Engine: How should I know?

[RDWEAVER]

My wife and I bought a 59 Silver Hawk and we are in the middle of restoring it. We were told the engine was already rebuilt and never started, but I am wondering how much was done. I can't ask the previous owner because he passed away and we bought the car from his daughter. I know the block was cooked out and new casting plugs were installed. Two of the intake rockers were rusted to the rocker shaft form sitting in an unheated garage. So I have removed the valve cover and shaft to repair. The inside of the motor is clean. It runs and sounds good. 40 psi oil pressure. but it smokes blue when the engine is accelerated quickly. I am worried we may get this thing all finished only to turn right back and pull the motor. I there a good way to determine what kind of shape the rest of the motor is in without tearing it apart?
PS: It's a 259 from a 1960 car.
Thanks in advance,
Kevin

[BobPalma]

Sure. You say it runs and sounds good, so you're on first base.

When you get the rocker arm shafts back on it and running again, warm it up and conduct a compression test and a cylinder leak-down test. These will confirm the condition of the cylinders as to hydraulic tightness.

Even if they check out OK, though, it would still be a good idea to remove the oil pan and check things "down below," since you have no idea what was done, or the quality of the work. Removing a V8 pan in a Hawk is easy due to the engine's set-back in that chassis. BP

[SN-60]

Sure. You say it runs and sounds good, so you're on first base.

When you get the rocker arm shafts back on it and running again, warm it up and conduct a compression test and a cylinder leak-down test. These will confirm the condition of the cylinders as to hydraulic tightness.

Even if they check out OK, though, it would still be a good idea to remove the oil pan and check things "down below," since you have no idea what was done, or the quality of the work. Removing a V8 pan in a Hawk is easy due to the engine's set-back in that chassis. BP

That's true...even the oil pan of the Packard powered '56J, an engine placed further forward in the Hawk chassis than the Stude V8, drops down with minimal trouble.

[StudeRich]

Doing what Bob P. says in post #2 will be a huge help in deciding the quality of this Engine. A Good Compression Test and even better a leak Down Test allows one to determine if very possibly the FO failed to replace the Valve Guides and or Valves causing the Oil burning, OR are the Pistons and or Rings causing the problem.

[Jerry Forrester]

but it smokes blue when the engine is accelerated quickly.

More than likely missing valve seals. Use umbrella type, not 'O' rings.

[altair]

re engine

My wife and I bought a 59 Silver Hawk and we are in the middle of restoring it. We were told the engine was already rebuilt and never started, but I am wondering how much was done. I can't ask the previous owner because he passed away and we bought the car from his daughter. I know the block was cooked out and new casting plugs were installed. Two of the intake rockers were rusted to the rocker shaft form sitting in an unheated garage. So I have removed the valve cover and shaft to repair. The inside of the motor is clean. It runs and sounds good. 40 psi oil pressure. but it smokes blue when the engine is accelerated quickly. I am worried we may get this thing all finished only to turn right back and pull the motor. I there a good way to determine what kind of shape the rest of the motor is in without tearing it apart?
PS: It's a 259 from a 1960 car.
Thanks in advance,
Kevin

Probably the most important test you can do is a thorough vacuum test, there are about a dozen different conditions that can be determined, I would say more important than a compression test. It is worth the time to research the difference between a compression test and a vacuum test.

[Charlie D]

I often do not reply to these technical questions because my technical knowledge is not very good. I will throw this out here just as a thought. My rebuilt engine ran very good with 40+ oil pressure but at idle there was a faint dark smoke and when goosed quite a bit of dark smoke would come out the exhaust. It ended up being too rich of a mixture from the carburetor. If your blue smoke is quite a bit lighter in color this thread may not be of any help.

Charlie D.

[StudeRich]

That is true Charlie, Black smoke is a rich mixture and excess FUEL, Blue smoke is excess OIL consumption.

[hausdok]

Hi,

I agree with Altair. A vacuum gauge can tell you a whole lot about an engine. The blue smoke could be something as simple as valve seals that self destructed when an engine that had been left to dry out for years was finally started. The vacuum gauge should tell you that quickly. You can find instructions on the net for how to diagnose engine problems using a vacuum gauge.

[JoeHall]

You mentioned, "Two of the intake rockers were rusted to the rocker shaft..." I have seen surface rust on rockers, but never a rocker frozen onto the shaft, if that's what you mean. With that much rust topside, I'd be suspect of the cylinder walls and iron rings. You can test it all you want, but after the testing, I'd drive it couple of thousand miles to see if it clears up or gets worse. If it clears, consider yourself lucky; if it worsens, it was a pig in a poke anyway, after sitting so long.

[RDWEAVER]

Thanks for all of the good advise, it sounds to me like we better test a few things before I put the rest of it together.

[PackardV8]

Yes, change the oil and filter, put some miles on it running it pretty hard, then change the oil and filter again.

Yes, after some miles, do a compression test and and leak-down test and let us know what readings you see.

jack vines

[53commander]

I bet the rings just need to be seated to the cylinders, normal after a rebuild however I agree with the vacuum, compression, and leakdown tests. In that order just to be sure. Be sure to do a "dry" compression test first and if the numbers are low add a few drops of oil into the cylinder to do a "wet" test. If the number goes up then its rings if not then its valve related. Since it runs decent but smokes I think its safe to say its not a major issue.