ziff396

Hello:
Awille back I tore down my 455 and was happy to see that is was original everything and had not been torn down before. However, it had been in storage for 20 years or so and somebody left some antifreeze in the block. The cylinders are so clean that it looks like it only needs a hone job, however I was going to go 30 over anyways.
Problem- All of the water jackets and cylinder walls (inside the water passages) are rusted to the point of flaking off in big pieces! Barring no cracks, is my block junk?
I was just about to take it to the machine shop when I dug into this rusty mess!
Thanks for any help.
Kevin

geckonz08

what`s it cost to get it tanked n magnafluxed?? Whats it cost for another block that you know is good ?? Only two routes I can see and your choice
mike

Olds64

If your engine is at the machine shop then the machining process will include steps to take care of this. First the machinist will hot tank the block to remove all of the nastiness from the water jacket. Then the machinist will magnaflux the block and let you know if it is usable. Those two steps are pretty much unavoidable and need to be done to EVERY engine when it is machined. If the block is cracked then hopefully the machinist will have an idea on what can be done. It might still be usable if the machinist knows what he is doing. Cracks can sometimes be welded and cylinders can always be sleeved. It just depends on what you are building and what (if any) damage the block has.

ziff396

I had already planned on having it tanked and magnafluxed. I was just curious how far these things can rust and still be good yet. I have always had my chevy blocks completely gone through like this however, I hadn't encountered this much rust before.
Thanks

Olds64

I don't think you have to worry. An Olds engine is at least 10 times stronger than a Chevy engine. You won't have any problems.