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. 

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.

miker
55 bird, 32 cabrio F code
Kent, WA
Tucson, AZ

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.

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.


Y's guys rule!
Looking for McCullouch VS57 brackets and parts. Also looking for 28 Chrysler series 72 parts. And early Hemi parts.

MoonShadow, 292 w/McCulloch, 28 Chrysler Roadster, 354 Hemi)
Manchester, New Hampshire

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.

miker
55 bird, 32 cabrio F code
Kent, WA
Tucson, AZ

Give the base of the distributor a soaking with a penetrating oil. Let it set a few days and hope for the best.


Y's guys rule!
Looking for McCullouch VS57 brackets and parts. Also looking for 28 Chrysler series 72 parts. And early Hemi parts.

MoonShadow, 292 w/McCulloch, 28 Chrysler Roadster, 354 Hemi)
Manchester, New Hampshire

Hex drive for oil pump shaft is 1/4". Make sure you turn CCW when priming.

Daniel Jessup

Lancaster, California

aka "The Hot Rod Reverend"
check out the 1955 Ford Fairlane build at www.hotrodreverend.com

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.

Lorena, Texas (South of Waco)

Thanks so much for all your replies, I really appreciate it. I'll be keeping my laptop handy in the garage. 

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.