Help!

Hey, new to the forums, but yea, i jsut bought a 79 t/a, wiht a 403. I bought it for $500, and the guy didnt even expect it to run, it was turning over but it wasnt staying running, i replaced the battery, and it started melting the ground cable!!!!, i crawled under it and put a new starter in it, that made it run, but when i started it it almost deafened me, it sounds to me like the oil pump has lost its prime, it sat for a year before i bought it, i wsa wondering if you guys could maybe give me any ideas on what might be wrong? or suggestions on what to do with it? i am thinking im gonna replace the bottom end first, new crank, bearings, oil pump, etc.

heres the beast if you wanna see it. My 79 t/a (http://www.members.cox.net/tycooley/carpics/car.html)

i dont know anything about your problem, but how can you people run the car without an airfilter..., i always see people doing that, but how can you get away without doing any damnage to the engine, i know in rc some people get their air filter knocked off and in just a minute their engine is toast. but back on topic... nice car, good luck with the restoration.

i ran the engine for a total of about 10 seconds, i didnt want it to screw it up morew than iit already was, and i woulnt run it for any amount of time without the air filter

If your planning on rebuilding the engine anyway, why not pull it out now? Once you tear it down you're sure to find the problem(s).
On a side note, I've got a similar project on the go...'79 Camaro with a BB poncho(in the avatar)that sat for about ten yrs.
Did you drop and change the oil? If you see anything funny in the oil, that could be an indicator of any damage.
Good luck!!

have done some 403's
if you want to redo it (and that's where u are with one i'm quite sure) i'd be glad to run u off an affordabe parts list some info on the maching spec's that help these things stay together

That would be great, I am afraid it has spun a cam bearing, which will really bite... But that would be great if you could scott, if it is too much i plan on putting a GM 350 in it, but that would be a very big hassle. and no one carries anything for the 403 anymore... :banghead:
Thanks for any help and all the replies