Several years ago I purchased a very rusty '70 98 Regency for the sake of the running powerplant. I removed the crusty engine, bagged it with desiccant and rolled it down to our outdoor shed in the unfortunate event that would require a different engine. After we moved to the new place with no separate garden shed, I was forced to roll the spare engine into my detached garage. My twelve year old son remarked, "That engine looks pretty cool, especially if it were cleaned up." After some thought I decided that the expense of giving the engine a thorough degreasing and a spray bomb overhaul would not be overly expensive with the biggest investment being my time and labor. The end result would be not only a functional spare engine, but a rather stylish shop display rather than a dirt caked eyesore. I removed the engine from the rolling stand today mounted it to a maintanence stand and began the scraping process. I am on a schedule as our wagon body will likely return before the end of January and the floor space will be necessary. Hopefully when it is finished, it will add a little to our shop both functionally as well as asthetically.

 

Whoa man, it has has been a while since I've cleaned an engine this gnarly! It took about 3.5 gallons of gasoline, Thursday/Friday evening and all day Saturday to strip this nasty animal down to the bare casting. I masked/plugged and gave it a bath in purple power today in preparation for some primer and blue. I've avoided pressure washers and more aggressive techniques due to the tendency for water to make its way into the block, increasing the propensity for corossion. After pulling this engine over five years ago, I finally did a cold/dry compression test for a baseline reference. I was pleasantly surprised with the numbers, 142,140,141,150,162,145,138,140#.

 

Nice job

Drained all the fluids, right? Including the block coolant drains...

I like to use metal foil tape over exposed holes rather than clothy duct tape, in this swamp we call Michigan, every bit of deterrent against moist air is necessary.

 

Yea, that takes some work. Nice afternoon project though.

Couldn't have done that today in my drive, considering we barely broke the freezing point. But hey, it was nice day.

 

Thanks, yes I've drained the fluids, I have not tried to remove the coolant slugs although the center freeze plugs on both sides have holes in them about the size of a #30 drill bit. As I have rolled the engine over on its sides all of the clean green glycol has made its way out. This engine will need to be resealed and new freeze plugs, water pump o/h completely before I would use it. I don't know if it will be 10 years or more before it gets purposed so sealing it now would not be wise. The duct tape is just for the washing sequence, but I am all about the foil tape idea. I have a roll of heavy duty foil tape that I'll put over the carburetor base and exhaust openings over dessicant bags to deter moisture and dirt daubers. Great idea!

 

If you have a couple of exhaust flanges you can make some block offs. Then use a piece if sheet metal between the carb and manifold. That will keep any unwanted critters out of the engine.

 

I actually shot this 14 year old paint through a Preval on Sunday. It laid down nice and dried well despite our temperatures as of late, my garage still reeks of Deltron. I've been cleaning,blasting and prepping the accessories for the rest of the engine over the last couple of days but have been unable to coat due to temps and a dresser refurbishment that has consumed most of my "goof off" time. I'll post one more finished post on the roller dolly later on.

 

That's better!

 

Its nice enough to go in the living room....

 

Or a night stand next to the bed!

 

Nice job Heath..I like your 455 preservation project��

 

Thanks for your kind comments. I normally would not post on a subject this small, but figured it makes for not only a good resource, but a neat conversation piece on a budget.

 

Is that block still at standard bore? What a way to conserve it - and enjoy at the same time.

 

No way to know how thin the walls at this point without opening it up. I'm not ready for that yet, (hopefully never!). Based on the condition and application, I am optimistic but you never know until you open it up completely. Until then, it's a neat looking 600 pound boat anchor.