Im picking up the first piece in the puzzel this weekend,a 289 full flow engine out of a 63 GT Hawk.Im thinking of getting a cam and valves from Ted,mabey get the heads done by the pros,and Ill do the rest,with the help from the NG.Im going to completely dissasemble the engine,should get the block acid cleaned,right?Well worth the trouble? I'm a relative newcomer to stuff Studebaker but in my short time of experience, I'm glad I paid the extra to have the block and heads both cleaned but also magnafluxed by the machinist. Short of expensive (and some might argue unecessary) x-raying, magnafluxing finds most cracks the eye can't see. I'd recommend it. Just MHO. i didn't have my block or heads magnafluxed as the engine while very frozen was protected by the elements. also depends i suppose on history -- abuse, neglect, etc. your call. i did (and definitely would if i were you) have the block and heads acid dipped -- they had to do mine TWICE but boy howdy! it looked great and i had the satisfaction of knowing that all the crud that was in there (and could cause problems later) was gone. just mho, too! -James Speedster Definitely have the bare block, main caps and cylinder heads hot-tanked. That'll remove all of the old residues and acids that can contaminate the new oil and clog oil passages. You might as well hot-tank the main caps, manifolds, valve covers, oil pan, connecting rods, etc at the same time. (These tanks use a highly caustic detergent, not an acid. Most use a sodium hydroxide solution which, by the way, will attack any aluminum parts and cam, rod and main bearings.) The machine shop must remove the freeze plugs, oil gallery plugs and cam bearings before the block goes in the tank. Also, magnafluxing the block, heads, and crankshaft is cheap insurance. You'll probably want to let the machine shop check the cylinders for size and taper with a dial bore gage to determine whether the block needs to be bored. They can also check the main bearing bores for size and straightness. And check the block's deck surface for warpage. The shop can also check the crankshaft to find out whether it needs to be ground undersize. Best of luck. Remember we're here to help. Don't hesitate to ask anything. Something I forgot to mention regarding cleaning: Before you start assembling your engine, even though you've gotten it hot-tanked, you must wash the inside of the block with detergent and hot water. Many do-it-yourselfers use Tide. Buy a cheap set of engine brushes so you can scrub the cylinder walls and the oil passages that run the length of the block. Blow everything out with compressed air, don't let the engine start to rust - especially the cylinder walls. After you think you have the engine clean, wipe the bores with clean lint-free rags or lint-free paper towels. Use a twisting motion, don't rub up and down. Do this until you no longer see any dirt on the towel. If the engine has to sit at all before it is completely assembled, then cover it with a garbage bag. Remember, dirt is the enemy! I would suggest wiping down with a touch of oil on that rag or paper towel, It will pick up traces of dirt that a dry one won't. And then after the towels look perfectly clean wash it down once more lightly, rinse and give it a coating of light machine oil, or LPS or NAPA 12/24, to keep the moisture in the air from starting rust. It can happen even out here (where we got all of 3.6" of precip last year). During the process of honing cylinder walls, grit from the hone becomes imbedded into the cylinder walls. It is extremely important to clean the walls thoroughly or premature wear will occur. I prefer to use oily rags, (a new clean rag for each pass), to clean the cylinders for a total of six passes. You can never clean them TOO much... My machine shop is an "old school" shop. He insists on baking the hard parts instead of hot tanking them. All the sludge turns to ash and is easily washed out. Hot tanking can sometimes leave pockets of grime in areas where the solution doesnt easily reach. I just had this done and I can tell you first hand the inside of the block looks new and clean. BTW, we are just getting finished with our R1 289 now. All new, top to bottom. 40 over, 10/10 on the crank, R2+ cam, R3 valves and springs, aluminum flywheel, new carb, water pump and fuel pump. All thanks to Ted Harbit. Great prices and fantastic help and advice. thanks Ted. Can't wait to get this beast into the 54 Cpe. Already have the 4spd rebuilt...........OOOOOOOOooooooooooo BABY, I'm ready for some rockin and rollin. Good luck on your project. Can't wait to hear how yours turns out. You are correct. I know of more than one instance that someone who had an engine hot tanked did not follow up by cleaning oil galleries etc., and some of the hidden grime came loose and burned a bearing or two shortly after the rebuild. I have heard good things about the "baking" process. Unfortunately, I do not know of anyone offering it in the Austin area. ------------------------------ Just a note on doing port work on your heads. "Be carefull" Some others have suggested doing things that will "hurt" not help. I've been doing porting work for quite a few years for pocket money and try to stay up with the latest trends. The eyebrow between the valves should be left there. There needs to be some extensive work done in that area, but most definatly leave the metal there. A big performance gain can be had with some carefull port work, with "some" and "carefull" being the operative words. The Stude heads have a pretty good base to work with, unfortunatly, the critical areas that need rework......most of the guys doing Studebaker porting miss it/don't do it/partially do it, because it's very tedious, time consuming work. Just my two cents for what its worth. Have fun Mike ocr1@earthlink.com (Mike@ocr) ------------------- I don't know anything about the engine with the leak but by chance you might want to check the head bolts for torque, especially if they have the composition head gaskets. If it has the composition gaskets and they were not retorqued after it was run some when assembled, they will compress more after they get hot. If you do this and they do turn any more, be sure to reset the valve lash as it will lessen the clearance. Also the head bolts may have a "set" and take more torque to break the ''set". To avoid this, back the bolts off a quarter to half a turn, then retorque them. There are two freeze type plugs at the rear of the block hidden by the bell housing. One in the center is 1 1/2" that covers the end of the camshaft. The other is a 1 1/4" that covers the end of the driver side lifter gallary. About four inches inside that plug is a pipe plug that goes in the end of the gallary and sometimes that can get left out, especially if one guy at a machine shop takes the engine apart and another assembles it, not being familiar with Studes. Won't cause an external leak but sure will cause loss of oil pressure.