I got my block back from my machinist last year but other projects made me put it aside. With spring on the way, I might get back on my 401 project with the big AMC show in Bellingham in August.

So,

What's the BEST way to clean a freshly prepped block? My machinist did all the work, shot-peened the block and heads and then oiled them.

I still need to flush out the oil galleys, cooling jackets, etc.

Should I just hit it with my pressure washer with a good de-greaser and then hose it down with WD-40 to keep it from flash rusting?



Also, the holes where the lifters go no longer have a smooth finish to them - I guess from the shot peening process. Do these need to be resurfaced or are they just good to go and have fresh lifters popped in?

My You have got to get any surface that the lube oil contacts and any machined surfaces sqeaky clean. In my opinion, the only way you can do this is by hand cleaning. I've hand washed blocks for decades using Wisk, Era, Tide, etc. I've got an asortment of round stiff bushes for oil galleys and an assortment of other sizes and shapes for the rest of the block. I always rinse with hot, hot water so the block gets hot and dries quickly. I've never worried about flash rust because I don't think minor areas of flash rust are a big deal. Most of the time you can wipe it off with a rag.

As to the lifter bores, the best advice I can give you is after you clean them up, take an oiled lifter and see what kind of fit you have. I would suspect from what I am reading about the current offering of AMC lifters being slightly undersize you won't have a problem. If you start honing the bores, with the oiling system on an AMC you'll probably be in trouble and end up having the lifter bores bushed.

Good luck.

Engine cleaning brushes
http://www.summitracing.com/parts/mrg-5192
lots of hot soapy water, preferably with oil dispersant and grease cutting action.
Rinse while hitting every surface possible with the brushes again so there is no residue. Use hot water, and soak the block so it's hot enough to flash dry as mentioned.

Blow every nook and cranny dry and clean. sunlight and heat so it drys and you can see!

NO WD-40! It's mainly a solvent. It does not keep stuff from rusting.

If you are not ready to move on, I'd wipe each machined area (bores, flats) with a thick oil (50W?) and bag it with some desiccant inside.
When you are ready to go on, wipe-down with lacquer thinner on all surfaces and remove the oil. Again, blow dry to make sure there is no loose junk and all passages are clear.

Laundry detergent shot through air gun, engine brush kit, straight water, presurized air dry, machined surfaces protected with Justice Brothers JB-80 spray.

air gun wih bucket of detergent in background







[image][/image]

Sounds like I'll wait for much warmer weather than. What do you guys think about that Glyptol paint that's supposed to help oil not sticking to the cast iron?

I was considering doing my heads and lifter valley with that stuff.

I like to use welsey bleach white for de-greasing and 200* water through 3500psi pressure washer. After a couple rounds of that a paper towel will stay white after wiping cylinders, decks... Imedietly after that blow out all the holes with compressed air, it will dry very quickly with no noticeable flash rust. Just did one a couple hours ago like that.

I don't think the glyptol is a great idea, I would rather have a little oil in the pores than flakes of paint in the oil

I think the benefit of Glyptol is more for sealing in embedded sand grains that can come loose during operation rather than a benefit of speeding up the oil return but to use it the block prep, the surfaces have to be squeaky clean for it to stick. I'd suggest drowning the surfaces with starting fluid for a final cleaning after thorough soap/& water pressure cleaning & wax & grease remover cleaning & I first scrub the cast surfaces with a stiff metal toothbrush like bristle brush

Starting fluid has upper cylinder lubricant, not what you want if you are painting something. Brake cleaner would probably be a little better but it is still got solvents in it.

Lacquer thinner.
1,1,1,trichloroethane (not ethylene).

Glyptol is OK, yes you have to get every bit of oil out before you paint but it's been used in engines for decades. It is insulating varnish that was developed by GE for use in oil filled transformers. Now it is produced by the Glyptol Corporation. It's not cheap. It does keep casting sand out of the oil and does help oil drainback, although there are other coatings now that do that better.
As far as paint chips in the oil, it depends on your surface prep, but Glyp is the only paint that doesn't come off in a crankcase except maybe Red Lead Primer which IIRC you can't get any more and IMHO you shouldn't be using anyway.

R.