Restoration of a Chevrolet WA

[Philippe Jeanneau]

Originally Posted by Hanno Spoelstra

Philippe, you’re making great progress with getting all that fire fighting equipment off the chassis. Is the drivetrain in good condition?

Hello Hanno,

Unfortunately the drivetrain needs some work... I have to find a front prop shaft (similar to last photo) to replace the fire pump under the seat; besides pulling the engine out which is a nice boat anchor!

I have done my best to try to free-up the pistons with mystery oil and liquid wrench (completely filled all cylinders) over the past two weeks... After I did not succeed with the hand crank, I tried using my jeep in 4WD to rock back and forth... Completely frozen still

Believe now that the cast iron pistons are fused to the cylinder walls after 35 years of sitting in a field without any protection... A real shame!

[David Herbert]

Don't give up on the engine that easily. Any engine of that age will need stripping and at least some engineering. The key is whether there are cracks from frost damage and are the bores rusted to an extent that it can't be bored. Pistons and bearings are cheap and this is a very common engine so parts are available.

I suggest pulling the head and cleaning the bores as well as possible from above. Clean out all the resulting crud, re-oil the bores and try the Jeep rocking trick every week or so. If it does move you will get oil on the driveway so you need something to catch it. If all else fails the pistons can be pressed out once the engine is dismantled.

Good luck. David

[Lynn Eades]

When the head is off, put a little diesel in the bore with a bit of rag and set fire to it. (a small quantity) let it burn quietly for half an hour. it will heat things up a little, expanding the rings etc.

[David Herbert]

Lynn, Good idea.

David

[Philippe Jeanneau]

Hello Lynn,

Thank you for the tip, I am closer to removing the cylinder head off... Any surprises to watch out for? Then I will try your diesel fuel/fire trick and see if I can get the engine loose... Given the amount of time it has been sitting, it would be a miracle to get this thing to run again...

[Philippe Jeanneau]

The frame is finally cleaned and painted... Quite a job without a sandblaster. Next, I have to clean the rear axle, torque tube, springs and backing plates, but stuck between deciding to pull the engine or remove the head-trying to see if it can be saved... I was however able to remove that nasty contraption that was the old fire water pump. It probably weighed 300 lbs!

[Paul Singleton]

If it was me, I would remove the cylinder head and then try to free up the engine. With the engine bolted in the truck it is secure in that you could be more aggressive in trying to get the engine to turn. Also you can determine the condition, and if you don’t think it is worth saving at least it will be quite a bit lighter to remove.