I just finished breaking in the cam on my newly rebuilt 302. But due to more extensive rust repairs than initially anticipated it will be months until it gets installed in my Ranch Wagon. I've read several threads about prepping the engine for an extended storage. The engine is complete and the carb will be removed. The intake will be taped off along with the exhaust ports and water inlets and outlets. Question is what if anything to use to lubricate the cylinders? I'm thinking MMO but not sure. And should the engine be turned over periodically? TIA
Instead of removing parts and storing stuff, I'd just put something over it to keep dirt/dust off it and start it every month or so. I think that works best. I've got an older engine on a run stand, and I fire it up every few months for about a minute. That way nothing in the carb dries up and the sound of a running engine is a great motivator.
If you’re storing it in a dry environment I would bag it in a large heavy duty garbage bag and that’s it. I have a 460 short block that’s been under the bench for years and it still looks like the day I slid it in there.
Put a shower cap over the carb , tape the exhaust ports or keep the air filter housing on it . put whatever oil of your choice in the cylinders and roll it over by hand whenever you remember . if it’s not stored in a wet , damp , humid environment your fine .
If it's realistically only going to be a few months I wouldn't worry about it too much - just cover the intake/exhaust/water ports to keep dirt or critters out, and leave it alone in a dry place. If it will in fact be longer then you can worry about doing other procedures.
It took me a few months to finish the repairs on the '41 when I pulled the engine. I had it on the engine stand with an engine bag over it (tied around the stand head). But if the engine run stand is yours, then cover it and start it every so often.
I live in a dry climate but I still bag the engine and place a desiccant bag or more inside the bag....just incase... I used to do all of Clariants mechanical work at the plant where these were packaged so I had an easy source of supply... https://www.amazon.com/Desi-Pak-Bentonite-Desiccant-Humidity-Indicator/dp/B00CM2E1JK I think this is pretty economical way and they can be dried out in an oven and re-used I wouldn't worry about rolling it over until prior to firing it after the install...firing it off will cause byproducts of combustion to form in the crankcase my $.02
If its inside and not in a humid area, just throw a tarp over the top and walk away. My area is always around 70% humidity and I did that with a 327 on a stand in a garage-turned it over once every now and then by hand. Kept it that way for 5 years and when i put it in a car it started pronto.
Purchased a BBC once. Drove 3 hours to its location. It was all wrapped up sitting next to washing machine and dryer. He rolled it out and unwrapped it. He stated it had been there for a decade. His dream of building a hot rod evaporated. I brought a wrench to turn it over. It was locked up and I almost flipped it over and water came out of everywhere. Turns out his wife would water her plants on that Convenient stand next to the wash basin. I bought it at a reduced price. Went to purchase another BBC that was rebuilt and sitting in the bed of a truck with a camper shell on it. We had to machete our way in the back yard to check it out. The property this engine was on turned out to be a POT FARM. So I asked the old man if I could drag his truck out into the street to finish this transaction. He agreed after we realised what we walked into. Relief set in after getting the hell out of there. Looking at the barrel of a shotgun sticking out of a peep hole creeps the hell out of a person. We popped the camper shell off. Nice blue rebuilt BBC. Locked up, full of water. WTF. It sat in the bed covered by the shell, but the back was wide open. When the neighbour’s sprinklers came on, it hosed down the engine. DON’T STORE A MOTOR WITH RAGS STUFFED IN ANY OF ITS HOLES. Both engines ruined. Tape holes with duck tape and cover with plastic, not cloth. Oil the crap out of the intake and bores. I could rattle on all night on this subject.
Fog it with oil until it stalls. Put a plastic bag over the carb and cover the exhaust manifold outlets with duct tape to keep mice out. Put it on a cradle and roll it under the bench until you're ready for it. Or, do like the guy that rebuilt my DeSoto Hemi; Rebuilt it, put it in the car without starting it, then sell it years later to a guy who lets it set for 10 or 15 years and not do anything, then sells it to me, who pulls it then puts it on a cradle and rolls it under the bench and then builds a car around it. Worked great.
My dad built an LT1 in the 80's. It was broken in then it sat in our (water-tight) shed with the ports covered and under plastic for probably 14+ years. We put it in a car in the mid-90's. No special prep or anything. Still runs great to this day, uses no oil, no problems at all. Depending on the storage conditions, some will be fine and some won't. If yours is protected and dry in your garage, I don't see why you'd need to do anything else for even a year or more storage. The 283 for my roadster has not been properly protected or stored for about 20 years. Inside it looks great. No corrosion, turns over easy, etc. It all depends on your environment.
My brother built a 327 Chevy while in HS. Knurled piston skirts, re-sized rods, all done right. This was a short block, ready to assemble. He painted the innards with MMO and double-bagged it, sat it in a garage corner for 6 years. When it was unwrapped, it still looked perfect. My current SBC, was fogged and pulled from a stock car in 1984. Took the carb and distributor off, taped everything up. I put it in a corner of the garage with a piece of plastic tarp over it. Every so often I gave the front pulley a 1/4 turn, if that. Fast forward to 2015, time to wake it up. It still turned easily, but it was coming apart anyway. I did see that mice got past some of the duct tape, chewed through the exhaust manifold coverings. Lots of seed hulls inside... other than that we were considering firing it up on the floor. I did back off the rocker arms before I put it away.
Or, you can get lucky. I bought a '51 Merc sitting upside down in a mud puddle just for the crankshaft. It survived 20 years in two shops until I got around to using it. It turned over easily, so I decided to mount it on my run stand to check it out further. I ran a compression test, and it had over 100 lbs on all eight. I threw a carb on it along with some new ignition components and it fired right up. I changed the oil and filter and ran it for a half hour more. When the oil pressure and operating temperature checked out good, I shrugged my shoulders and installed it in my '51 Ford. That was in 2016, and it still runs fine, though it burns a little oil when run over 60. I think the guys who initially pulled it from the car did me a big favor by dumping it upside down. I think that distributed the oil throughout the engine which resulted in preserving it.
Was in Alaska at a school in Anchorage and they had several Diesel engines donated to their diesel / auto repair program. They used "fogging oil" in an aerosol can, can't remember brand but followed instructions on can. Engines were left outside covered with plywood and tarps for several years. They would pull one out every so often as needed and never had one stuck or fail to start unless something was wrong with the injection. If storing indoors, they didn't do anything except to bar the engine over every few months. Sometimes we tend to be overly cautious but doing that won't hurt anything either!
I make sheetmetal covers for the exhaust ports, carb opening on intake, and any other entrance into the engine. Interestingly, its common for Model Ts, Model As and various tractors that are castiron flatheads with almost no openings into the engine and updraft carbs, to fire right up after sitting in a field for decades...
I have a similar story - I drove the 327 in my roadster for several years in a 55 F-100 in California. When I put a Fatman front end in it, I took the engine out and built a new 383. The 327 sat around for 15 years (no intake, no valve covers) in my garage through sub-zero winters and all. Was even used as a fit-up engine on 2 car builds. No covers on anything. When I started building the roadster, I put the 327 on an engine stand with the oil pan removed and saturated everything with transmission fluid (the detergents in that does wonders). I put a shot glass of tranny fluid in each cylinder and left it sit for a week or 2. I then turned it over by hand with a breaker bar and did a compression test - all good. I changed the cam, lifters, timing chain (mostly because I wanted a different power curve) and put a new oil pump in it. It runs great! Net-net, don't worry about storing an engine unless you're grinding and welding next to it...admission, I did a lot of that and it's fine. For your situation, ready to go into a car, I'd bag it in an engine bag and throw a canvas or leather blanket over it.
Lots and lots of advice from engine manufacturers and contactors on piston engine storage (short and long term) in the aviation industry where its extreemly common. No need for anecdotal advice. Google aircraft engine storage and preservation.
I Googled it. While necessary for an aircraft that you don't want to fall out of the sky, that's a bit overkill for a hot rod engine. Purge all the fuel lines, empty the oil, and store it bagged up with desiccant essentially? Uh, no.
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