Hello I have a 1955 Ford 272 takes a lot of effort to turn the engine , I have soaked the pistons with oil with no change . The car has been sitting for almost 30 yrs I have pulled the heads today and the cylinder bore is clean yet the engine is still tight . The car has an automatic transmission I was wondering if the torque converter or some internal transmission part could be so rusty that its making the crankshaft hard to turn. I plan to disconnect the converter from the engine to see if it makes a diffrence. I would like some Ideas Byy the was today when in removed the heads I did drop the pan and removed the bearing cap from each piston the pistons all moved freely yet the engine is still hard to turn thanks again

If you unbolt the convertor from the flex plate you should be able to turn the motor without touching anything else to do with the transmission.Is the starter drive retracted to the disengaged position and not stuck in the engaged postion on the ring gear of the convertor?