Club Cobra - New Classic Roadsters Cobra owner from Italy

Welcome to "The Club"! I purchased an unfinished kit a couple of years ago myself. My motor has not been started in the last 8 years as well. This is how I am going to proceed with the start of my motor. Others may have a different approach to this "first start". But this is how I was taught as an aircraft mechanic to do a restart of a long sitting motor.

I would start with removing the spark plugs and squirting "Mystery Oil" into each cylinder to allow the rings to free up first. They tend to freeze themselves to the cylinder walls over that period of time. I would also remove the valve covers and squirt the oil over the valve rockers and down to the lifters by letting it run along the push rods. You do not need to squirt or pour a large amount. Just enough to coat the moving parts to allow it to penetrate the areas that move and come into contact with other metal areas.

Of course, you will need a new battery. And I would be surprised if you do not need new tires by this time. If you inspect them closely, you will most likely see small "checks" or cracks in the sidewalls. This is the start of a failure of the rubber compound. If you start to drive aggressively with these tires, you may experience a blowout just when you don't need it!

I would at the same time drain and flush the radiator coolant and brake fluid. If your car has power steering (some do- some don't) exchange its fluid as well. You will also need to drain and flush out the gas tank of any old fuel. It, by this time, has turned to sludge! You will also need to flush out the fuel lines and if it has a carb, the bowl may be now full of sludge as well. If it is fuel injected, change the fuel filter.

Also, the oil in the transmission and rear end could benefit with an exchange of oil as well. Oil can break down in these units over long periods of time if they are not in use. Plus, you have no idea of its past history. Just good insurance, in my opinion. I would also change out the belts on the water pump/power steering pump at this time.

Once the cylinders have had a chance to soak overnight, try cranking the motor by hand (with the battery disconnected) a few times to make sure the piston rings have not glued themselves to the cylinders and they have a chance to release themselves from the piston grooves.

Then disconnect the electrical connection to the electric fuel pump (or remove the fuse) and connect the battery. Now you can crank the motor over using the starter. Allow the oil pressure to start to come up. Should only need to be cranked a few moments to see pressure indicated on the gauge.

Now you can reconnect the fuel pump and give it a try to start! With any luck, it should start up with a sputter, and a bit of smoke as the oil you put in the cylinders burns out. You will initially hear a bit of mechanical clatter when it first starts. But it should quieten down as the oil circulates and pumps up the lifters and rockers. Listen for anything sounding harsh or banging hard. Any bad noises and you should shut it off and inspect where it is coming from. \

If this seems to be too much to try yourself, look for a local mechanic that will follow these suggestions and they should be able to easily complete these tasks even without experience on your car. Motors are motors, regardless of what company made them.

Good luck and keep us posted!

Thom