1957 "548" block

[Mike N.]

Should I be worried about my V8 freezing up??

The car has NOT been wired yet...........
The motor has been completely rebuilt- bored out .30 over and never been started. Should I be turning it over once in a while??

Being an automatic............Is it possible to just hook up a battery to the starter only and crank it over with oil in the engine of course???

I have a "dummy distributor" in it and pump it once in a while with MOBIL 1-

Thanks in advance,
Mike

[Timothy B.]

Re: 1957 "548" block

Mike,

Remove the spark plugs and squrt some engine oil into the cylinders and replace the plugs. Make sure the engine is sealed up, (oil pan heads etc) and I think it will be fine. No need the prime it again until your ready to start up and I would avoid turning the engine because you are wiping the break in compound off the cam lobes. I think the key is to seal the engine up while in storage and when you do fire up use a can of GM engine oil supplement during break in.

[Verle R.]

Re: 1957 "548" block

Mike,

Please search the archives for previous discussions about oil for these old Corvettes. You can save youself a lot of problems and expense if you read and follow the suggestions before you crank or start the engine.

The EOS is one of the suggestions but not the only one.

Verle

[Mike N.]

Re: 1957 "548" block

Thanks Tim and Verle...........The engine is completely sealed. I did put oil in the cylinders when I first put the engine together. I will do it again to be on the safe side. I will have to turn it when I adjust the valves (hydraulic lifters) before firing it up, which will be a couple of years away.
I have plenty of time for research before firing it up.

A friend asked me about the engine freezing up.........this is what rekindled my worries about it. It happened to my '58 vette many years ago. I had rebuilt it, drove it a few miles and then put it on blocks for the 3 years that I spent with the US ARMY. I had to hammer the pistons out!

Thanks again,
Mike