[ace72ace]

Took a ride with my 17yo son out to my buddies farm to get a better look at the SS that came with his property that I think was purchased ~2 years ago. Under a coat of dust sits a complete '95 Impala SS, with a dead battery and a bad transmission. Was a lot better to have an inspection in the daytime, and overall it's in pretty decent shape considering the year and mileage - 120k.

Decent sized dent in the driver's rear quarter, and the front passenger wheel trim is dinged up. Underneath shows fair amount of rust, but not too bad for a New England car. Can you tell if those are the original shocks from that sticker on it? Speaking of stickers, is there a decoder site for the Service Parts tag in the trunk?

Rotors and pads are in good shape. Motor oil was a nice gold color, not burned or nasty smelling at all. The trans fluid (yes I know you check it hot while idling in park...) was pink, but with a large amount of metallic particulates showing on the paper towel when I swabbed the dipstick. Something inside the transmission has decided to disintegrate, so I'm not surprised by the contaminants.

On to post 2 for additional pix.

 

[1slow96]

Original equip. shocks were orange. These cars don't respond well to neglect. So,don't be surprised to see the list of things requiring attention to grow...

 

[babywag]

Looks decent enough if the price is right. Tow it outta there, visit a pressure wash/car wash on way home to clean it up and chase all the critters/spiders out of their hiding places.

Drain/change all the fluids and filters...
Especially the fuel system! If it's been sitting a long time there is all kinds of crap in there.
Don't forget the fuel rails, easy enough to flush them out as well.

Check the wiring under the hood for rodent chew-age yet?

 

[ace72ace]

More pix

So I pulled the drivers side plugs, and they all look good. I made the call not to bother with the passenger side as disconnecting the wires without a wire puller was a first class PITA, and it was getting late. My bet is that after we disconnect and blow out the fuel line, and clean up the throttle body that it will fire up without too much trouble. We will prime the engine by getting it to crank without starting it up to get the oil up into the engine.

Stay tuned for part 2 in two weeks.

 

[ace72ace]

Original equip. shocks were orange. These cars don't respond well to neglect. So,don't be surprised to see the list of things requiring attention to grow...

Yeah I'm not expecting perfection by any stretch, there's a sticky note on the dash stating the fuel gauge is fubar. Seeing as I will have to pull the tank anyway, I will replace the fuel pump and pickup assembly while it's out.

 

[babywag]

I wouldn't crank it trying to prime it, pull all plugs and fog the cylinders with oil.
PITA yes, but cranking a dry engine with no lube in there may cause some damage.

Pressure should build much quicker just firing the engine vs. cranking w/o starting it.

just my .02

 

[ace72ace]

Looks decent enough if the price is right. Tow it outta there, visit a pressure wash/car wash on way home to clean it up and chase all the critters/spiders out of their hiding places.

Drain/change all the fluids and filters...
Especially the fuel system! If it's been sitting a long time there is all kinds of crap in there.
Don't forget the fuel rails, easy enough to flush them out as well.

Check the wiring under the hood for rodent chew-age yet?

Since this guy is a neighbor of our buddy, friend of a friend, he's agreed to let me store it there over the winter, and come back in the spring with replacement transmission. I'd rather put the cost of a ~250$ tow into new parts. He's got a compressor, so we'll get a long hose and blast out all the undercarriage, wheel wells, etc. I was happy with the overall condition of the car, the tires are good Kumhos, decent tread and no signs of dry rot. Hoping they don't have flat spots from sitting for so long...

I will give the wiring harness a good inspection, didn't appear to be any based on the first go around. Returning with my mechanic buddy in 2 weeks to get it running.

 

[ace72ace]

I wouldn't crank it trying to prime it, pull all plugs and fog the cylinders with oil.
PITA yes, but cranking a dry engine with no lube in there may cause some damage.

Pressure should build much quicker just firing the engine vs. cranking w/o starting it.

just my .02

I've already squirted Marvel Mystery Oil in the drivers side cylinders, guess it wouldn't hurt to finish the job by doing the passenger side... I've got a big paw, and even with the front wheels off it was a pain to get the wire's off and get the plugs back in. I only realized AFTER the drive home that to prevent the Ujoint socket from flopping all around while trying to position it on the spark plug tip that I could have just wound a bit of my painters tape around it to keep it 'semi-rigid'. Then it would give way once it grabbed and I needed to get it out of the head.

 

[babywag]

I've already squirted Marvel Mystery Oil in the drivers side cylinders, guess it wouldn't hurt to finish the job by doing the passenger side... I've got a big paw, and even with the front wheels off it was a pain to get the wire's off and get the plugs back in. I only realized AFTER the drive home that to prevent the Ujoint socket from flopping all around while trying to position it on the spark plug tip that I could have just wound a bit of my painters tape around it to keep it 'semi-rigid'. Then it would give way once it grabbed and I needed to get it out of the head.

Again just my opinion...I like this stuff!

I helped a buddy who bought a Jeep get it running after ~15yrs.
We hosed the cylinders with this stuff, and let it sit for a few more days.
Fresh gas, fresh oil & filter, thing fired right up.
Smoked a little LOL, but he is still driving it, and it's not an oil burner.

I've seen guys just fire up cars that have been sitting years and not have problems, but I've also seen guys have a real oil burner. Probably from rust in cylinders and dry starting it scuffing everything up??

Even though a pain, I'd fog 'em heavily, @ least that way it's not dry, and if there is rust in there the stuff will help. It sure can't hurt anything.

Whenever we stored a car or boat for winter in MN we used this stuff. I believe it is worth the effort.
I once bought a '65 Galaxie that had been sitting for YEARS in a chicken coop for $200.
Carb was completely filled with crap, cleaned fuel system, rebuilt carb, and used a similar product. Changed all fluids/filters too.
Car fired up and ran good, again it wasn't an oil burner, and the engine was strong and healthy.

 

[ace72ace]

This car has only been sitting for <2 years, and inside a solid barn with a concrete floor. On a scale of 1-10 on how well it has been stored I'd give it a 7 given its current condition. I've already bought the MMO, and that's what my mechanic recommended, so we are going to stick with that. Thanks for the feedback on that stuff, it looks like it's what you want for vehicles/engines that have sat outside or been exposed to the elements for a long long time.

Also found out this afternoon that my barn find is a 1 owner car... not that it really matters much, but kinda cool. Owners manual, but no service records.

 

[1slow96]

As a side note the front brake pads were installed wrong at some point. The wear indicator(s) should point downward,not upward....

 

[ace72ace]

How is that even possible? You would think they would make replacement parts idiot proof?! Oh, wait a minute....

 

[1slow96]

Inside pads are identical. Outside are too,except for the "squealer" which rotor should contact prior to pad,not after. These are swapped right to left. It's easy to do though. Especially if the previous set was also installed that way...

 

[ace72ace]

Thanks for the info. Would it be worth the effort to swap them over, or is that impractical? The rotors aren't scored and look ok apart from the surface rust from sitting.

And now to the real issue. I am very confident we will get this running in 2 weeks and seal the deal for the purchase. Is the R&R of the transmission something that will require an impact wrench/compressor to make the task possible in 1 day? It's a 70 minute drive to the barn, and ideally I would like to bang out the job in a weekend. I am already planning on buying a portable compressor, and basic set of related tools, so this project is a good excuse to buy what I want.

What would I want to buy to get the exhaust out of the way, pull the driveshaft, and replace the transmission? P plan on replacing the Ujoints and also pulling the gas tank and installing a new fuel pump unit. My mechanic will inspect the engine to see if there are any other required maintenance that should be performed so we can drive this baby home after the repair work.

Does it look like the car is high enough on the current jack stands to get it out, or should I try and get it higher?

Last time I pulled a transmission was over 20 years ago in a 78 Thunderbird, in my apartment parking lot - oh I'm sure my neighbors loved me for that... At least now I have access to all the tools I'll need and a decent space to do the job. Last time it was rainy and cold.

 

[1slow96]

Naw,just keep it mind when you change pads,and/or rotors down the road... I would recommend having a 4L60-E specialist go through your existing transmission. Swapping in another can introduce incompatibility issues if year trans is incorrectly identified. Along with all the other potential issues possibly lurking in any transmission with an unknown history...

 

[ace72ace]

Was thinking of going with a freshly rebuilt one from a local shop, or buying a known good unit from a forum member here. The job is hard enough without installing bad/wrong/incompatible parts...

 

[4DoorSS]

Naw,just keep it mind when you change pads,and/or rotors down the road... I would recommend having a 4L60-E specialist go through your existing transmission. Swapping in another can introduce incompatibility issues if year trans is incorrectly identified. Along with all the other potential issues possibly lurking in any transmission with an unknown history...

Not to mention having ALL lines completely Flushed to remove any contaminants that could quicky ruin a new trans.

BTW - For the location and the amount of time this car has sat, I'd say it's in pretty darn good shape rust wise. Shame about the 1/4 panel but what can you do. Overall, it seems like a pretty good find and good luck with it.

Just as an FYI, I had my car down for over a year after a Deer Incident and the LT1 was purchased Months before that. Even using the same gas that was in the tank, the engine fired right up and had/has no issues at all after not priming it. It's probably best to Pressure Prime the engine if you can, but after 2 years you may be fine if you just oil down the cylinders. The pressure prime is best cause it gets oil to all your bearings and wear surfaces. Unfortunately you can't oil pump prime this engine without removing the Intake manifold.

 

[1slow96]

If getting someone else's trans. Then,at least hang on to your original case to have professionally built in the future. Hopefully,while the installed trans is still functional....

 

[ace72ace]

Sure, that means getting rid of the 1971 Ford C-6 sitting in my garage. Would love to get some $$ for that after hanging onto it for 20 damn years.

 

[smelonas]

I read this, but maybe I missed it. You should rotate the engine over with a breaker bar or ratchet after fogging the cylinders. The rings can get destroyed after sitting for so long and then you try and start it at full torque.

Fog cylinders real well, then rotate the balancer 20 times or so, should fire right up.

FWIW, my car sat for 5 years in a custom sized hole in a garage in west texas after being hit by a deer and I had to do a new fuel pump, sending unit, filter and all that. Needless to say, once we had fuel pressure, it started very easily. It sat for 4 years untouched before I bought it off the guy. I think it may have ruined or damaged one of the injectors though. I have a pulse I cant get rid of. Before you crank, make sure it has fuel pressure! Prime the fuel system by turning the key on and off 5 times, letting it stay on for 5 seconds each time. It should start like it did the day it was new.