How do I save and store this engine block?

[DanTudor57]

How do I save this engine? It a 292 with EBU main caps.


Apparently this block was rebuilt. From the looks of the brand new pistons and very clean piston bore ? it sure was.

Small problem: It was rebuild, crated, then the crate was placed outdoors upside down inside a boat! Sure, they covered it but still? After several storms, the boat filled up with some inches of water and rust set it.

The problem areas are mainly where the valley pan would sit. There is no rust damage on the any machined areas other than this. You'll see that there is some surface rust on teh plane where one head goes, but I think teh picture looks much worst than it really is. I think even a simple scotch brite pad will remove this. The back side (transmission end) has rust across most of it, but nothing that seems to be life threatening. The main caps have surface rust, but again, it seems superficial. I think the valley cover areas can just be cleaned up with a 3m disc and the thick valley cover gasket will suffice to seal around here.



What are my options here?  I sprayed it down with WD-40 for the moment. I?d like to stop any further rust damage now that it is in dry storage.
Should I tear it down and spray it down some more, or would a good wd-40 spaying and a heavy duty plastic motor bag work for storing it for the next 6/12 months while I relocate?

[lalessi1]

Dan, what do you plan on doing with the engine? I am sure you are going to get a dozen different opinions. If it were mine I would break it down and coat everything with light weight oil and store components in ziplock bags. Where I live in south Louisiana everything stays damp and rusts even in "dry" storage. I keep important things in an air conditioned space. Plastic bags and a little oil work all the time in my mine, WD 40 tends to be too light for longer term storage. For a block the trick is getting oil "everywhere".  When ready, I would probably have the block acid dipped again, re-hone the cylinders again, remachine the sufaces and reassemble. That said, storing the assembled block "as is" coated in WD40 in a plastic bag in a dry climate would work fine for 6-12 months in my opinion. Cleaning superficial rust, depending on gasket sealer, and using the block as is would produce a running engine (if everything was done right in the first place) for the lowest cost. BTW, WD 40 has a new product out designed for rust protection. I saw a commercial on TV....

[hiball3985]

The surface rust may look worst in the picture but it looks pretty bad on the head surface and one of the cylinder walls. My major concern would be the cast iron rings. I just went through this with a friends engine that sat for a long period and the surface rust was no wheres as bad as yours, The engine turned over with a little effort and was bolted back together and installed. It only ran on 7 cylinders and we pulled it back out and tore down the one cylinder that had no compression, both top rings were broke and you could see were they had been rusted to the cylinder wall. I would suggest tearing it down and inspecting everything, store the parts until you are ready to use it. If you don't know if the cam and lifters are all new or the just used the old ones be sure to keep them in order so they go back in the same place.

[Ford Blue blood]

Most definitely tear it down, keeping every part in a storage container labled so it can all go back in the exact location it came from.  Scrub the valley with steelwool, run a cleanup cut on the deck, run a hone in the cylinders to clean up the walls, check the rings and piston pins and have the block dipped and scrubbed to make sure it is clean.  You will need new cam bearings and core plugs installed.  Re assemble the engine using assembly lube on all surfaces including the decks and all gasket surfaces.  Go out to an electronics story and get several bags of desiccant and seal the whole thing in a heavy plastic bag.

[rmk57]

Looks like the block at least has to be decked again. You may get by with a hone in the cylinders.
If your not planning on doing anything with it right away I wouldn't do anything to it. Coat it with oil, cosmoline, seal it up in heavy garbage bags , leave it .

Randy

[djfordmanjack]

probably enough WD40 in a bag would save it pretty much as is but I couldn't leave a good engine like that if it was mine. you should be able to break it down in about 4-6 hours and get rid of any moisture that might have gotten into the bearing areas or oil passages. I would NEVER try to run that thing if it is intended to be a reliable driver engine. bearings, rings, lifters- most probably some of them have suffered during wet storage. Do it right firsthand.
I would think the rust can be removed with the purple 3m cleaning discs even from the decks without leaving too many marks or pinholes for future use. that Dearborn and Cleveland cast iron is tough as nails.

[DanTudor57]

thanks for the advice.

My goal is to save it from further damage in hopes that someone one else will be able to use it some day. I already have a backup engine ready to go for my car, and this is just another spare that I acquired through my y-Block dealings. It is ecz-a block and i've had people asking to buy this specific casting in the past -- not sure why this 'A' is so special (?).

Unfortunately I have my hands full with three different engines I need to store ( in the background) I don't think I'll have time to break it down for months. For now,  I'm just going to oil it up as much as possible, crank it over a few times, oil it some more, and put it in an engine bag. Maybe someone else will take it off my hands and try to save it for their own use. I may just put it in our classified for someone that has more time to resurrect it.

[SkylinerRon]

First, never use wd-40 for storage.
Try to turn it over w/ a braker bar on the crank snout just a little to see if the rings are frozen/rusted.
If free put some Rislone in the bores and let it set for a few days then disassemble.
If frozen you can start w/a diesel or kerosene soak for days.
As a last resort some folks fill the bores w/ Coke and tap the piston tops w/a wood block.
For storage wheel bearing grease works well. Cosmolene is what Ford used but, it is a pain to remove.
Goodluck,
Ron.

[djfordmanjack]

  I'm just going to oil it up as much as possible, crank it over a few times, oil it some more, and put it in an engine bag.

I'd rather not crank it over this time !!! you never know where scale has buildt up in the bearings or the condition of rings, lifters aso.
better spray some light weight oil and put it in the bag. when you're selling it, the new owner will spend time to properly soak it for days and disassemble it piston by piston. making sure to save the bores and crank.

[DanTudor57]

Good Point, i won't turn it over at all, just drown it in oil.. Maybe I can find someone around here  who needs a small project.

[hiball3985]

ECZ-A    292-312 cu. in. V8      1956  ECZ 6015 A   
EBU main caps =292.   
ECZ main  caps  =312   Check crank flange or main caps.

[Jeff Norwell]

Dan,Try and find a product called Fluid Film.I bought a HI-PO 312 years ago that had been built,sealed in a large heavy-duty  clear industrial plastic bag(an engine Bag.)The person that had this 312 had passed away and I bought the engine from his family? it was prepped and bagged for a very very long time
I use this product exclusively on stubborn bolts,or anything that needs come apart.I used it on my 57 with old troublesome parts..
After 8 years.. the Fluid Film kept everything wet and was still there.
Will not evaporate and is envoirmentally friendly(the food industry uses it)
WD 40 is garbage in my opinion? has alcohol and disappears in a few weeks.