I picked up a 46-47 complete ch***is that sat for 30 years or so out in the weather, the 59ab in it has a rebuild tag on it that reads .20 on the rods/mains & .040 on the bore, it was full of clean oil so the dipstick said, the cooling system was empty & was covered with the hood & an old raincoat. This weekend I'm tearing into it to see what shape it's in, I pulled the pan tonight & found an inch of clear water in the bottom, some grey goop & the rest was golden oil. The rod bearings are the full floating style & look brand new as does the crank, the cam has no rust (couldnt beleive that) & the bores are clean other than some minor staining, next thing to come off is the heads & if the top end looks as good as the bottom I'm going to clean it up & throw a set of new gaskets at it & run it! Any problem areas to look for in the block, common cracking areas etc...?
the way i see it is just run it. if its cracked you'll find out, and if it runs it runs. you really need to tear it down and get it magnafluxed to truely check for all of the cracks... so pop your gaskets on and try and run it! danny
I can only speak of ones iv seen. Overheating cracks will show on the deck surface Valve seat or pocket to cylinder Bolt or stud hole to water hole (dont need to fix) Freeze cracks Along and or over the pan rail Around bottom of cylinders Thats all I have first hand of.
Sat long enough - 30 years would do it, even the blackest oil will seperate out. Seen it yay times before. As for cracks. Henry always threw a load in for free. Worst I've seen is the full length of the cam gallery... But it was still running.
Thats what I love about them! I'm too scared to open mine up just in case its screwed, but it still runs strong so why do it? I think flatheads give thier best when they are simply runners, bolt on some go faster look better parts as you can afford them and enjoy. Seems when you try and rebuild one, you start to loose out on the grins per dollar. Danny
Sat for 30 years in a same direction. Never turned over?? Check out the valve springs, there is probably few totally dead.
On the other hand, my 283 sat for 38 years in one spot. I changed the oil, spun it enough to pump up the lifters, fired it and have driven it 12,000 miles since last August. No problems. Wayno
Mine has cracks between the valve seats on one cylinder and I liquid gl***ed it, and it seems to have stopped for a while. It runs smooth as silk, I hate to bother it until it gets worth. If you can spin the crank, fire it up with some clean oil and drive it! It's probably gonna be fine. -slacker
Do check for valve to cylinder cracks, but real concern is downstairs--closely examine lower edges of block and areas connecting to main saddles in case water got in there and froze over the years--upper end is likely good if engine was a fresh runner. If big issues are good, look over the valvetrain--as well as springs dying from years of sitting compressed, valves tend to stick in guides. Make sure everything moves, and oilemall if they are good. If springs seem good, get out the valve bar and lift each valve by hand and let it fully close, lifting to only about proper lift--just checking to see if any springs feel odd. Rotate engine to full open on each valve, scrutinize seat surfaces with a strong light. If this is a fresh engine, any problem will likely be minor, fixable with valve removal and quick cleanup by hand techniques, but still worthwhile--if you runnit with some cruddy seats, you will get actual damage there, so better be cautious now, because it sounds like you may have a real goody.
The one I just bought had fairly clean oil in it and turned over just fine. I was tempted to try it as it was, but decided to open it up. It had one valve stuck open and two broken rings. It would have missed and smoked pretty bad. I'm glad I decided to rebuild it first; saved the work of an installation/removal. pigpen
May not have been wise, but when I've tested out a motor in the past on much, much newer cars, I just tried firing it up on the motor stand with nothing but a carb and fuel tank connected to the carb. Oil in the motor of course. No radiator. I figure I'm only gonna run the thing for a couple seconds anyhow. Any harm in doing this with the 59AB I plan on rebuilding eventually, just to see if it runs? The anticipation will kill me to wait. How does everyone else do this?
If you think it'll run, give it a try--if valve problems, shut down before you burn anything and create more work, if ring problems, put in marvel Mystery Oil and hope it sorts itself out! Stuck open valves can sometimes be cured by pushing them shut after a shot of penetrating oil via the plug hole--be careful, valves are pretty easy to bend. If any seat problems not cureable by a Stage I Okie Valve Job (valve close, long punch through plug hole, "WHACK!!"), start dismantling or you're going to hurt valve and seat.
Take a good look at the valve springs. I did not and they started to break after around 100 miles on the motor. It might be worth changing them now. It cost me a couple of head gaskets before i replaced all of mine. But thats just my 2 cents.
Pulled the heads today & found some minor pitting in the cylinders, quite a bit of rust on the exhaust valves & seats. I could not find any cracks though other than 2 between the coolant p***age & head bolt holes, the crank,bearings & rods look like brand new, pulled the oil pump apart & it also looked great also so it looks like a .020 bore some .060" pistons , cam, valve springs & a gasket set will get her running again. Anybody suggest a good machine shop in western Wa., also how about some cam suggestions, looking for something with a lump but dont want to sacrifice drivability, thanks for all the replies, Uzek
I have an Isky Max 1 in my T roadster. It is reputed to be the best cam for the street. I haven't tried any others except for the stock one, but I think that it's reputation isn't far from the truth. Runs real good! pigpen
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