Caddy 390 motor

Hello,I p/u a used 1960 390 motor. I was disassembling to paint it original caddy blue. When I removed the oil, it looked like there was some gray metalic material in it. I thick that it is the "restore" engine additive to help with compression. I tried to get hold of the sellar but not responding. Is there any test or way to find out if engine needs a rebuild? Compression test wuold be difficult to do at this point. Any help would be great. I can't affored a rebuild since I am unemployed at this time. Its funny how you have time to get things done, but no money, or you have the money but no time? Thanks,George.

 

Unless you are planning or needing to put it into immediate use, it would be better to hold off on rebuilding it for the present anyway.
It's not good practice to let newly rebuilt engines sit around for months or years before putting them into service. Freshly cleaned and machined surfaces tend to corrode and rust much faster than will old polished and "seasoned" parts.
Rebuild parts for the 390 Caddy are not cheap, and this is an engine that it would not be advisable to undertake rebuilding while unemployed or short on funds.
If you are planning on putting it into a rod, there will be plenty of other things that will need doing before it ever hits the road, most times these "projects" end up taking a LOT longer than was planned.
Hey, I also got a 390 Cad engine, pulled out of a running and driving car, and have been gathering parts for it for years now.
Advice here is, Hang in there, and hang unto it, until things get better for you. And Don't make the mistake of tearing it into a pile of parts that you cannot afford to put back together.
Paint 'er up pretty if you like, pull the plugs and dump a little oil or ATF into the cylinders every year, and you can keep it from freezing-up like so many long stored engines.
I've got half a dozen engines here that I douse the cyls. with ATF and crank over with the starters to build oil up pressure from time to time, some I've now held unto for decades. (Oh, and be sure to remove all the spark plugs and drape an old blanket over the engine before cranking it, cause otherwise the oil in the cylinders will shoot about 30 feet and make one hell of a mess.
And if you don't remove the plugs, you could cause a hydraulic lock and bend the connecting rods. not good.

 

dont fear the grey junk too much. i've seen it alot on engines that have sit for years. for example-- had the same thing on my cadillac's motor that sat for almost 30 years (had an oil filter (c) from the late 70's.) while on my motor i had to rebuild the top end (because the dumb fuck before me "got it running" with stuck valves and broke up the valve train,) that wasnt because of the gunk. on mine i pulled the pan and cleaned everything out well from the bottom. the biggest thing you should pay attention to is making sure the hydrauilic lifters arent all gunked up (you may have to change those.)

as far as seeing how the motor is before running.... pull a valve cover, get everything turning smoothly, clean it. pulling the heads will tell you a lot. You can spin the oil pump up to see if you get pressure.

good luck.

-scott noteboom