I pulled these two flatheads out of my neighbors junk pile area about a week ago after they had been back there for years. My neighbor said I could have them but she wasn't sure if they were put out there because they was bad or not. So after a couple hours of pulling at these things in the mud with my ford 8n I finally got them out. I think they are both 24 stud Mercury's but one has eac heads and the other has 99t heads. She also has a fancy intake for one of them in the garage that I'll hopefully get later. The motors might not even be good but I wont know until I get into them. I am really hoping the eac is a good block so I can use that one. Anyhow back on topic, what should I put on these to break the rust loose before I take them apart. I was thinking of pouring diesel fuel in them to start breaking the rust loose. What are your thoughts on this?
You've got your work cut out for you, both are well encrusted. Diesel and kerosene mix works very well and is far cheaper than the 'mystery' stuff. The valve train will also be stuck so don't ignore the lifters in their bosses. good luck with your projects .
My thoughts too but what the hay, pull them apart and see if the blocks might be worth saving or the cranks are worth saving. Call it a flathead learning experience and if they are actually junk you can always clean one up an paint it up real pretty and set it on a stand just to look at.
the carb is mercury so if you are lucky there is a 4 inch mercury crank in that engine but i dont think its much hope fore the blocks . Missing sparkplugs and winter usualy cracked cylinders
Yes, if water gets inside the cylinders and freezes it's not pretty. I once opened a Pontiac 389 that was in a car which had no hood on it for 20+ years to find one intake valve stem rusted completely through and another pretty close to it. The cylinder walls had vertical cracks down them. I wouldn't even putz with putting anything in it until I got the heads off and got a look at what's left inside. On the bright side, they're worth pulling the cranks out of if nothing else, and that Merc carb you find guys who need them once in a while too.
I figured that sitting for so long with open holes would be bad for them but I am hoping that one is still good. If not then at least Ill know more about them since I have never taken a flathead apart before. Once I take them apart I'll post up some more pictures in this thread of either the damage to them or hopefully an uncracked block.
Lately it's been said that the best "liquid wrench" is 50% acetone and 50% trans fluid. Give it a try and let us all know if it's true. Good luck.
If you can somehow get that crank out of there it might still be good. I wouldn't waste time on the blocks. Maybe somebody can use that aluminum timing gear cover.
ive used on my stuck 331: mixture of marvel, lucus, and atf. seems to work ok, but i would at least try to take off the heads, just to see how bad it is...
I'd get a good half inch drive impact and 24" breaker bar. Chances are you're going to need them. I've had motors that were so bad I had to bust the pistons to pieces to get them out.
There ya go, that's the right idea! Hope you end up with some good bits. If not, scrub 'er up a little, spend a couple bucks on rattle cans and ya got a *****in' display item. You know the drill ... get a coldbeer, sit and groove on this side. Get another coldbeer and move your chair to the other side. Get yet another beverage and check out the front, etc, etc, ad nauseum. Or am I the only one does **** like that ...???
My thoughts exactly! I bought a 4" merc crank from a guys s**** pile for $50 once, very rusty but std. After cleaning, shot peening and grinding I had a very nice .010/.020 crank. Free is always good! Well almost always.
The engine with the 99T heads is a '39-'42 Merc engine, rated 95 HP. which was also offered as an option in 1 ton and larger Ford trucks. The aluminum timing cover on the one with the EAB heads indicates it's a late '52 or '53 engine, as '49 through early '52 had a cast iron timing cover. I agree with the others, exposure to the elements and ways for water to get inside the engines probably means that the engines as a whole are beyond saving. You'll at least get experience tearing down flatheads and, with a little luck, maybe one or two good cranks and some miscellaneous parts.
Once I take the heads off and see whats inside I'll decide what to put in them. Maybe I'll put atf/acetone in one side and diesel/kerosene on the other and see which works the best. If the blocks aren't good then I will have some pretty cool yard art. I think the one crank is no good because there is a giant hole in the oil pan and you can see the pretty rusty crank that was submerged under ground for years. I'm down in lake orion, its about 45 minutes to an hour away depending on where in flint you are. I'll let you know if I need some help once I get time to take them apart.
My dad and I saved a merc crank out of a flathead that was so rusty that the oil pan had rusted through. We had to cut the rods to free the crank. The crank will be able to be turned and used again.
The last 4" crank that I extracted from an engine similar to that was a lot of fun. First out came the hole saw and cut the pistons. That didn't work so out came the sawzall and cut off the rods. Main cap bolts were rusted round so I sawed those off also. Finally got the crank out of there then had to grind the rod bolts off and got to the bare crank. Now it sets down in the shed waiting for the barrel of mol***es trick.
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