I can't start my 1959 mercedes 220S Sedan!?

Q: This car has been sitting for about 10 years. I got a new battrery for it and the spark plugs are still good and the starter works as well.. I put a little gas in the carborator to try and start it but nothing it makes that noise like it wants to start but it doesn't! Does anyone have an ideas..

A: The gasoline is no good,,,,,,,if you're lucky you haven't already varnished the valves. You should siphon all of the gasoline out of the tank and put in at least 5 gallons of new fuel, then remove the fuel line from the caburetor and crank the engine,,,,let it pump the old fuel out of the line for 10 seconds or so. Then you're ready for the next step. Take out the plugs, one at a time, and put a little bit of oil (maybe 1/2 ounce or so) into each of the cylinders. This will re-seat the rings and assure that you have enough compression for the engine to run. This could be enough to start it up. If not, take off the distributor cap and see if there's any corrosion where the rotor touches the contacts for the plug wires. If you find corrosion there clean them up with a small file or fine-grit sandpaper. Also check to see if the ignition points are stuck together. You could also change the oil and oil filter, air filter, and replace the fuel filter and plugs, and get new spark plug wires, distributor cap and rotor. You should at least make sure the plug wires connected in the correct firing order, then give it another try. When it starts up the exhaust will be smoky for a minute or so, because of the oil used to seat the rings. After you have it running, fill the gas tank and put in a can of fuel system cleaner called BG44K. It will clean most of the carbon off the valves and out of the cylinders.

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