Wanted to provide an update to this pretty inconsequential thread. Long story short, I kept putting off dealing with this car until I finally needed to shift it out of the way for a few minutes to provide access to the driveway for someone else. Anyway, the battery had no life left in it, and the temp battery I brought from my sailboat just to start it didn't fit (cables couldn't reach the terminals). So, I connected the cables directly to a jump pack and gave it a crank after doing nothing other than pouring a half quart of oil in the valve cover.

Keep in mind that the car has sat since 2010 (date of last inspection sticker). It started up immediately. Then died. I was bummed, until I realized it was because I didn't hit the under-dash security fuel cut off switch. Once I did that and started it up again, the motor idled and revved just fine. In fact, it didn't sound any different than when it was in service.

If I can get classic insurance I'll keep it going as it only has 189k miles. There's a bit of dry rot on the tires but they were still half inflated despite all of the elapsed time.

Can't believe it started up with no drama, extra effort or funny noises.

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1983 300D (parked for four years)
2012 VW Sportwagen TDI Manual
2001 Miata SE
1962 Chevrolet Corvair Rampside