I made something run and move under it's own power

[Dan Barlow]

I'd like to be smart like Jim but I bought a 4.3 El coming over 15 years ago that the guy across the street wanted me to drain the tank before driving it. I think I may have poured in some gasoline dryer ( alcohol ). I didn't add any gas as if it ran bad I didn't want the tank any heavier if I had to drop it
. Ran fine but it did stink some.

[pdub]

Guys, be nice to Beags, pics or not. He's a mighty brilliantly humorous guy and pretty dadgum innovative as well! I mean, until now I thought ether was only good for DXing a yellow jacket nest inside a brick wall beside the driveway. (Unit's dad did that in Pittsburgh).

And my GT sat for (It seemed like) nearly that long while I tried to un-install the stock shifter on that danged thing. Cudos all the way around from this camp. Not many points for credibility but lots of grand cheers!

[STINEY]

Yeah baby! Nothing like coaxing one back for minimal outlay, even if you are the one who put it out to pasture.

[SuperBuickGuy]

what the fat guy said

[Mater]

I know the feeling just got the town car going recently. I drained the gas out with a cut open broken fuel tester and jumping the fuel pump

[Beagle]

full disclosure:

it wouldn't start but I could hear the pump trying to prime. I knew it was low on fuel anyway since the last thing I did to it before parking it was change the fuel pump. I figured it might be literally out of gas, so I put five gallons of fresh fuel in it and hit the throttle body with a shot of ether. I hadn't really thought about valves sticking but I think I got lucky, it's running clean and comparatively stink free. I didn't run it long enough to get fully up to operating temperature though, as I need to go look under it and make sure there is nothing over the cats that will catch fire. I have learned that much from the past... scared the crap out of me!

Russell, the top leaks and it needs new rubber. It's old enough (and was then too) that it's starting to want attention and I was working at the time. I wouldn't have a "work car" that does anything funny or acts up at all, so that's why it got parked. I didn't want to trade it in on the Escape and I didn't want to spend 1100 on a top or 600-700 on tires for a leaker... I think I asked about R&R on a top on here about a hundred years ago and got the universal answer of "Have a pro do it". I respect that, but... I'm cheap. I watched a few videos on the top replacement, think I'll take a swing at it. Out of the 1100 quote, looks like about 700 is labor. It might be worth it for a working guy but I wouldn't give 1100.00 for the car as it sits, so I'm dang sure not spending it on labor for the top!

Sorry I didn't get pictures of the insulation / rat nests it blew out the tailpipes... they had a condo going I think. It's been stored inside or covered for years, and the car is so filthy from barn dust it begged me to not take photos with it looking that way. It's kind of a teenage girl car anyway so I respected that request.

[Russell]

One summer I work in a Salvage Yard pulling parts one of my jobs was to pull the gas tanks. It was no fun, but I did get all the free gas I wanted I only had to buy gas twice the whole summer. Filled up my car, dads truck, tractors, lawn mowers. I would carry empty gas cans to work and leave with them full. I had a couple friend that would ask you got any of that used gas?

[tardis454]

It wouldn't start but I could hear the pump trying to prime. I knew it was low on fuel anyway since the last thing I did to it before parking it was change the fuel pump. I figured it might be literally out of gas, so I put five gallons of fresh fuel in it and hit the throttle body with a shot of ether. I hadn't really thought about valves sticking but I think I got lucky, it's running clean and comparatively stink free. I didn't run it long enough to get fully up to operating temperature though, as I need to go look under it and make sure there is nothing over the cats that will catch fire.

I don't recommend running old gas, but I've run quite a few cars on old gas when I worked at the junkyard. I never bent a pushrod/valve or blew up a motor either. Wife's Wrangler had 1/4 tank of 3yr old gas in it when we got it. I dumped in some Sta-Bil and filled the tank with fresh gas after I put the motor in. The old gas burned out within a week, but the tank smelled like old gas for at least a month. If there's not a lot of gas in it I'd say add Sta-Bil and fresh gas and burn it, otherwise it's probably best to drain the tank.

Another bad gas car that comes to mind is my friends 70 Buick Special. That car sat in some ladies yard from 1986 to 2006. We tossed a hot battery in it, and just for shits and giggles I cranked it over while pumping the gas pedal and it fired right up! My friend drained the bad gas out but still, we couldn't believe that old Buick 350 ran on such shitty gas!