95 Impala SS Barn Find Project

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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.

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.

See post 8 & 9 in this thread. I've pulled the drivers side plugs and soaked that side with Marvel Mystery Oil. Saturday I will pull the plugs on the passenger side, do the same thing, and turn engine over with breaker bar. We will have injector cleaner/spray, a 5 gallon gas can, new battery etc. Now the thought just occurred to me that I can't just pull the fuel line off the tank, and put the line in my 5 gallon can since the pump is part of the tank fuel pickup assembly. There's a sticky note on the dash indicating that the sending unit for the fuel gauge is faulty, and not to trust the reading!

At this point, I'm not sure how much, if any ~2 year old gas is still in the tank, but either way it's getting dropped so we can drain it. If we are already going down that road, I guess it really doesn't make sense to try and use a secondary fuel source instead of the existing gas tank. So the question is, what would (collective forum 'you', not just smelonas) do to try and start my barn find? I'm sure my mechanic buddy knows what to do, but I want to be prepared and have everything we need to get it running in a hour or 2.

It's ALIIIIIIVE!

And mine. Paid $400 for it, and will start the process of bringing it back to life. As the tank was almost empty, we didn't have to drop it, just disconnected the filler neck hose, and drained what little that was in it. Gas came right out as the rear was tilted with the front on jack stands. Added 4 gallons, and I finished putting MMO in the passenger side. Hand turned the crank at the damper bolt, was very smooth, no binding. Don't think it would have been a problem to have skipped this step, but better safe than sorry.

Primed the engine by tuning the key 5 times to on, then back off. On starting, it took 3 cranks for it to catch, and once it did, just let it idle rough, and then even out. Engine sounds great! No ticks, knocks, or rapping noises. No exhaust or coolant leaks. Will post video later once uploaded to Vimeo.

So now that it's running and its MINE... Next weekend will be oil change and coolant system flush. I will read up on the forum posts on the best method for the flush. I will also add my 2c on the method of dropping the tank to change out the fuel pump assembly. Don't know if I will have time to drop the tank next weekend, we'll see.

I've watched the videos already of that guy dropping the tank on that rust bucket Roadmaster, holy crap that looked like a horrible job. Is there a bolt kit for the strap bolts that you can get from RockAuto, etc? Or just get your own replacement bolts just in case...?

There are LOTS of factory hoses still on the engine after 21 years, so I'm considering a hose kit as well.

I swear before it was parked the car was driven through a sand & mud pit, as everytime I'm under the car I get a head full of sand and grit on me. I am thinking of getting my pressure washer, but will probably just be too lazy and use a regular hose and nozzle to spray the wheel wells and area under the trunk. Saw the tips on the tank drop to make sure you thoroughly clean the top of the tank before unbolting the assembly to prevent contaminants from dropping into the the tank. Oh and TEST THE PUMP before bolting it in - ASK ME HOW I KNOW - hahahahaha ;^) (Someone here warned me).