I swapped the rocker covers on my Merc (390 FE) and it looked pretty similar. Put the new covers on and kept driving it - this was about 8 years ago. Still getting along fine.
Run it with out the rocker covers make sure the oil is getting up there, may take a little time for it to come up and not a lot of oil may come out. That is very similar to my y block when it go it... Neglect over the years.. You my have to pull the rocker gear and clean it well. One thing I must tell you if its like that up top same down the bottom...pull your sump now and clean your pick up !!!! You can save it.
This is my experience also. Anytime that I found an old engine that looked like this, it was likely that the door jamb would be covered with Quaker State oil service stickers. Dave
Yup---looks like the first sbc I set the valves on. Back in the day I was sold on Pennzoil---til I saw that.
What he said...I bet it'll run just fine with a little elbow grease! Sure down the road you're gonna want to rebuild or replace it. Just depends on what your project status and skill level are. If you pull the motor and go for a full rebuild you could have it off the road for a while. Then again if its not gonna be on the road for a while and you've got the funds have at it! Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!
Looks clean to me, for an old motor with a carburetor that was run on leaded gas. I have seen them so sludged up the rocker covers were packed solid, with grooves worn by the rocker arms. Or rocker assemblies so covered with grease and sludge you couldn't see them. Best course is to clean out the rocker covers and put in new gaskets but do not touch the head. If you start cleaning the sludge off, it is almost impossible to prevent it getting into the oil pan and plugging up the oil pump screen (which is probably half plugged up now). Changing the oil frequently will help clean it out. A Frantz oil filter will do wonders. They trap ALL the dirt and sludge, over time your engine will get cleaner and cleaner inside.
Doesn't look bad. Use a quality oil, oil filter, make sure it gets up to temp and go for a 30+min drive. Add some Sea Foam to aid in cleaning off the varnish/buildup. Feeling more aggressive? The old ATF flush through the engine, make sure its fully warmed up, drain the oil > refill with ATF > let it idle for 10-15mins > drain ATF > change filter > refill with quality oil.
Did an FE a few months ago. It was not as bad as yours but close. Had to pull the heads because of broken exhaust manifold and bolts. These motors are known to crack factory exhaust manifolds and the bolts are a mother to remove. Had heads re-done with harden seats and did the mystery oil thing with multible changes. So far so good, runs good no smoke or issues. I have put a couple of hundred miles on it, time will tell. Go to the Ford FE site it has a wealth of info, can't remember the exact name for the site but it was easy to find.
My Ford 250 that was running and sounding fine, for a 40 year old high mileage engine, looked about like that when I pulled the head to get a new exhaust manifold on it. Damn near every stud snapped on me. I decided to clean the rockers while it was apart and run some snake oil on reassembly. The valve train rattles like hell and I have low oil pressure now. The do it all the way or just let it be arguments are valid.
Clean the gasket surface, put it back together. If it passes compression test, change the oil, put new hot thermostat in it and drive it. IMHO, just change the oil at a higher interval, say 1500 miles or so, maybe even 1000. Keep using good quality oil and change your filter. In a few years, rebuild it if you want to. Most posts about cold operating temp, never burning off moisture, never changing the oil are probably right. I tore apart my brother's engine in his truck in the early 80s and he used Pennzoil from the beginning. Over 100k miles on it and other than a slight tan color on the parts inside, absolutely no build up. Many trips across the country with lots of highway miles, many years driven for hours. Don't believe the paraffin story.
I agree, at least you can still see the valve springs! I've ran many that were way worse. Start messing with it beyond regular oil changes and you'll be tearing it down sooner than later. Bob
I have seen a lot worse. Took a valve cover off a Police car 351-400 that was a couple years old and the sludge was all the way to the valve cover. Used several different brands of oil. Most Quaker State or Penzoil users had a white or lighter colored cast in the sludge. Used Quaker State until I took my valve covers off the 1st time. The Ford Dealership I worked at Used to be owned by Partners,One guy bought the other one out in 1965. As part of his payment the guy got a 65 Galaxie and a 65 "Ranger" 1st year for the Ranger, with Mustang bucket seats, 289 shortbed.
1st year for the independent front end, It had a column shift automatic. The engine pictured is an FE but a small block was available, rare.
Another county heard from. . . Anyways; I am with the 'pull it apart and clean it' crowd. As gaskets and rings are cheap. But - this does fall under the 'I've seen worse last longer and better fail' law. If you have it out, and aren't intimidated by the idea of a tear down then go for it.
I bought a 65 country squire off the original owner that sat for a few years and after I got it running I noticed it smoking a bunch so I pulled the valve covers and it was a big mess,I looked down into the valley and it was almost as bad so I just cleaned out the heads and put it back togather. I had to drive it about 5 miles to get a out of state inspection and it had a few lifters making noise and the oil light was flickering at idle when I pulled up at the dealer,I almost did not make it home as all lifters were making noise and the bottom end was also making noises as I pulled into my neighborhood. I decided another motor was needed so I replaced the 352 with a 390 and then tore down the 352 to see what was wrong and there was about 3 inches of sludge in the oil pan completely surrounding the pick up screen so whatever you do drop the pan and clean it out before driving,I dont know how that motor got any oil at all to be quiet when it was cold.
I had customers that serviced their Chevrolets regularly. When I asked one about how come he never serviced the 'old Ford pickup' he had, he said, "Why change oil in that thing? It's just a damned old Ford..." Others with a Ford 'second car' chimed in with the same 'logic'. "I've had that '56 Vic since 1962, and never changed oil yet!" Product prejudice...
Thats 'parafin' based oil (like the parafin wax) or Quaker State oil. It looks like hell but i've seen much worse where the inside of the valve cover looked like a bundt cake and had little tunnels for the pushrods. Oil has come a long way since then, that is part of the 'good old days' that people have forgotten about.
Dropping a quart of oil and adding a quart of kerosene will clean it up but will also likely clog the oil pump screen.
I recently ran a 289 with similar gunk in it. I did not add any snake oil, just regular oil and it turns out it had been sitting for a couple years and all the gunk inside the crank case had gotten dry and flaky and after I ran it a little, it began clogging the oil filter. I had to run a small filter due to clearance issues, but at the hamb drags I had to change the filter every other pass. If you do run it as is, I would remove the rocker shafts and clean them out. Every FE I have seen like that has the rocker shafts full of mud. Just remove the cup plugs from both ends of the shafts and rifle brush them out, clean the rockers and put them back together with clean oil. Don't forget to put the small rocker shaft bolt in the oil galley hole so you dont block off the oil flow.... JW
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