Storing a good flathead block

[Fredb_]

What would be the best way to store a disassembled flathead for later rebuilding? Funds may delay my ability to move as quickly as I would like. I don't want to allow any rust to form on the newly cleaned block. Thanks.

[texas webb]

Kroil or Gibbs makes a product.I wouldn't put it in plastic-condensation.

[37 Coupe]

Spray it with Gibbs. Supposedly this will not hamper painting later.

[Walt Dupont--Me.]

Well, I'll tell yea, I have crank shafts stored in my storage barn for 25yr's, some had been cleaned and there all rusty, some have been cleaned and ground and I've had them wrapped in plastic bags so no air could get at them and there just like I'd put them there. If your block has been cleaned but will need machine work like boreing and grinding valve seats ect when you get ready to work on it, I'd spray down with oil and wrap it up good in a couple of plastic bags and tucked away in the corner or under the bench I'll bet it will be fine when your ready to work on it. Walt

[Mart]

I've oiled the bearing surfaces and put the old bearing shells on them and put a cable tie around them. Then into double plastic bags and into storage somewhere dry and well ventilated.

Edit: sorry that was for a crank.

For a block I'd just spray it with wd40 every now and then and keep it wrapped up loosely and somewhere dry. I'd only spray the machined surfaces and not worry about the ones that are painted.

[Tim Ayers]

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I spray them down with WD40 or another rust preventor/water dispersor product. I then coat the bores with wheel bearing grease. I do not plastic bag them.

I store them on end and resting on blocks of wood to prevent any rusting at the contact points. I also take out as many of the parts that I can. No pistons, valves, crank, flywheel, etc. The thought is to take as much strain off the motor while it is "at rest".
This may not matter, but it makes me feel better.

I have a freshly cleaned and cut crank that I sprayed with a CRC product. I forget the name, but it is basically like a cosmoline type product. It is designed to protect bare metal in damp and salty environs. You need to use there brand degreaser for this specific product in order to get it off. Serious stuff.

[Mike51Merc]

Engine Fogger is a great product for this.
I'd store high and dry, off any concrete floor and at least 6" from concrete walls. Plastic can create condensation problems, unless the whole thing is fully bagged and airtight.

[Binx]

I grease all machined surfaces, wrap with a bed sheet, double trash bag and store as far away from any outside door as possible. Here's my lessons learned: Humidity where I live is anywhere from 55-100%. My garage in unheated so in the winter that big concrete slab turns into a refrigeration plate. Suddenly we get a weird shift of warm moist air -- up North known as a shinook. Now I open my garage door and the warm air rushes in and collides with all the cold metal that is well below the dew point and everything starts to sweat. And I mean EVERYTHING!! So I use the sheets as an air gap to moderate warm air trying to radiate in and cold air radiating out and the plastic as a vapor barrier. If I had the room, I'd additionally seal them in drums with desiccant.

Lonnie

[66miles]

Prob not too many guys'd go down this track but I heard of an old-timer once who had a complete engine minus the heads stored for years in an old cast-iron bath tub filled with used engine oil!

[Walt Dupont--Me.]

Originally Posted by Binx

I grease all machined surfaces, wrap with a bed sheet, double trash bag and store as far away from any outside door as possible. Here's my lessons learned: Humidity where I live is anywhere from 55-100%. My garage in unheated so in the winter that big concrete slab turns into a refrigeration plate. Suddenly we get a weird shift of warm moist air -- up North known as a shinook. Now I open my garage door and the warm air rushes in and collides with all the cold metal that is well below the dew point and everything starts to sweat. And I mean EVERYTHING!! So I use the sheets as an air gap to moderate warm air trying to radiate in and cold air radiating out and the plastic as a vapor barrier. If I had the room, I'd additionally seal them in drums with desiccant.

Lonnie

I have that same humidity problem, but WD40 don't work good for me. I've sprayed stuff with that and a few day later the rust is coming through. That's why I spray it down with oil. I have a hard time keeping my lathe from rusting. No the summer when it's 80* out doors I'll open my garage doors and it's like a cooler in there, in no time my floor is wet and the water is dripping off my vise. Walt

[Mike51Merc]

Originally Posted by Binx

I grease all machined surfaces, wrap with a bed sheet, double trash bag and store as far away from any outside door as possible. Here's my lessons learned: Humidity where I live is anywhere from 55-100%. My garage in unheated so in the winter that big concrete slab turns into a refrigeration plate. Suddenly we get a weird shift of warm moist air -- up North known as a shinook. Now I open my garage door and the warm air rushes in and collides with all the cold metal that is well below the dew point and everything starts to sweat. And I mean EVERYTHING!! So I use the sheets as an air gap to moderate warm air trying to radiate in and cold air radiating out and the plastic as a vapor barrier. If I had the room, I'd additionally seal them in drums with desiccant.

Lonnie

A shinook? I've had that happen but didn't know it had a name. Sometimes it's like it's raining indoors. When that happens, I start up the cars with the garage doors open and warm everything up as fast as possible.

Yeah, and WD40 is only good for a few hours.

[4tford]

I like JWL's method. Stand on end in 55 gal. drum and fill with diesel. Last forever.

[Sixseven]

I wad newspapers in the open cylinders then douse with oil. The oil is either waste oil or, what the heck a quart of fresh oil, it's cheap for the purpose. WD40 will evaporate and can act as a solvent for good oils that you want left behind. I have never bagged an engine, but leave it in a wood crate with wheels. This crate serves as a base for my vice work and grinder. In Atlanta, I have not had a problem with rust even though we will cycle cold days with warm wet days.

[Ralph Moore]

Originally Posted by 4tford

I like JWL's method. Stand on end in 55 gal. drum and fill with diesel. Last forever.

That could get expensive up here where diesel is $4.25 a gallon, but used oil would be great.
Side note; it's rumored that a guy here bought a bunch of old state trucks at auction back in the sixties or early seventies pulled all the running flatheads and put them in 55 gal drums, then filled them with oil. He still has them I think.

[Ronnie]

Have used this for years can't be outdone.

http://www.fluid-film.com/

Can be had @ O'Reilly Auto Parts stores nationwide.

R

[Neal]

I spray mine down with cosmoline. I get it in an aerosol can. Spray down anything that I will have setting around for some time before it gets painted or used.

Neal

[Will Ziegler in LI NY]

I used A product called LPS 3 to protect a crankshaft I had cleaned over 15 years ago and it has no corrosion today. The LPS 3 leaves a waxy coating that has held up well to storage in my basement.

[gmc1941]

Coat it with a heavy grade of oil and wrap with Saran Wrap. Saran Wrap was designed to restricted moist from penatrating through. Using anything that absorbs moisture will only lessen the possibility preserving the block. Place on wooden blocks away from any drastic temperature changes, exterior outer wall or in a shed. $.02

[Binx]

Originally Posted by Mike51Merc

A shinook? I've had that happen but didn't know it had a name. Sometimes it's like it's raining indoors. When that happens, I start up the cars with the garage doors open and warm everything up as fast as possible.

Yeah, and WD40 is only good for a few hours.

Well Mike, I wouldn't want to mislead, but the name is "chinook" and is common to the Northwest/Midwest areas but the effect is the same in ours. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinook_wind. I'm prone to call it that since I'm from that area.

Lonnie

[Binx]

Originally Posted by Walt Dupont--Me.

I have that same humidity problem, but WD40 don't work good for me. I've sprayed stuff with that and a few day later the rust is coming through. That's why I spray it down with oil. I have a hard time keeping my lathe from rusting. No the summer when it's 80* out doors I'll open my garage doors and it's like a cooler in there, in no time my floor is wet and the water is dripping off my vise. Walt

Walt, I know a few machinist and woodworkers that rub their equipment down with carnuba wax. Additionally they lightly hit the rough castings with a propane torch then buff after a coat.

Lonnie