1976 Chevy Nova Concours 2dr with hatchback sat for 16 years please help get

[orlando s]

it started? i am 14 and i am advancing in mechanical skills (fixing rider mowers and quad/dirt-bikes) so this Nova has been sitting for 16 or so years parked outside not really protected by anything and ran perfect when it was parked there are huge and small rust holes in the driver side corner panel so Ive read a lot of posts and watched plenty of videos (davesfarm) so far i know to drain fluids change belts remove spark plugs use a lubricant to make sure pistons aren't seized drain old gas rebuild or clean carb of course put plenty of new gas prime carb also new battery replace old hoses and tubes here and there hook everything up correctly and hand crank if cranks try to fire it up the interior has mold and there is rat crap on my seats so please give more ideas on how to start this thing and im wandering if this car is rare or not so please help !

 

[Michael S]

It not a rare car, it's just an unkempt old car. If you see rat or mouse droppings, you probably have wires that are eaten. Rats and mice love to eat wires. Check under the hood for any eaten wires. Before I would do a lot of work, I would make sure the engine isn't rusted solid by hand cranking as the first thing to do. You can do this by taking out the spark plugs and squirting a little bit of 3-in-one light oil into each cylinder then crank it.
All the rest of you ideas are very good ideas and if you do them all, you should be a-ok.