rusted engine blocks

Tony Corley · 06-01-2025, 05:53 PM

There was a time that I used to read about guys purposely leaving blocks outside to rust to "condition" them before they would completely clean and machine them. I have no idea if it actually made a difference or not. As far as cleaning and machining, I would think a shot blast cleaning oven would take care of all of the rust, and then just a matter of doing the machine work. Obviously, if the rust really got to it, you will probably be machining mains, cam journals, lifter bores, along with cylinders and decks, but if it's an all out race piece, you should be doing that anyway. Otherwise, it may be more cost effective to start with a non rusted block.

06-01-2025, 05:53 PM	#2
Tony Corley Member Join Date: Nov 2011 Posts: 263 Likes: 42 Liked 61 Times in 25 Posts	Re: rusted engine blocks There was a time that I used to read about guys purposely leaving blocks outside to rust to "condition" them before they would completely clean and machine them. I have no idea if it actually made a difference or not. As far as cleaning and machining, I would think a shot blast cleaning oven would take care of all of the rust, and then just a matter of doing the machine work. Obviously, if the rust really got to it, you will probably be machining mains, cam journals, lifter bores, along with cylinders and decks, but if it's an all out race piece, you should be doing that anyway. Otherwise, it may be more cost effective to start with a non rusted block.