Okay so I'm going to be starting the car soon and to be honest I'm a little intimidated because I've never done this before. The oldest car I've ever started was an '89 and it wasn't freshly restored by a 16 year old. So what do I need to look out for? Do I need to do anything to prepare for it? I've heard some horror stories of people flooding their engines and some other things during stuff like this so any tips are good. Just got to put some spark plugs in, finally decided to replace the gas tank which came in today, and then put in the fluids. Spring break is for the win this year

 

well start off as a basic tune up, change all the fluids, spark plugs, points (if u have em). grab some starting fluid too if the girl doesnt wanna turn over. theirs just a lot of stuff u gotta look out for. trashed gaskets and basically all the rubber in the car (not sure how long your car has been actually sitting around). also change out the fuel filter and if u can drain the gas tank and use new gas....old gas = gross

 

Thanks Longlive. Yeah I already replaced the fuel/oil filters, drained/replaced the oil, and like I said I'm getting a new gas tank so I'm going to put in good gas soon.

Newb Question 2: Does the type of gas matter?

 

You wont have any gas in the carb and the fuel pump is likely dry.this will take a lot of turning over with the starter.What I have always done is take off the breather and pour an ounce or two of gas down the carb.this will fire it up long enough to get the fuel up without burning up the starter.Dont look down the carburetor at any time while attempting a 1st start as backfire is a possibility.Use a jumper across the solinoid and work the throttle by hand.(with the key in the on position).This method will make it easier to watch whats going on.You will have primed the oil pump by removing the distributor and using a drill in reverse with an attachment that fits on the oil pump rod.this will get the oil into the galleries right away so there is no worry about running dry.
When it does fire up and stays running(carb is full of gas),the lifters will tick until full of oil.Dont let it idle.Run the rpms up to keep the cam lubed enough to break in.Read up on breaking in a cam.You will think wow thats ridiculous to run a brand new engine thatfast but you have to.Ifit has a roller cam you dont have to break it in like that.
Im assuming its a new rebuild.If it just hasnt run for awhile,its basically the same except for the cam break in.You can still expect ticking from the lifters for a little while.Ive had lifters tick for days then quiet down.