A friend of mine has a 92 Camaro RS 305c.u. 5.0Liter V8. He hasnt started it in over a year and is afraid something will break since its been in the cold Chicago weather for 13 months. Are there some precautions we should take before starting it? What should we do?

Welcome to the club! Lots of good folk here and knowledge too! First thing to do would be to ask if the proper solution of antifreeze was installed before storage. If answer is "Yes," then get a fresh battery in place. If not, then check coolant level in radiator to see if it covers the core, otherwise, there may be an extra hole/crack in the block not supplied by the General. Check oil level for additional fluid level indication and ground underneath for antfreeze staining.

Next, remove the gas cap and smell the fumes. If it smells anything other than fuel, like sour gas, you'll have to pump out/siphon the tank. More than likely, it'll be fine. If you have to pump out, remove the smaller return hose to the tank underneath the car, or maybe the engine compartment, and extend it with a length of hose/tubing into a gas can. The fuel pump relay is located engine side of the firewall, driver side next to the hood hinge. Unplug the four-wire connector and short across the two large gauge wires with the same size jumper. this will turn on the pump to pump out the tank. Add fresh fuel to the tank and reconnect everything.

Remove the spark plugs, disconnect the HEI by removing the red wire, disconnect FUEL PUMP fuse, hold the throttle to WOT, crank the engine over for 20 seconds, let it rest for a minute (starter to cool down), crank another 20 secs, cool down. Do this several times. Reconnect everything and reinstall plugs, maybe new ones.

With everything hooked back up (double check), fresh fuel in the rails, it should start right up. It might stumble alittle bit due to old fuel at the nozzles of the injectors, and the ECM 'learning' the engine.

After bringing it up to operating temperature and let it run for 15 minutes, change oil and all filters and fix those leaks, if any.

Maybe others here will offer their advice in case I missed something........