rusty block

S

Special 29

Junior Member
We are working of a 29 Special Coupe. The engine was supposed to have been very good but turns out it needs rebuilt. Being on a budget I have searched for alternatives and made an interesting discovery. My dad apparently had a block machined and re-babbitted in the 70's (he left the hobby in the late 70's and has since passed on) and left it sit on a bench where it was covered with junk. It is bored 80 over and will clean up with a hone. The crank is 10 under and the babbitt looks great. The rust wipes off the babbitt. My problem is how do I remove the rest of the rust?
 

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I have had good luck immersing cast iron parts such as tranmission cases and the like in something called evaporust. The caveat, and it is a big one, is will it destroy the babitt?
 
I have had difficulty posting the pictures. Here are the caps. I have heard certain chemicals will destroy the babbitt so I need to know what to avoid. I have a friend with a soda blaster. Any thoughts on that?
 

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I can't see where Evaporust would harm the Babbitt. It is not a caustic so unlike acid it is not dissolving the rust.
 
I didn't have any trouble removing media from any of my engines as I do not use a blaster anywhere contamination can occur. I've seen several bottom ends damaged by almost microscopic material left in engines that had been carefully cleaned. Why take the chance when there are better alternatives? JMO
 
Navy jelly has worked for me. Brush it on, wash it off. (Don't do this in your wife's flower bed!)
 
From what I see in 7 and 8 it looks like the caps have used worn out babbit and it's full of rust. I see a babbit job in the near future, like before it's assembled.
 
I have been thinking about this. I was told that vinegar would harm the Babbitt also.
What about turning block upside down in a container and then filling the container up to a level that is below the Babbitt mains? You could use evaporust which would be good but expensive or vinegar, etc. and it would clean the block inside and out without hurting the Babbitt. Then you would have a whole lot less the clean than before you started.
Any thoughts?
 
Those bearings are made up of Lead based babbitt. If anything it would be better to have the mains repoured and bored rather than worry about damaging the bearings.

Look at it this way ,you'll go through all the trouble of cleaning it and then in short amount of time it'll have to come apart to redo it.
 
I agree with J and M above but for what it's worth I dug my engine out of the dirt and put it in a horse watering tank with washing soda and water and used electrolysis to remove the rust inside and out. Then I had the bores cleaned up and the block planed. New babbits and it runs like a champ now. Jack
 
WHITE Vinegar will make it squeaky clean and is cheaper than Evapo Rust. Put your block in a plastic tub pour in enough WHITE vinegar to cover it and let it sit for a day. Pour your vinegar back in the bottles and save it for later use.
 
Any kind of media blasting on an engine block, especialy on the inside can lead to disaster, you can never get rid of all the microscopic particle's. I know some one that did this and the engine only lasted a couple of hour's. The main and rod bearing were scoured with grit.
 
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