Packard Forum Index » Post-War (1946-54)

When starting (or even just cranking) an engine that hasn't been run in years, there are steps to take to minimize damaging the engine. Being too ambitious and anxious to get it running could be a catastrophe.

The first thing to do is to change the oil and filter and maybe even first drop the pan to clean the oil pickup screen.

Once all that is done, then it's time to see if it cranks over which you want to do by hand. If it does, take out all the spark plugs, fill all the cylinders to the top with oil and let it set with the spark plugs very loosely threaded in a turn or two, cranking it by hand a little (about a quarter turn) over a couple days while doing the rest.

The next is to remove all the old petrol, seal the tank if needed, flushing all the lines,replacing the rubber hose at the pump and rebuilding the pump itself to handle modern fuel and put in fresh fuel. Rebuilding the carburetor should also be done at this time as it's likely that the accelerator pump boot has dried up.

Then all the brake rubber needs to be replaced including hoses (there are three), wheel and master cylinder parts, then pressure-flush and bleed the system. Obviously inspect the brakes themselves and reline if needed.

Then the points are checked, cleaned and adjusted and a simple ohm meter will tell of they are at least opening and closing as they should.

At this point, it gets messy but what I do is to remove the spark plugs and lay a towel over the engine, then crank it by the starter to get the oil out of the cylinders, then after checking, cleaning or replacing the plugs, put them back in making sure to use new seals under them and tighten to the proper torque. There will be remaining oil in the cylinders and manifolds and once it starts it will really smoke so needs to be started completely outdoors, not in the garage.