Well not really a barn, more like outside parked in the driveway in Missoula, Montana for about 4 years. No photos, yet. We are still working with the estate to secure ownership.

At this time my main question is: If we try to start it (engine is NOT frozen) can anything be so clogged it will break? What should we clean or disconnect before testing?

We have a fuel pressure bottle so we can start on good gas rather than the old stuff in the tank.

Should we replace the oil first? We will, definitely, check for water in oil.

This will be our first S2000 so I am sure we have lots of questions. Heck, we don't even know what year it is, yet.

We intend to get it running and safe and selling it. If that is not possible, we will be listing parts.

To Be Continued:

 

You will need to remove the old gas anyway so you might as well do that before starting. Change the oil first. Given it is Missoula and can be chilly, I would put in a synthetic 0w-30 oil such as Mobil 1. Thin on start up. Use a new OEM filter and torque it to the specs on the filter itself. It cannot and should not be done by hand like most other auto filters. A change in the brake fluid is par for the course and frankly, the differential and transmission fluid should also be changed so everything is fresh. Follow the easy to do instructions and DIYs on this website. Don't jumpstart but have a new battery installed.

If this car is intact and not extremely high milage, it should be good to go after some TLC.

 

Thanx for the info. "No jumpstart". Got it!

Hills east of Sacto? We moved to Montana from Placerville in 1977. Still have family there.

Also, served on the USS Lexington from '68 to '72. I noticed the planes and ship.

 

How do you remove old gas?

I wish gas tanks had a drain plug.

 

Spec calls for 10W-30 and any 10W-30 is fine (even if you're keeping it).

The fuel pump is removable via the trunk after the spare tire is removed. You can extract the fuel there. I expect there will be quite a bit of water in there after this many years. This engine requires at least 91 Octane.

-- Chuck

 

So do gas thieves

Disconnect the fuel line at the rail, plumb some hose down into a container, jump the fuel pump and let the pump do some of the heavy lifting depending on how much fuel is in it. You could try to fill it with fresh fuel to dilute the old stuff or drop the now empty tank to thoroughly remove any residual fuel that the pump couldn't pick up. Make sure you have a solid 12v source. The battery is likely NG if it's been sitting up and I don't know if I'd attempt recharging it.

 

Upon your first start up, I'd recommend unplugging the fuel injectors, and bypassing the clutch switch so you can crank the engine over to build up oil pressure before starting it.

 

Good idea. We have a "pressure bottle" that simulates the fuel pump for 1st time starts. Do you happen to know the correct fuel pressure?

 

In El Dorado Hills. Almost got a hundred "traps" on the Lex flying T-2s, A-4s, and A7Es on it. 85-86.

Love the Big Sky country. Flew a lot to Bozeman, Billings and Missoula.

 

Do take photos before you touch it, that would be a nice to have. please let us know how it went.