A few years ago my dad tore apart our 300-6 out of a 79 f 150. He got the block, head, crank all machined and a rebuilt kit ( gaskets, bearings, etc.) but never got around to putting it back together and he has past away since. I looked over the rebuilt kit. It is as new as they day came off the shelf but the block, crank, head, pan, and cover sat in our machine shed for years. They were covered in plastic but from being moved around many times the plastic was tore. Now the cylinders in the block, the whole head and crank, the pan, and covers are rusty. Is there a way they can be cleaned up and still be used. I would like to rebuilt it. I have all the parts of the rebuilt kit. If I were to rebuilt one would I have to get new block, head, crank, etc. or can they somehow be salvaged. They are not solid rust. It is just surface rust. Is there a way to cook, or sand, or some other way to clean them up?

flyhound

 

flyhound

Are there any pits under the rust anywhere?

 

if the crank is not bad and i mean very light on the crank you can use some emery cloth on the journals.same goes on the cylinders. hone it out if not too bad. if both are past fixing then they need to be machined again the head should not matter but the rods need to be clean on the shiny parts

 

im not sure about pitting, haven't really looked that close. I think honing will work in the cylinders. I am hesitant to use emory cloth on crank or journals in block and rods. Don't want to out of round them. You think the head would be ok? What about up top where springs and lifters are? I would think that some rust particles would break off, get into oil, and get all over engine. You said on the shiney parts? I assume you mean shiney parts as the parts were metal rubs metal. I guess i didn't think i could leave the parts that don't rub against some other metal rusty? When the rust get soak in oil i would think it would get loose and go all over he engine.

 

Nope, oil is not a rust solvent. Nor is anti-freeze. What the guys are saying is: If it has bearings or has metal-to-metal or metal-to-gasket contact, then the surfaces have to be clean and free of rust. You can mostly take a piece of fine steel wool and get off surface rust, then clean clean, and if I dint mention it before, clean it again. You should actually use soap and water in the cylinders after all the cleaning, and then dry with lint-free cloth, and coat with oil or other lube to prevent rustation while you get all your other parts cleaned up. When the cloth you use to dry the cylinder comes out clean, you know the cylinders are clean also. The surface rust on the spring-side of the head can be removed, if you wish, using a wire brush, and then detergent or soap and water. The valve side should be cleaned, but the intake and exhaust runners need only have the loose rusticles removed. The real concern is the crankshaft journals. If the finest steel wool you can get will take off the rust, then emery paper (actually the real fine stuff on cloth backing) can be used. You keep it 'roundy' by taking a long strip, and wrapping it around the journal so that the contact area is spread around 3/4ths of the circumfrence. Hard to apply pressure un-equally in that mode. Pulling SLIGHTLY, you rotate the cloth to polish the journal without actually removing anything but the surface rust. The cam bearings and lobes should also be de-rusted. The lifter bores also. Steel wool, gently used, or [brain fade $^#2$@%,] the cloth backed sand paper stuff can be used also. The 3-M brand of plastic looking steel wool(green in color) would be my preference, and you can do it on all these parts gently enough that the engine will run better than new.
Last thing to consider is the condition of the oil passages in the head & block. Make sure that they are clean, as flowing oil will mechanically attempt to move rust particles in the direction of the oil flow. If possible, pass a clean rag thru the passages, and check what you get out the other end. Then blow out with compressed air. Hope for the best. Sorry about your loss. I completed some of my Dad's projects, too, and it gave me some sense of being there with him again... I've fixed the school-house clock he built from planks of cherrywood for me in 1978 several times.
Hope that this makes sense to you.
tom