I have a 1961 Bugeye Sprite that I began restoring in 1981. I had the engine machined, bored, new pistons, babbets,etc. back then. There are only 26 miles on that re-build and the engine has not turned over in 15 (?) years. What is the safest way to coax this little 948 cc cutie back to life? All fluids, gas, oil, and water must be banished and re-newed of course, but what is the safest way to get her going again without injury?
Thanks to all,
gary d
I would remove the spark plugs, add a tablespoon of motor oil to each cylinder, and rotate the engine by hand several dozen times.
Reinstall the plugs, disable the ignition coil so a spark will not be provided, and then crank the engine over for a minute or so until oil pressure builds up.
Ideally, one would like to operate the oil pump in advance without the engine turning over but this may not be feasible on this car. This is ancient history to me but it seems like the oil pumps on these cars were chain driven?
Neat car though! In spite of the bad rap attributed to English cars I like them, having owned a Sunbeam Alpine and several Morris Minors which were all pretty trouble free actually.