storing cams

[grumpyvette]

If your like me youve tried a bunch of combos and several cams and have several you want to store for awhile,
I fill the PVC pipe about 1/2 full of cheap oil after the cams inserted then seal and shake gently, to cover the cam in oil and store I store cams in 2" pvc pipe sections cut to 22" lengths one end has a glued pvc cap the other end a rubber cap with a radiator screw clamp em on a rack where I turn them on ocasion (tape an ID tag with info on the PVC pipe)
Ive had a few cams in storage over 20 years that look new, plastic will eventually get brittle but if your not stressing it It works fine ,Ive had the same cam tubes for 20 plus years

PVC pipe and caps in 6"-8" dia. or larger size gets prohibitively expensive
army surplus store ocasionally sell dirt cheap heavy wall plastic containers that can be used for cranks,but you can store cranks and cylinder heads in several 30 gallon trash bags once heavily sprayed with LPS #3 (yeah it says two years, but in a sealed plastic bag its good for well over 12 years plus) even in a large plastic storage box, BTW its best to roll the crank wrapped in the trash bag and coated with the LPS #3e in a sheet of cardboard sheet taped firmly around it to prevent the plactic from tearing and it aids stability when the cranks are stood on the flange , heads get layed flat,and store it so the box its in can,t be hit tipped or get wet (off the floor on a shelf) Ive rarely needed to store more than 4 cranks or cylinder heads and they all fit in one or two large air tight millitary surplus containers (LABEL THE BOXES and PACK EACH thing seperately in its own bags and cardboard roll protection)
put a thin coat of oil on everything the use 2 garbage bags, and put them on in opposite directions
that storing parts that are well oiled in double heavy duty plastic trash bags that are duct taped closed works reasonably well short term, but a good spray down with LPS #3

the new wd40 rust preventative spray works far better than the older version
lasts longer than oil , as its a wax/oil mix that lasts for decades in a sealed bag
and use of larger plastic storage boxes, stored off the floor on shelving,
to place the parts in those trash bags in significantly helps reduce the chances of moisture intrusion

http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc...splay?langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053

http://forum.grumpysperformance.com/viewtopic.php?f=50&t=614&p=12734&hilit=engine+storing#p12734
http://www.galleria-e.com/cgi-bin/Colemans.storefront/en/product/133301

http://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/cspages/lps_rust.php

 

[grumpyvette]

storing cams, you don,t want damaged
don,t forget to print out the CLEAR details of whats inside the tube,
for later reference, and place the 3" x 5" note card , it in a zip loc bag and tape it to the outside,
because trust me in a few years if you have 4-8 stored,
you won,t remember exact details on each without reference materials

the tubes can be custom made, in 12" length, and 2" and 2.5" diameter ,as they come in handy to store adjustable push rods and spare sets of push rods

if your storing a cam, home depot sells 24" and 48" long sections of 2" PVC pipe, you buy that section of PVC pipe and matching diam, glue on cap for one end, and the rubber clamp band cap for the other, end store the sealed tube vertically where it won,t get knocked over with the glue cap end down the cam inserted and pour in a quart of cheap oil and cap the pvc, a cam stored vertically like that lasts for decades, I generally tip this long containers upside down for 15 seconds every few months when I remember too, to assure the cams stored are fully coated with oil , but I recently pulled out a cam stored like that since the early 1990s that looked perfect so the system works.

http://www.crcindustries.com/ei/product_detail.aspx?id=03282

btw you can store welding rods (OBVIOUSLY DRY) and any other long object that benefits from protected storage (like seldom used precision instruments) that will fit in various diameter and length PVC tubes like this

http://garage.grumpysperformance.co...g-your-spare-ring-and-pinion-gear-sets.11748/




at times I see guys forget that some long components like axles and cams that don,t easily fit in a 5 gallon bucket can be cleaned of mild surface rust, if you have fabricated a long narrow container, from PVC pipe
it would cost a small fortune to fill a 55 gallon barrel with chemical cleaners but theres a great deal less volume to fill in a 3"-6" diameter PVC pipe tank , and once cleaned you can store parts long term in an appropriate diameter container if you coat the parts liberally in oil and seal the container

a 3 ft long section of 3" pvc pipe with both ends flared with stacked 3"-4" and 4"to 6" adapters and rubber caps makes storing spare axles rather easy, one axle inserts from each direction

 

[grumpyvette]

hey grumpy Ive got a spare engine block that I need to store , how do I prevent rust on machined surfaces

RUST IS THE RESULT OF MOISTURE IN CONTACT WITH IRON or STEEL
if a block,crank,or heads will be stored long term do it correctly
step one
clean the parts carefully

step two
dry the parts CAREFULLY AND UNTIL YOUR 100% SURE THEY ARE DRY, then DRY A BIT LONGER with a combo of a HEAT GUN, then DRY them again until to hot to touch, as you spray with wd40 as a moisture displacer,this allows the light oil to get into micro surface flaws
BE SURE THE COOLANT PASSAGES IN ANY BLOCK ARE BONE DRY

http://www.harborfreight.com/1500-watt-dual-temperature-heat-gun-572-1112-96289.html

and a water displacing spray like wd 40

STEP three
respray with a rust preventative surface spray
http://www.wd40specialist.com/products/corrosion-inhibitor/

while still hot and oil coated place the individual parts in plastic bags and tape air tight
shut

place triple layered and duct taped

wrapped plastic bags in several layers of news paper to absorb and trace moisture


large plastic storage boxes
http://www.homedepot.com/p/Centrex-Plastics-12-Gal-Dura-Box-Storage-Tote-6-Pack-948929/202224153

place boxes OFF THE FLOOR IN A COOL DRY AREA OF GARAGE OR SHOP WHERE YOU WON,T PUT ANYTHING ELSE ON TOP

the WHOLE IDEA HERE IS TO EXCLUDE ANY MOISTURE FROM CONTACTING PARTS IN STORAGE, if done correctly decades later parts look just as when stored

 

[87vette81big]

Storage solutions I like Grumpy.
I hoard parts and engines too.