Engine Tin Restoration Options

[Aayala]

Hello all, kept trying to look in the forum for hopefully an old article of someone going through this but no luck. I am in the process of having my cylinder heads vapor blasted and about to send the case over for machining and removing of the welded oil galley plugs.

I am left with all of the other rusty engine tins, cylinder head covers, fan housing, brackets, etc...



What is the best way to tackle all of these to restore them properly? Is a chemical bath a good way to go about it and efficient? I have someone that can do this locally but not sure if there is any concern about this? I was thinking of painting them after the bath with some rust prevention like a paint primer and then hitting with some coats of flat black paint or just rustoleoum paint.

Any recommendations on what is the most efficient? or is elbow grease and some brushes the way to go?

and any paint in specific you all have used? maybe for cooling purposes not that the engine tin should get that hot?

thanks in advance!

[mepstein]

Find a place to glass bead blast and powder coat. Unless you paint with a catalyzed paint, fuel will dissolve it. You don’t realize how much surface area is on the tin until you start removing it.

[Dlee6205]

Find a place to glass bead blast and powder coat.

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/agree.gif)

I'll second this. This is the easy button, and also not too expensive usually.

[mepstein]

Either your machinist or your vapor hone person will probably know of a powder coat person.

[barefoot]

I went with a local sand blast outfit, then they epoxy primed the parts.
worked out very well
Barefoot

[930cabman]

Many of us here are in the CSOB camp

some degreaser, elbow grease and Rustoleum will get er done

[Nogoodwithusernames]

Many of us here are in the CSOB camp

some degreaser, elbow grease and Rustoleum will get er done

If you go this route be sure to get the automotive paint, it is a little more expensive but gas and oil won't ruin your nice shiny new paint.

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Rust-Oleum-Auto...52462/202623047

[TRP]

Many of us here are in the CSOB camp

some degreaser, elbow grease and Rustoleum will get er done

If you go this route be sure to get the automotive paint, it is a little more expensive but gas and oil won't ruin your nice shiny new paint.

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Rust-Oleum-Auto...52462/202623047

I am going through the same process right now for my 2056 build, I was thinking of using this paint for the tins:

https://914rubber.com/engine-deck-lid-grill...2MDF5YOxYD1uTd0



What do you guys think?

Thanks,
Ted

[chmillman]

If you’re going to go with spray cans, I might look at the newer 2K ones, possibly more resistant to gasoline and oil… haven’t tried myself though.

[Chad911sc]

I restored all the tin and painted them myself. Took about 3-4 days. Wire wheels and good tunes to keep you moving. Primed them first, then 3 coats of paint 15 mins apart. Baked them in my oven according to the instructions on the can. One of my dual carbs had a stuck float and poured gas all over the passenger side engine compartment. Didn’t notice it for a couple weeks because I was working on different things. Cleaned up well and left no stains or wrinkles. Ended up having to take the engine back out twice. Once to change the oil pump, and last time to take engine back apart for low oil pressure due to bent crank. The tin still looks very good with minimal nicks and scuffs. I am happy with the durability so far.

[mepstein]

You lost me at 3-4 days.

[930cabman]

@Chad

does your wife know you baked engine tins in Her oven?

[TRP]

@Chad

does your wife know you baked engine tins in Her oven?

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/beerchug.gif)

I was going to ask how he got that approved by the boss! My wife would demand a whole new kitchen if I did that.

[Chad911sc]

lol…I have been happily single for 12 years. How do you think I can build 3 cars at the same time. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/lol-2.gif)

[Aayala]

Awesome! Thank you for the recommendations y'all! Yeah I am struggling to find some time to work on the car with my full time job which is pretty demanding right now so I might go the route of powder coat and sand blast. I found someone that would do it for about $150 which i thought was reasonable for the blasting and powder coating. Definitely worth my time at this point! Still need to assess all the rust damage and strip the car down. But this is great information! I hope this helps someone else out as well!

[Root_Werks]

Find a place to glass bead blast and powder coat.

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/agree.gif)

I'll second this. This is the easy button, and also not too expensive usually.

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I like the easy button.

[mepstein]

At my shop, that’s a couple hours of work and materials. Easily worth $150.

[TRP]

I called around down here where I am located, to have the tins stripped and powder coated black is a few hundred bucks. I could do it with the paint I purchased, but with trying to find the time to do it?... I'm dropping everything off on Friday.

What's the collective wisdom on the fan shroud? I don't think it's intended to be a heatsink / meant to pull heat away from the motor in any respect. Is there anything wrong with having the fan housing media blasted and cera-koted? A quick search shows mixed opinions.

Thanks for your wisdom here (I hope it's cool to piggy back on the original thread here...)

[wonkipop]

I called around down here where I am located, to have the tins stripped and powder coated black is a few hundred bucks. I could do it with the paint I purchased, but with trying to find the time to do it?... I'm dropping everything off on Friday.

What's the collective wisdom on the fan shroud? I don't think it's intended to be a heatsink / meant to pull heat away from the motor in any respect. Is there anything wrong with having the fan housing media blasted and cera-koted? A quick search shows mixed opinions.

Thanks for your wisdom here (I hope it's cool to piggy back on the original thread here...)

whether its intended to be a heat sink or not,.......it is naturally.
but not when the engine is running.
its always cool due to the air running through it.
but on hot shutdown, given its magnesium alloy, the heat flow from the cylinders and aluminium alloy crank case naturally is conducted to it (and the gearbox).
gets hotter than anything else. loses that heat naturally through radiation but it does draw it away from the main body of the engine. also naturally radiates at the fuel pump etc - hence the cause of the old vapor lock problem?

i notice folks seem to paint the fan shroud when they restore.
personally i prefer the raw metal finish. i think originally from factory they had a cosmoline or similar wax finish. which melts away over time and is long gone on all the engines.

anyway. if you paint the fan shroud needs to be a heat resistant paint or finish.

the tins are black for a reason. they are black box radiators that do not reflect heat (IR) back at the cylinders. black absorbs heat. it naturally radiates it away on its cooler side (the upper side). at minimum the side facing down at the cylinders should be black.
i've seen tins painted all sorts of colors. i wouldn't do it. its black for a good reason.

[mepstein]

I called around down here where I am located, to have the tins stripped and powder coated black is a few hundred bucks. I could do it with the paint I purchased, but with trying to find the time to do it?... I'm dropping everything off on Friday.

What's the collective wisdom on the fan shroud? I don't think it's intended to be a heatsink / meant to pull heat away from the motor in any respect. Is there anything wrong with having the fan housing media blasted and cera-koted? A quick search shows mixed opinions.

Thanks for your wisdom here (I hope it's cool to piggy back on the original thread here...)

I would blast and clear coat to keep it pretty.
Definitely keep the tins black.