Just picked up my first hemi. Its a 1958 392 hemi.Started tearing it down. The problem is getting the torque convertor off. There one bolt that goes into the trans plate into the engine. Its counter sunk into the plate. I can't get a wrench or socket on it because of the flex plate is in the way. The motor won't turn over because its been sitting for 17 years. Any ideas.taking a chisel to it might be my only way to get it off.
if it won't turn over, it's most likely the pistons/rings are stuck (rusted) in the cylinders. my 392 was stuck, I soaked the cyl's in Kroil (Penetrating oil) and then used a piece of wood and a large hammer to get the pistons out. once they are out, you can probably turn the crank over.
The OEM converter should be attached by nutted studs through the crank flange. If there's a flex plate it sounds like someone changed to a newer tranny.I'd think you could just leave the converter on the engine and pull off the tranny if this bolt is in the spacer.
With some work, you can probably get the crankshaft out with the converter still attached. The problem is that you need to get at all the rod bolt nuts. Sometimes this takes a wrench or flex socket, or getting what you can, and slightly lifting the crank to get the last couple. I try to knock as many of the rod bolts completely out as I can, just to get them out of the way. Be careful of the remaining rod bolts when "rolling" the crank out of the block.
I have a 392 that sat for about 50 years, locked up tight. A quick look at the bores showed nothing worse than some flash rust on the bores. Soaking it with a mix of Acetone and ATF and some gentle rocking with a breaker bar had it spinning freely in about a week. Once I pour the mix in I always reinstall the plugs, maybe I'm nuts but it keeps the acetone from evaporating. Or so I think.
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