Day 1 - I pulled the spark plugs and all 4 were dry, black and sooty. I guess it was running rich 30 years ago. Added Marvel Mystery Oil. Then I started taking off the tow bar, CB, speakers and rear spare tire carrier. I think I cut off about half the screws & bolts I removed. Vacuumed up a lot mouse stuff etc.
Those rusty bolt gremlins seem to strike on everything. Nothing worse then making a five minute job take five hours because a bolt broke off. Firm believer in never-seize.
I've heard good things about mystery oil, however if it doesn't work, I used some automatic trans fluid in my spare motor. And it seemed to work well. I would check your oil pump before trying to turn it over too much. The pump on mine was seized and when I got the cam to turn over it stripped the gear. Just a couple things to be mindfull of.
Glad to see your back working on the project, looking forward to updates!
Good stuff there 56'. The oil pump, what a disaster!
AJ-MJ Black soot on the plugs is as gm said, much better than anything else. I would say probably idling with the choke on before she got shut down the last time. That said, I have yet to pour gas into a 30 year old carb and have it function as designed. But, miracles never cease! That said, I have had a few motors that set for a long time, that with a carb rebuild ran just like the day they shut down.
Thanks for all the tips and encouragement. I am taking a little R&R and plan to get back after the jeep on Tuesday. I'll post some pictures when I figure that out. THANKS AGAIN!
A couple more observations:
The oil was right at the full mark, dark but felt normal
No coolant in radiator
No gas in the gas tank
Every thing that is rubber is hard and brittle
There is a bolt on the fender at the battery. Did 3B have a battery hold down?
The oil is a good sign. Hopefully the fuel and coolant were drained to prevent fuel getting old and the coolant from being under strength. Rubber hoses are cheap to replace compared to leaking fuel or coolant on the ground.
The battery hold down should mount to the battery tray with two J hooks, but even our Heep has a wing nut on the inside of the fender well, but it doesn't align with the battery. The MB had a strap that mounted to the fender, but that's the only one I knew for sure.