1951 Frazer Start Up

[Frazer77]

I have owned this 1951 Frazer Cardinal Red California car since 1977. It is not perfect , but no dents scratches or rust. Looks really nice when cleaned up. The problem is the car has not been started in about 11 years. Ran very well until then and has just been sitting in the garage. I did briefly get it going in 2008, but it was spitting a lot of carbon out before dying out and I just have not done anything with it since. Not being to well versed in automotive know how,  I would like to try and get it going soon. My plans would be to install a new 6 volt battery, fresh coolant, and pour in some fresh gasoline in tank and a few drops in carb. Does this sound like it could work or is this just too long a time for these simple measures to work. Any suggestions would be appreciated. No, I at this time do not want to sell the car as I did go through a lot of searching in my younger days to find a 51 Frazer, I've just neglected it for a while. I was a member of the KFOC in the 70s and 80s and remember a lot of the old timers many of whom are probably no longer with us. I was happy to see the club still exists and it looks to be stronger than ever. I plan to rejoin          Thank you, Frazer Frank

[Gordie]

Hello, your car has been sitting for a long time and the gasoline has no doubt turned to jelly.  I would start by draining the old gas out and putting a few gallons of fresh gas into the tank.  You could then prime the carb. with fresh gas and see if it starts. You may have problems with the carb., fuel pump, filter and gas lines but if you can get it started you can then determine what else needs to be done such as brakes.  Be sure to have a fire extinguisher handy in case of backfiring thru the carb.  Good luck.

[Frazer77]

Thank you for your advise. The bad news is that I put in about 2 gal of new gas this morning before reading your message. The good news is that there was very little to no gas in the tank. Picked up new battery today and am going to attempt to start Thursday morning as I am off. Will take your advise about carb backfire. The last time I tried to start the car was in 2008. I had recharged the battery the one I replaced today and am not sure how old it was. I don't recall if I added any gas to tank or not. The car did briefly start , but lot of back firing and smoke which it had done before  but in past would stop after a minute or two. This time car dyed out and I could not get it to restart. After trying a couple of times, I gave up as battery which was probably no good to start with lost power. It is possible the car had ran out of gas.  I am well aware of issues such as brakes. Had to have a few master cylinders replaced in my time. Surprisingly enough though, brake pedal is hard.  Still would not take chance until brakes are inspected. My main goal is to just get the car to run again and this time keep it that way. I do enjoy driving the car but always fear that some nut and the roads are filled with them will smack into it. Again thank you for your response and I will let you know what happens Thursday . I hope to tell you it runs               
                                                                                                Frank

[Frazer77]

Attempted to start car several times both Thursday and Friday. The good thing is that the car cranks strongly, however just will not pop. Not even close to catching. I am going to try a few more times in coming days,but the last thing I want to do is blow the starter. I really do not know where to begin. It was suggested to remove all gas from car,but I believe there was very little to none in tank. There are now about 3 gallons. I am thinking maybe plugs, points, cap, gas filter, with fuel pump being last option.

[FleetMaster]

Couple shots of starting fluid/ether in carb and crank will suggest if lack of fuel is the problem.  Take the high tension coil lead and see if it will jump a spark to the block to check for spark.  I am looking at a long dormant engine that coughs every so often on ether or gas, but spark is weak, have the points, condensor and fresh coil to go that route.  Cranking with one spark plug out i can tell when it is on exhaust or compression- all were similar cranking speed change( checked one by one) suggesting no valves stuck open.  Be systematic and patient, you will find out why it will not start.

[Gordie]

You might want to pull all of the spark plugs to make that they are not soaked with gas from all of the priming.  If so dry them off and let the car sit with no plugs to help dry out the cylinders.  In the old days we used to push start the car by pushing with another car and that often worked. We hung an old tire on the bumper guards so as not to scratch anything.