The Ford Barn

dwick01 · 09-01-2014, 11:41 AM

I have a '47 super deluxe that has been sitting for a long time. I'm getting it ready to fire up. I have the fan belt off but still have the water pump belt on. I put a wrench on it and turned it over by hand. The last time the engine was ran was about a year ago and it was for a short period and not driven but it ran well. It had been sitting in storage since 1967. Should it turn over pretty easy by hand? I have never turned a flathead over by hand before. I was excited when I turned it because it was not locked up. I have no idea how much resistance I should be getting.

Mart · 09-01-2014, 11:56 AM

There shouldn't be too much resistance until you turn it far enough and fast enough to build compression.

If I were you I would remove the plugs, squirt some oil down the bores and turn it a minimum of two turns.

If it goes 2 turns you can at least say the valves are not stuck (shut, at least).

Mart.

19Fordy · 09-01-2014, 12:08 PM

That's a good sign. If you remove the plugs it will turn over a lot easier by hand. Check the dip stick to make sure it has oil. Remove the plugs and squirt in some Marvel Mystery Oil and turn over by hand again. Then read this:
http://www.btc-bci.com/~billben/preoil.htm

dwick01 · 09-01-2014, 12:58 PM

Wow! Great information. Thanks to the both of you.

Kurt in NJ · 09-01-2014, 02:28 PM

If it has been sitting since 1967 I would think of removing the oil pan to clean out the sludge ---if you pull out the dipstick and the oil looks clean and new most likely there is a deep layer of sludge in the bottom of the pan ---probably enough to cover the screen

The last car I revived was a BMW Isetta, it had been sitting for many years, but had been started and ran a short time before I worked on it ---when I said the pan should be removed i was told the oil was clean, that it didn't need it, that it ran (sort of), I dropped the pan anyway, had to poke a hole to get the oil to drain, after they saw that the sludge was over the oil pickup every repair I recommended was done

dwick01 · 09-01-2014, 03:23 PM

Sponsored Links (Register now to hide all advertisements)

Is it a very big deal to drop the pan on a '47?

Bruce Lancaster · 09-01-2014, 03:51 PM

If you want you can do a partial check on sludge via the very large drain plug...poke around in there and see if you can scoop out any sludge. You are at the lowest level of pan there.
On the trouble front...commonest failures after long storage are stuck valves, presumably caused by oil running down and away. Usually they can simply be poked shut a few times while being dosed with penetrating oil, then rum with MM oil for a while.
Another thing...the springs on ignition points sometimes fail (rust spot becoming a stress riser, perhaps?) when parked for a long time. I've never had one fail in use, but frequently find them thus on unused distributors.

moonshine runner · 09-01-2014, 08:17 PM

dwick01,

It's a little work to drop the pan, for sure but I recently removed mine to replace the gaskets, and thanks to some good advice here, got it done. Look on down on page 1 or 2 of the forum for my post about the pan removal and what all everyone had to say about the pan removal.

The best thing I can tell you is that you will need to drain the coolant, and remove both lower hose, and the front engine mount bolts and get the engine up.

You will see the procedure if you read my recent post.

Kevin

09-01-2014, 11:41 AM	#1
dwick01 Senior Member Join Date: May 2013 Location: Wellington, Kansas Posts: 444	Turn Engine Over By Hand I have a '47 super deluxe that has been sitting for a long time. I'm getting it ready to fire up. I have the fan belt off but still have the water pump belt on. I put a wrench on it and turned it over by hand. The last time the engine was ran was about a year ago and it was for a short period and not driven but it ran well. It had been sitting in storage since 1967. Should it turn over pretty easy by hand? I have never turned a flathead over by hand before. I was excited when I turned it because it was not locked up. I have no idea how much resistance I should be getting.

09-01-2014, 11:56 AM	#2
Mart Senior Member Join Date: May 2010 Location: Solihull, England. Posts: 8,750	Re: Turn Engine Over By Hand There shouldn't be too much resistance until you turn it far enough and fast enough to build compression. If I were you I would remove the plugs, squirt some oil down the bores and turn it a minimum of two turns. If it goes 2 turns you can at least say the valves are not stuck (shut, at least). Mart.

09-01-2014, 12:08 PM	#3
19Fordy Senior Member Join Date: May 2010 Location: Coral Springs FL Posts: 10,941	Re: Turn Engine Over By Hand That's a good sign. If you remove the plugs it will turn over a lot easier by hand. Check the dip stick to make sure it has oil. Remove the plugs and squirt in some Marvel Mystery Oil and turn over by hand again. Then read this: http://www.btc-bci.com/~billben/preoil.htm

09-01-2014, 12:58 PM	#4
dwick01 Senior Member Join Date: May 2013 Location: Wellington, Kansas Posts: 444	Re: Turn Engine Over By Hand Wow! Great information. Thanks to the both of you.

09-01-2014, 02:28 PM	#5
Kurt in NJ Senior Member Join Date: May 2010 Location: on the Littlefield Posts: 6,159	Re: Turn Engine Over By Hand If it has been sitting since 1967 I would think of removing the oil pan to clean out the sludge ---if you pull out the dipstick and the oil looks clean and new most likely there is a deep layer of sludge in the bottom of the pan ---probably enough to cover the screen The last car I revived was a BMW Isetta, it had been sitting for many years, but had been started and ran a short time before I worked on it ---when I said the pan should be removed i was told the oil was clean, that it didn't need it, that it ran (sort of), I dropped the pan anyway, had to poke a hole to get the oil to drain, after they saw that the sludge was over the oil pickup every repair I recommended was done

09-01-2014, 03:23 PM	#6
dwick01 Senior Member Join Date: May 2013 Location: Wellington, Kansas Posts: 444	Re: Turn Engine Over By Hand Sponsored Links (Register now to hide all advertisements) Is it a very big deal to drop the pan on a '47?

09-01-2014, 03:51 PM	#7
Bruce Lancaster Member Emeritus Join Date: May 2010 Location: Madison, NJ Posts: 5,230	Re: Turn Engine Over By Hand If you want you can do a partial check on sludge via the very large drain plug...poke around in there and see if you can scoop out any sludge. You are at the lowest level of pan there. On the trouble front...commonest failures after long storage are stuck valves, presumably caused by oil running down and away. Usually they can simply be poked shut a few times while being dosed with penetrating oil, then rum with MM oil for a while. Another thing...the springs on ignition points sometimes fail (rust spot becoming a stress riser, perhaps?) when parked for a long time. I've never had one fail in use, but frequently find them thus on unused distributors.

09-01-2014, 08:17 PM	#8
moonshine runner Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2013 Location: Webb City, Missouri Posts: 349	Re: Turn Engine Over By Hand dwick01, It's a little work to drop the pan, for sure but I recently removed mine to replace the gaskets, and thanks to some good advice here, got it done. Look on down on page 1 or 2 of the forum for my post about the pan removal and what all everyone had to say about the pan removal. The best thing I can tell you is that you will need to drain the coolant, and remove both lower hose, and the front engine mount bolts and get the engine up. You will see the procedure if you read my recent post. Kevin __________________ "Failure is simply the opportunity to begin again, this time more intelligently". Henry Ford.