The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Engine Shop Overheating-Lessons learned

When I was rebulding my 1940 Chevy truck, I acquired a 1955 235. I was told that the engine had been rebuilt but never run and had sat for 20 years. I noticed that there was "nesting material" in the intake and exhaust manifolds. I pulled the water pump off and flushed out the block and got an assortment of acorns and other "stuff" out of the block. Next I pulled the oil pan and checked the internals out. I could see that new pistons had been installed. I oiled everyting up and reinstalled the pan.
The engine was installed and fired up without issue.
However I had a nagging overheating issue. All the usual suspect things were checked, water pump, thermostat, radiator, ignition timing. I was getting to the point of banging my head up against the wall.........................
Then I got thinking, did I really get all of that nesting stuff out of the block. So I pulled the head and low and behold, about half of the water ports between the block and and head were clogged up with acorns along with the water passages in the head.

So, if you ever take an engine out of long term storage and you see signs of "nesting", pull the head and check the water passages. It is a lot easier to do when the engine is out of the truck.

John Gott