new action van

as long as i can remember theres been a little yellow van in a bag under my parents bed. last weekend my mom came over to watch my son and brought the bag for him. she said it was my uncles toy when he was a kid. turns out its a 1976 cox action van. its pretty beat up and i couldnt get it to start. i could use some advice, what can i use for a battery? what can i use for fuel? what should i do to clean and prep a motor thats sat since the 80s?

Hi Jamie, welcome to the forum.
Though my experience is only with aeroplanes I think the same
Things apply to all these fantastic engines.
Hopefully you'll have a few bucks spare To buy some bits and peices.
You'll need something like

http://coxengines.ca/cox-starter-battery-box-with-clip-oem-style.html

And a couple d cell battery's to power it.
You'll also need decent castor oil based fuel/ don't be tempted
To buy 'car' fuel from your local model shop cos it'll wreck the engine
Very quickly.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Glowplugboy-1-2A-Cox-049-R-C-Model-Airplane-Glow-Fuel-/290310955396?pt=Radio_Control_Vehicles&hash=item4397e1a184

Should do.
If you are going to dismantle the mota don't be tempted to use pliers
Again you'll wreck it very quickly.

http://www.exmodelengines.com/product.php?productid=17631&cat=258&page=1

The 2 store links above are for Bernie and Matt who are both members
Here, great guys who both offer excellent fast service.
Matt now offers a rebuild refurbish service so you don't even have to get your fingers dirty.
I'm sure the boys Stateside will start to chip in as soon as the sun rises
Over there but hopefully the above will give you something to go on.