1958 C60 Intake

[warriorkin]

I want to clean up the cast iron intake manifold on my 283. Is it OK to sand blast it while it is off the engine? There is a piece of sheet metal in the middle on the bottom. How do I remove it? Would it be possible to polish the ports?

Thanks

[_Ogre]

c60 is the newer style of 2 ton truck 62-72 , your 2 ton is a viking, which covers the 1.5 and 2 ton
2.5 ton and bigger trucks were spartan, smaller 1.2 to 1 ton trucks were apache in 58 to 61

if the intake is rust use navel jelly to remove the rust and flat sand the machined surfaces
if you insist on sand blasting; sand blast only the rough casting, flat file and sand any machined surface
the sheet metal plate is an oil baffle for the fill tube and lifter gallery
it does not come out unless you drill rivets

you can polish the ports, but it's a 283 2 barrel manifold and won't help much
if there's rust in there i'd use the navel jelly or sand blast them too

[_Ogre]

and post up some pics, we like pics

[Speedbumpauto]

If you take a small sharp chisel and start tapping at the spot under the sheet metal where the rivet head meets the sheet metal and at the same time start angling up on the chisel, those rivets will come out. Tapping under the sheet metal lets the sheet metal pull up kind of evenly on the rivet head. They have a little spiral thread on them and can be re-used with a touch of red Loctite when installing. That way you can blast all of the manifold and the only part you will have to worry about is the exhaust cross over where sand can hide. I would NOT do it unless the manifold has been hot tanked before hand. Depending on the medium you use, IMO, there won't be a problem with blasting the machined surfaces. I usually finish those surfaces with a jitterbug sander and 120 grit paper.

[warriorkin]

I thought I had a picture of this truck but I cannot find it and I am not where it is currently.

The manifold is very rusty inside. I do not know where to take it to be "hot tanked".

I did take the rivets out using the method described. I am glad I did. It looked like the oil got baked.

[1project2many]

You might want to check out "Electrolytic rust removal." It's cleaner and there's no chance that a forgotten piece of blasting media will dislodge and do damage later. You can get creative by putting the sacrificial wire inside the manifold and supporting it with plastic before submersion. Acid or lye will also clean the inside but you really need to be set up to work safely with these hazardous chemicals.

https://www.google.com/search?q=elec...utf-8&oe=utf-8
http://www.instructables.com/id/Elec...val-aka-Magic/
http://www.stovebolt.com/techtips/ru..._derusting.htm

Hot tank cleaning is likely offered by your friendly, local engine machinist.

[warriorkin]

Wow, thank you for the links. The process looks like it will produce great results.

[mr48chev]

Speedbumpauto pretty well nailed it on taking out the rivets that hold the heat shield on.

The key is thin blade chisel and small hammer and tap very lightly so as not to cut the rivet. Once they start coming out they pull out pretty easily.

There is usually a whole bunch of carbon under that cover too.

It should go without saying that if you sand blast the intake you have to clean every nook and cranny of that intake until it is totally spotless inside and out.