Seasoned V8 blocks

[rkapteyn]

http://studebakerspeedster.blogspot.com/2008/12/studebakers-new-v-8.html

In this article which contains several mistakes it indicated that Studebaker put their V8 engine blocks outside to season.
I can not imagine field full of V8blocks laying for two years in the snow and heat.

[Mike Sal]

In 1975 my engineering group took a tour of the International Harvester engine plant in Indianapolis. In a lot behind the foundry they had racks & racks of cast crankshafts and engine blocks setting out in the weather to "season". I don't know how long they let them set out before using them. They were all very rusty looking.
It was common to set sand cast aluminum water pump bodies outside to "season"....to allow oxidation to clog up any minute porosity within the castings so they wouldn't leak.
Mike Sal

[2R5]

A friend of mine worked in the steel industry and he says the better the steel the faster it rusts .

[56GH]

There are many errors in this article, but to "season" a cast iron block? What does that mean? Put oil on it like a skillet?

What's happening metallurgically between roughly 0 and 100 degrees F in a South Bend field?? Not much happens to most cast irons until about 1000 degrees F.

Interesting!

http://studebakerspeedster.blogspot....s-new-v-8.html

In this article which contains several mistakes it indicated that Studebaker put their V8 engine blocks outside to season.
I can not imagine field full of V8blocks laying for two years in the snow and heat.

[56GH]

In 1975 my engineering group took a tour of the International Harvester engine plant in Indianapolis. In a lot behind the foundry they had racks & racks of cast crankshafts and engine blocks setting out in the weather to "season". I don't know how long they let them set out before using them. They were all very rusty looking.
It was common to set sand cast aluminum water pump bodies outside to "season"....to allow oxidation to clog up any minute porosity within the castings so they wouldn't leak.
Mike Sal

There is evidence that very slight stress relief may be obtained by corrosion of the outer skin of iron castings where stresses build up in the as-cast layer.

There's an interesting article shedding some light on this subject in a rather old Naval Research Laboratory Report M3296 found at A0620556.pdf.

[DEEPNHOCK]

That's it!
I am not lazy.... I am 'seasoning' my stuff.
Next time I get 'the look' , and that comment... I'll be ready!

[Commander Eddie]

I remember my dad telling us that Studebaker and Cadillac did this. We were originally from Indiana and I got the distinct impression that he knew what he was talking about and not just spreading a myth.

[SScopelli]

I can not understand why leaving a casting outside would "Season" them. Any "Seasoning" would be machined off. Urban legend.

FYI: Does not look like the finished casted engines were stored outside.. And seriously doubt the engines would be stacked and then moved outside for "Seasoning."

[Studebakercenteroforegon]

It's all about internal stress relief.
I retired from the aluminum die casting industry, and it was known that Singer let their sewing machine castings "relax" for a month or so before machining then.
I always wanted to get a Bonal Vibratory Stress Relief machine for our company but could never talk them in to it. We did "age" die castings with a few hour thermal cycle if they required precision machining.

[WCP]

Looking at the stacked blocks pictured in post #8, I doubt if Studebaker worried about stress relaxation or "induced stress" in the lower layers.

[jackb]

and in ancient folklore writings here and all over Studedom: where are they now ? ..........

[6hk71400]

I have a seasoned block if anyone wants it. It is PS1405 for a 1957 Golden Hawk. No main bearing caps just the block with lifters. Come pick it up Free.

Bob Miles
Tucson AZ

[Dwight FitzSimons]

In the 1964 model year the engine serial numbers were actually date codes of when the engine was assembled. For example, my '64 Daytona HT (259) had engine # VK328. That breaks down to V=259, K=October, 3=1963, 28=28th day. That is, this 259 engine was assembled on Oct. 28, 1963. The engine block has casting date code "10 24 S", which breaks down to October 24 1963. This block was cast on Oct. 24 and assembled on Oct. 28, four days later. That doesn't leave much time for aging of the cast iron, at least in this case. The closest I have seen between the casing date code and assembly date of 1964 engines is 2 days.

[ddub]

The article footnotes the soure:
Engine Report, Studebaker V-8 by Classic Auto Restorer, February, 1997

I would want to see an earlier citation.

So were the '51 V-8s cast in '49 and seasoned outside some where before being finished and installed?

That aside, it is an interesting article and sums up Studebaker's problems well. I think his analysis of management blunders is right on.

[jclary]

Any metal stuff stored outside for "Seasoning" must be some "bean counter's" excuse for not springing for building another warehouse.

Next time my wife complains about the unsightly clutter around my outbuildings...'I'm re-seasoning them.' A prerequisite for "restoring."