Brat sat for four years :(

[bratlife]

Hi everybody, I’m about to see if I can get my old brat going again. I’ve been outa town for 4 years and it’s day unattended, uncovered (I know, I feel so lame). 

Where should I start on this process?  

Can you all help me think of my list of things to check, change, order, replace, etc. Any ideas of possible issues other than the obvious? 
 

It’s an 85 with an EA81. I put a Weber on it like a decade ago and swapped out the tranny converting it to the 5 speed dual range.

Thanks a ton in advance for all your awesome help! 

[el_freddo]

Fresh fuel, good battery, check oil. 

Check spark. 

Once running change oil and filter. 

Then go over other components - tyres, brakes if spongy (move it slowly and test brakes). 

Once all that checks out and you can legally drive it, go for a gentle drive to get things moving again. 

You might encounter dead CV boots shortly after getting her going again. 

Rust would certainly be an issue I reckon. Check the usual places. 

That’s what I can think of from the top of my head. 

Cheers 

Bennie

[Step-a-toe]

Four years is nothing compared to some.

When you say uncovered, was this on bare dirt, gravel or concrete? If not on concrete I notice alloy components start to grow fur and underbody rust spots appear.

Was it parked with a full tank of fuel? I find tanks last better fuller than empty ' to a yet to be determined period. The higher the octane rating the better fuel seems to keep.

I am curious as to how long it takes fuel in different storage methods before it smells stale.

Check the appearance of your fusible links close to the battery to ensure no corrosion happening

[bratlife]

Awesome thanks bunch for the tips! 

I'm just getting back to town now, so hoping to get a start on it in the next day or so. This list is kinda what I was thinking. To clarify it has been on concrete, even with a gentle slope which is killer. And I agree, always best to leave it with a full tank of fuel, which it wasn't quite, but over half at least. It's gonna need a new battery for sure just to see what else is next from there. But I had a couple specific questions:

I figured the fuel would for sure be bad, if it doesn't smell toooo bad, would it hurt anything to just run it?

I figured I'd need to drop the tank and empty it, thinking the fuel pump would need swapping too, but is there a chance that's all ok?

What about the weber carburetor? I assumed it would need a rebuild kit, is that not for sure?

Let me know what you all think about these if you get a chance. Thanks a bunch!

[Step-a-toe]

Having bought an eight year slumbered Brumby I drained all fuel before any start attempt.

What I didn't see was the barnacles formed inside the tank.

Fresh fuel and finish off a balls up by a Subaru dealers workshop I got her running sweet, then parked for what turned out to be six months.

Went to start....hmmmm, bat flattery....add a booster battery and that got it...got it running on two front pots anyway.

Long annoying story short is I bent two pushrods on rear cylinders because the inlet valve stems were stuck

A shiny black gummy varnish formed on valve stems, stuck them hard. I figure the fresh fuel leached the nasties from the barnacles and shared it with up front.

So, it may be a pain to drain fuel tank and inspect from fuel gauge sender unit hole but can save a heap of grief. Fuel pump each way bet

Helped a mate start his stored for 20 years in paid storage turbo Vortex XT. It didn't get tank inspection. Just fresh fuel, an oil change, primed up front with spare fuel pump until original pump up rear remember what its job was.

Buyer hopped in and drove it 1200 km home. 

Lucky eh?

Weber? Try it... If any probs I would take off and soak whole thing in a bucket of two stroke fuel for a week, pull out, drain, refit and try again

Edited August 1, 2020 by Step-a-toe

[SiriusBlack]

I would do the basics. Drain the tank, my 86 has a drain plug so you don't have to drop said tank. Refill with fresh fuel. Pull all the fuel lines, add a little carb cleaner and blow them out with compressed air. Clean the carb really well. I recommend adding a full can of sea foam fuel additive to the first 2 or 3 tanks of fuel you run through it. Change any and all fuel filters, most of the 80s subis seem to have 2 filters, one under the hood and one by the fuel pump underneath. I would probably do a complete oil change too. Hope this helps.

Edited August 2, 2020 by SiriusBlack

[bratlife]

Thanks so much for all the tips! 

Unfortunately when I got to checking it out, I found its been picked apart by some unsavory people in the neighborhood. They took a few things, including the radiator, which of course means the little bolt on fan that goes with the radiator

Anybody have a line on parts like these in the Portland Oregon area?

[SiriusBlack]

It won't be stock, but they make electric fans that essentially zip tie to the radiator. Your main problem will be getting a replacement for the radiator itself.

[john in KY]

On 8/1/2020 at 5:34 PM, Step-a-toe said:

Long annoying story short is I bent two pushrods on rear cylinders because the inlet valve stems were stuck

A shiny black gummy varnish formed on valve stems, stuck them hard. I figure the fresh fuel leached the nasties from the barnacles and shared it with up front.

Same thing happened to me.  In my case it was a 225 Mopar that had sat for 20 years.