I'm helping out a high school pal whose dad is now legally blind, suffering some dementia and in assisted living arrangement. He has a '72 Country Squire station wagon that hasn't run in years. Only has about 90k on it. I figure on having to rebuild the carb. What else would you recommend to do to get it running? It was kept in the garage for most of the last 15 years.
Thanks.
john

 

Maybe pull the valve covers and check the valve stem seals. Flush coolant, and check that oil and see if it's reverted to crude...

If it hasn't run in forever, maybe a manual turn over with the valve covers off to make sure you don't have a stuck valve. A little oil in the cylinders sounds good too.

With 90k, it could be a solid runner or.....

Based on what I find here, '72 is a tall block and huge combustion chamber with 8.5 compression. Still, it can be brought back to life.....

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/3...6-10-06-a.html

 

X2 on that. Before turning the engine over by hand change all the fluids especially the oil and filter. If you can, also turn the oil pump over with a drill beforehand. Get some fresh oil on those bearings before they move.

 

Drop the fuel tank and clean it out. All new rubber lines.