Engine prep suggestions please.....

Wello

Wello

Senior Member
Adhering to the 'drive em until they break' philosophy, the old girl has been living with a knock in #3 that has suddenly taken a turn for the worst. The wallet isn't quite ready for a rebuild now so I'm considering plan B.

I have a rebuilt short block that I picked up 35+ years ago. It has never been in a car or started. It has been in storage this entire time. I plan to give the new short block a once over and put it in my CCPU and get her back on the road. I can always go through the original motor in the future.

Any suggestions as to my next move? I'm sure any remains of any assembly lubricate has turned to dust. I'm assuming a thorough cleaning, new assembly lubricant and checking of all the clearances is in order. What am I missing?

Thanks in advance to the finest accumulation of Model A knowledge on the planet!

Dan
 
If the engine has been sitting uncovered, i would take it apart and clean everything and oil it all up again and repaint it. If you take it apart and take the valves out, make sure to keep all the valves in order 1-8, and the lifters in order also so that you can put them in the same place when you re assemble it. Make sure to clean all the gasket surfaces, then put it all together and stick it in the car! Before you start it i would prime the engine with oil by dumping 4 out of the 5 quarts of oil in the distributor hole.
 
Speaking of gaskets, I'd go ahead and get a new gasket set and replace all of them. If the old ones aren't dried out, their probably crushed. Not an expensive deal at all.
Pete
 
Was it stored with covers or wrapped in plastic? Or, was it stored open? Unless there's good reason to I wouldn't tear it down to check clearances. They won't change from setting. Maybe pull one rod cap and see how it looks for lube. If it's dry and has light surface rust then you'll have to tear it down and fix it. Otherwise I'd oil all the lobes and bearings, button it up and run it.
 
One thing I would check in an engine that has been stored for more than a couple of years is the main tubes. This demands that you remove the crank BUT, I have seen tubes completely blocked by oil and/or assembly lube that has hardened over the years. Not checking for this is akin to playing russian roulette with your good motor. You will have to remove the rod caps and push the rods down enough to clear the crank and put the caps and shims back on them to keep them together in the correct orientation. Remove the main caps and lift the crank out of the block. Run a stiff wire through the tubes making sure you can see the end of the wire in the valve chamber. I would also spray some carb or brake cleaner through them and make sure there is good flow. Reassemble and torque the caps to the correct amount and rest easy that you won't have a bearing failure because of lack of oil flow.
 
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