[31chevymike]

This is my very first post on this site... I need some serious advice after a very disappointing closure with my hemi engine builder... I had a Blown '58 Chrysler 392 hemi built and finished over a year ago and I'm worried about the condition of the cylinder walls from possibly rusting from a long delay of firing the engine. From the way it looks, it could even be much longer before I get to fire up this beast - my financial situation hasn't been much good at all from this economy to keep this subject short and sweet...

A local hot rodder suggested that I fill the cylinder walls with thick 90 weight gear oil through the spark plug tubes, spinning my balancer slowly to lubricate them completely. This sounds like a great idea, knowing that the tubes are of coarse, at the top of the valve covers for direct contact with the cylinder walls/pistons. My hemi is completely sealed up with the exception of the tube seals filled with foam. All exhaust/intake ports (minus the blower), water pump outlet, etc. are taped up with masking tape.

I would appreciate any pertinent advice from novice to professional engine builders alike!

[richard stewart 3rd]

Hi
Welcome to Hotrodders.com Glad to have you with us.

If I were to put anything in the cylinders.
I would get a can of fogging oil & spray that into the cylinders.
I don't think I would put 90W in there.
Rich

[Onefunponcho]

I would use a light spray oil such as wd-40 in the cylinders and hand turn the engine a few times.

I dont know if this is the best method but it has worked for me in the past.

sounds like you have safe guarded the engine quite well.

[Centerline]

Mount your engine on an engine stand and rotate it so that one cylinder bank is straight up and down. Pour in a little Marvel Mystery Oil (just a shot glass or so... a little goes a long way) and rotate the crank a couple times. Do the same with the other cylinder bank and button it up. Just rotate the crank a couple times every week or so and you should be good to go when the time finally comes to fire it up.

[F-BIRD'88]

Do not use WD-40 for any long term rust prevention. Bare metal treated with wd40 will rust sooner than you want.. Use a engine combustion chamber fogging spray designed for engine storage corrosion protection.
If in doubt reapply the fogging spray periodicly and rotate the crankshaft by hand once in a while.

Change the oil in the pan.

Then before you fire it up after storage, change the motor oil again.
Remove all the spark plugs and spin the motor over with the starter to purge out any storage spray WITH ALL THE SPARK PLUGS REMOVED. Install new clean spark plugs.

Keep your head back out of the way cause its going to come out the spark plug holes.
This avoids hydraulicking the motor and or oil fouling the plugs on start up.

Use fresh gasoline and fire it up.

If you want you can remove the valve covers and hand oil the rockers and shafts and a shot between the valve spring coils to prelube the valve train.
A dry valve train start up is not good.

Sometimes valve seals get hard and need to be replaced after long term storage.

[1957plymouthhemi]

Nice looking engine. It looks pretty close to firing. Here's my suggestion for what it's worth. Build or buy an engine run stand.

You solve a few problems this way. You can get the cam broken in and actually get the engine sorted out before it goes in the car. Things like oil, water pump seals and carburator gaskets will remain good as long as the engine is occasionally run. Make sure it has big heavy duty castors and it will make it easy to move around out of the way. A big benifit is that just hearing the engine occasionally run is a big motivator to keeping the project going.

For the initial startup, at a minimum I would prelube the engine with a drill and priming shaft. My personal preference on the early Hemis is to do it with the valve covers off. Spin the oil pump while slowly turning the engine over by hand until you have oil coming out of EVERY rocker.

I built the Hemi for my 37 Dodge project 4 years ago and run it at least every 6 months. When I fire it I always run it for at least 20 minuets or so (long enough to bring it to full operating temperature.

I don't have a good picture of the engine running, but here is a short video of the engine running on it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x5VEbByTEUc

[Dave Koehler]

What 57plymouth said is the best choice.
Second choice: Marvel for storage, prime the engine before fire up.
No WD40, bad juju.
FWIW the only oil I found as good or perhaps better for storage than Marvel is Gibbs Brand. http://getgibbs.com/

Dave Koehler
http://www.koehlerinjection.com

[345 desoto]

Fogging oil...

[Onefunponcho]

Sorry for the bad advice!

I have been using light penetratjng oil such as wd-40 for protecting hard parts for a long time and Had no idea it was rubbish. What is in it that makes it a bad idea. Im not calling anyone out Just want to cure my ignorance.

Thanks for any info.

[Dave Koehler]

Poncho,
Been at this a while and have yet to see WD40 do what we want it to do as far as bare metal protection. Come back a year later and the metal is tarnished or worse. What's even worse is the darn stuff gets gummy. This can be a problem with close tolerance parts. Marvel was the defacto for years since it is engine friendly. It will not get gummy and will burn off.

As I noted earlier that Gibbs stuff does great for bare metal protection. I started using it on my bare digger chassis. Once convinced I started using it on machined surfaces...and all other kinds of surfaces. The machines in my shop have never stayed so clean, yada yada.

Conklin co used to make a spray on that was kind of like cosmoline but cleaned off easier. This was great for unassembled parts that sat a long time. Haven't been able to find it lately.

Dave Koehler
http://www.koehlerinjection.com

[31chevymike]

Thanks so much Guys! I checked out the GIBBS website from the enclosed link and wrote a note to Jerry with some more questions and advice with this marvel product - GIBBS! I'll be ordering this product very shortly after confirming his response!

A few years ago, I was in a terrible car accident with my '95 Toyota, cruising to a local car cruise night about an hour and a half away. I wanted to check this place out before I bring my '31 Chevy coupe with 4:11 gears. Just minutes before I got there, a driver passed out going southbound from an apparant heart attack, crossed over in my oncoming northbound lane and hit me head on at almost 45 mph! I didn't see it coming, waking up after realizing that I was being freed from my mangled car after the entire top was cut off from the rescue of Firemen! The scary part was, I would have been in my '31 had I decided not to take my Toyota! No seat belts, air bags of coarse, you get the picture! After 8 months of learning how to walk again while being out of work, I won a reasonable lawsuit which eventually I dropped almost 23K in my hot rod, 17K in the hemi alone! Wouldn't you! Needless to say that I don't want you guys to think I have money to burn effortlessly, running out a while ago and cannot continue my restoration of my coupe at the moment...

[31chevymike]

Dave, I just ordered two cans of Gibbs from a supplier from Ebay, so I appreciate this info greatly on this stuff! Jerry (the supplier of GIBBS on his site from the link you listed) said I can spray this stuff on my valvetrain too. There's no oil registering on my dipstick, do you recommend spraying this stuff on my crank assembly as well? Thanks! Mike

Originally Posted by Dave Koehler

Poncho,
Been at this a while and have yet to see WD40 do what we want it to do as far as bare metal protection. Come back a year later and the metal is tarnished or worse. What's even worse is the darn stuff gets gummy. This can be a problem with close tolerance parts. Marvel was the defacto for years since it is engine friendly. It will not get gummy and will burn off.

As I noted earlier that Gibbs stuff does great for bare metal protection. I started using it on my bare digger chassis. Once convinced I started using it on machined surfaces...and all other kinds of surfaces. The machines in my shop have never stayed so clean, yada yada.

Conklin co used to make a spray on that was kind of like cosmoline but cleaned off easier. This was great for unassembled parts that sat a long time. Haven't been able to find it lately.

Dave Koehler
http://www.koehlerinjection.com