'84 WH1 has set outside for 17 years.

[Mike Horak]

Recently acquired an 84 T-Type WH1. The car has set for 17 years. It is a mess but it is all there (except the floor pans and rocker panels).

Step 1 is to see if I can get it running. Is there anything in particular that I should expect to be bad after sitting for this long?

The car ran when it was parked. The fuel tank will be dropped out and cleaned. Fuel lines will be inspected, cleaned, or replaced. All the vacuum lines need to be replaced.

 

[luisturbog]

I'd probably change the oil & filter cause who knows whats in there.

 

[dr_frankenstein]

id check the pump prime, look at the trans fluid, hand rotate the engine to get an idea if there is corrosion internally, pop the plugs give em a look or 2, check the turbo make sure it still spins, etc etc.... moisture and time have a way of finding its way into everything ( Be lucky to not live here where desert sand is a major issue) .... the more you do to check things the less likely you are to have failures.

i had a simular kinda project lately... and everything looked fine... until we tried to start it and found the water pump seized and the water neck literally crumbled away... car sat for 20 years.

 

[Boost231]

pull plugs and put some wd40 in the cylinders.

fuel filter, drop tank, clean fuel lines, fresh oil and filter, prime oil pump, i would pull cam sensor and prime the motor with a drill and rotate motor over by hand, i would pull injectors and send them off to be cleaned or replaced etc

 

[novaderrik]

my car sat on a used car lot with a blown head gasket for 13 years... i drove it onto the car dolly at the lot running on 3 cylinders with white smoke puffing out of the breather in the valve cover... 2 days later, i had replaced the head gaskets, changed the oil and coolant, and had the car running.. it had about 1/4 tank of gas in it and it ran ok, but5 gallons of fresh 93 octane and a new fuel filter perked it right up... i drove it a little bit, then changed the trans fluid and oil in the rear end... then the rear brake hard line blew right above the rear end, so i fixed that..

 

[Mike Horak]

Thanks for the tips everyone. The car gets backed into the shop today now that I have all the walnuts vacuumed out of the inside and the leaves and hood liner remains cleaned out of the engine compartment. I'll try to post some pictures.

 

[Mike Horak]

Gas tank is out. Looks to be a bit leaky. Ha, must be the JB Weld that was put on it did not hold.

 

[luisturbog]

id check the pump prime, look at the trans fluid, hand rotate the engine to get an idea if there is corrosion internally, pop the plugs give em a look or 2, check the turbo make sure it still spins, etc etc.... moisture and time have a way of finding its way into everything ( Be lucky to not live here where desert sand is a major issue) .... the more you do to check things the less likely you are to have failures.

i had a simular kinda project lately... and everything looked fine... until we tried to start it and found the water pump seized and the water neck literally crumbled away... car sat for 20 years.

x2 on that corrosion part. I picked up a t-type with a freshly built 3.8 engine that had never been started but had sat for 10 years & all the coolant passages were clogged up with white corrosion & the block was full of rust. almost like they only had water without coolant sitting in there. Luckily I went straight for the tear down cause I think the water pump would've been the first thing to go with all that crud in there.

 

[Mike Horak]

Gas tank is out. Looks to be a bit leaky. Ha, must be the JB Weld that was put on it did not hold.


Correction.....looks like bondo that they patched the tank with..........new tank and fuel pump on the way. should have her ready to fire this weekend. Everyone cross their fingers.

 

[IhaveAcarSickness]

i would definitely clean the whole fuel system,injecters ,and rail before start up

 

[Mike Horak]

Slight delays on the tank and fuel pump. In the mean time I have got the interior stripped and exterior almost ready for upcoming paint stripping. I am into this car big time. I feel like a coke addict with 50 pounds of blow in from of him.

Injectors cleaned- in house for now - plan on upgrading soon. oil changed and all lines cleaned. fuel lines cleaned. fuel filter changed. coolant changed and flushed. water pump R&Red. plugs replaced.. awaiting......tank fuel pump and sending unit, 02 sensor, case of beer.

I have ALOT of body work to do.It is amazing what hides under bad paint and dirt.

Been busy on her the last few day but I still plan on posting pics.

 

[Mike Horak]

Some before pics.

 

[Mike Horak]

A few more.

 

[BEATAV8]

She's a mess. Never seen an engine buried under varmint rubbish before! You gonna bring her back from the dead?

 

[Mike Horak]

Hoping to. Got things cleaned up fairly well and have been assessing the damage. Mechanically everything seems in order. Should have everything I need to get it running next week. Being new to these motors, I have been reading everything I can to learn about them. In the mean time I have a full floor and rockers to put in. Can't tear it down too far because I guess my pole barn is being used for a wedding reception in a few weeks.

 

[luisturbog]

A few more.View attachment 192074

This is the first time I've seen a t-top with a bench seat combo.


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[charlief1]

I remember 1 resto and the under hood pic had a possum that had made a nest in there. Yours doesn't look as bad as that but it's still fairly messy.

 

[Mike Horak]

AC Compressor Lines heading to the Pontoon factory to get repaired. Nice to have friends that know friends that know how to stuff. Not in a hurry for it but needs to be done and he offered.

 

[RUDE DOG]

AC Compressor Lines heading to the Pontoon factory to get repaired. Nice to have friends that know friends that know how to stuff. Not in a hurry for it but needs to be done and he offered.

I have one you can have for the price of shipping

 

[Mike Horak]

This is the first time I've seen a t-top with a bench seat combo.


Posted from the TurboBuick.Com mobile app

I has suprised to see this also. The floor has the remnants of the bucket mounts. I am assuming all floor pans are born the same and the inner mounts are cut during assembly. The car has no power windows or locks either.