Turning engine by hand

Have fun cranking the engine by hand with all the spark plugs still in. Turning the engine over by hand won't prime the oil system adequately. You would have to remove the distributor and use an oil priming tool attached to a drill. I wouldn't waste the time on a car that has only been sitting for a few months. Just fire it up and be on your way. You may cause more headaches by removing the distributor and having to set the timing again.

For a car that has been sitting for an extended period of time, if you are concerned about sticking rings take out the plugs and squirt a little oil in each hole. Disconnect the coil wire and ground it then tap the key a few times to turn the car over and crank without spark. If you want to be ultra safe prime you can the top end by removing the distributor and either use an old distributor shaft or the tool on a drill. After a few months of sitting your lifters may have bled down a little. I would also change the oil and filter after you warm the car up as the oil has been sitting for a few months. Hope you put some stabil in the gas before you stored it, or you should dump the tank and put fresh gas in it before you start it up. Bad gas can wipe out injectors, fuel pumps and such. Let the car warm up and idle for a good 10 minutes or so and check all the gauges and levels. Gaskets and hoses have a way of drying out when sitting for a while so check for leaks too.

With only four months of sitting, I wouldn't bother pulling the distributor to prime the pump again. At most I would crank it with the starter until the oil light shut off. How to keep the engine from starting while you do that will vary by vehicle and setup, both of which were not mentioned.

An oil filter with a functioning drainback-prevention valve will probably make even that much hassle unnecessary.

RacEoHolic330 said:

Have fun cranking the engine by hand with all the spark plugs still in. Turning the engine over by hand won't prime the oil system adequately. You would have to remove the distributor and use an oil priming tool attached to a drill. I wouldn't waste the time on a car that has only been sitting for a few months. Just fire it up and be on your way. You may cause more headaches by removing the distributor and having to set the timing again.

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dont need any special tools for a SBF... just a long 1/4" drive hex extension for a drill. i made mine out of a 6" and a 3" and it works great.


turning it over with the plugs in isnt to bad after you do a 450" motor with 14:1 compression