Hello motorheads, i am new to this forum, so i guess i should tell you about my car. I have been storing a 79 Camaro Z28, 350 since 96. Since i bought it, i have never had enough money to do what i want to it, and probably never will, ha ha. Anyway, my question is this. I rebuilt the 84 chevy van 350 from the boiled block up in 96. I had it runing/ oiling up through the top of the motor and everything. It ran fairly choppy and with reduced power. I am preety sure that it just needed to be tuned, possibly larger carb as it was on the old quad jet, and when i rebuilt, i went .030 over on cylinders, and throat milled the new heads from 1.96" to 2.02", as well as a more agressive cam. And unfortunately, that is the state in which she has sat since 96. I want to get back to working on it now, and i know mostly what i need to do. Change oil and filter, flush coolant, replace battery, check all rubber and such for leaks. I figure that i should pull all the plugs, put oil in the top of the cylinders and rotate the crank by hand. Any advice on how to rotate the crank, and which type of oil to use? I have heard to use Marvel penetrating oil to break the rust free, I have heard of draining, and refilling to the top of the heads and letting it sit and soak in. I am also worried that the crank will be hard to rotate, and i am worried about torqing the crank bolt to much. Any info revolving around my situation would be greatly appreciated. Josh

 

If the crank is free and the plugs are removed it should turn easy enough so you won't need to worry about over-torqueing the crank bolt. You can also purchase a flywheel tool that will grab the ring gear for turning the engine. I would suggest removing the distributor and re-priming the oiling system just to be safe. In the cylinders I have always used a penetrating oil just to get the rings wet. Once I got the engine turning with the starter, I crankit over a bit and then add some engine oil to the cylinders for lubrication. While you are cranking it over with the starter have the valve covers off and watch for sticky valves. Crank it some more, give time for oil to get to the rings and then go for starting the engine.

 

Thanks a lot, i will give it a try.