Ok...Hi everybody. I am married to a wonderful soldier that owns a 76 chevy nova SS. Here is my problem the last time the car actually was started has been about 7 years ago. We drained the gas when we were on leave about those many years ago and the battery has not been in there in a while. It has all of its original fluids and I want to try to get this started while he is away.

I have been told by many people that I need to drain the transmission and the oil, master cylinder and so on before I even decide to put fuel and a battery in it to get to start.

I know that those liquids have been sitting there for a while and we recently got the vehcle towed from his mom's house.

What avenue should I take to see if I can get the car to start and remind you all I will be doing all this work myself so any help would be appreciated...

Why am I doing this you ask cause I love my husband.....

I would not drain any of the fluids before starting the engine. Just make sure all are at the proper level. Since th fuel system has been drained it may be difficult to get the fuel from the tank to the fuel pump. Normal cranking speeds usally are not enough to to prime the pump. A small amount of gas dumped into the carb will cause he engine to run briefly at a higher rpm than cranking and help move the fuel. It may take a couple of trys before it will run on its own. You may also experience carb problems from any fuel that was left in it turning to a sticky varnish like substance. If any flooding occurs shut the engine down immediatly. If your in my area I would be willing to give you a hand getting it road worthy again. What a nice surprise for your husband when he returns home.

I just got out of the Army, What post are you at? I'm at Fort Polk, La. If you follow all the advise philip gave you, you should do fine. After you get it running for a little while, I would change the oil. Oil that's been sitting that long will break down fast once you get it running. I'm also going to be in the Ft. Cambell area soon, too.