Been sitting for 6 years... what do I do?

[Captain Neon]

After 6 years, there is a good chance that all of the gasoline has evaporated from your tank. It is an open vented system. When I lived in Minnesota, it was typical for over a gallon to evaporate out during its 6 month winter nap. P15s have 15 gallon tanks. It would not surprise me that after 6 years a full tank would evaporate away.

I like to prime my carburetor with spray carburetor cleaner, but that is more out of convenience than anything. I might recommend once you get the ol' girl running on her own that you consider running a good fuel system cleaner in your gasoline. I'm partial to STP myself, but that is just a personal preference. I've used just about every brand of fuel cleaner on the market and all in all, they are all good. I put a bottle in at every oil change in all of my cars.

There are some guys that will tell you to drop the tank and clean her up good, but I will just recommend to you to install a 5/16" in-line fuel filter to catch any accumulated crud. Yes, crud is a technical term used here. A clear plastic filter may be interesting to see what accumulates, esp. since she hasn't been run in a while you can monitor if you need to change it soon. Once you get her running on her own, replacing the old rubber fuel lines may not be a bad idea too. They are esp. prone to drying out and cracking if a car has been sitting a while.

[Niel Hoback]

Alaska48, is Mr Whitekeys FlyByNight club still open over in Spenard? Boy would I love a nice Spam dinner there. If you haven't done it, you will love it. Don't miss the "Spamtones".

[Alaska48]

Still there.... He's an "interesting character" to put it best, but it's still a fun place to go

[Niel Hoback]

Did you notice that our cars are twins?

I used to visit Eagle River several times a year from about 2000 to 2005, and two of my grandchildren were born in Anchorage.

Contact the antique mushers club, they have some nice cars there.

I miss visiting Anc.

[Shifticus]

Alaska, you're absolutely in the right place! Sounds like you're waiting on a good battery and some good gas..

If you're still unsure about the presence of fuel in your tank, you can always pop off the lock ring holding your fuel level sender and use a flashlight to see if there is any in the tank. My '53 has a rubber plug under the trunk mat that gives access to the sender; I can't imagine yours being any different.

Mine sat for years as well, and after following the same procedure these folks have mentioned, it fired and ran. Just a heads up, (I apologize if any of this has already been mentioned, I skimmed over a bit of this thread) be prepared to have the tank fired/resealed and the carb rebuilt if sediment prevents your car from running down the line. This happened to mine, but if you're able to evade this then more power to you!

I can't wait to hear how it goes, and I hope for the best.

Here's mine before and after...

[Don Coatney]

Did you notice that our cars are twins?

I used to visit Eagle River several times a year from about 2000 to 2005, and two of my grandchildren were born in Anchorage.

Contact the antique mushers club, they have some nice cars there.

I miss visiting Anc.

Niel;

Where did you find the state window decals?

[Niel Hoback]

I got all three at an antique shop near 4th and G st. in Anchorage AK. $1.00 each. Couldn't believe they had Indiana, so I got one of each they had.

[Don Coatney]

I got all three at an antique shop near 4th and G st. in Anchorage AK. $1.00 each. Couldn't believe they had Indiana, so I got one of each they had.

There are a few sellers on ebay but they think they are selling gold.

[eric wissing]

Shifticus,

Nice car!! Tell us more, auto? 3 spd, OD? I like the looks of it. Eric