How to rebuild an engine
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Junkyards can be a great resource for locating missing car parts, or locating an engine for your hot rod. Junkyards are full of cars from the 1970's and 80's waiting to donate their mechanical heart. Junkyard shopping might be a good idea in order to find the best prices in town. A majority of the cars built during the past 3 decades came equipped with a V8 engine. Now tons of old cars are forgotten and thrown into junkyards. | Junkyards can be a great resource for locating missing car parts, or locating an engine for your hot rod. Junkyards are full of cars from the 1970's and 80's waiting to donate their mechanical heart. Junkyard shopping might be a good idea in order to find the best prices in town. A majority of the cars built during the past 3 decades came equipped with a V8 engine. Now tons of old cars are forgotten and thrown into junkyards. | ||
| − | Most Chevy, Dodge and Ford trucks from the 70's and 80's came equipped with carbureted (non-EFI) V8's perfectly usable to power a hot rod. However, junkyards can be a very rough place to work. Time is going to be needed to remove the engine, and all tools and equipment have to be brought from home. It might take several hours before the engine comes loose and out of its nest. Each car has different places where parts bolt onto and where the engine connects to the frame, and each bolt has to be removed. Most of these cars have been sitting there for a while, so be prepared to wrestle with rusted, stripped and broken bolts, layers of caked-on grease and dirt on the undercarriage and oil pan, and a lot of rust | + | Most Chevy, Dodge and Ford trucks from the 70's and 80's came equipped with carbureted (non-EFI) V8's perfectly usable to power a hot rod. However, junkyards can be a very rough place to work. Time is going to be needed to remove the engine, and all tools and equipment have to be brought from home. It might take several hours before the engine comes loose and out of its nest. Each car has different places where parts bolt onto and where the engine connects to the frame, and each bolt has to be removed. Most of these cars have been sitting there for a while, so be prepared to wrestle with rusted, stripped and broken bolts, layers of caked-on grease and dirt on the undercarriage and oil pan, and a lot of rust. |
| − | Engines with massive amount of surface rust, missing parts | + | Care should be taken when selecting an engine. Engine size, width, and length should all be taken into account. Depending on which car the engine is destined for, measurements are crucial to determining the fit. |
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| + | Engines with massive amount of surface rust, missing parts or a cracked block should obviously be avoided when chosing an engine. If you can pick an engine in a car with a hood on. A car that has been sitting out in the yard without a hood or a carburator will have rust built up inside the cylinders from the rain pouring into the engine. The more accesories and parts that are remaining on the engine, the better for future use. Testing the engine to see if it turns over by turning over the crankshaft with a wrench is a good way of determining whether the block is frozen or rusted solid. If an engine doesn't turn over, leave it be. | ||
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