Vehicle been sitting for a LONG while, need help

A 1956 Ford Dumptruck with a 302(I think) has just recently come into my posession. I know it has not been started since about 1993. And I remember when it was started it was burning oil really bad from worn piston rings(i was told).

Anyway, right now i'm just interested in getting it started so I can move it under its own power.

Other than throwing a new battery in and shooting some fuel into the carb, what other precautions should I take in this situation? I'm thinking i'm going to need to get oil up through the bearings and valve train before I attempt to turn it over, but I need some advice as to where to start on that.

I would suggest removing all the spark plugs and spray a lot of WD-40 down each one, then place a big Johnson bar and socket on the end of the crankshaft and see if the crank will rotate.

If it will not budge, the engine may be stuck. You can make a mixture of diesel fuel and engine oil to pour down each cylinder and let it soak a few days.

The idea is to rotate it a few times by hand to make sure it will spin freely. Sometimes a valve can get stuck open. Rotating by hand will not produce any damage, if this happens, but if you were to spin the engine over with the electric start, you might bend a valve.

Drain the tank of old gas and put in fresh.

I would also suggest replacing any rubber fuel line between the fuel pump and the carb. Look around on all the wiring to make sure enverything is there and no animals have been chewing on the wires.
Consider changing the oil and coolant, and change any belts or hoses if they look suspect.
If it looks okay, spin the engine over with the starter motor for a few seconds with the spark plugs removed. This will help build oil pressure. However, because the engine is worn out, I would not bother removing the distributor and spinning the oil pump directly.

Then put the plugs back and try to start it. Have a buddy keep an eye on the engine looking for fuel leaks, leaking carb, etc. Have a fire extinguisher handy.

BTW if its and over head valve V8, it will be the "Y-block" engine, probably a 292 cid. These were strong and durable engines but are in no way related to the later 302 V8. The have been out of production for 43 years.

^^^ ditto, but I would add one thing. For the sake of proper oiling, purchase an oil pump priming tool. You remove the distributor and use this tool on a drill to spin the oil pump. Since the oil has drained out of bearing spaces leaving its sediment behind, its best to pump new oil in there before spinning it. MagicRat's recommendation to spin the engine with the plugs out does let the engine spin with zero load on it, but its still spinning several times without any oil at all. Spinning that pump first will pay big dividends in the long run if you plan to keep this engine running.

My guess is that anyway you slice it, the cam and lifters are toast and will fail soon. You can minimize this risk if you pull one or both valve covers and use an oil can to squirt oil down on to the cam lobes. Cam lobes are the highest friction point in an engine and once they score or scratch, they will fail very quickly. Try to get oil on them any way you can before turning that engine at all.

i don't know about the WD-40, i think i would rather use some motor oil or ATF.

i don't know about the WD-40, i think i would rather use some motor oil or ATF.

Agreed ATF or motor oil. ATF will free it up much faster too.

^^^ ditto, but I would add one thing. For the sake of proper oiling, purchase an oil pump priming tool. You remove the distributor and use this tool on a drill to spin the oil pump.

Or you can get an old long flat screwdriver and smash the handle and attach it.

i don't know about the WD-40, i think i would rather use some motor oil or ATF.
Unless this thing is parked in the Arizona desert, the cylinder bores are likely pretty rusty. WD40 is much better at penetrating the nooks and crannies around the rings and will also dissolve rust much better than oils.

thanks everyone for the advice for my new summer project.

Unless this thing is parked in the Arizona desert, the cylinder bores are likely pretty rusty. WD40 is much better at penetrating the nooks and crannies around the rings and will also dissolve rust much better than oils.

If you have never used ATF on something rusty try it once i think you will be surprised just how well it works. It is Far better than WD 40 especialy on rusty cylinder walls IMHO.

If you have never used ATF on something rusty try it once i think you will be surprised just how well it works. It is Far better than WD 40 especialy on rusty cylinder walls IMHO.
I have no doubt that it will have some effect. But if ATF was so good then products specifically designed to free up stuck and rusty parts like Liquid Wrench and WD 40 would be more like ATF and less like.... the stuff they are.
IMHO it is important to use a thin product that can easily get down into the ring lands and past the rings to lubricate the piston skirt. WD40 is perfect for this.

make shure the electrical looks ok if it dosent it might start a fire also if touy are really fgonna get into the engine you could drop the oil pan and spray it down with atf. if you dont want to do that you could allways just run 3m engine cleaner through it but it wouldent be as good

WD-40 is not designed to clean up rust, it was designed to keep water off of rockets and missiles