Projects short block sitting a while...

I just purchased a 350 short block that was already machined, bored, and with new pistons. It has been sitting a while under a bag. How long, I do not know. The gentleman passed away and I bought it from his wife who I am helping clear out his shop of thirty years. It has extremely light surface rust that is barely noticeable. Is there anything I should look out for, or anything I should do to before I start to put the top end on it? I am going to wipe it down with an oily rag, and am wondering if that is all that is necessary. I am mainly wondering should I put an kind of lube on the rotating assembly before I start to spin it by hand even? Thank you.

 

The camshaft lobe lubrication is something I'd be concerned about...and make sure to run the oil pump with a drill and a pump drive tool, before you run the engine, to check for oil pressure, etc.

 

I should have been more clear on what is on the block. it is just the block, which was already machined/bored, crankshaft/rods/pistons/rings. no camshaft or anything else

 

Is the surface rust on the outside of the block or in the cylinder bores?

-Abone.

 

Like the man said, how much of it is assembled.

I got a FREE 350 from a friend, engine belonged to his deceased brother, I was going to use it until the machine shop I was dealing with pointed out that some hack did the finish hone and the bores were out-of-round. It would need a re-bore.

In other words, check everything first.

 

Just to be more clear...is it all assembled?

And if you want useful answers to questions like this, it really helps to add several good pictures...

 

An 'oily rag'? Jesus Pieces. There are probably hundreds of books on rebuilding and building small block Chevrolet engines available online, in used bookstores, in the Goodwill, St.Vincent De Paul's, and who knows where? And, already I have that sinking feeling that no matter what anyone tells you it is going in one bore and out the other. You're like the guy who sat behind me in geography class, or sat in front of me in geometry and wanted to crib my answers on tests. Then again, maybe you're a genius whose ability to use the English language is hampered by thoughts of feathers and lead weights falling from the Eiffel Tower. Please learn to do one thing 'right' on the H.A.M.B., though. If you want an answer to any question, and you will get one, learn to ask a dumb question well enough for even me to understand it, because the deal is like a see-saw. A good question, or a good dumb question, will get you enough answers, as a young lady once told me, to find a consensus in those that lean toward the one that is the 'most' right. I'm glad I got that off my chest, even if it does get bumped.

 

it may depend on the oil grade on the rag also a cotton rag works better than nylon.

 

On any engine that has been standing awhile out of the car, I turn it crank side up and fill the pistons with automatic trans fluid overnight to lube the wrist pins.

What Jim said pictures would help, can you see if assembly lube is there yet.

 

before the shit hits the fan this is meant as a joke.

 

Since so little information was given...I'll also be very brief.

"Probably".
6sally6

 

If it's just a short block, why not tear it down and look it over. Easy to do right now.

 

As "egads" mentioned above, its probably best to take it apart and check what was done and what shape its in. Check whether the crank was turned or not and if the bearings are clearanced correctly. You never know what it might be like, so check it. Also check to see if the cam bearings are new or still need to be replaced. If you are unsure how to do it or don't have the tools, find someone locally to help you through doing it. You will learn a lot.
If you decide not to tear it down, then use kerosene/diesel fuel and wipe the cylinders with it to help dissolve the rust and get most of it off the cylinder walls. THEN wipe it with "non-synthetic " motor oil. You don't want to be rotating it to do all this unless it has assembly lube or oil on the main and rod bearing as you may score them. You need to force oil thru the oil system before rotating it any.....which just gives even more reason to disassemble it first. Then you can put assembly lube on the bearings before reassembly. The assy lube for the bearings is different from the assy lube for the camshaft and lifters.
Buy a copy of this book from Amazon for $28

 

I will try to get some pictures soon, and it is assembled. I'm sorry I asked a general question. I know my fair share of "old car guys" who have built more cars than I have owned. The consensus I got from them is just spray some WD40 on it and wipe it down. I have also found the same advice searching this forum. To me it seemed to be too simple, so I simply was reaching out for more advice. I have never dealt with a short block that was machined and rebuilt that sat under a bag for a while, so I wanted to make sure I don't mess it up. I have bought motors that sat for years uncared for and ran them with little issue. There is slight surface rust on the outside of the block, as well as slight surface rust on the cylinder walls, but the stuff on the cylinder walls wiped off with just my finger, so possibly it could be debris from sitting soo long, as I am sure it has been moved around and uncovered from time to time. Thank you for those that were actually trying to help.

 

What was the point of this? Why would I ask if I was going to ignore the advice given? You, my friend, are the kind of person to discourage someone from getting into classic cars. What if I was some kid, and this was going to be my first build? If you are going to be this disrespectful, please take it elsewhere. You just make yourself look like a fool.

 

I think I'd want to check bore diameter, bearing clearances, torque on the main and rod caps, etc. to make sure the machine work was done properly. Now is the time, since it's just a short block and you don't have to tear it down.

 

Its one thing to run an old , unmolested engine , its quite another to have faith in some unknown persons machine work , parts selection , assembly abilities . General questions are like polite conversations , extensively useless jabber .

 

blow it off really good while wiping. if you can see nice fresh hone marks on the cylinders it;ll be alright it's just a chevy, be sure to use one of those oil pump primer's before starting. if you would have asked some dumbass question like-how do i get this stain off my hand; or driveway; or what are these for, or how fast will my car go. you would have 20 pages of replies by now

 

You go by the name "meticulous" Matt. How could someone with that name just assume what you bought is done correctly? There was another thread on here a while back and the OP had his block machined only to find they had cut the decks differently and one was on an angle. You shouldn't just blindly assume everything and everybody didn't make any mistakes. You also need to lubricate and make sure. Better to spend a little time checking than a lot of money fixing.
That being said, I would look at the work area and tools that the original owner had and how his shop and his possessions were either organized or disheveled. Did he possess the proper tools to build an engine "meticulously" or just the bare minimum to get the job done. Nothing is a sure thing, but if you want a warm fuzzy feeling about using the engine as is, those kind of things can give some indication of how to proceed.

Little story: Last year I went to buy some end mills from a guy. He lived in a neat little house in an average neighborhood. He was into intricate woodworking and astronomy.
Cool little guy, very unassuming and obviously very smart and organized. Never met the guy before in my life, but seeing how he had organized everything in such a small space and the quality of his work and his tools..........I would have trusted that anything this guy did was done right.

 

It is a small block chebbie. Slap some orange Rust Oleum on it and run it. Oh, no internals in it. Doesn't need them.

 

If you haven’t turned over yet. Don’t. If you can wipe what appears to be rust with your finger then wiping every hole with an oily rag is good. Do them all and then slowly turn it and continue wiping. If I’m correct in my thinking only the pistons going up will be exposed to what was on the cylinder walls on the top. Wipe anything you can on the bottom too. Some short blocks have a cam but no lifter. If you have lifters take them out first and keep them in order. Once you’ve done that turn over and oil all the areas between the rods and the mains. If everything looks good take off a rod cap or 2 and look to see if is truely new or rebuilt . Check the back of bearing for its size. If it has a timing cover take it off and look at the gears and the chain.
If there are no lifters you need to clean the lifter bores. If they were oiled a oily rag should do a good job. I like white tee shirts for all this.
When you install heads and the associated parts you can turn over the oil pump with a drill and the correct device and preoil every thing while you turn over the engine by hand. Good luck.

 

If the rust in the cyls is light like you say I would put some trans fluid on a paper towel and wipe the cyls down. Then turn it over by hand and wipe the cyls where you couldn't get to. Look the cyls over good. If they look ok and you cant wiggle the pistons(I mean real loose in the bores), put her together pre oil it and bust it off. What do you have to lose? Lippy

 

Thank you for all the suggestions. I will clean it and check everything. I was going to pick up an old 350 and rebuild it to replace my 283, and was trying to save some time with buying this short block. I without a doubt am saving time and money still. And it was offered free, but I couldn't take advantage of a little old lady. And paid 200 for it.

 

Sorry Jimmy. We were typing.

 

You didn't get hurt.

 

If it’s just the rotating assembly minus the cam that’s in it.
Pull it apart, look at everything,
If it’s just slight dust and rust a clean paper towel and your lube / cleaner of chive will do just fine.
Blow out any and all oil passages and clean clean CLEAN !

inspect the work that was done and quality of said work to get a feel if what was done was correct.

mother then the very light rust / dust your concerned about I would be concerned if bugs, dirt etc got into a oil passage, oil pump etc and potentially have something plugged up.

at this point it’s almost nothing to strip the engine down and build it back up.
Pain in your left nut to do after your fully assembled it and ran it only to find an issue.

good luck n keep us posted.

many guys pull and old engine that’s been sitting for years unknown and with a little oil and some fuel get it running, so without seeing what you got I assume your ahead of the game already.

 

I finally got it to my house. This is the condition I got it in. Does anyone know of any aftermarket heads that fit these pistons? They are trw l2304 forged pistons. Thank you

 

I think I'd take the engine apart and clean everything, inspect, and put it back together. Many heads will fit, you'll want to figure out what compression ratio would work best with the vehicle, cam, drivetrain, intended use, chamber design, and cylinder head material, to decide which are best for you.

 

That isn't the prettiest cross hatch I have seen. If it were mine, and I wanted the engine to last awhile, I would take it apart and take it to a respected machine shop and have them inspect it, and see what they say. That is just me though. A few bucks now could save several hundred in the future. You aren't hurt on what you paid for it.