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By theprof739 - 9 Years Ago
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I'm restoring a 55 Crown Victoria, with the factory 2 bbl. 272 Y-block. she's been garaged since the mid 1970s and the engine was run routinely until my grandfather passed away in 2001. Since that time she has sat largely untouched. I've spent the better part of the past week reading various classic car/hot rod forum posts on starting a engine which has sat for a long time, and looking through magazine articles and books on the Y-block to familiarize myself with things.
As I'm waiting on the carb rebuild gaskets to arrive and I still need to pick up a new battery, the goal here is to get the engine to turn over by hand and ensure she isn't seized before attempting to start the car up.
This is what I have done so far:
1. emptied the gas tank of all old gas (carb. and fuel pump were unsurprisingly dry)
2. Drained the old oil, it was clean, color looked good, and no clumps or gunk
3. removed the spark plugs and poured about a shotglass' worth of Marvel Mystery Oil into each cylinder
4. pulled valve covers, and using a new clean paint brush and eyedropper, lubricated the rocker arms, valves, springs, and upper pushrods with motor oil
5. Added 5 fresh quarts of oil (did not replace filter I intend the flush and change the oil again once the engine runs)
After about an hour (not very long, I know) I put a socket up the the bolt on the Vibration Dampener and attempted to rotate the crankshaft my hand, but could not get any motion. I didn't use much force, I didn't want to force it. My suspicion is that the piston rings might be stuck, some rust from humidity, that or some part of the valve train is stuck having sat for so long without oil as it had seeped it's way down to the pan.
Tomorrow or Tuesday I plan to try again, so my questions here are:
a) have I done everything I should have?
b) is there anything else I should do?
c) is there anything I should look out for?
d) how forecful should/can I be trying to turn it over?
e) if I get it to turn over completely a few times, would it be safe to start the car?
f) is there any questions I should have asked here but forgot?
I'm fairly new to auto resoration, so I'd appreciate all the feedback I can get.
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By miker - 9 Years Ago
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Even with the plugs out, it's not that easy to turn an assembled motor over. I'm older, got a bad back, and I need a long bar to turn an engine that's been run recently. So, it might take more force than you expect. I wouldn't turn it far till I primed it.
We should know what trans it has. I can't help with an auto, but with a stick there's always a chance the clutch sticks, so you'll need to be in neutral. There's also a chance that the trans is dry from sitting for years. There's the odd story of a main shaft seizing and the car driving into the wall. So, if it turns and you start it, you might get the rear wheels off the ground. Rare, but?
If it turns over by hand, I'd pull the dizzy and prime the motor. Look for oil at the top end, and rotate it by hand while priming. Make sure you mark where you were when you started, so you get the dizzy back in time. I'd mark the dampener at the TDC mark, then check the dizzy to make sure it's at #1. Watch the valves as it turns, make sure they all work and all close. Stuck valves are possible.
Better buy some beer, this is a lot easier with a couple buddies to help.
I spring for a new oil filter, and fill it first. It's cheap, and there no sense taking a chance on it being plug, blowing loose, etc.
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By theprof739 - 9 Years Ago
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Thanks for the words of wisdom. I haven't had much experience hand cranking over an engine, so perhaps I haven't put enough oomph into it. I totally forgot about the transmission, it's the factory 3 spd manual. It should be in Neutral, but I never bothered to make certain.
Anything I should be aware of when I pull the distributor? With it so tight up against the firewall, it is a bit or a reach for me (I'm only 5' 7") and I imagine some scraped knuckles are in store for me.
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By MoonShadow - 9 Years Ago
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Where are you located? If you put your city and state in the tag line you may find that one of our members is near you and could help out.
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By miker - 9 Years Ago
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First you need to be able to turn the motor over. As to the dizzy, it's a hex drive, and as you pull the dizzy, it will rotate. I can't remember the drive size (5/16"?). But someone will chime in on that procedure. The oil pump runs counterclockwise.
It's not uncommon for the dizzy to be stuck, and not rotate or pull out. I've never had that happen, so I'll let the experts chime in on that, too.
If it isn't going well, buy more beer, and pull the hood. Makes access a lot easier, and saves the back of your head.
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By MoonShadow - 9 Years Ago
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Give the base of the distributor a soaking with a penetrating oil. Let it set a few days and hope for the best.
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By Daniel Jessup - 9 Years Ago
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Hex drive for oil pump shaft is 1/4". Make sure you turn CCW when priming.
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By Ted - 9 Years Ago
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Saw the pictures of the car. Looks like a keeper.
Definitely change the oil filter at this point. It has a quart of old oil in it. It will be okay to initially crank up the engine with only five quarts of oil as dropping that oil and refreshing it and the filter again once the engine has run for awhile would be a good idea.
Assuming the transmission is in neutral, the engine does need to turn over by hand before attempting to start it. A 13/16” socket on a break-over handle is sufficient for this assuming no seized pistons. Don’t be afraid to put some serious pressure on the damper bolt to get the engine to either break free or turn over. If there’s no crankshaft movement, then try putting air on each cylinder and pressuring that oil forcing it around the rings. This trick does free up some of those engines that are only lightly seized.
Once you do get the engine to turn over freely by hand, then use the starter to spin the engine with the spark plugs out. This will help to prelube engine internals as well as pull fuel up to the carburetor.
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By theprof739 - 9 Years Ago
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Thanks so much for all your replies, I really appreciate it. I'll be keeping my laptop handy in the garage.
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By theprof739 - 9 Years Ago
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Good news, after letting the oil do it's work, it took only some stiff pressure to rotate the engine over. Once the battery arrives I'll try cranking her with the starter, but it's a promising start.
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By Fty6Vic - 9 Years Ago
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Definantly check the points and point gap before you try and fire it. The points are known to have a slight film of corrosion after sitting awhile. Once you know the points are making contact, I'd also check the coil for spark. Everything everyone else said, Ditto !. Good Luck
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By Rowen - 9 Years Ago
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Ted (5/30/2016)
Saw the pictures of the car. Looks like a keeper. Where piz?
Rowen
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By Ted - 9 Years Ago
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The path to the pictures was a hyperlink in the original post.
The first clue that there was a hyperlink embedded within the post was the underlining of some of the text. That particular piece of text was also a different size and text format from the remaining text which was also a standout clue that something special was going on at that point. Simply placing the cursor over the underlined text allowed me to see the actual link that was residing within the text letting me know that it might not be spam. Clicking on that underlined text takes you to the pictures.
Here’s the texted hyperlink from the original post.
55 Crown Victoria
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By Rowen - 9 Years Ago
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Thanks Ted, all of that was gobbledygook to an ol dinosaur like me, but the two pics it allowed me to see..I agree with you, looks like a keeper!
Theprof793, nice car! Good luck with it!! As I have a 55CV myself, one more back on the road is a VERY GOOD thing! :0)
Rowen
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By 30 coupe - 9 Years Ago
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Yes, nice looking car, you are very lucky.
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By Daniel Jessup - 9 Years Ago
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To the OP, I looked at the photos as well, you have a very good car to start a restoration with. It seems to be very solid and everything there. Maybe you could post pictures of the progress in the "This and That" section? I know I would sure like to see that glasstop Crown come back to life.
One question - any idea on that firewall/fender support rod setup? I have never seen a 55/56 Ford that needed support rods like that under the hood. If you don't know now, I would surely investigate why that may be the case so that you can address the cause as you put it all back together. That way you can leave those rods out of there - that has to be a pain when working on the Y.
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By Daniel Jessup - 9 Years Ago
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To the OP, one other thing that may be a help to you would be to purchase the book entitled "Resurrection of Vicky" (I think that's the title) by the Cars and Parts Magazine in the 80's. It is really not so much as it is a collection of articles of how they had a 55 Crown Victoria restored by a shop in the midwest. Boatloads of pictures specific to the car, helpful tips, etc. You can probably find on on fleabay.
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By theprof739 - 9 Years Ago
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Again thanks for all the replies, I think I'm going to to a new thread about the Car and her history, she's got a story and some quirks. So I'll just tease that here, while I organize and write that out.
Daniel, I have a copy of that book, it was with the car, luckily enough. You know I never thought about those Cowl to Fender rods before. I guess seeing them everytime I just assumed they were stock, but having poked my nose around a few 55's and 56's here at shows I haven't seen them either, so I'll have to investigate it. The car is pretty solid structurally, so it may just be one of her many quirks. They don't actually interfere very much, the photos are a little deceptive. It was the coil and fuel line that gave me the most hassle when I pulled the valve covers.
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By Bobwanna - 9 Years Ago
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Prof, From brodie knob (not sure of proper word here) to the 200MPH speedo I think you have a real gem to start with. Looks very solid. I am looking forward to seeing your progress on this! Cheers - Bob
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By Lord Gaga - 9 Years Ago
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Cool car, a glass top too! Maybe along with the KM/H speedo, those rods are Fords early "Export Braces"??
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By Ted - 9 Years Ago
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This particular Glasstop Crown Victoria being a standard shift is unusual by itself but that kilometer reading speedometer makes this car very unique. There has to be a good back story on this one.
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By theprof739 - 9 Years Ago
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Well for all you keen eyed observers, you can check out my thread on the car in the "This n that" section, but it seems like nothing gets past you guys. 
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By theprof739 - 9 Years Ago
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Okay back for more help. Trying to turn her over with the starter. I got myself a brand new Battery and new cables (the old ones were rubbish) and installed it correctly (+ to ground).
First attempt and the solenoid clicks and even got the starter to make a little noise but it doesn't engage and turn the engine over (I should point out the plugs are still out of the car, not trying to run it yet, just get the starter going and prime the oil. will also run compression tests) I took some videos of the attempts so you guys might be able to help me out. here's the second attempt, and you can hear about 30 seconds in the starter runs for a moment:
After a few more attempt I called it quits for the day and let it rest. I put the battery on a trickle charge overnight to make sure it was full just in case sitting on a shelf for who knows how long had drained it of some juice. I also took the starter cable off and cleaned the leads with a wire wheel to make sure all the connections between the battery and starter were clean contacts. so I try again, ans as before solenoid clicks and the starter buzzes, but that's all I'm getting, have a listen:
and here:
So do I have a bad solenoid or a bad starter? or both? is it just something stuck? or maybe the battery I go doesn't have the juice to crank it?
I've been following the Shop manual to troubleshoot this, and it says that if the starter runs, but the engine doesn't crank, to disassemble the starter drive and clean with kerosene, which is not something I'm keen on, when I don't really know thing 1 about starters. so hopefully your keen ears and mind knows what direction I should head down. Thank you.
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