kbuhagiar

Hello folks,

My 327 was rebuilt (but never fired up) and put into storage 20 years ago. It was carefully sealed and prepped for long-term storage (of course, it wasn't supposed to be THAT long).

I recently took the engine out of storage and opened it up and I am happy to report that it as fresh as the day I put it away - not a trace of corrosion anywhere. The assembly turns over nicely. I plan on removing the lifters and cam and re-applying moly assembly lube.

I will be filling the oil pan and priming the engine (with heads, cam and lifters installed) on the stand using a priming tool (devised from an old SBC distributor assembly) and an electric drill; I feel that this will take care of all the necessary lubrication for the rotating mass bearings and upper end.

Any other suggestions?

Thanks in advance.

62Jeff

My understanding, from what I've read on this forum, is that an old distributor shaft on a power drill is not sufficient to fully lubricate the upper end, because that shaft won't have the portion of the distributor housing that helps direct oil from one side of the engine to the other.

kbuhagiar

Point of clarification: What I will be using is an old SBC distributor that has had the top end removed. The drill chuck attaches to the shaft stub that sticks out where the breaker plate used to be. This 'tool' was designed by a buddy of mine who used to work in an engine shop.

buns

That will work. An old distributor or a tool with the same profile as the lower shaft of the distributor. Without this, the oil will just run down into the pan, without feeding the other side of the engine.


Proper tool:




Oil passage:

AZDoug

I would be tempted to replace the rear main seal and timing cover seal if it has been sitting that long. Both are easy to do if it is out of the car, and on an engine stand.

Doug

chris ritchie

Prime the engine with the tool and electric drill with the valve covers off and watch for oil coming out of the pushrods. You will need to do this with the engine on TDC and at other points in its rotation so that the oil goes everywhere.

Powershift

If you have not already done so, I would take a squirt can filled with engine oil and run some oil completely around the pistons and rings as you slowly rotate the crank, so that it drains past all of the rings and helps lubricate them and the cylinder walls. Same with the wrist pins.

And double check all critical bolt torques, like the crank, rods, and cylinder heads.

Also be sure to use an oil with plenty of ZDDP, and add a can of EOS prior to startup.

Larry