i recently had my 1963 327/340 hp matching # motor rebuilt . it is sitting on my eng. stand & probably will not be put in for some time . it was put together with assembly lube & put in an eng. bag . should i just leave it alone or is there something i should do to it for long term storage ? every thing is new from top to bottem . cam bearings, cam & lifters ,.030 pistons , new rings on scat rods, oil pump , timing chain & gear ,& rebuilt heads with all new parts. eng. was balanced , assembled & bagged ..... thanks NANCY
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Re: storage of rebuilt motor
Nancy, congrats on the rebuild. If your concerned about moisture, put some of those moisture absorbing packs inside the bag. Also, have a mouse trap or two near to keep the four Legers out.
Harry -
Re: storage of rebuilt motor
Others will disagree, but the first thing I would do is take it off that engine stand, and put it on an engine dolly (commercially available and inexpensive). I do not like having the full weight of a dressed (or undressed) engine cantilevered out on four 3/8"(?) bolts, especially if the bolts are not at least Grade 5; and, then I wouldn't like to be keeping the holes in that cast iron stressed for any period of time. But, that's just me.
The second thing I would do is make sure every orifice of that engine is sealed with some kind of tape (NOT masking tape or duct tape...each has it's problems)...carburetor mounting pad, distributor hole, exhaust ports, breather grommets...every opening should be sealed with some kind of tape.
I used plastic packing tape because I figured it was impervious to moisture. Keep in mind the residue you'll have when you pull it off. You have to be careful to apply the tape only where the residue can be cleaned off easily, and where you are not concerned about the effect on your new paint job (if you have one). Install new spark plugs in the holes, and a new oil filter on the filter adapter...you'll use these on initial start-up.
Remove the valve covers and back off the adjusting nuts on the rocker arms until there is clearance between the valves and rocker arms on ALL valves. This uses the valves to help seal the cylinders. Re-install the valve covers and torque to appropriate torques (inch pounds). You'll have to remember to re-adjust the lifters before you try to start the engine. Have a pre-lubing tool to insert into the distributor hole for start-up; these are used for driving the oil pump with an electric drill.
Install the engine on the dollie, and cover it with an industrial-sized (55 gallon drum?) trash can liner bag...getting the bag past the mounting locations will be tricky. Configure the bag covering so you can access the spark plug holes and the front crankshaft area.
About every six months to a year (depends on your climate), skin the bag back enough to remove the spark plugs, and squirt in several squirts of motor oil into each cylinder, and turn the crankshaft manually a couple of turns. Keep the turning to a minimum; your assembly lube will keep the bearings in good shape, but there is no point in excessive turning.
Attempt to squirt oil as far up (to get the head and valves), and as far to the rear and around the cylinder as you can to wet all areas of the cylinder walls. Since some pistons will be at top dead center, it's better to do this as you rotate the crankshaft manually with a 1/2" drive breakover bar. You can buy a fixture to bolt onto the harmonic balancer (3 bolts) that's intended specifically for turning the engine without using the center bolt...the 1/2" drive of the breaker bar fits right into the fixture. Be sure to remove all spark plugs before you start; you don't want to put any more stress on yourself or that fixture than necessary.
When you've turned the engine a couple of turns and wet the cylinder walls with oil, pull the bag back over the engine and tie the opening.Comment
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Re: storage of rebuilt motor
For wetting the cylinder walls, DO NOT use WD40...works great on lock cylinders, but I wouldn't use it inside of a stored engine.
If you want an aerosol product, use Prelube 6...it's a light weight oil that will stick and last to prevent corrosion. If you can adapt a spray nozzle to the Prelube 6 container that will accept one of those tiny extension tubes (taped to the side of your WD40 can), that's the ideal solution.
Also, when you remove the valve covers to back off adjustment on the rocker arms, pour a quart of oil slowly over the valve trains and let it drain down through the engine. You should drain the crankcase thoroughly, and refill with fresh oil before restart. I didn't do this, but I'm thinking it's probably a good idea if it can be done without making a huge mess. To insure the valves are well-oiled, a good spraying with Prelube 6 before re-installing the valve covers would finish the job.Comment
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Re: storage of rebuilt motor
About every six months to a year (depends on your climate), skin the bag back enough to remove the spark plugs, and squirt in several squirts of motor oil into each cylinder, and turn the crankshaft manually a couple of turns. Keep the turning to a minimum; your assembly lube will keep the bearings in good shape, but there is no point in excessive turning.
I recently read a thread somewhere (really authoritative, eh?) about rotating a new engine could cause premature cam failure due to wiping the lube off the lobes.
If you know it is going to sit a long time, just grease it up with STP on all the critical surfaces and wait. If it takes about five years for STP to drain from the can, it will probably coat and prevent rust another 10 or 20 in the engine.Comment
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Re: storage of rebuilt motor
Nancy
Chuck @ Mike give excellant advise. However remember that there is a lot of oil in the cylenders, so at first start up it may smoke like a smog machine until the oil burns off. I highly suggest starting it outside. It will keep the bugs away.
BillComment
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Re: storage of rebuilt motor
I would suggest using Fogging Oil in lieu of any other product to be sprayed into the cylinders. It is designed for just this sort of a situation - to liberally coat the walls with a preservative oil.
GaryComment
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Re: storage of rebuilt motor
Re Wiping the break-in lube off the cam lobes, I asked a similar question question here once...I wondered if pre-lubing the engine would wash the break-in lube off the cam lobes. As I remember, there wasn't any concern about that from folks with good reps in the motor business.
Anyway, if the break-in lube can be wiped or washed off that easily, it's only going to last about 10 seconds or less once that baby fires and the oil pump is developing capacity at 2000 rpm. Say you stored an engine ten years, and turned it 2 revolutions per year...if 20 revolution will wipe it off, it ain't going to last very long on start-up either. Taking the pressure off the lifters will probably help to avoid any wiping problem.
My engine builder is the one that told me to turn the engine a couple of revs every now and then...his concern was rust seizing the pistons in the bores. It's interesting to see what forms people's fears...he must have had a stored engine seize once. It IS hard to imagine that ever happening out here in the desert. He also had a phobia on overbored engines...it didn't matter how much it was bored, he worried constantly about overheating problems until the engine ran cool...kind of like a surgeon waiting to see if the patient's kidneys were going to work.
Anyway, if I wipe off my cam lobes on start-up, I'll post a definitive answer here...As in, "DON'T DO THIS!"Comment
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Re: storage of rebuilt motor
I can't emphasize enough to follow Chuck's advice about taking the engine off the high rise engine stand and putting it in a low rise cradle. A couple years ago I, very unwisely, left an engine on an engine stand and I was attempting to roll it to another spot in my shop when (before I could even react) it stumbled on something very small on the floor. It fell forward and to the right directly onto the floor, so fast all I could do was gasp!. Fortunately it only shattered the right-hand exhaust manifold (as well as my pride). I shudder to think about what would have happen if it had fallen on ME. From that point on I only assemble engines on a stationary stand. Immediately after, it goes on a cradle. Good luck!Comment
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Re: storage of rebuilt motor
Nancy, Go into the archives and read about the proper oil to use for your solid lifter (flat tappet) engine. Shell Rotella T- and GM EOS. A ton of posts on this subject. Failure to follow the instruction when you go and start the engine some day may result in cam failure. We started my 63 FI engine about one month ago and used the diesel oil and GM engine oil supplement and it runs fine. Changed the oil and EOS and filter after running the engine for only 30 minutes. Put fresh stuff in and it runs great. Good luck, JohnComment
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back all the valves off to seal the engine
tape up the exhaust ports,remove the carb,tape over the intake manifold opening and install spark plugs. backing off the valves will also prevent some valve springs being in a fully compressed position for a long time. i would also suggest you store it in a dry heated area to prevent condensation that can cause rust internallyComment
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If you're gonna' use that thing in the next couple
years, leave it on the stand. That way it'll be up off a possibly damp floor and should keep the rodents out that like to crawl up in the intake/exhaust ports and eat acorns. Leave the bag on it and keep it shut. It wouldn't hurt to add the moisture absorbing pads.
Don't roll the engine over. Just leave it alone. Make sure the intake and exhausts are sealed. It's real easy to make something easy, hard.
If you're looking at 3-4 years or more, or you live in a damp climate, I might do something different.Comment
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