So im getting ready to well.. get ready for my big 1700 mile drive to louisiana from boston in march. cars been sitting over a year, only thing i have planned so far is a clutch replace, i rode the old one til the car didnt move no mo'
should i just start it up and see what happens? i put some fuel stabilizer in it about a year ago... doubt its still effective though. what should i do pre-startup? what if it just doesnt start? eek!
ive just never dealt with getting a car going thats been sitting.. what needs replacement? what needs fixin? what do i need to check and possibly make better for my trip... i need reliability, i need it done fast, i need to make it.
thanks a whole lot if you wanna give me some tips.
1987 N/A RX7 90k-miles if that helps.

 

You'll need to replace the battery unless you disconnected it when you parked the car. In that case you'll probably still need to recharge it. Check the exhaust and intake to make sure animals haven't built nests in there. No need to check the interior... if there's a critter in there you'll find out soon enough

A year is not really that long to store a car, especially if you used fuel stabilizer. It will be fine. You might need to prime the fuel system - pull the EGI fuse (under the hood) and crank it for 10-15 seconds. This will also help get the oil flowing before you start it up. Replace the fuse and away you go. The long storage will give the crud in the oil a chance to settle out, so you might want to change the oil before you get going as well. It's also a good time to check all your other maintenance items - belts, coolant, hoses, tires, brake fluid, etc, except brake pads of course which won't deteriorate but which you might as well check anyway.

Basically the year won't hurt the car any but it's a good time for you, as an owner, to do all the maintenance that is probably due anyway.

 

change the oil and drive the thing. it's been waiting on this ....

 

change the engine oil. consider changing the tranny and diff oil.
bleed the brake fluid. check that brake pads are good.
check the coolant. replace if necessary.
check your spark plugs.

 

thank you