'64 bird engine problem

[Kay's '64]

Have had my '64 inside, dry and with battery booster hooked up. Only drove it to nearby car shows in '15 and '16. Last time I drove it was in summer of '17. Started backfiring hard and cutting out. After a couple of miles it died. Towed home and in garage since. Engine won't turn over. Looks like oil may not have been pumped to engine. Old lady with beautiful car needs help!

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[Dj-Dan]

That ethanol gas is horrible for carburetors. Especially if they sit for a long period of time. I live in Maryland so I also have to fight with cold weather during winter months even though my car sits in a garage. The chemicals in the gas sits in the little canals of your carberator and gunk up.

 

[64ZCODE]

Hi Kay

If I had to guess I would say the engine has a stuck valve. As Dan observed, old gas can gunk up and solidify which can cause parts in the engine to plug up or stick. Your car has an FE type engine which are notorious for sticking valves if they feel we owners are not paying enough attention to them.

But first I wanted to ask what you mean when you say the engine won't turn over? When you turn the key to the start position, do you hear the starter engage but unable to turn the engine, or is there just silence, like if I don't notice that my wife has a new haircut? If it's the former, then the engine may be frozen, but if it's the latter, then the battery booster may be kaput and no longer charging the battery.

If it is a stuck valve, then it likely can be unstuck without major effort or expense, and you can be off happy thunderbirding again in no time (in TBird years, which are not unlike dog years).

Doug