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OK I am new to older engines and have never done a self restoration. I have a 50 model with the flathead in it. The engine runs and does not need any rebuilding done to it. Having said that I am trying to figure out the best way to clean and paint this motor. I cannot find anyone local that will mess with this thing so i'm either shipping it or doing it myself. What's the best way to clean the surface rust and grime off? Should i disassemble the entire engine (minus internals) and clean that way. I hate to dump $20k in this truck and not have the engine look nice. I have thought about pulling the heads, intake and oil pan off and dipping in a tank to clean it without removing the internals. Any advice is appreciated.
I took the generator off. The plug wires, breather cap and air filter. Covered the carb, distrubutor and breather pipe. Scraped any heavy dirt and then sprayed orange citrus degreaser on it. Let it soak and then pressure washed it. Repeat as needed.
The purple degreaser works VERY well on the grease and oil but attacks aluminum. Gunk engine cleaner works too but stinks. You could use Gunk and then the orange to finish.
Like Scott, I cleaned and painted my engine in place. I used a wire brush and some engine cleaner. My paint was high temp rattle can from NAPA. Still looks good after five years.
I want to do the same to my engine but first I need to replace some gaskets where I have oil leaks. Can you tell me which gaskets should be replaced to prevent oil from getting on my freshly painted engine. Obviously valve cover gaskets would be one set. What else is there?
Forgot to mention that the engine is currently not in the truck so that makes it a bit easier
Serious elbow grease is all you need. Clean well with solvents and degreasers as noted above, wire brush any rusty spots, wash with clean soapy water and rinse well, then let dry. You should be good to go. Don't disassemble the engine, but make sure all openings are well sealed. You don't want any of your cleaning fluids or solvents to get inside.
I used oven cleaner on mine.
Here is the post where I painted my engine. I had removed the heads previously and painted them. I repainted it all this second time with the engine out. https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...l#post11427510
I cleaned and painted this engine in place on my '66 Mustang. Took off everything except the block, water pump, and heads ( i.e. remove hoses, belts, radiator, alternator, distributor, coil, power steering, valve covers, air cleaner, carb, intake manifold, exhaust manifolds). Simple green and rags followed by wire brush on a drill followed by lacquer thinner and a tooth brush, with a final shot of brake cleaner on stubborn spots. Media blasted the air cleaner, intake manifold, valve covers, and all the brackets. Then primed it with a rattle can primer and sprayed it with Duplicolor engine paint. That was 7 years ago, and it still looks really good. The old exhaust manifolds fell apart so I had to replace them with shorty headers. Damn the luck...
289 that was cleaned, detailed, and painted in place.
^ That looks nice Rob. I agree on the Simple Green. It works awesome and isn't harsh on the hands or have overpowering vapors. Its my all around favorite cleaner for just about anything. Including greasy messy motors.
I had the engine out of my 55 and used wire wheels on my electric drill, picks for the places the wire wheels couldn't reach, then washed it down with a degreaser from (of all places, Harbor Freight.....it really worked well).
I then put a rust preventative liquid on it (turns all of the iron black after it dries) and painted it with Rustoleum Caliper paint because the red color was better than any other high heat spray can red paint.
Whatever you elect to do, take the time to really do it right. Pulling the engine and or trying to redo in place is painful to even think about.
I want to do the same to my engine but first I need to replace some gaskets where I have oil leaks. Can you tell me which gaskets should be replaced to prevent oil from getting on my freshly painted engine. Obviously valve cover gaskets would be one set. What else is there?
Valley cover and oil pan would be good ones to do. I didn't do my oil pan gasket and it leaks a bit on the underside, but I just keep up with it using rags.
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