Picked up a 331 Chrysler Hemi laying in a snowbank yesterday.One head was off and this is what I saw when I removed the other head.Good thing it was dang near free.
looks like that desoto I had. I did get a few bucks for external parts...manifolds, valve cover stuff, etc.
That picture immediately turns into a pile of $$$$$$'s upon arrival at your favorite machine shop. Frank
I took apart a early 283 chevy I got for free that looked as bad. I ended up using a rosebud torch to heat the pistons then quench with cold water to break the bond between the pistons and walls then a steel pipe and BFH to punch out the pistons from the bottom. dont know if it could have run again, as the project wet bye bye and so did the engine.
Well, it's beyond nasty but you may have a winner if you can get it apart without breaking anything that you need to reuse. I'd get it stripped to bare block and heads and haul them to a Redi-strip outfit and have them stripped of the rust and then go from there. Worse case, you end up with a display engine that will never run, best case, it may not be as bad as it looks.
I did a 406 engine that looked just about like that. You won't know untill you get started on it. May end up a $$ boat anchor.
First 265cu I had, had been underwater, then stored for 15 years. Heads were taken off, and good old Marvel Mystery Oil applied. All the bores cleaned up enough (by scraping and re-soaking, w/a screwdriver blade) then honed to a finish. One rod bent upon piston removal, no pistons lost in the process, just a batch of lessons and time spent. The engine ran like a good sound small block when finished.
Had a similar experience with the 292 Y block that was the first engine in my avatar. Had to use a hammer and heavy pipe to drive the pistons out, then it took a .060 overbore to clean it up. Damn near anything can be fixed, as long as its worthwhile. How did the bottom end look? This hemi may be repairable and don't let the naysayers tell you anything. Just disassemble it and have a competent machine shop check it out. If the block is sound you have a good platform to build on, everything else is replaceable. The block could even be sleeved if necessary.
Removed trans this morning and the bellhousing and T/C will be next.That weight loss alone will make more manageable.It will get a soaking and tear down.
You want to be as easy on the cyl. walls as possible. I drive the pistons down as the corrosion is on the top. Bust the skirts off as they come down out of the holes. Sometimes the piston pin and the skirts seperate from the crown. I drill holes around the edge of the piston to loosen them up.
If you're looking for something to do . . . cool, if you're looking to build a Hemi on the cheap, probably not. If it was a 392, I'd go for it . . . for a 331, probably not. There are plenty of 331, 354 cores out there for pretty cheap that will clean up with a mild overbore. If you find that it requires sleeves in multiple cylinders, the costs start going up rather rapidly! With that said, there might be plenty of other usable parts on the engine . . . including the heads.
Figured it was a parts engine.I plan on taking it apart and saving what can be saved.I need a '57-8 Olds engine for my REO project but this was headed to the crusher so I grabbed it. It will get the acetone/atf test.
Drop it in a vat of molassas to get the rust off. That might give you some idea what you have to work with once its cleaned off a bit.
My first GMC looked like that after years of sitting out on the mud flats with rain in the intake. Hard to get apart and we bored it before honing. It took quite a bit to clean up but Chryslers are thick. The 270 ran for years and still holds an El Mirage record. Yours will do as well if you work with it.
x2 on the molasses. Had a block that looked like that and tried like hell to get the pistons out - put it in molasses for a few weeks and I barely had to tap the pistons and they came right out.
If you can come up with a container big enough to put the complete block in, try elecrolysis...you will be absolutely amazed. No smell, no black nasty residue, no chemicals. When you're done, it's safe enough to pour down the drain...
Engine is in a unheated garage in a section of the country where the high today was +7 and the low tonight will be -10.Ever hear the expression "slower than molasses?" LOL Acetone/atf mix trial begins tomorrow.
The Acetone|ATF mix, is there a particular ratio? Feel free to document the whole process in great detail. I've got some rusty stuff I need to free up and I've been following this thread to see how the engine turns out. (fingers crossed for ya)
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