My name is Will and I am new to the forum. I've been reading a lot off of this site and really appreciate the knowledge you guys share. I am the owner of a 1968 Firebird 400 Convertible. My dad and I purchased this car back in 2001 to be a father-son project. When we got the car, it looked terrible but ran. The transmission started leaking and we had the seals replaced, followed with a decent paint job back in 2002. He is in the Navy and deployed a fair amount so the car ended up sitting. I ended up heading off to college and the car ended up being stored in the garage. I eventually joined the Air Force and due to me moving around the country and not having a garage, my parents ended up buying an enclosed car trailer in which the car has sat for the past 10 or so years. Luckily my parents were willing to keep the car, moving it with them everytime my dad was stationed at a new base. I ended up stationed in Georgia and have a house with a garage. 3 weeks ago I was reunited with my car when it showed up at my house in a tractor trailer. It hasnt been started since about 2005 and is still in pieces. The past few days I've started working on it a little bit and could use some help. The biggest problems are that I don't know where to begin. Obviously before trying to start her up, I need to flush all the fluids and replace some hoses due to dry rot. The brakes do not work, which made it fun getting off of the trailer. The oil an tranny fluid look good, but I will flush and replace anyway. I havent tried to turn her over by hand yet, but hopefully the engine is free. Today I looked down into the radiator and I noticed some brown, mud like sludge. I do not think it is from a blown head gasket or anything mechanical since it hasnt been started in 10 years. Is it possible its just from corrosion and fluid sitting in the radiator? What can you recommend I do as my first steps to getting her started again? Im attaching some pics to show the sludge and fluid in the radiator.
