Our 1954 Buick, Edith, has been napping in our garage for the past 4 or 5 years. It ran well when she was put to bed, but now I want to wake her up. I am not a mechanic...but I am reasonably handy. It seems to me that I should squirt some oil into the cylinders from the spark plug holes before I try to start it.
Any and all advise will be very much appreciated.

 

I don't know about advice, but there are some concerns which I hope you addressed.
One that comes up right away is the fuel in the tank. What steps were taken to preserve the fuel or prevent it from gumming up the carburetor? To your knowledge was the carb ever altered to handle unleaded fuel. If the needle tip for the needle and seat of the float system was never changed , the rubber tip would swell and produce a low float level that caused all sorts of problems. If that was not considered , we will need to wait and see how it runs. How about some pix ? Thanks.

Roadmaster, Super,,,,, Special ??

 

Thanks Hanky for your reply.
I don't know about the carb. but prior to this most recent period of non-use, we drove it regularly for several years. Replaced hoses, had the gas tank cleaned and coated, even switched the steering box and added power steering...that was quite a project!
Edith is a Special (41D)....264 V8 with Dynaflow transmission and manual brakes.
I've spent the morning looking up stuff on the internet.....so I am a little more prepared.
I saw where a fellow used "Fogging Oil" in each of the cylinders prior to cranking....I'd never heard of Fogging Oil, but it seems like a good idea. I'll replace the gas, and oil before I try to start it......and the coolant once it starts.
I don't know how to post photographs.
The Dynaflow leaks like mad....and is probably even worse now.
Any advice will be gladly accepted.

 

If you can pin down where the leak is originating , it might not be too difficult to correct. I believe that unit has the older model Dynaflow because I seem to remember the Variable Pitch Dynaflow came out in 1955. Where I grew up there was a GM assembly plant in town that assembled Buick,Pontiac and Oldsmobile cars. Since then the plant has been gone for quite a while now. They also at one time just before closing it up assembled Cadillac Sevilles, Olds Toronados and Buick Riveria cars. I used to take tours through that plant then.

Funny thing, you probably never have to worry about anybody attempting to steal your Buick because today's thieves will never figure out how to get it started, lol.