VCCA Home Forums TECHNICAL - 1945 AND EARLIER 1937-1945 Engine cleaning

I have recently broke down my 216 strait 6. What is a good way to clean it up before I put it back together?

Thanks,

Mike

use a steam cleaner, a pressure whasher and /or a solvent.

you may need a wire brush and a regular mechanics bruss. The wire brush may be had at any automotive parts stores and other places as well. The mechanics brush can be had a a car parts store.

Use a pan for the parts or take them to a car wash place and use a stall.

you didn't say anything about paint. That can be had from FS or Cot40s.

An alternative is to take all metal parts to the engine rebuilder and have them tanked.

Good luck,

Charlie

BTW: Seems like Mike is a right popular name amoung old car enthuists.

I just did this with mine a few weeks ago. I started with a steel scraper to get the big chunks off, then I used auto parts store engine degreaser and wire brushes in a remote section of the yard. and hose it all down. Red Scotch Brite was also useful. The small parts were taken off and I actually left them with a machine shop to put in their parts washer - cost next to nothing and well worth it (like $40).

Highly recommended to remove the expansion plugs and have a machine shop "tank" the block and possibly the head so that the rust can be removed from deep inside the water jacket.

Call around and try to find a shop that still uses something harsh enough to clean the block properly. Many people skip this step and end up doing it later after they have overheating issues so now is a really convenient time...

For cleaning the outside of the block, I use paint brush cleaner and some scrapers and brushes. If you do get the block professionally tank cleaned, you can get rid of rust and buildup in the coolant passages that would not be possible to get at once the engine is back in the car. That is a great advantage.