Race fuel , race oils and rust.

[joespanova]

For years I've been seeing some of what appears to be "rust" at the top of ring travel in the bores..........random holes. That was a gen 1 block/s .
One of those blocks actually had a very fine crack in the lifter galley..........most likely some knucklehead didnt use "anti freeze " back in the day.
And what that meant to me was..the water found its way in to the crankcase and got whipped up into the chambers? OR.......was it?
Anyway , I beat on that block for a while after I expoxy'd the crack and finally retired it last year.
Fast forward to today and a Dart Little M. I'm changing cams and since it was already on the stand I decided to do an inspection............pulled the heads........and I'll be damned......all 8 holes have some "rust?" just below the deck level , in the cylinders. Just like my previous blocks. Now ........understand , the deck is flat........the heads are flat , the gaskets show zero indication of "seepage" , the block cracked......uh , I dont think so ....the Brodix heads look fine.............in other words , there is absolutely zero indication that it is coming from any single source. No water in the pan either.
Now, I do a little sniffing around on the net and from what I can tell , the fuels and possible even oils can and do contribute to this "quandary" I use either C-12 ( VP ) or VP (BLUE ).
Please........step in and share your opinions / experience?

[Greg Reimer 7376]

C-12 is a very dry fuel.It burns completely,leaving no moist oil film or residue behind.In a humid climate, it's possible that humidity in the atmosphere is rusting the bare metal surface of the cylinder wall. If a race motor is going to sit a few weeks or a month or so between uses,it's better to lubricate the walls and the rings by taking about six ounces of ATF in a little cup, starting the engine while the car is in the trailer, opening the throttle and simultaneously dumping the fluid down the carburetor.Big clouds of smoke are not necessary,just a puff of smoke. That will also make life easier on the top ring not having to cope with a dry start. Exhaust valve seats in the head can develop rust and cause issues sealing, too.This will prevent that,as well.

[SST3193]

Used to accomplish the same thing with spray oil, at the end of the day's racing. Usually made use of Bel-Ray 6in1, mostly because it smells great!!!!!!

[FED 387]

Racing gas is very corrosive-- it eats away at the inside of carbs and the gaskets and can wash any oil off the cylinder walls, rings pistons etc.---- we completely drain ALL gas from the bowls at the end of eveyday's racing activities as well as FOGGING the engine with any of the aerosol products out there (I use marine or boat fogging stuff easier to find)---we also replace the spark plugs with desiccant plugs---this lessens the chances for any moisture doing what you are describing--FED 387

[rawhide]

desiccant

I ain't going to lie, I had to look it up.

Roland

[FED 387]

Expensive but they work after they become too moisture laden they change COLOR nuke me in a microwave for a few seconds to remove the moisture then they are good to go Fed 387

[Tim H]

I remember seeing the LeBrun guys fog down their potent 427 Camaros at the end of the day with Marvel Mystery Oil, or at least thats what the can said. This was back in the late 1980's.

[joespanova]

Someone on Speed Talk was describing a chemical composition / compound in the lead additive that will produce a "rust " appearing by- product that may look like rust but isn't.........actually described as " melts away " .............perhaps ,but it sure looks like crap.


A Scotch Brite pad and WD-40 makes it go away and the parent metal looks to be not corroded...........dunno..........I guess I have to fog from now on

[Ed Carpenter]

Originally Posted by Greg Reimer 7376

C-12 is a very dry fuel.It burns completely,leaving no moist oil film or residue behind.In a humid climate, it's possible that humidity in the atmosphere is rusting the bare metal surface of the cylinder wall. If a race motor is going to sit a few weeks or a month or so between uses,it's better to lubricate the walls and the rings by taking about six ounces of ATF in a little cup, starting the engine while the car is in the trailer, opening the throttle and simultaneously dumping the fluid down the carburetor.Big clouds of smoke are not necessary,just a puff of smoke. That will also make life easier on the top ring not having to cope with a dry start. Exhaust valve seats in the head can develop rust and cause issues sealing, too.This will prevent that,as well.

I use mystery oil......

[Ed Wright]

Originally Posted by Ed Carpenter

I use mystery oil......

So do I.