Tore down the new frozen 455 last night and...

paul,

i see your in mass, are there any yard worth visiting near boston. ive got a 67, but am also always looking for any 455 stuff.

 

froze engine

paul, i had just run into the same problem you are having on my 73 455. iwas supposed to get a running 75 455 and the yard sold it on me and gave me a 73 that had sat for many years. i had posted my problem and i don't remember who told me but i used this spray called blaster. i had let the piston soak for about 4 days w/ wd-40 and couldn't budge 2 of them and sprayed this blaster on them and had them out in about two hours of sit time. the stuff work great. i got it at auto zone for about 3 bucks. good luck

 

Paul asked: What exactly is the method of cleaning up a block? Do they media or sand blast it then magna flux it and if so, what parts should be maganfluxed? The block without anything on ti, the crank, and the heads. Anything else?


Paul, most shops will hot tank the bare block, heads and crank before they do anything else. Some will also media blast them for an additional fee (not usually necessary but the parts look nicer). I look all the parts over very carefully before spending money at the shop. Have the parts magna fluxed before beginning machine work. Removing the freeze plugs, cam bearings, and oil gallery plugs from the block will also save you some money.

Mike

 

Joe,
There are no yards out here in Mass becuase most of these cars rusted out 15 years ago. Most of the yards don't like car enthusiasts looking for parts just because they know of ebay and think you will sell the parts at more than you paid them for them. I did find two yards one in Charlton Mass and one in Ware Mass but at both you need to tell them specifically what you are looking for before they let you in. ie- no browsing.

rnoel69:
I have PBBlaster on it right now. BUt am still having the issue getting the whole thing to crank over. So now I am trying to disassemble the whole thing so I can get it apart and sent out to get inspected.

Guys, whats with the bolt on the connecting rods that look lijke gears? This is my first time pulling apart a motor so I have never seen these. Should I use a special socket on these or will a regular one work?

 

It's just a 12 point nut. Alot of engine fasteners are this type because they are less apt to round off when tightening. The more side the nut has, the more surface area there is to grip.

 

Mike,
Thanks for the quick reply on the 12 pt nut. It was just unusual to see that because I don't have 12pt SAE sockets. Yet. One more question, How tough should the 13/16 bolts be on the mains to get off? I didn't have a breaker bar on them but it sure felt like I should have, either that or an impact gun.

 

There gonna be pretty tough. The spec is 110 lbs ft for the main caps. Now factor in that the engine has been heat cycled for 30 years and also had some rust. That would equal plenty tough to break them loose without a breaker bar.

 

hey paul, you and i are about in the same stage of the engine rebuild. the tear down stage. since this is your first engine rebuild, when you finally get it torn down and get ready to put it back together are you going to build a rowdy 455 or stock? what are you going to put the motor in? i have a 69 stage 1. and i am going rowdy. when i get the time here soon, i'm dropping the block off to boiled, line bored along with the crank getting turned and letting the machine shop install new cam bearings. i don't have the tools to do the cam bearings. as far as the 12 point socket to take the rod bolts off you can get that socket at any auto parts store. my crank was froze as well, and i had to buy a set of wrenchs that were open end on one side with sockets attached to the other to get some of the rod connector bolts off. could you please keep me posted on the progress of you rebuild. thanks, ron

 

Ron,
I'm doing it stock. Maybe a TA cam but other than that, I want to keep it stock even down to the points. It is my daily driver and the 350-2 leaves alot to the imagination. It is going in a 70 skylark with a M20 in it already, the way I see it, if the car is going to be driven everyday, highway etc., I don't want to go too crazy. I'll keep you posted.
Paul

 

i will let you no what i am doing to mine as well. have fun,ron

 

hey paul, did you get the motor apart yet? i had the same problem and i went to harbor freight and bought some wrenchs that were box on one end and 12 point sockets on the other end. it was the only way i could get the rod connector bolts off. with the crank turned down. the sockets at the end of the wrench swiveled. that made the process a whole lot easier. let me no how you do. ron

 

Ron,
No I haven't been over to see the motor since last week, My motor and I currently live in separate places as I live in an apartment with an unsympathic land lord so for the time being the motor resides 4 towns away at my mothers house I will be visiting soon though
Paul

 

if you don't mind please let me no how it goes. as i will you. later, ron

 

Update 12/01/03

So heres where I stand-
1. All main caps are off, all but two connecting rod bolts are off.

2. Cam, Lifters, and freeze plugs are out.

3. One Manifold is off head with two bolts broken in head, Other manifold is still mated because bolts are stripped from rust.

4. Oil Pump won't come off timing cover, two bolts broke off while taking off.

5. Distributor won't free itself from cover.

6. The two conn rod nuts I can't get off are too far into cyl. bores to get at with a socket.

7. In case anyone was wondering, the tranny is still on the motor. It seems to be held on by one flexplate bolt which I can't turn because it's way inside the bellhousing.
8. It doesn't look that bad with the penatrating oil all over it so hope is high

This is what I'm looking at:

 

socket wrench

hey paul, i had the exact same problem with two of the rod caps and i went to the auto parts store and bought a set of wrenchs that were a regular open end wrench with sockets on the other end and was able to use this wrench to get the two bolts that were to deep for any other tool. your engine looks as rough as mine, but remeber all diamonds were rough at one time.tomorrow i will send you some pictures of mine we're in about the same stage.

 

wow that's rusty...


How do the cylinder bores look?

 

piston removal

paul i forgot to tell you that i had a -itch of a time getting the pistons out. one of the guys here told me to get a spray called blaster at the auto parts store i used it on the last two pistons and they came out pretty fast all the other sprays such as wd-40 and marvalous mystery oil just didn't get the job done. good luck

 

Smartin-
All the surfaces including lifter bosses and bores are good. Only one bore has some junk in it but with an overbore, it should be gone.

 

It's done

In case anyone was wondering about my saga, I got the crank out out:grin: But, it was at the expense of the block. I accidentally knocked a hole in a cylinder wall while punching the pistons out. Beginners lesson I guess. So now I am in the market for a 455 bare block. I am going to have the crank and heads checked to see if they are salvagable but for the meantime, I'm block hunting.
Paul

 

Bummer the block puked on ya...

But I think you're better off looking for another block anyway. Just by the looks of those pictures! Where did you get that block anyway?