Troubles at restart after long storage.

[twinfalls]

Hello, I need your experience.
I made the mistake to unuse my fat chick over some 5 years.
She was stored in a place where I had little trouble restarting after a year or two, just the clutch sometimes stiky but easy to free.
I understimated, the place for dryness over time and winters, and she and I grew older.

1 The ignition was dead. I don' t understand, it was running well before strorage. I had to change breaker, condenser and the coil ( one from a small renault car in a junk yard ).
I' ll buy a new coil.
Are blue coils worth it ? Is that true there are fake blue coils, the real one being with solid insulation inside instead of oil as in regular black coils ?

2 Spark plugs.
I could not remove the left rear one. I did not dare to apply the force yet ( breaker bar and more ) because I fear the awfull story I had on another car left for years in a dump garage ( plug broke, extracting did extract the broken bit...but, extracting all with the thread.....had to fix with an insert ).
How much torque can it stand ? Is it safer on a cold or warm engine ?
It was hard to remove the right rear plug. The plug thread was not oily black but filled with a white deposit. Is that normal ?
I did not go at the two front plugs yet.

3 Hopefully carbs seem ok. It spits backfires and stalls at cold starting, but it clears after a while and I get a smooth 950 rpm idling.
I was told about additives in gas to clean carbs. Is that worth it or just snake oil ?
I filled up. There was very little old gas in the tank, so now it is running on good gas.

4 The clutch was terribly stuck. It took miles of driving to get it free. So bad I was to consider engine removal when at last it got free with a big shaking and scary noise.
It seems things are back to normal with cluch and transmission. Is there someting to check or do more ?
Is there some preventive measure to prevent future clutch stucking ?
I always store with the parking brake off.
Would it make sense to store with the cluch pedal blocked at the floor ? Theoretically springs don' t wear under tension over time, but who knows about springs and other issues for a clutch left declutched over years ?

[Amskeptic]

ignition was dead. I don' t understand, it was running well before storage.

could not remove plug Is it safer on a cold or warm engine ?

carbs spit running on good gas.

clutch was terribly stuck. It took miles of driving to get it free. seems things are back to normal

Would it make sense to store with the clutch pedal blocked at the floor ?

Condensation can oxidize point contacts. Always clean before start up after a long sit.
Spray plug with rust penetrating oil for a few days. Safer on a cold engine. With a good wrench, you can apply up to a 100 ft/lbs of loosening torque. *As soon as it breaks free, stop* Hit with penetrating oil again. Now tighten a little (to drive penetrating oil into the threads. Loosen 90*, tighten 45*. Loosen 90*, tighten 45*. Keep penetrating oil on it. Work it loose very carefully.

Clean gas and drive it. That should clear up the carbs. Then adjust.

Can't recommend keeping the clutch pedal blocked. That would allow fluffy rust build up. You need to drive the car at least once a year, or store in a low humidity environment. I recommend that you drive it every day.
Colin

[twinfalls]

I got plug #3 following your recommendation.
Plug #4 doesn' t move any bit either way.
I keep trying soaking with penetrating oil

[dingo]

Good to see you back twinFalls ! its been a while...good luck with the re-start !

[twinfalls]

Plug #4 doesn' t move a bit either way.
I use a 60cm extension tube and I guess put some 30 kg.

How much can it take before breaking the plug or tearing the thread ?

[Amskeptic]

Plug #4 doesn' t move a bit either way.
I use a 60cm extension tube and I guess put some 30 kg.

How much can it take before breaking the plug or tearing the thread ?

A lot. It can take it. Just get it a little loose. Then penetrating oil. Go back towards tightened. Then loosen. Then penetrating oil. Then a little towards tightened. Then looser more. Keep at it in very small increments.
ColinAsMentionedElsewhere

[jcbrock]

I'd add patience along with the penetrating oil. Kinda embarrassed to admit this, but I gave a bolt a little squirt every day for 3 months before it finally came out cleanly.

[asiab3]

Kinda embarrassed to admit this, but I gave a bolt a little squirt every day for 3 months before it finally came out cleanly.

Embarrassed? Lesser dedicated humans would REALLY feel the embarrassment when they stripped the bolt, threads, or both! =D>

People at work look at me funny when I put my body weight into a tool to avoid any slippage on a small fastener. Two and a half years working with rusty metal frames that live outside by the beach, and I'm the only one on the team that hasn't ruined a fastener and resorted to grinding. Colin taught me that one. ;)

Robbie