[Dougie]

I'm going to be putting my SBC heads back together soon and they may not be fired up for 6-12 months while I get the block finished and installed. Should I just coat the valve stems in oil? What about the valves and seats? Moly lube, oil, something else or nothing? They'll be stored inside. I searched the threads here and couldn't find any information for this particular issue. Thanks a lot.

[ap72]

I like spraying them down with Marvel Mystery Oil. It adheres much better than WD-40. WD-40 works great if you remember to recoat it every week or so, but that can be a PITA over time. It also helps to place them in a heavy plastic bag (a contractor garbage bag works well) and then place them on a thick sheet of rubber to prevent them from being grounded.

[DoubleVision]

AP gave good advice. In a pinch I`ll get a small trash bag, spray the inside down with WD40, the tie the bag around the head. When you go to use the heads it would be wise to relube them as over time the lube can dry out.
It was some years back we had a set of heads overhauled with new guides, valves, the works. But due to winter, and lack of funds to finish on my friends part, the heads sat at the machinists shop many months before they were used. I called him and asked him to relube them as we would be picking them up in a few days, he assured me he would. Make a long story short, he didn`t. The exhaust valve in the number 2 cylinder seized in the guide from lack of lube. In another incident. I took my Vortec block to the machine shop, he mic`d it and said it was .001, I said fine, hone it and I`ll run it. Since he`s always did good work, I didn`t check the bores when I got it back. which proved to be a costly mistake.
The rings never seated and it smoked like a steam train. I got the heads off and checked the bores and found them at 4.009. How in the world he honed them that far out is still a mystery to me. So I learned a lesson, no matter who does it, always check afterwards, the one time you don`t is the time you get bit.

[eloc431962]

I oil mine down real good and then wrap them in clear plastic and go around them real good with some duct tape. JMO


Cole

[F-BIRD'88]

Spray the bare metal surfaces with Rust Check or engine storage spray.

WD-40 will show flash rust on bare metal after about 10 days.
not good.

http://www.rustcheck.com You'll find lots of uses for this stuff.

[johnsongrass1]

If your going to put them in a bag then you might consider getting all the trapped air out of the bag. That trapped air can condensate water from the air when the temp changes. You can combat this by emptying a can of computer duster (nitrogen and very dry) into the bag before closing it up.

I would just sit them on the ends in a dry place in the corner, cover em up so they don't get dusty but do not seal the bag. You do not want to trap moist air in there.