Attempting to start my latest purchase. 81 DL S/W. Old owner had it stored in a field, , Took off fuel line beyond gas filter, pumping good. Got some gas in injector body and it kicked over ,then died, obviously fuel starvation. Question, If I remove the fuel line again, and squirt in some injector cleaner, or starting fluid, what are chances of resolving the problem? Old owner said problem was fuel distributor. Is this part repairable, or do I need to replace it. Thanks for any suggestions.

The Fuel Distributor is not repairable — but the good news is that it seldom fails.

The first place to start is with SPARK. With no spark, there will be no fuel system operation. So don't assume no fuel means a fuel problem.

I recently got an '80 240 that had been outside for 10 years. It started and RAN on that old gas — after I replaced the broken timing belt, then got spark by checking all the ignition terminals.
(But after a few days it did have a FD problem that might have been due to the gas. The point is that it started and ran several times.)

So let us know if there is spark at the plugs.

Come to think about it — check the timing belt first. Watch the camshaft thru the oil fill hole while somebody else keys the starter. Or remove the distributor cap* and watch the rotor while you key the starter.

* Make sure neither of the "cap-latches" drops inward with the cap off, and catches on anything that spins.
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Bruce Young
'93 940-NA (current), 240s (one V8), 140s, 122s, since '63.

First things first. Disconnect the feed line at the fuel filter and have an assistant crank the car while you see what spits out. If it's been in a field for a while, there's a good chance it's going to spit out dirty brown fuel, possibly with chunks of rust.

Are you trying to start on the fuel that was in the tank when you got it?
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Drive it like you hate it