Engine affected by Bush fire


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By dennis22 - 4 Years Ago
Hi everyone,

A bush fire went through the town and my parents property a couple of days ago, my family is ok but I had a couple of F600’s and 3 yblocks and a 413 Chrysler engine that didn’t make it out and got scorched. I’m working away and won’t be back for 3 months so I can’t assess the damage but do you think the engines are now junk or is there any hope of rebuilding them?

In the pic, the f600 on the right Still has the engine in it and the trailer infront has the other blocks.

http://forums.y-blocksforever.com/uploads/images/75cdfad1-ec15-4a1b-beb2-b533.jpg 
By Ted - 4 Years Ago
If the carburetor and/or distributor did not melt, then I’d say the engines did not get hot enough to hurt them.  Based on the pictures not showing the paint burned completely off of the trucks, it would appear they did not get hot enough to damage the engines.  If the spark plug wires are intact, then the engines should be fine.
By dennis22 - 4 Years Ago
Hi Ted,

I’ll have to have a real good look. Unfortunately none of the engines in the trailer had carburetors or plug wires. I’m pretty sure they all had distributors though. I’m doubtful they will be ok as my brother had an aluminum boat near the trucks and it pretty much vaporized. Thanks for the info, I’ll keep my fingers crossed and have a good look when I can get back there.
By darrell - 4 Years Ago
they will be good for rebuilding.ive seen a merc with a 460 that was burned to a crisp.i knew the engine was good and i changed the intake timing cover rocker covers etc nothing else and the engine was still good.
By Ted - 4 Years Ago
Dennis.  At least your trucks don’t look like this so there is a good chance your engines are salvageable.
http://forums.y-blocksforever.com/uploads/images/8886bf11-a802-4a1d-9289-2aef.jpg 

http://forums.y-blocksforever.com/uploads/images/bdf6e5fc-75fb-4c87-82a5-e5f4.jpg 
By dennis22 - 4 Years Ago
Yeah right... can’t even tell what that was. Looks like some serious heat!
By Joe-JDC - 4 Years Ago
Rollbar and fiberglass body, Ford heads, looks like Jody's Cobra.  Sad to see.  If the trucks in Australia did not cook the oil in the engines, then they should be salvageable for the most part.  Distributors, wires, carbs, coils, etc., can be replaced.  Joe-JDC
By blocky - 4 Years Ago
hi dennis i live in victoria and was here for black saturday and a lot of things got nuked.some engines i saw in sheds had pistons melted in the blocks and others somehow survived.dont know how.good luck .hope it goes well for you cheers.
By Florida_Phil - 4 Years Ago
I have a question about Australia?  My wife and I visited Australia back in the 90s and spent some time in Melbourne.  Melbourne was beautiful, especially the zoo. We took a train ride into the Dandenong forest.  On the train ride they told us the eucalyptus trees secrete a chemical that catches fire.  Are the fires you are currently experiencing a regular occurrence?    
By ponymare - 4 Years Ago
My gramps said he used to buy lots of burned engines from the salvage yards cheap, cause they were afraid of them, he said on most if the lower radiator hose wasn't burned off, replace valve seals, remove pan, and flush from top down.  He said the thing to watch for was the crank snout getting hot enough that heat traveled into the front main and melted it. If the carbs had melted the intake and heads had to be pulled to clean out the melted stuff.
By blocky - 4 Years Ago
yes the gum trees can explode in the fire and you do not want to be there . i live in the nearby hills near melbourne. cheers. black saturday was bad enough for me.
By dennis22 - 4 Years Ago
Thanks for the feedback everyone. I’ll keep you posted when I pull them apart, but might be quite some time. The state of NSW is on fire, Victoria is also on fire. I haven’t seen anything like this before, there are just so many fires burning at the same time. Separate fires are linking up and creating “mega fires”. It’s been burning for a month now and there is no sign of rain.
By miker - 4 Years Ago
There's a post over on the HAMB, from Brisbane AU, to put this in perspective for the rest of us. I've never been privileged to visit down under, but this is frightening.