Technical bringing engine to life

Hi All,

I am going to look at a 57 Ford on Sat. that apparently has a 312 that has not been run since probably 1980-according to a card with it. Here is what I am thinking I need to do to it if I buy it (assuming nothing mechanically is wrong).

-remove valve covers, intake and valley tray and lube the #$%@#$% out of everything.
-make sure that the oil feed tubes to the rockers are clear and not plugged
-squirt some ATF or MMO into the cylinders and let them soak
-turn the engine by hand a few times and then maybe try and get the oil pump to turn
-hopefully I won't have to take the heads off-oh please, oh please, oh please.....(the car has only 32K original miles on her).
-reassemble, drain oils,
-drop the pan and clean it out, then fill with fresh oil
-try and start her up and pray that she doesn't leak all over the pace as gaskets rehydrate. let her run and get up to temp, change oil a few times after that until it comes out clear.

Is that about what I am up against? Any other suggestions?


Thanks,

Mike

 

For me, I would pull the plugs, checking for any type of rust or signs of water in the cylinders.

Next, I would make sure that it is full of antifreeze and oil. Crank it over with the coil wire off,
and watch for the oil pressure to come up, either on the gauge or the idiot light going off.

See if there is gas at the carb and the accelerator pump is squirting. If so, put the plugs back
in and see if it fires, keeping it at an idle speed.

If it sounds good and starts right up again, then proceed to change the oil and filter(s) out, put
new plugs, air filter, wires..whatever you feel it needs. I try not to disturb a pan and break the seal,
as long as the oil stays pretty clean and there are no leaks.

Good luck on the firing it up! Bob

 

If it's an automatic, don't neglect the trans.

 

I would not turn it over with the fuel line hooked up to the fuel pump. If there is a liquid in the gas tank leave it there. It will not run on it anyhow it's full of rust and water so drain and discard if its dry it will need to be looked at before you put fuel in it.

 

I'd see if it will crank, make sure there is oil in the pan. Pour some gas in the carb, and see if it fires. Yahoo!

if it doesn't fire, then time for a compression test, after checking that it's getting spark.

But I guess you could do all that work first, and still have to take it apart to unstick the rings.

 

Was it stored inside or outside? Would make a huge difference.

 

I always do the MMO in the cylinders of an engine that hasn't been started in a few years.

 

The car is a barn find apparently. It looks to have been stored inside for most of the time and then some outside. I assume the tank is toast and would have to use a can for gas, the rad has been off for awhile along with the carb. He has both and can be reattached. So she is/will be bone dry when/if I go to try and start it. It has a three sp so I am hoping the clutch is not rusted to the flywheel. Anything Y block special I should look for?

Thanks,

Mike

 

Is the condition of the sale based on the shape of the engine? If not, why not just bring it home and assess it?
Sorry if I’ve misinterpreted something.

Edit: I re-read your post again and saw the “if I buy it”. Carry on

 

Buy it for a price that will make it so you're not pissed off that you have to spend a couple grand on the engine to get it to work right. If it's in decent condition, then you'll be lucky. Most likely, not.

Have you ever taken apart an engine that's sat for decades? I have...it's amusing how much oil runs out of the bearings, when you pull off the bearing caps.

If you want to spray something lubricating into the cylinders, go ahead, it probably won't hurt anything. In my experience, it won't help anything, either.

Watch the oil pressure light/gauge when you start it up. As long as it gets oil pressure within several seconds, then you're not going to hurt anything.

 

I agree with Jim (aka Squirrel) 100%.

We (our Hot Rod Shop) just brought back to life a 1955 Ford Crown Vic that had sat for 13+ years (what we were told) but we found indicators that it was much closer to 20 years. It's a journey, be prepared to invest a sum of money and work into making it a driver once again.

 

It's just an engine. Squirt some gas in it and bust it off.

 

I might be all wrong on this, but I would hook a drill motor and rod up to the oil pump and prime the engine up to pressure. I do this to pump up the lifters due to drain down and to pro-lube the engine prior to start up. I keep hearing horror stories of camshafts going flat due to just sitting. What do you guys think?

 

When I was in the classic wrecking yard.. All that I ever did was check for oil see if it wasnt stuck, Throw fuel down its throat and hit the button... If it ran GREAT, if it rattled and made noise you know you have a core !

 

Pre-oiling an engine that’s been sitting a long time is always a good idea. Only takes time and effort.

 

Might be worth doing...however, the engine in question is an old Y block with solid lifters, of the mushroom type. Not easy to get oil to the cam that way. Getting the crank spinning and throwing oil around works pretty well for lubing the cam.

I seem to see cam/lifter failures either on initial break in, or after a whole lot of miles. Not from starting an engine that's been sitting a while.

 

Why work on a car that's not yours? Sitting for 40 years? Yeah, there's going to be something wrong with it.

Carburetor off??? Not good.
Take a set of tools. Try to turn the engine by hand but putting tension on the belt and turning it by the fan. If it does not turn, try to turn it by the crank bolt.
If it's stuck...now you know.
Buying a car then been sitting 40 years? Assume the engine is a core. On a car like this, you buy on overall condition and you assume the engine will need to rebuilt or replaced.

 

If the car only has an honest 32K on it there is no reason to drop the pan. That's only 10 Oil Changes in it's running life. Get clean fuel and good spark and light it up. On first fire get the R.P.M,s up and keep them there so your throwing Oil everywhere inside the motor, It will either be healthy or not. My 59 sat not touched for 45 years inside a building with the Hood closed and the Air Cleaner on it. I bought it where it sat as is and brought it home on a Stretcher filed the points, cleaned out the carb (Aerosole overhaul) dropped a hose from the fuel pump in a can of gas and light it up. That was 10 years ago, it's still healthy today.

 

Like @squirrel pointed out, that engine will have solid lifters.

BUT I want to also point out that priming an engine by spinning the oil pump to build pressure DOES NOT "pump up" the lifters. All it does is charge the oil galleys with oil. A hydraulic lifter needs cam rotation in order to pump itself up. When the lifter reaches the heel of the cam the lifter is unloaded from valve spring pressure and the plunger within the lifter is pushed up by a spring in the lifter. The rising plunger creates a low pressure within the lifter cylinder, opens a check valve, and oil present around the body of the lifter is drawn in through the check valve and fills the area beneath the plunger.

All this fun stuff will happen IF the plungers are not stuck. If some of them are you'll have a clacker.

 

Learn something everyday, thanks to all!

 

If you have access to an endoscope it would be a good idea to check the bores through the spark plug holes...but, what caught my attention was the note that the carburetor was off. I'd guess that mice have been in the engine and have nested. Good luck, I have a soft spot for 57 Fords.

 

Thank you all for the responses. I am adding to my list of questions and actions. This is what I am more worried about:
"Buy it for a price that will make it so you're not pissed off that you have to spend a couple grand on the engine to get it to work right."-Squirrel


Mike

 

Update. The car is ver solid with only surface rust in spots. Now, the engine rotates and I could see the valves working on the drivers side and most of the one on the passenger moved as well. I couldn’t see all of them as I could not get the cover off. But the valve train was super gunked up. I think I can get it degunked and clean before firing her up. I did notice some rust flakes in the intake which will have to be cleaned out. Any suggestions on cleaning the sludge out?

mike

 

Here's what I know about that process. Once you start you can't go part way and what ever you knock loose on top ends up in the Pan. Now ya gotta drop the Pan and it's a lot easier with the motor out of the car. You might as well remove it first and save working over the fenders. Once the motor is on the hook and out of the car you'll probably find other things to replace like the dried out motor mounts. Might sound like a P.I.T.A. but in the long run you'll be glad to lifted it out. While it's out knock out the freeze plugs and take your power washer and hose out the block the best you can. You'll never regret that move either.

 

Yep the mounts are cracked and toast. So yeah it has to come out. I have never popped freeze plugs out before. I assume you knock one side out and remove it that way? I may as well Drop the pan like you said.

mike

 

I check oil level. Clean spark plugs file and set points, Pour a little gas down the carb and crank it over, watching the oil pressure gauge. If it indicates oil pressure, fire it up. If it runs ok, it may be worth saving. If it clanks, knocks, bangs and hammers you know why it was taken off the road.
As soon as the weather warms a bit I'll be doing the exact same thing with a 40,000 mile old Pontiac with a straight 8. I almost hope the engine/trans is bad so I can replace it with a hot rod setup. If it's good I'll prolly drive it 'till it breaks.

 

Rust flakes in the intake...not good.

If you're going to go to all the trouble to take it apart anyways, don't mess with trying to get it running first.

just beware that this project will snowball, and you might not ever get it done.

 

When I was a poor high school kid, we used to buy engines out of field cars. Before we would pay for them, we would bust em off laying on the ground. Sometimes, they would require a little ATF down the carb to free up frozen or gooey parts. Will smoke like the house is on fire, but they usually clear out in a few minutes. Never primed one, never cleaned one until after it ran a bit.

Never lost one......

 

We were more sophisticated at the junk yard, we'd either start them in the car, or set them on a dolly in the building, before firing them up. No water, no exhaust, just a battery and a gas can. And we'd check the oil level first.