seeking advise-1980 corona

[wmrmurphy]

Here I am, the proud owner of a 1980 Toyota Corona 4 door hatchback. I just trailored it home this past weekend. This is a one owner car with 89k - it's been sitting in a garage the last three years without being driven. Overall condition is a 10 out of 10 - not a blemish anywhere. My question for you experienced owners relates to what to do before putting it back on the road - I purchased this vehicle for my 18yr old daughter - the question relates to:

Fluids - can I use synthetics in everything? rearend, auto tranny, motor oil?
Gas - Do I need to drain the gas tank (it's almost full) or can I treat it with something?
Radiator appears to be dry - are there known issues with this?
Appears to be quite a bit of oil underneath the car - especially for only having 89K miles - are there known issues with seals?
Should I do wheel bearings?
Obviously I need to check brakes, replace tires etc - I guess I'm looking for the things I need to do for this jewell to run another 100K...

Thanks for your time and consideration!

[79Corona]

Yes to your first two questions. Radiator you'll just have to fill with water and see what happens. You can do the wheel bearings but I would take the caps off the front wheel stubs and check the condition of the grease. Check all the rubber underneath of rotting. Check the exhaust for obvious rust and holes. Check condition of ignition. Take plugs out and insert a small light to see if you can determine the condition of the cylinder walls. Crank the engine by hand first to make sure it isn't siezed up or anything. You might take the valve cover off while doing it to make sure no valves are stuck.

[wmrmurphy]

Thanks for taking the time to reply. Apparently, this forum doesn't get much traffic... I guess I'll post again when I have more specific questions. In the meantime I'll start with all the obvious - degreaser, belts, hoses, plugs, filters, fluids, tires, check brakes etc. Wish me luck.

[Raffaelli]

Three very important things to definatly check when you get an old car...

Tires- I dont care if they have good tread, dry rot tires come apart at freeway speeds.

Fuel hoses- If there old, mushy or cracked, get new ones (even the filler neck tube hose rots)

Brake lines- If there cracking, replace em.

Those are some ideas. Experiances hard learned with my VW...(Front blowout, fuel leaks an loosing the brakes in the middle of no-where Utah) all on its maiden voyage.

Nice find. Got some pics?