The Ford Barn

fiddlybits · 02-13-2015, 10:17 AM

A friend asked if I was interested in an old rusty engine that he had in their garage. Turned out to be for an A...and it was crusty brown..and would not turn over. He said it was pulled from a car about 15 years ago because the block leaked.

It didn't look like anything that could be made to run again but I figured I would at least pick up metal recycling value for it so we loaded it and a bunch of other junk he was cleaning out and left. ($0.00)

I do not know why... but with a "what the heck" attitude, I decided to pull the plugs and put a Tbsp of ATF in each cylinder.... and then let it sit while I unloaded and sorted all the other junk.

About 2 hours later I put a 18" handle on a socket and was surprised that the engine was quite free. For only 1 revolution was there any resistance.
So... I pulled the pan... the insides looked really decent and there was hardly and sludge in the bottom of the pan.

Ok... so let's take a shot at starting it. It had manifolds but no carb or distributor. Slapped both on, put gas in the carb, hooked up a battery and gave it a crank. Surprise!!! Caught on about the 3 revolution. Shut it off.

Next up.... sand blast and bolt to some angle iron so I can get a radiator on it. As soon as I put water in it....it started dribbling out from behind #4 cylinder and front corner drivers side at the bottom of the water jacket.

Cleaned up those two spots and soldered the cracks up. Filled the radiator and everything held. Added a small lawn mower tank for gas and started it back up. It caught right away and runs decent enough that I'm going to pull an extra chassis I have out of the snow bank and mount the engine in it. (the only thing it is missing is the engine)

And that is my little stroke of luck for the week. (yup... I was just braggin')

Finally... if you want to make your face and sides hurt from laughing... check this out. (I defy you not to laugh)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2jlUkMEgSB0

1930artdeco · 02-13-2015, 10:33 AM

Dang you got lucky!

Mike

redmodelt · 02-13-2015, 11:56 AM

Cool! Sounds like something I would do/have done.

davehc · 02-13-2015, 01:09 PM

Good story , congrats , and the youtube was so funny I cried laughing so much , Thanks .

Big hammer · 02-13-2015, 01:11 PM

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Your lucky !
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02-13-2015, 10:17 AM	#1
fiddlybits Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2014 Location: N Illinois Posts: 447	Yippee -- Freebie runs! A friend asked if I was interested in an old rusty engine that he had in their garage. Turned out to be for an A...and it was crusty brown..and would not turn over. He said it was pulled from a car about 15 years ago because the block leaked. It didn't look like anything that could be made to run again but I figured I would at least pick up metal recycling value for it so we loaded it and a bunch of other junk he was cleaning out and left. ($0.00) I do not know why... but with a "what the heck" attitude, I decided to pull the plugs and put a Tbsp of ATF in each cylinder.... and then let it sit while I unloaded and sorted all the other junk. About 2 hours later I put a 18" handle on a socket and was surprised that the engine was quite free. For only 1 revolution was there any resistance. So... I pulled the pan... the insides looked really decent and there was hardly and sludge in the bottom of the pan. Ok... so let's take a shot at starting it. It had manifolds but no carb or distributor. Slapped both on, put gas in the carb, hooked up a battery and gave it a crank. Surprise!!! Caught on about the 3 revolution. Shut it off. Next up.... sand blast and bolt to some angle iron so I can get a radiator on it. As soon as I put water in it....it started dribbling out from behind #4 cylinder and front corner drivers side at the bottom of the water jacket. Cleaned up those two spots and soldered the cracks up. Filled the radiator and everything held. Added a small lawn mower tank for gas and started it back up. It caught right away and runs decent enough that I'm going to pull an extra chassis I have out of the snow bank and mount the engine in it. (the only thing it is missing is the engine) And that is my little stroke of luck for the week. (yup... I was just braggin') Finally... if you want to make your face and sides hurt from laughing... check this out. (I defy you not to laugh) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2jlUkMEgSB0

02-13-2015, 10:33 AM	#2
1930artdeco Senior Member Join Date: May 2010 Location: Lynden, Wa Posts: 3,552	Re: Yippee -- Freebie runs! Dang you got lucky! Mike __________________ 1930 TownSedan (Briggs) 1957 Country Sedan

02-13-2015, 11:56 AM	#3
redmodelt Senior Member Join Date: May 2010 Location: Portland OR Posts: 6,340	Re: Yippee -- Freebie runs! Cool! Sounds like something I would do/have done.

02-13-2015, 01:11 PM	#5
Big hammer Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2014 Location: Land of Lincoln Posts: 3,131	Re: Yippee -- Freebie runs! Sponsored Links (Register now to hide all advertisements) Your lucky ! HahahahahahahAhahHHH!

02-13-2015, 01:09 PM	#4
davehc Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2012 Location: Adrian , Mich. Posts: 386	Re: Yippee -- Freebie runs! Good story , congrats , and the youtube was so funny I cried laughing so much , Thanks .