.

I would grease the ball joints and tierod ends before a long trip. They are probably Ok but the fresh grease will be a good thing.

The OE shocks and struts were crap to start with. I would replace those regardless of the rest of the car's condition.

I would highly suggest you trailer the vehicle home. It would be very wise to work on it in your own garage and get it road ready.
A car stored that long wil need to relearn itself over a period of time.
I do believe you will find alot fo dry rotting items on the car once you start taking it apart. The interior woudl seem to be my biggest worry, GM did not pic the very best suppliers of carpet and upholstery. The seats tend to dry rot from within the inside.

I guess I got lucky... I drove the one that had been parked outside home... about 150 miles.
The one that had been stored inside, I drove about 2500 miles home! Fuel pump (because that is the reason the car was parked in the first place), plugs, ignition module, and new tires was all that was needed. Still driving it daily and no problems. About 10,000 miles on it so far.

Assuming the engine did not seize up from sitting for such a long time; it's a good idea to drain and replace all of the fluids, Gas, oil, tranny, and install new filters, belts and hoses. Then I would remove all of the plugs, shoot about 1 Oz of Marvel Mystery Oil in each cylinder, replace them, ger a new battery hooked up and crank it over. If you are lucky everything should work fine. Don't forget to check the braking and examine the tires for dry rot before you hit the road.

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87GT 3.4 Turbo Best 0-60 5.2 seconds
http://www.turbochargerpower.com/turbo.htm

Once all those fluids are replaced Remove the coil wire and let the engine crank a few times. Get the fresh oil up to the parts that need it before you fire it up!!

David

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His Fiero: 1984 2M4 Coupe

Her Fiero: 1984 2M4 Convertible

Well I have roped a friend into joining me on the trek , good thing he is ASE cert mechanic..

went out last night got a batterey , oil (cheap ass oil) fuel filter , air filter, oil filter, WD-40.

We are getting there @ around 10 , the original owner thinkswere nuts if were gonna try and get it started. I disagree. i started a Corvair ast year that had been sitting since 1982...so I am hopeful.

If the car didn't have the low mileage I probably wouldn't bother.. But I see it as a good opportunity to clean up , get roadworthy and sell in the spring to further fund the northstar project. But in reality I will probably clean it up and keep it..Im like that...I get attached.

you have to love the Fiero hobby..everything is cheap , the cars are fairly easy to wrok on..and their unique. Even when I had my busted tie rod 86 SE (which is now for sale by manicmak in the FS section) I felt good driving it.

This car hasn't seen daylight since the early 90's. It feels like that scene out of back to the future part 2 when they uncover the delorean that has been sitting since the late 1800's

Ok now Im rambling

JM

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Jonathan McCreery
86 GT Northstar
86 SE autocrosser in progress

SAVE THE SHAUN!!!

I think you should drive it like you stole it.

quote Originally posted by Slammed Fiero: Well I have roped a friend into joining me on the trek , good thing he is ASE cert mechanic.. went out last night got a batterey , oil (cheap ass oil) fuel filter , air filter, oil filter, WD-40. We are getting there @ around 10 , the original owner thinkswere nuts if were gonna try and get it started. I disagree. i started a Corvair ast year that had been sitting since 1982...so I am hopeful. If the car didn't have the low mileage I probably wouldn't bother.. But I see it as a good opportunity to clean up , get roadworthy and sell in the spring to further fund the northstar project. But in reality I will probably clean it up and keep it..Im like that...I get attached. you have to love the Fiero hobby..everything is cheap , the cars are fairly easy to wrok on..and their unique. Even when I had my busted tie rod 86 SE (which is now for sale by manicmak in the FS section) I felt good driving it. This car hasn't seen daylight since the early 90's. It feels like that scene out of back to the future part 2 when they uncover the delorean that has been sitting since the late 1800's Ok now Im rambling JM

quote Originally posted by Jake_Dragon: I think you should drive it like you stole it.

If you only knew what i paid for it , you would think I had.

JM

Just got it home... What an ordeal...

Motor wasn't seized. Changed the oil , fuel filter , air filter , oil filter. Put in a new battery..turned over fine. But wouldn't start.

Long story Short , Called Chris Moore , he said fuel pump was probably gumed up.. So the 2 of us puleld the fuel tank in about 30 min in this ladys garage , and discovered that the tube inside the tank (rubber) had turned to gum... Replaced the tube..put the tank back in and she fired right up idled right down to a smooth rumble (if a .2.5 can do that)

Put Air in the tires..put it on the ground and let her rip..Front calipers seized. Long story short...drove it 2 hrs on the 401 with minimal brakes..

Car currently shows 33,000kms on it. It's a 5spd Isuzu. The interior needs a good cleaning , no rips , tears , cracked dashes..nothing.

Needs
Rotors
Pads
Shocks
Struts
Rear ball joints
Tires

And a good all around cleaning..Should be a fun winter project. The 4cyl is gutless as hell , but a lot of fun regaurdless

I willpost pics tomorrow int he General section. The lady said she emailed the GTA club about the car and the Michigan club.. She was happy I got it.

3 people called about it when I was there. One gentleman offered her $2200 for it.. Low miles certianly have quite the draw. Unfortunatley I think time has taken a toll ont he car and it will likely need about $1000 in mechanical work. Doesn't bother me..I like it

JM

Good job jon. Sounded like you had a bit of headache there but glad you got it. Just don't put too much towards this and not your nstar project.

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Mike LeCompte
86 Fiero GT 3.2L w/ Nitrous

SAVE THE SHAUN