Im wanting to paint just the block and heads so whats the best way to clean off the motor of any gunk and also could I use a pressure washer or is that too risky

 

I use oven cleaner. Just be careful not to get it on any paint you care about

 

Is the engine in or out?

1. Powerwash all the loose stuff.
2. Oven cleaner to soften up the gunk. Thick stuff should be scraped using a multitude of tools... scrapers, wire brushes, picks, Plexiglass shards.
3. Power wash again.
4. Oven cleaner again plus power washing.
.... depending on how gunky it is, it might three or four attempts before it is free of dirt, grime, and oils.

... it is best to remove all the peripherals and seal up the engine very well.. that means leaving just a long block with no brackets, headers/manifolds, etc. Remove or seal the carb, dizzy hole, etc.

It all depends how much work you want to put into it... for the ultimate refinish, it requires pulling the engine. Then you can attack the long bock with a wire wheel and to access every nook and cranny. Then wipe it down with acetone. Pulling the engine also allows ya to paint the oil pan and under the motor mounts.




















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Just get a couple of bottles of a good decreaser and spray it on and let it soak. And have at it with the psi washer. If you have a burner with the psi washer that would be ideal. If your afraid of something getting g ruined take any electrical wiring off and the carb make a plate with the bolt holes of the carb and put RTV on the intake and bolt it down. You could go as far as taking the distributer off as well and plugging that hole as well but I wouldn't be worried what's a cap and rotor these days haha

 

So the engine is pulled right now but I decided to take the efi stuff off and make it carbureted so should I bolt all that stuff on first. The only thing im worried about with the pressure washer is water getting inside, so do I just tape it off with some heavy duty tape or something?

 

I've never been a fan of taping it just cause it's not very durable like I said before what I'd to is make a base plate where yoir carb was stuff some paper towel down it and take RTV or some kind of silicon and seal it that way while bolting it down to the intake. That way you can easily take the Silicon off with a scraper and you can reach use the plate for any future engine cleanings and if your lucky use it on another engine that you may have or some one you know has. Just my $0.02

 

Use duct tape and plastic sheeting. I cut up some freezer bags and then taped it on. An option to seal up the carb hole is to fab up a plate using a carb gasket as a template. Apply a thin layer of RTV, bolt it on, and let is set. Old duct tape will eventually lift so it's good to put on new tape if it has been sitting for a couple of days.

Since the engine is out, break out your grinder and slap a wire wheel on it. I resorted to using every tool possible, even down to dental picks, to remove the layers of dirt/oil/dirt/oil/dirt/oil...

Again, brush and wipe the block with acetone before shooting the engine primer.