Thread: engine opinions needed

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Alright guys, I needed to move that engine that I'm putting in the 59 volvo so I pulled a few things off to make it easier to move around, i took the opportunity to look under the intake mani too. This is a 472 out of a 72 cadillac. I would like to do this without a re-build for right now simply for $ sake. The motor sat in the car it came out for a year without being ran, a rat chewed through something and I never took the time to trace it down. It's sat for another 6 months or so on a stand, i did nothing special with it, i threw it on the stand, plugged the holes, and covered it with a tarp (i don't have a garage to store it in ). After i moved it I poured a quart of oil into each side of the motor (via the valve covers), sprayed wd-40 into the valve covers and in all other open areas, it turned over via the crank and I could hear a pssshhhh pssshhhh sound from where the fuel pump goes. Then I plugged all the holes with shop towels and wrapped it tightly in the tarp.
Here are some pics:
before i did anything

oohhh shiney....

another shot under the mani

all wrapped up


The cam looked clean however there is quite a bit of gunk in the valley area underneath the intake. What do you guys think of the current condition based on what i've told you and the pics? (i drove the car it came out of for a good couple years with no issues, it ran very strong)
How long will it last tarped up like that? It keeps the rain out but I know it wont stop mositure in general. Any tips? Thanks guys!

get something like KB knock'r loose.... and spray the whole thing done a few times, its a penetrating oil made for breaking loose frozen bolts, works better than anything else i've ever used, it melts rust, and also it soaks into metal pretty well, i used it to treat a block i've got stored..... and the block still looks just as clean as it did after i baked and blasted it..... i know you're tight on money, but i would recommend a re-ring and a hone, it'll cost about $200-$250 and at least you'll know your bearings, rings and gaskets are all new and fresh, just make sure to keep everything organized, as long as each liften, rocker, and pushrod, piston and connecting rod goes back in the same spot, you should have any problems

thats not a bad idea, just intimidating since i've never pulled a motor apart before. Would i get the block honed at a machine shop or is that something i can do myself?

you can buy a honing tool and do it yourself, but since you've never done it and its probably not something you would do regularly, i would take it to a machine shop.... a honing job will cost you about $50.... plus i'd have them clean it up for you while their at it...... and check the cylinder bores just to be sure it doesn't actually need a rebuild.... just make sure to tell the machinist you're on a tight budget so you're trying to do as little as possible

that sounds like the way to go, more work but probably worth it. thanks.

yup.... for a good complete quality re-ring job your not really looking at the much money for what you'll be getting out of it.... plus if you can squeeze a valve job into your budget thats always a plus too, at minimum do valve seals up top.... those are cheap and you can borrow the tools you need from autozone.... $300-$400 will probably get your motor freshened up quite a bit