• jbl
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  • From: Philadelphia
  • Registered: 2011-01-26
  • Posts: 219

Topic: Restarting a GM v8 after 20 years

I have a 327 (mid-60s, camel-hump heads) that hasn't run in 20 years.  It's been garage kept, resides in a land yacht and the crank will turn with a breaker bar.  Ran when parked. 

I assume my first order of business is making sure it will rotate.  I haven't done a full rotation of the crank, but it does move.  The gas is 20 years old throughout, from the tank to the carb.  So is everything else in there.  I'm assuming that fluids and plugs are a given.

I figure more than one engine has been revived by this group; any and all advice is welcomed/needed.

NJMP '11--#132 (Speedycop), NJMP '12 to '16--#215 (Philthy Motorsports), NJMP '16--#75 Most Heroic Fix, NJMP '17--#75 (still drying out), NJMP '18--#75, NHMS '18 - #75 Datsun 510
  • From: WPB Fl.
  • Registered: 2010-10-27
  • Posts: 1,571

Re: Restarting a GM v8 after 20 years

jbl wrote:

I have a 327 (mid-60s, camel-hump heads) that hasn't run in 20 years.  It's been garage kept, resides in a land yacht and the crank will turn with a breaker bar.  Ran when parked. 

I assume my first order of business is making sure it will rotate.  I haven't done a full rotation of the crank, but it does move.  The gas is 20 years old throughout, from the tank to the carb.  So is everything else in there.  I'm assuming that fluids and plugs are a given.

I figure more than one engine has been revived by this group; any and all advice is welcomed/needed.

Plugs are not a given, leave em be unless you are pulling them for another reason.

I have had tremendous luck walking up with a battery and alternative fuel supply and going at it, saying that, I had one friend drop off/ask me to install a SBC engine stored indoors 20+ years, I had to change the valve covers and accidentally found a substantial pile of dust rust under both (under PCV baffle) that would have missed and allowed to circulate. There tons of u tube vids doing just as I describe.

I would be more worried about that hidden rust more then anything else...

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  • Registered: 2011-10-14
  • Posts: 4,167

Re: Restarting a GM v8 after 20 years

In general and possibly all applicable:

Marvel Mystery Oil or similar about a tablespoon per cylinder and rotate the engine 720 degrees
If this has the oil pump drive that can be spun with a drill after removing the dizzy, do so.
Check base timing of the dizzy, file the points, if you can replace the condensor
Use an aux fuel tank to feed the carbs (I use plastic water bottle with fuel line spliced in hanging from the hood)...and at least pull the bowl, clean it (expect to need a bowl gasket) and spray carb cleaner through the jets you can access

Once that prep is done, please have a second person there with a fire extiguisher.  Even better, you stand in the engine bay area while they crank.  Cranking ahould be no more than 20 seconds at a time with a pause between.

If it does not start, do not be bummed.  Go through proper troubleshooting to determine which is off: fuel, spark, timing, compression.

  • jbl
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  • From: Philadelphia
  • Registered: 2011-01-26
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Re: Restarting a GM v8 after 20 years

I have a quick question. 

I'm in the process of priming the oil with a priming tool.  I'm only getting oil on the driver side bank, with the exception of the #6 exhaust rocker on the passenger side. 

What could I be missing?  Preliminary googling says the priming tool offset could be different, but I've compared them and they're very similar?

NJMP '11--#132 (Speedycop), NJMP '12 to '16--#215 (Philthy Motorsports), NJMP '16--#75 Most Heroic Fix, NJMP '17--#75 (still drying out), NJMP '18--#75, NHMS '18 - #75 Datsun 510
  • From: Tustin, CA
  • Registered: 2010-12-30
  • Posts: 3,275

Re: Restarting a GM v8 after 20 years

The primary purpose of priming the pump is to ensure that the pump has not lost it's prime so that you don't dry start it.  You've proven that the pump is primed as you are seeing oil to the top end.  At this stage of the game I wouldn't be too concerned about the lack of oil to that one side by manually priming.  I suspect that once you get it running you'd see oil to the rest of the passenger side.  I'd move on to the fuel system at this point and once running verify oil to the passenger side.  It will likely be a bit noisy over there until the lifters pump up.

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  • jbl
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  • From: Philadelphia
  • Registered: 2011-01-26
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Re: Restarting a GM v8 after 20 years

OK, thank you.  I'm reading and learning this elsewhere as well.  Dropped the distributor back in place and all of my index marks lined up exactly as they were.  For the initial start, I'm just going to pull fuel remotely and bypass the tank and lines altogether (*with fire extinguishers and people who know how to use them on hand).

NJMP '11--#132 (Speedycop), NJMP '12 to '16--#215 (Philthy Motorsports), NJMP '16--#75 Most Heroic Fix, NJMP '17--#75 (still drying out), NJMP '18--#75, NHMS '18 - #75 Datsun 510
  • jbl
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  • From: Philadelphia
  • Registered: 2011-01-26
  • Posts: 219

Re: Restarting a GM v8 after 20 years

Fired right back up like it was waiting for me the whole time.  Sounds like I parked her yesterday. 

I do have a major coolant leak behind the starter, and after reaching in there, think it's a freeze plug.  We'll see.  Thank you, all!

NJMP '11--#132 (Speedycop), NJMP '12 to '16--#215 (Philthy Motorsports), NJMP '16--#75 Most Heroic Fix, NJMP '17--#75 (still drying out), NJMP '18--#75, NHMS '18 - #75 Datsun 510