I have been out of town for 5 months and was wondering your advice on my initial start up? Change the oil? Pull the coil to prime the motor? Let it idle for a while? Any advice would help its a 396 with 11:8 compression. Thanks in advace.

Lys

 

Your pretty much right on point. Did you leav the rockers on the springs while you were gone?. Id be a little worried about the extended stress on those springs on the valves that are open.l

 

I would just pull the coil wire, crank it until oil pressure is up and then put the wire back on and start it.

I suppose technically it would be better to prime the pump without cranking the engine, but the cranking method is what I've used many times in the past and as far as I know it's never caused me a problem.

I would definitely let it warm all the way up though, and run for a while to make sure that any condensation in the oil is burned off.

 

if you didn't put sta-bil in the gas, you probably want to drain it and refill with good gas since its likely either broken down or full of water now (if you didn't fill the tank to max before you left it). Change the oil, inspect the belt for signs of cracking/etc, charge the battery (its probably dead) and go for it. Let it warm up then run it on the highway for a while to let it get nice and hot.