Hey Fellow Olds guys. My question is, after your engine is rebuilt and sits in the garage. Do you cover it with a blanket? Do you take the spark plugs out so as to not collect moisture? Or do you leave them in?. Do you squirt WD-40 in the cylinders? Whats the alternative to storing your rebuild short of installing and firing her up?

Thanks, Todd

 

Marvel mysterie oil in the cylinders and back off the rockers so none are compressed. if its kept inside you should be good to go.

 

What is the best for storing an engine "short of actually having it in your car and driving it once in awhile" What is your method,? Spark plugs in? Out? W-d 40 in the cylinders? I've had different opinions and I need an experts advice.I have mine in a unheated garage in the pacific N.W with new paint on the motor. Is that enough for a year or two? Or an I asking for trouble? I was told by one guy to keep a small fan on and blowing on the Block to keep air circulating, Anyone?

P.S I'm talking a newly rebuilt engine fresh from the shop by the way.

 

as long as it is not exposed to moisture you should be fine. leave the spark plugs in it. i would turn it over by hand now and then. when you install it i would add an extra bottle of assembly lube to it.

 

Never dw-40 anything !! It attracts dust.
I would double wrap it in plastic and stand on end, timing side up. No oil, do not put anything in a fresh redo before storage. Paint is OK. Ask your shop what that would do. I would put plugs in, if it was mine.

 

I fogged my 400 down with white lithium grease. Plugs in, taped off all the openings and double bagged it. It sat on my engine stand for almost three years before I put it in. I turned it over all the time too.

 

Make sure all the rockers are loosened so you aren't storing it with some valves open. Use heavy duty bags with a package of decitant in the bag or you can get engine storeage bags ( I use them) from Eastwood....

 

A nice cover is a good idea simply to keep the dust and dead bugs out. Leave it open underneath so it won't seal in any moisture. If you use bags, maybe a couple of those dessicant pouches lying on the top to keep it dry would be good too.

 

I decided to merge your two threads as it seemed you weren't getting too many responses from the one in the newbie section.

 

Thanks for the advise all, I have heard that some people leave there Plugs out as to not trap moisture. Also have heard to keep a fan blowing on it if your garage is unheated. Wd-40 it, don't W-D 40 it, Wrap it dont wrap it. It's crazy, I believe my last 400 I built, i just covered it and 4 years later it was fine. I''ll take a little bit from everyone and be ok.

Thanks, again

 

I kept mine in the kitchen refrigerator in a large Tupperware container.
It stayed fresh and crispy and tasted just as good as the day it was stored.

 

I bought a BBC 454 that had sat after a rebuild that a mouse had seeds packed in the water jackets around the cylinder walls so tight you couldn't get one more seed in.
Make sure every hole is closed!!! or wrapped up, or both. If I have a good motor that I'll be shelving for an indefinate amount of time I have dumped a quart of oil right down the carb while it ran until it turned into a fog machine and shut it down. I have restarted engines several years after doing this and they all ran fine. I did this with out side stored engines. If I have an engine sitting now I just oil them up good and leave it on the engine stand in the garage.