I am looking into buying a 54 f-100 w/ a 350 motor and t-10 tranny. I know the guy who is selling it and have seen it when it was running. My question is should I have anything to worry about when I try to start the motor? The motor is not siezed up it just hasn't ran in a while. I have been told by some people to just add new gas and oil and turn the key. I have also heard to replace some gaskets that have gone dry.

 

Matermow -

Welcome to FTE!

I'm going to assume that the truck has been outside all of the 8 years, right? But I see by your profile that you are in NM, yes? If you are a desert flatlander, that environment is like natural hybernation to most machinery.

Then, basically, I think a new (or well-charged) battery and just replacing the oil (and filter) and gas (and filters) is about all that should be needed to get it going. I would also prefer to drain any gas out of the carb before cranking it over. I would also like to turn it over without fire for a bit to make sure to fill all the lifters and oil galleys before it runs. Then hook up the coil and voila! The beast lives (we hope).

Once it is running, you can check it over for leaks and stuff. After you know it is basically sound, I would put a good tune on it also with new plugs, points, etc. Run it for a bit to see what's needed.

Good luck!

 

Typically it's always a good idea to manually prime the oil pump to building oil pressure in the motor before starting it. Remove the distributor and using a reversable drill and primer shaft, turn the oil pump shaft and get oil pressure.

You can either buy the primer shaft or make you own. You just need a rod that fits into the drill on one end. The other end should be flat to fit unto the keyway of the oil pump.

At a minimum you should remove the spark plugs and turn the motor over on the starter to build oil pressure. Priming the oil pump is much preferred. As this way the bearings are all lubricated when things start turning.

 

Thanks for the info. I will try to hopefully start the motor this weekend. With any luck it will fire up without a bit of hassle. Once I can get the motor going it will be all uphill from there. I'm sure I will be on here more as I start getting everything else ready.

 

If you are going to pull the spark plugs, I would squirt a little oil into each cylinder before turning it over. That will help lube rings etc. It might be pretty dry in there and may also have some rust on the cylinder walls. You may also have some problems with crud in the carb due to old gas evaporating, but as others have said try it and you can rebuild the carb later if it needs to be cleaned and re built.