Hot Rods Florida man cleans up crusty engine and doesn’t break any or make a mess.

At my wife’s suggestion, I set to work on the rusty exhaust manifolds with some rotary wire brushes and brake cleaner, masked them off and shot them with some Rust-O-Leum high temp flat black. I was going to shoot some engine enamel on the engine after I degreased it, but it thought that it looked more honest and correct for the build leaving it with the 70 year old patina it’s wearing. I wanted the car to look like it had been built in the mid 50’s with a junkyard engine (I know, the radial tires are wrong, but they are expendable) and simple handyman tools. Which it was, only 70 years later…

 

They look great, as does the whole car !

Now, what’s up with all those oil stains / drips on the drive - have you also got a flathead powered hot rod down there, or is that still left over from the oil change debacle ?

 

Ha ha! That’s the drip pan with the absorbent pad underneath the car, mostly. The engine had been leaking enough that the drip pan wasn’t big enough, and there some stains on the (new) concrete under our carport.
I used Dawn on the oil change mess, which worked pretty well on those, further down the driveway. The ones under the car however don’t clean as well as they’re old. I should have tackled the valve cover gaskets long before now, but I admit I put it off worried I’d make it worse.
The only vehicle I’ve had that leaked more was my Panhead. The Hemi came close in terms of marking its territory! Seems all better now.

 

This has been discussed a LOT here over the years. However, the way that works for me is to get some carb cleaner and a brush. Spray down the stain and scrub it, then while it's still wet, lay down some kitty litter and scuff it into the area with your boots. It tends to pull the ugly up out of the concrete.
Negative points if you walk inside the house with those boots, though!

 

If you haven't made a mess your not trying hard enough. My high school shop teacher recommended Portland cement to pull the oil out of concrete the only down side is you usually can only get it in a 60 lb bag but you'll be ready for the next spill.

Phil