'79 been sitting for 4 years

[watsongs]

Am picking up a '79 tonight that belonged to an older man, stopped driving it about 3-4 years ago, and like the Jeff Foxworthy joke says, you know you're a redneck when you mow your lawn and find a car... well, he finall decided to get rid of it - for $300!  It cranks but won't start -my first guess is drain & refill the fuel tank, change the fluids, any other things I should do?  I'll be shortly brewing my own bio-d, what hoses/gaskets do i need to worry about?
Also, the glow plugs don't work, so he has a jumper wire that he hooks to the battery & first plug, then pulls off before starting - is there an easy way to chase down that fault?  Thanks for the help - hopefully will track down a manual on ebay (or here) so I can get it up & running and get rid of my thirsty mazda pickup!

[toomanycars]

G'day from Australia.
The glow plugs may work, bu it would pay you eventually take them out and test them individually. If the direct jump from the battery gets them going look at the fuse (on the firewall). It may look OK, but clean the connections anyway. If the glow plugs heat and the fuse is OK, check out the temp. sensor (on the rear of the head). If that's OK then it's the relay. Yours will probably be the slow type. Details on how to check all of this can be found at http://members.shaw.ca/vwdiesels/diesel_training/diesel_training.html
Best way overall is to tow the car. I guess it may be pretty cold over there but this way always works here. When up to speed engage 3rd gear with the key off (but the steering lock free!!!) Pop the clutch and just let the motor turn over to circulate the oil and get a bit of frictional heat going. Release the throttle pedal and turn the key to run. This will activate the fuel cut-off solenoid and build up fuel pressure. Dip the throttle half way and just let the motor turn until she fires up. Undoubtably you'll get clouds of black smoke but eventually she should run. What you are really doing is using frictional heat to help compression combust the fuel.

[watsongs]

Peter - thanks a bunch, mate.  There was a long hill on the tow home and I tried the gear thing (did 2nd, not 3rd) for what must have been close to a minute, but nothing.  Idrained the fuel out of the filter/seperator and it was shockingly orange, so I'm sure it's kicked - I'm draining the tank tonight & refilling with fresh stuff; the fuse bar on the firewall for the gloplugs was missing, so I'm replacing that with a bit of 10 guage wire temporarily until I get a new fusible link.  Thanks again -

[toomanycars]

G'Day again..

Make sure that you relplace the fuel filter. There is also a fuel screen in the tank (at least on Golfs imported into Oz) that can be removed by taking out the fuel tank sender. The tank is under the back seat. For God's sake don't get any dirt into the injection pump!