[bhill86]

Im bound to ruffle feathers with this question but it’s not my intent.

I have a 400 I got cheap that was stuck although not terribly and it now turns freely. I know nothing about the engines internals aside from it has unmarked pistons (stock bore?) and a good amount of sludge in the pan. I pulled one rod cap and one main and they look ok to my relatively untrained eye.

I have no immediate plans for it but someday I’d like to do a proper rebuild on it. Most likely one step at a time very slowly as funds become available. Im a little curious to know if it would run though. Would you spend any effort clean it up and see if it would run or am I opening a can of worms?

[steve25]

If you did such it would likely run fine for a while until that crap in the pan and likely in the lifter valve loosened up and started to take its toll on the motor.

The cam and lifters would be the first things to start going south.

Save up and rebuild it right.

[chiphead]

I wouldn't install it in a car without a rebuild. But just for grins, I once took a spare chevy inline 6 that was sitting on the ground, chocked it up with wood blocks and started it. I let it idle for a couple minutes to confirm it was good before I shut it off. I ran a garden hose through the heater connections to keep it cool. Don't revv it, as it will try to flop over. Another time, I helped a friend run a SBC 350 on an engine stand that he had added some bracing to. That was sketchy but it worked.

In your case, you'd need to know why it was stuck before you ran it. Running it with a broken ring or damaged bearing could ruin the block, if it threw parts.

[Goatracer1]

I started an engine last fall that had not run since 1996. In runs well and doesn't make any noise. I have done several over the years will good results. You don't know unless you try. You have nothing to lose. If it makes noise shut it off. It also makes for a fun afternoon experiment.

[Joe-Touring]

I’d say since it’s apart, at the very least get all the sludge out. But you could run the risk of loosening some up and clogging the pickup. Then make sure to pour some oil on the cam, coat the cylinder walls. PRIME THE OIL PUMP. I’ve heard 2 cycle gas that has the premixed oil is a good way to help lube up the top end of a dry old motor.

But if it was all buttoned up, fresh oil, prime oil pump till it’s coming out all the pushrods, and run the 2 stroke gas. I’d say as long as you got compression and the cam isn’t flat, should run for ya

[Schurkey]

I try to start all my core engines...assuming they're in fully-assembled condition to begin with. Fresh oil and filter is recommended.

[carcrazy]

I am getting ready to start one that has sat for quite awhile. Have a borescope that will allow me to look inside the cylinders to see if anything is grossly amiss before I go through the process.

[bhill86]

Thanks for the responses. My curiosity is just getting the best of me. If I try it I’d definitely try to clean out the sludge before I give it a go. The again I may never get around to it either lol.

[grivera]

I’ll be starting one that sat at least 15 years! It had been rebuilt prior to being parked with very little run time. It rotated easily, priming the oil pump produces oil out of every pushrod, and pushrods rotate when rotating engine by hand - some much slower than others . I hope to crank it up in a few weeks!