1996 rebuilt Cleveland - never started?

In MY opinion:
I would pull the heads and check the condition of the cylinders, rotate the crank to check where the rings have rested against the walls for all those years.

Then I would pull and soak the lifters while I checked the rest.

Then pull the oil pan and check the bottom end for any moisture damage that could be cleaned up, pull the oil pump and prime it for a bit.

Pull and most likely replace the water pump.

Reassemble and go at it if all looks good.

IMHO only, OR roll the dice and watch the mess.

Angelo

What he^^^^ said.... Definately easier to go over it now, then your confidence level will be increased. If one single thing goes wrong, ie collapsed lifter etc... you'll be pulling it and going through it anyway. I would go through it now and run the crap out it guilt free .... IMHO

Thanks guys. I ordered a new Kevco 9qt oil pan, pickup and high velocity oil pump yesterday....so the pan comes off and I will be inspecting the bootom end for moisture. Good idea to replace the water pump and thermostat. If I take a chance and don't remove the heads, what would be the best way to lubricate everything? Prime the oil pump then spin it with a drill(after filling the engine with oil and an additive to break in the cam), oil into the cylinders through the spark plug openings....what else?
Thanks again!

You may want to have a look at the front and rear crank seals for deterioration before you drop it in. Easy to replace BEFORE you drop in the engine.

what about valve guides/seals? The pushrods are shot piened(spelling?) and there are bronze valve guides installed. Would there be visable corosion when removing the valve covers? Thanks again.

I would agree with all the comments. Did they break in the motor? You may want to put some break in lube on the cam lobes also. If the motor was never started and cam break in lube was used, it's been wiped away from the lobes and not sure how long it could stick to lobe and lifter surface...it may have dripped down into the crank assembly and pan area or just hardened up and might not give the lobes too much protection at start up. Come to think of it, you may want to pull a few bearing caps off and check to see what condition the break in grease is in on the crank, rod and cam bearings. If it hardened up it might be useless or may not offer any protection at all, or could clog up the oiling system??? This is a question for the petroleum engineers...what happens to the break in grease applied to bearings over that many years?

I would also seriously consider replacing the valve seals if they are the umbrella type...I think they are old enough that they could crack and start to disengrate. If teflon seals were put in you might be ok??? Not sure of the shelf life of teflon seals, someone else can comment on that. I purchased a set of 4v heads that had been rebuilt and the umbrellas were cracked. Possibly later umbrella seals have longer life due to advances in umbrella material?

Also I would buy an ARP or FRP heavy duty oil pump drive shaft...if the stock one is still in the motor and put with the new high volume pump you could have issues down the road. As some have commented the stock shaft seems to have been made from coat hanger wire.

Good luck!

And make sure the distributor is double pinned

I have some "tampered" pins from Pantera Hall!

Hey guys, the engine was never started. After
digesting all the info/suggestions, I need to dismantle
the motor to ensure that I don't have
issues. Comp Cam has an article on engine
startup and how to break in the cam. I pick up the engine
next Sat and will have a better idea
if any moisture damage has occurrd? I will remove the valve covers and
oil pan. Wish me luck!

That's pretty funny Erik!

Good luck Blake! What are you doing with your old one?

After a long stand still, I tend to run an engine by use of the starter, but without spark plugs, first.

Good luck Blake!

Doug and I pickup the engine tomorrow morning. We will have a better idea of what condition it is in once I have it in my garage. After all the great input, I plan to take my time and most likely change the main crank seals, remove the heads, new valve guide seals, new water pump/thermostat and remove the cam and put new lube on everything before attempting to start it. The engine builder sent me this link on how to break in the cam: http://www.compcams.com/Base/p...tCamTechBulletin.pdf
Once I pickup the engine I shall post the engine blueprint/spec details. The builder emailed them to me....cool!

David, you asked what I will do with the old engine. It will most likely become a stroker. My dream/next project is to build a factory 5 Cobra. Voila....spare engine ready to go!

Blake, before you start tearing the engine apart when you roll it over to change the pan look for any signs of moisture, if there isn't any there is no reason to start pulling maincaps and the heads apart. If it really hasn't been ran sence it was rebuilt you will be able to tell by the smell. It will smell like fresh oil. Break the cam in to the specs. of Comp. Cams and do what you always do. Drive it like you stole it.

Well, the engine is in my garage, thanks to Doug. It is everything I was hoping for. When we arrived in Canmore we pulled the pan and all looks fantastic. So much so, that I am willing to take the chance of breaking it in without really doing much at all. I basicall lucked out!
The engine is balanced and blueprinted. It came with a balanced flywheel(which I am not sure if I can use). See attached.

How do I know if the heads are the 4V quenched? Where do I find the casting #'s? Thanks.

quote:

How do I know if the heads are the 4V quenched?

You can't tell from the outside.

Casting # is only viewable with intake manifold removed.

SIGH....

Larry

You might also want to call the builder and see if they sonic tested the cylinder walls. The notes you posted shows the bores at .040 over...I recall many posts that if there is an casting shift even a .030 motor can have some issues. The Cowboy from Hell or Dan Jones can certainly comment on that better than I. I have an .030 motor and am getting the block sonic tested prior to re-assembly. I have also thought about doing a half fill of the block to strengthen the water jackets, but that isn't too good for cooling, so I think I will take my chances.

It was sonic tested. Even if something were
to happen, I only paid $1500 with clutch, balanced flywheel, and engine stand.
Parts are worth that plus more $$.
Hopefully no problems!

Here is the blueprint spec sheet #2. Ihad to figure out how to compress the file to post:

Good news(well at least if you want higher compression)....looks like you have the quenched heads....the blue printing specs show 63CC chamber size, that would be the 70-71 heads closed chamber head.

The casting numbers are on the bottom of the exhaust ports. There is a post about identifying head for a couple years ago. The specs on your cam are almost the same as mine and I have close chamber heads but the bore is stock so you should run more compression. What are you going to run for carburetor? and if I remember you have big bore headers with mind train exhaust? Did you ever pull the pan off your old motor to see what broke?

I believe I have a Holley 4150, 750 cfm with mechanical secondary. Hall big bore headers with Mind Train exhaust. The new engine has a Torquer 351C single plane intake installed.

Pan not pulled from original engine yet. I believe it is the wrist pin bearing that is shot.

FWIW, if someone finds a decent block with only a few thousanths of taper in the bores, be aware that you can have such a block HONED more-or-less straight, then use forged pistons and moly-coated rings in 4.000 size. This works just fine because -A- forged pistons run best with up to 0.005" of clearance, and -B- most of the bore wear is in fact not 'wear' but is gas erosion up near the top of each bore. This area is above the area the rings run on so its not required to perfectly straighten that part of the bores. It will not work with cast pistons- including hypereutectic pistons- that only require 0.0015 clearaance. Up to 0.005" can be honed away doing this, as long as you'll accept a little rattling for the first minute or so of running, until combustion heat expands the forged pistons to fit the bores. This works with already bored blocks, too- just as a freshen-up to salvage them.
Reliability? I had 0.004" honed away (not all top-bore 'blemishes' disappeared doing it) in 1991 for a set of 4.000 forged TRW pistons, and today the engine still does not smoke, uses maybe a quart of oil on a 1000-mile run to & from Las Vegas, and is noisy only at start-up. I tell everyone its the radical cam (actually, a mild hydraulic flat-tappet).
I have a 6" long piece of cylinder wall laying on my desk as a paperweight from an 0.030"-over block that failed at 150 mph. The thinnest wall area on that chunk is 0.070" thick! Chevy engine builders get nervous when cylinder wall thicknesses fall below 0.200"- something virtually no 351C ever had. So maximize the cylinder wall thickness you have by only honing- 351-C blocks are getting scarce!

What's going on with the engine swap?
Tim

I decided to tear down the new engine, replace all the seals and re-lube everything. For the amount of time and money that it will take/cost, I believe it is good insurance.
Need to purchase a workshop manual for the 351C....is one workshop manual better than another?