OK.........73 that hasn't started in 15 years........already drained the gas 'n' put in new high octane gas with some seafoam..................I was thinking of adding some seafoam into the oil just to possible unstick maybe something that the oil comes into contact inside the engine...........is this a bad concept...........you never know where rust might lurk ('specially on a 914)..............any other suggestions to help me kick this thing over and bring it to life would be deeply appreciated.............THANKS

Pull the plugs and squirt some penetrating oil down the holes and let it sit for a few days......then try and turn the engine over by hand.

Never heard of Seafoam........but it looks like it's (from their MSD info) Pale Oil 40-60%, Naptha 20-35% & IPA 10-20%

The key here is to crank it by hand a few times after it's been sitting w/penetrating oil - disconnect the battery when you're doing this! Then... connect a fresh battery & try it. Man, it's going to stink! And...make lots of smoke - LOTS!

After 15 years, ther'es going to be a lot of crap that blows out when it does start, including solid from the exhaust. Don't do this in the garage, or the better half will ream you big time.

I would check all the fuel lines first. Almost guaranteed some are brittle. Is it fuel injected still? Have you tried turning the car just on, so the fuel pump runs?

I used Seafoam on the Turbo that sat for 13 years....good product.

Check fuel lines, fuel pump, all the oils and fluids....

dont stand behind it while Z is turning the Key... Getting doused in 15yo fuel sucks...

New plugs, fresh oil (and change it in 1-500 miles), drain the fuel and lines, new gas, a lil oil in the cyl and crank it by hand, cross your fingers and go...

BJH

Funny. I resurrected my '73 sat after sitting for 16 years in storage. What everyone says here is good advice. I'll add from my experience that your brake rotors are probably rusted so bad that they need replacing along with the pads and fluid. Best of luck!

I had a motor as you described. I let myself get talked out of trying to start it because of the possibility of rust inside. I tore the motor down. I wish I hadn't. The rust concern is ligitimate. I suggest removing the intake runners. This is where all the rust was on my motor. The inside of them will also serve as an indication of how much rust may be inside. Clean them and install. All the other advise sounds good to me. The fuel pump on mine was trash. The fuel goes THROUGH the motor. It is a coolent for the motor. Fuel lines may also be junk. Injectors? wait and see. Lots of luck on your restart.

I just re-vived a 73 2.0 FI 914 that sat since 1992. I did this just last week. the lines under the tank had internally decomposed. inside they looked like tar. the car yould run fine for 10 minutes or about 50 yards under load. the rubber fuel lines MUST be replaced

the FI connections all had a non conductive coating of corrosion on them.

inserrt picture of burning 914 here

did you peek inside teh fuel yank yet? Just pull teh tank. it only takes 30 minutes or less fi ya know what your doing. that nice premium fuel you just put in there has turned to chocolate varnish by now.

what do you guys do wiht the old nasty gas?

is the car FI or carbs?

I had already pulled the tank and drained..............it's FI...........it's concourse baby...............a shame in a way............I feel like I need to leave it this way 'n' not do any custom work on it...................it's even got a rear window defroster.................saturn yellow................wheels (I don't 'ave a camera now) appear to be is it Perdinni's (I know I've misspelled this word).....OK I'll pull plugs 'n' squirt down the holes.........

just revived my 70 that sat since 89 outdoors. replaced all the tires (one of em even had an inner tube!), replaced all of the rubber fuel lines but one- yesterday that one little piece broke and pissed fuel everywhere so now it has all new fuel lines. make sure all the wires are hooked up right (and yes evidently you need the CHT wire for it to run!) replaced the fuel pump cause it was seized. replaced leaky injectors. replaced battery, removed plugs put some 10-30 oil down cylinders turned it over in 5th gear by hand for a few minutes, put in new plugs. replaced rusty fuel tank and front fuel lines under tank. replaced fuel filter. replaced all vacuum hoses. bled brakes after making sure new master cylinder worked. replaced point, condensor, plug wires and coil, cap and rotor.

that's all i can think of for now- for the love of god replace every damn fuel line on it or you will regret it!!!

I haven't found any place that will take it around Dallas. I've called several
hazardous waste places and they won't take gasoline products.

So, now I use it as a weed killer for weeds that show up in the sidewalk
in front of the house.

I also dump a small amount into the used motor oil I have just before
I return it to the flaps.

I started with 5 gallons two years ago, I still have probably 4 left.
So this approach isn't working very fast.....

--- bill

what do you guys do wiht the old nasty gas?


one word. Bonfire


just be very careful!

I like this approach!

Jeff

They have a household hazardous chemical drop off every 6 months or so in Los Angeles. They should have one in your area. You have to give them the red 5 gal. gas container and leave it with them but it is worth it.

Bob