I just acquired a fuel injected Dodge Aries K (I do not yet know what year it is) which came with my daughter’s house when she bought it two-years ago. There is no paper work anywhere in the car and even the license plates are missing, so I don’t know how long it’s been setting. From what I understand the car was purchased used by the mother of the previous owner of the house. The mother died before the title for the car was transferred. The car was parked beside the house and essentially forgotten. When my daughter bought the house she was told she could do whatever she wanted with the car.

My daughter recently decided to move to another state, so we are turning the house into a rental. As a result it’s finally time to do something with the K-Car! I looked the thing over and discovered it only has 17,000 miles on it (the peddles have no wear which would indicate the odometer is wrong or rolled over). The interior is in reasonable shape, the engine is pretty clean, and the body is straight and rust free (though the paint is pretty bad due to many years of neglect).

There was no key for the thing so I drilled out the ignition switch, inserted a flat blade screw driver and was able to get the engine to turn over but not fire. The fuel gauge reads empty, so I put a couple gallons of premium in the tank hoping I would get lucky. I didn’t. I’m not certain if the fuel pump is coming on. I can’t hear it running but I’m not sure if it’s even audible on one of these cars.

I haven’t had much time to mess with the car yet. I’m planning to tow it to my place tomorrow, where I have the tools I need to get the thing going again. I would like to get the car running, apply for a lost title and sell it as quickly as possible (we already have four cars). I need cash for bills and other projects.

I would like to know if anyone has any suggestions on where I should start first in the effort to get the car running again? To my knowledge the car ran when it was parked.

 

First, get some Stabil Start Your Engines. It will dissolve the varnish the gas has turned to in your tank and fuel lines. If it is a fuel injected car, then yes, you should hear the fuel pump pressure up. In these K's, it is quite pronounced. I would also change the oil and filter before attempting to start it, as there may be a lot of water in the oil pan and crank case due to years of condensation from sitting so long. Also, Replace the plugs, wires, cap and rotor as the rubber and fiber coatings can break down over the years and cause shorts and the plugs very well might be corroded over, further retarding ignition. Check the air filter and TB intake for any rodent or insect invasion, as you don't want any crap sucked in the engine. What I would do is pull the gas tank and take it to s shop that can boil or steam it out. I have seen gas in fuel tanks that sat for years that looked like thick pancake syrup. While the Stabil product is good, if there is a lot of varnish gas in there, it may just loosen it up and further plug the TB injector with gunky gas. Final thought: Here in Az we can get an abandoned vehicle title. After we submit a request for a new title, they send a notice to the last known address of the car owner and if there's no response for 30 days, a new bonded title is issued. After 3 years, it becomes a normal title.

 

Thanks for the info. I didn't know Sta-bil could break down varnish deposits. I've got some, so I'll give it a try.

I just got the thing back to my house. It may be a week or so before I can do much with it though. We just spent the last two weeks getting my daughter's house packed for the move, then cleaned for the new renters. Now my house needs some attention.

 

The product is made by Stabil. It is called "Start Your Engines".

 

Thanks for the clarification!

 

I haven't had a chance to buy any of the "Start Your Engines" yet. My wife cut up my debit card because I wasn't putting things in the check book. As a result we had some banking issues.


I did get some time this morning, so I charged up the battery again (I had accidently left my punched ignition in the on position after moving it from beside my daughters house), then stumbled upon a can of starter fluid I had stashed in the basement. I pulled the air filter cover, sprayed some in, and the car fired right up! It died as soon as the shot of starter fluid was used up, but I now know it will run and it actually sounded pretty good too.


I want to drain the fuel tank (the guage is now reading full), test and replace the fuel pump if necessary (I don't hear it running), and then add some fresh fuel. What's the simplest way to drain the fuel from one of these cars?

 

Well it sounds like you are well on your way to bringing this one back! I would recommened a shop manual such as a Chilton's, this will help you understand your car much better.

 

I'd like to thank everyone here for the help and advice. I sold the K-Car in mid-December for $250. Not bad for a car which would only run on ether and had no title, plates or any paperwork to speak of.

I saw the owner a couple weeks ago, he had the car running and he and I were trying to sort out the paperwork issue with the DOL and State Patrol. It's really not that hard to get new paperwork for an abandoned vehicle in Washington State. Unfortunately we wound up dealing with a couple DOL people who didn't know what they were doing:

DOL: "You need to have the bill of sale notarized." Notary: "I cannot notarize the bill of sale because there is official spot for a notary to notarize it." (The bill of sale by the way was the official bill of sale which we filled out and printed from the WA State DOL website.)

DOL, after I told the employee how I got the car: "If you are not the legal owner you cannot sell the car, it will have to be scrapped." (NOTE: No scrap yard in the area will take a "complete" car without a title. I put complete in quotes because I've seen many of the local scrappers hauling chopped up cars in to be scrapped.)

Anyway, the new owner got the car running for a couple hundred dollars (a new fuel pump and some other minor items) and they now have a temporary registration which allows them to drive the car for three years. If no one legally makes a claim to the car during that time period they will be granted a new title.

I'm glad it's back on the road and not being crushed for scrap.

 

I'm glad this car is saved! Some of the K-Cars are becoming modern classics now, I saw an '86 Chrysler New Yorker at a cruise-in a couple weeks ago.