I' ve had this car in the garage for over 5 years.... Today - sniffed the gas tank. Smelled fine.

Pulled the plugs and cranked the engine through by hand.

Installed battery - did a compression chrck on #1. 205 psi.

Put plugs back in.

Tried starting.

Engine caught at first touch of the starter, came to 1200 rpm idle and purred.

Don' t ya just love these things??

 

Nice! I've never had much problem with card in storage, the worst was a carbureted car that I ended up having to rebuild the carb because the gas evaporated and left a bunch of crud behind.
My first stop would definitely be the gas station for some fresh gas, oil change probably wouldn't hurt either, but other than that congrats!

 

An engine sitting a fraction of that time Will drain pretty much 100% of the oil down into the oil pan. The thin layer of oil that would otherwise remain on the parts to coat them between starts is no longer present.

I cringe at the sound of the metal on metal, especially the head, until sufficient oil pressure provided oil to lubricate those parts.
Unclear why you would use 5-year-old oil when you could easily change it before starting.

While the resiliency of these vehicles is awesome, one needs to be logical about what happens as a result of long-term storage.

I would put about an 1/8 quart of oil across the top of the head through the oil filler cap, distributing it in all directions, then waiting for it to coat as many parts as possible before turning the key. Far from perfect, but much less damage done up there. Would also pull the plugs and add a small amount to each cylinder to lubricate the rings which had no oil on them.

This was all after the car was sitting for more than 9 months, the timing based on first time I started it after it had been sitting 9 months and heard that sound of metal on metal.

 

Have you ever dismantled an engine that has been setting for 5 or 10 years???

I have - and was amazed how oily everything still was..... The only thing approaching dry was the cylinder walls...

And when I pulled the plugs on this to do a compression check - and crank the engine --- i squirted a bit of synthetic 5-w30 into the cylinder. - and let it set while I had lunch... Primary concern - freeing the rings.....

 

What kind of shape are your tires in? I'd check them for dry rot.

 

Tires are crap.... On mag rims - so leaky as well.... I have a couple sets of tires in the barn off of engine donor cars.... One nice set of snows - I 'll probably throw those on.... I hate the noise....