Don't forget to back off the brake adjusters on each wheel. Should help getting them loose enough to take off. If there is a wear groove on the drum and you don't back off the adjustment your are in for a real struggle! Chuck in NH

Y's guys rule!
Looking for McCullouch VS57 brackets and parts. Also looking for 28 Chrysler series 72 parts. And early Hemi parts.

MoonShadow, 292 w/McCulloch, 28 Chrysler Roadster, 354 Hemi)
Manchester, New Hampshire

Kenneth, that is my plan! I hope it goes just as you said!! Right now I've got to work on getting those drums off, they are really stuck.

Nate - Madison, Wisconsin

 

56 Ford Customline Sedan

 

I always turn the flywheel to try to turn a stuck engine. I start by pulling all the spark plugs out and be careful to mark the wires so you can put them back where they came from. Buy a quart or two of Marvel Mystery oil and a funnel with a long flexible tube and pour some of the oil into each cylinder. Let it sit a day or two. Jack the car up and put it on JACK STANDS. Do not rely on a jack alone while you are under it. Make sue the transmission is in neutral. Buy a pry bar while you are buying the Mystery oil. Remove the tin cover on the bottom that is between the engine and transmission. This will expose the flywheel ring gear. Use the clutch housing as a leverage point and I am quite certain that you can get it to turn over. Turn it over a complete revolution before you try to spin it with the starter. The fact that the rear wheels are hard to turn is no big deal. The drums have accumulated surface rust over the years, but you will want to replace the master cylinder, brake hoses and all the wheel cylinders before you drive it any way.

Kenneth

Fredricksburg, Texas

Do your brakes shoes have to be unfrozen from the drums to be able to rock the car??

My brakes are so frozen I can barely move the car an inch with 2 guys, even with the clutch depressed.  I've got her up on jack stands (all four corners) right now with the wheels removed, I want to get the drums off and get at the brakes...

I will start with the crank bolt...it should move pretty easy, I'll take it slow..if it doesn't move, maybe I'll try the screwdriver on the starter ring gear...I just want to know if the engine will move at all, if it does, then I should feel pretty good about being a little more agressive with the breaker bar on the crank bolt.

Thanks for all the great ideas!

Nate - Madison, Wisconsin

 

56 Ford Customline Sedan

 

Nate, try all the other good time proven suggestions then with optimism at its greatest, pull the plugs, squirt some gas down each cyl, put car in 3rd gear and rock it back and forward, this has the greatest torsional effect and if it rips the engine mounts out then its stuck!! best regards bill. rip the

  AussieBill            YYYY    Forever Y Block     YYYY

 Down Under, Australia

You can also put a stick in 2d gear, get some friends to help and rock it! Chuck in NH

Y's guys rule!
Looking for McCullouch VS57 brackets and parts. Also looking for 28 Chrysler series 72 parts. And early Hemi parts.

MoonShadow, 292 w/McCulloch, 28 Chrysler Roadster, 354 Hemi)
Manchester, New Hampshire

If the car is stick shift, another good way of turning the motor (slowly!) is to drop the sheet metal cover over the flywheel and pry on the starter ring gear with a long screw driver.  You can develop a great deal of torque without risk of damaging anything because the screw driver blade will break or bend first. 

Doug T

The Highlands, Louisville, Ky.

I have been up in Iowa a few days with no cell and no wifi and haven't been reading posts. I remember you asking somewhere about the mileage. From the looks of the engine, its never been into. Its a good possibility that it is low mileage. If someone would have been in it, they would have probably cleaned up the rockers. This thing was born when non detergent oil was still very common and your engine doesn't look that unusual. Somewhere I saw a glimpse of the front seat cover. It looks original. My guess would be that this thing is a very low miler.

Kenneth

Fredricksburg, Texas

You mean literally, by grabbing the front crank pulley with your hands?  I've done this with a fresh engine on an engine stand and it was hard, but getting the grip and leverage when it is in the car seems almost impossible.

Actually, I'm probably just scared, I tried grabbing the front crank pulley and turning it with my hands already (plugs still in) and it didn't even budge...I had a stab of fear in my heart that this engine might be toast....so I'm going to just continue believing that turning by hand is impossible so I can keep hope that this engine isn't seized up.

Nate - Madison, Wisconsin

 

56 Ford Customline Sedan

 

I've taken the plugs out and turned it by hand before.

John: Lake Forest, IL



'57 Fairlane 500 - Looking better every day.