Engine sitting for 15 years, what now?

What level of humidity and temperature fluctuation was the storage?

Basically... put aside a budget to do a complete rebuild.... then just re-commision the car with a service... if it all seems healthy, enjoy it while your rebuild budget gains interest... if it turns out to be sick... so what... you've budgeted for it!

This advise is for Dinos' only... there are only a couple of oil seals and of course, no cam belts.....

Cooling system corrosion would be my main area of concern. And carbs/dizzy etc.

 

There are oil seals and O rings in the distributor drive, and the front and rear of the crank, and the drive shaft out put.

So is the engine removed from the car?... In that case... just replace the seals, check the water pump and have a bore scope look inside the water ways.....

 

I will start by admitting I know little of a 246 engine. But I know engines enough to make some assumptions.

First off its expensive, and, if its original to the car, either numbers maching or heriatge certificate, its even more valuable to the car with thier values moving up. My fear after that length of time, not knowing fully the conditions it was stored under, or protected originally, would be corrosion, or rust. Speck of rust on a ball bearing in the cam drive. Rust in a cylinder. Corrosion in a valve guide. Corrosion in an oil gallery. Or corrosion or rust in the oil pump. None of these would keep it from running, but they could seriously shorten its life and or bring about even more insidious damage later.

But the most probable would be corrosion in the water jacket areas as they are so dry, or in the head stud area. The only way to alleviate these fears is to completely disassemble the engine and put it back together clean. If it were any lesser car engine you could fudge it, but I think you will feel better in the end. Most likely you will find nothing, but you'll know what you have. Besides gaskets and seals you can re-use everything except for the rings. You could put those back too, if the engine was originally put away but had never run, or been broken in, provided you find no troubles.

 

Without a moment's hesitation I would start the bad-boy up. Take the usual preliminary steps of removing spark plugs, squirting a little oil in each cylinder, add appropriate crank and gear oil, and crank it for a while with the starter.

I would do this out of the car. Procure an old radiator (if yours is still in the car) and some standard hose. Purchase a 1 gallon gas jug, some fuel line hose, a generic fuel pump, hook up a generic coil, battery via cables, and start the sucker on the floor (on a piece of old carpet). Run it for a few minutes to check for catastrophic leaks, and then shut down. The engine will not budge an inch on the floor - extremely stable.

If no leaks, do it again. For peace of mind, purchase an aftermarket oil pressure and water temperature gauge. As you gain confidence with the engine running on the floor, I would let it go until achieving operating temperature. Place a house fan in front of the radiator to dissipate heat. Do this each day for 10 days, and then retorque the heads and readjust the shim clearance. Restart it, adjust your carburettors, and you are ready to install.

Have fun. As FerrariFixer implied, what's the worse that can happen?

Jim S.

 

Take each of the spark plugs out and pour an ounce+ of Marvels Mystery oil in each cylinder and let it soak for days before starting.

The extra oil will cause much smoke if it runs, but the pre-lube and solving properties could help save the internals.