mk1-forum.net

After taking my MK2s off the road in '87' and reducing it to bits in '97' followed by a major rebuild, I am finally thinking of trying to start the car tomorrow, any tips, do's and don'ts from past experiences?

Be sure to spin it around with the plugs out and fuel disconnected - to get the oil pressure up first.

Wow, 32 years on it will be amazing to have running again!

My 1962 deluxe hadn’t been run for over twenty years and I just changed oil and filter, removed plugs and turned over until pressure up, then refitted plugs and it fired up, if it’s been stored correctly should be fine, I have my 998 cooper engine apart at the moment after 19 years in dry storage and it’s still like new as been rebuilt shortly before taken off the road,
I would recommend changing valve seals as they had gone a little hard, and on 850 with a wet crank the seal didn’t last long after running and contaminated the clutch, so I had to change that as well.

As suggested I primed the oil pump, oil cooler, connecting pipes and filter bowl with engine oil and after cranking the engine without plugs in for a minute or so it eventually achieved an oil pressure gauge reading of 80 lbs/sqr."

However I now have an issue with the starter motor making a strange noise when cranking the engine so I need to remove that now to investigate what is causing the noise, probably will have to have the starter overhauled or replaced before I can progress any further with the engine.

Thanks for all the advice, much appreciated.