[58Delray]

Greetings,

I recently procured a 1958 Chevy Delray that has been sitting for +/-5 years. It had a fuel line rupture and am in process of rewiring. My concern is that the engine (327) may of froze up during its long sit in East Texas. I have heard of a product called "Mouse Milk" that can solve this, but I can't find it. This may be all for naught, but I wont know the engines status until the rewire is complete. Any input would be much appreciated.

Thanks

[F-1Rodder]

I think you are saying that you can't crank it with the starter to turn it over. You can take the inspection pan off of the flywheel and turn the engine. Do not put a breaker bar on the big nut that holds the harmonic balancer on, you will break it. If it won't turn over you can try pouring some diesel into the spark plug holes and letting it sit for a while before trying to turn it over again. A frozen engine is almost always the result of the cylinder walls getting rusted or the rings rusting or gumming up. You may not be able to save it or want to since this would indicate that a rebuild is in order anyway.

[58Delray]

Thanks for the help. The car belonged to my dad and ran strong up to the fuel line rupture and subsequent fire under the hood. I hope the engine is salvagable withouth the rebuild, but we'll see.

I had thought about putting the car in gear(Muncie 4-sp) and attempting to turn it over that way, but felt reluctant to do so, will this work as well?


Thanks

[4 Jaw Chuck]

I would pull the heads and use a molasses and water mixture or Coka-Cola to help break the piston/rings free. Even if you managed to get the engine turning again without disassembly how long do you think those frozen rings would last? Not long.

[gottabdiesel]

Putting the car in gear and pushing it would defiantly tell you if the engine will turn over but I wouldnt try to push it with anything more than manpower because if it is froze up and you break it free you may end up thinking you have a good engine when really you should be thinking of a rebuild.

[F-1Rodder]

I haven't heard you say that you know it is frozen, just wondering. I don't think an engine bay fire should cause the engine to freeze. But sitting around for 5 years could do it. I would do as I suggested, pull the inspection pan off the flywheel and put a heavy screwdriver onto the teeth and give it a spin. If you can't move it that way, I would plan on a tear down to see what's left. It doesn't cost much to do a simple rebuild on that motor and you may only have to bore and replace pistons and rings anyway. Don't make it worse by breaking rods by pushing it.

[58Delray]

Thank you all for your suggestions. I don't know
that it has froze up, just preparing for what may lie ahead.

Thanks again

[Centerline]

When and if you do find it's frozen, the best thing to do is pull it for a complete rebuild. There are cases where you can (on the cheap) free it up in the car but you'll eventually have a reliability issue if you go that route.

I rebuild 50-year-old hemis and have found some wrecking yard motors with two or three pistons frozen. The best method I've found is to disassemble the motor including all internals except the pistons that are stuck. Then I pour about a quarter to a half inch of penetrating oil on the top of the piston and let it set for several days. When that's done I remove the oil and take a piece of hard wood about an inch thick (don't use soft wood) and cut it to fit roughly in the cylinder. Then I use a 5-pound sledgehammer to hit the hard wood. After about three or four good smacks the piston should be free. Sometimes you don't need to do this at all, just a tap will do. Depends on how badly it's stuck. If the piston won't come loose using this method I put more penetrating oil in and let it sit another week. Eventually it will come loose and shouldn't damage the cylinder.

One exception though. If it's frozen due to rust you may have to break the piston into pieces to get it out. Not something you would bother to do on a SBC Chevy since they're a dime a dozen but on a rare or valuable block sometimes you have to do everything you can to save them. If you have to go this far you probably will also have to sleeve the cylinder

[bullheimer]

i hadda motor freeze once, and like a DUMB *** i pushed it so i could listen to it to see what was wrong. turns out i sucked a valve and pushing it sent the valve thru the side of the block DOOOH!

[406 small block]

OMC Merk outboard engines makes a spray that will desolve carbon and rust to free up your engine. I used to use it on stuck heat rizers and it worked when all else failed. Give it a try

[Dustin]

To be honest wiht you. This is what you should do. On several of our farm imploments we get 1 quart of ATF(automayic transnission fluid) and 3 quarts of diesal fuel. mix it up poor it into the cyliders and there you go in a bit you have freed up the pistons. We have done this with many discs on tractors and the bolts come on just like new. good luck

Dustin

[blown69stang]

Hey 58delray, Where in the city do you live?