1983 SX4 been sitting

[tophervw69]

Hello all,
I have been on the forums for about 2 years now, and have just been lurking until now.  2 years ago i had purchased an 1983 SX-4 with the hopes of having a reliable ski vehicle.  Unfortunately i did not have the time to really do it right and put in on the road too soon and that started a whole mess of problems. (transfer case, rotting hoses etc.) I decided that this is the car I want and am selling my '88 735i and sticking with the eagle.  Since it has been sitting, are there any things in particular i should do to it? I have done an oil change, thermostat replacement/radiator flush, rubber fuel lines+filter, trans filter and fluid, replaced some brake lines and some coolant hoses as well.  Am i missing anything?   
-Thanks!

[priya]

In my experience with cars that have been sitting for a long time the biggest problem is rust/dirt in the fuel tank.  The cars I put back on the road would quickly fill the small factory fuel filter with crap and the car would gradually become unable to run at anything above idle.  Replacing the small factory fuel filter only temporarily resolved the problem and I've gone through perhaps 6 or 8 of the small fuel filters in a couple of hundred miles before the tank was cleared out enough to not be a problem.  After that what I did was buy a number of large clear fuel filters, put one in front of the carb and one immediately after the fuel line comes out of the gas tank and then check the one at the tank every 100 miles or so and see if it needs to be replaced.  After going through a few of these once again the tank is clear enough to not be a problem.

I've encountered this trouble more after a car has been sitting five years or so, after two it might not be so bad on yours.

The other problems frequently encounter, exhaust systems rust out from sitting, carbs plug up, but if your's runs okay at first then it should be fine.

[Draekon]

If you don't drain your fuel tank and clean at, you should at least to what priya said and put a filter after the tank.  If you dont, then dirt from the tank will eventually render the fuel pump inoperable.

[JayRamb]

I also have a large clear plastic fuel filter on my Eagles, right before the fuel pump and of course the factory fuel filter before the carb. Wonder what is really in those? I went with the Napa brand filters.