When I got the the car back from the paint shop I was anxious to get the motor running. I have made several mistakes. First I should have pulled the motor and had car hauled to paint. Second I think I should have pulled the plugs and sprayed some lubricant into cylinders before starting it when it returned. The car was at the paint shop for 14 months.

When tried to start it it was on jack stands and the seats were not in so the clutch was not in, but I am pretty sure that it was in neutral. It is hard to describe the sound, but sorta like only 2 pistons or 3 were working. This is a LE car with number matched engine so when it did not sound right I did not try again. This was like six weeks ago and it has taken about that long to get over being really pissed at myself.

At this point I have removed the engine and removed all the tin wiring and ect. I took it to a shop close by and they were going to check compression and see if they could find out anything obvious. The compression on the rear passenger side was only 30% is what they told me. They were going to check valve clearances and retest.

I have no experience with the inside of the engine and am not sure of next step or what might have gone wrong. My first thought was maybe I broke a rod upon not preparing it correctly after setting so long.

Always thankful for ideas.

"My first thought was maybe I broke a rod upon not preparing it correctly after setting so long."

No that did not happen Breath and take it step by step.

You will be OK. These are strong Engs.


Bob B

Chances are it’s something simple. See if all 4 plugs have spark.

I bought a garage-find in June, started it in August and it sounded like a chainsaw rattling around inside a refrigerator!

Then I did the following:

Prior to starting it again, I put a few squirts of Miracle Oil in each cylinder and then turned it over a few times over a week.

Then I started it and man did it smoke and spit! Turned it off, set the valves (did it wrong the first time) and started it and then checked the vales again. Timing, and then ran it at low rpms for 10min at a time, looked for leaks (especially fuel leaks).

It now is 120-130 psi on all cylinders and runs like a German-Swiss watch.

Takes a great deal of neglect to damage theses gems,

Looking forward to the update!

CTC911CTC

Thanks for the comments. I really needed to take a breath. I have been to paranoid about the motor matching from the beginning. Originally I had bought a 2056 on the world and put it in the car and was going to just leave the original motor on ice. Three years ago I changed my mind and had the original rebuilt and put it back in the car. Nearly every day I second guess this decision.

Today I stopped by the shop that is close to me, a small 2 man shop, and he showed me the leak down test. Always hear about the leak down, but did not know how it was done. Hook some gauge to air supply, screw other end into spark plug hole then rotate that cylinder to top. Something like that.

Anyway, here is what it showed. Back right 15, front right 25, left rear 27, left front 37.

Don't think this shows anything major.

I hate to admit, but I am beginning to believe that I did not have the car in neutral when I turned the ignition, thus the weird sound. When it didn't sound right in the first second it wasn't getting a second chance. I think I over reacted. When I get some help I will get it back and check valves and proceed.

Thanks for comments.

I see valve adjustment. Thosw numbers are kind of high.

Those numbers are in percent. You put 100 psi regulated air into the cylinder and measure what is on the other gauge.

Agreed, the numbers you have are high. The engine has to be exactly on TDC for each measurement, or the engine will turn. While the tester is hooked up, you listen for air at the exhaust, the intake and at the breather. This will give you an idea where the compression is going. Valve adjust, burnt valves, worn rings, head gasket, etc.

14 months sitting is enough time for today's fuel to turn into glue. Most of this will burn off after running with fresh oil. I just started an engine that sat for 26 years! it sounds ok after running for an hour. Good luck

Does it have hydraulic lifters? you could have a number of those stuck and the like to tick pretty good and im sure they could do a number on your compression if multiple are stuck. We had a type 4 engine in our camper van with hydraulic lifters and it would tick all the time but you would just have to drive it to knock all the cob webs out and it would go away. Just a thought, not necessarily the case