We bought an 86 gl at an auction today. The car has not been driven for 5 1/2 yrs. We jumped the battery, tried to start the car, wouldn't turn over. Put gas in, it would start by priming it by pouring a little gas into the carb. but then would die. Any ideas?

It's obviously not getting fuel, or it is getting fuel and it's bad from sitting for so long.

 

My recommendations:

1. Drain the fuel tank, flush it out with a gallon or two of new gas, and fill it up again.

2. Replace the fuel filter.

3. Take the fuel line off the carb and crank the engine to verify that the fuel pump is working.

4. Take the top off the carb (you'll probably need a new gasket, and you might as well put an accelerator pump in while you're at it) and clean out any crap that's built up in the float bowl. Spray carb cleaner through any orifii you can easily access as well.

I'll place my guess and say "crap in the jets". A friend of mine recently had similar symptoms and cleaned out his jets - and away it went

I had a problem recently with my 87 gl, the fuel pump relay went bad.

I would also verify that the fuel pump is getting power and pumping.

 

It was an easy test.

 

My fuel pump was on the passenger side under the car right by the back door. There is a plate it rides on that is held in place with 4 10mm bolts. You can access this easily and put a test light on the leads to see if your pump is getting power. Then you can listen or feel if the fuel pump is really pumping.

 

Hope you get it running. That sounds like a sweet score!

 

-=fred=-

Snowman pretty much covered all the bases.. No gas.. Take care of the basics like cleaning out the fuel system, getting a new filter and checking the fuel pump. Also consider sending the carb to a shop for a complete rebuild.. 5 years is a long time to sit up. Gas turns to something similar to turpentine after a few years. Broken down gasoline will plug anything small, like jets and nozzles.

 

 

Spend a few hunnert bucks now and it will go for years..

Even better! It was only $95.

 

 

 

I had a problem recently with my 87 gl, the fuel pump relay went bad.

I would also verify that the fuel pump is getting power and pumping.

 

It was an easy test.

 

My fuel pump was on the passenger side under the car right by the back door. There is a plate it rides on that is held in place with 4 10mm bolts. You can access this easily and put a test light on the leads to see if your pump is getting power. Then you can listen or feel if the fuel pump is really pumping.

 

Hope you get it running. That sounds like a sweet score!

 

-=fred=-