MTFCA Forum

I'm putting this out to the membership as I have no idea why this was done: The engine that I am having rebuilt was 'porcelained" by the
previous owner (many, many years ago). That is, the engine is 'coated' (if that is the right word) in porcelain. Looks a little bit like
powder coating.

I would appreciate anyone in this forum putting their 2 cents worth as to why this was done.

Thanks,

Craig Bothwell

Apparently, the engine did not run hot enough as designed. Porcelain an excellent insulator and would ensure that the oil would break down and burn nicely. It would certainly test the condition of the radiator.

I would absolutely NOT rebuild that block/head/pan until every bit of the coating was removed.

Could you describe the coating?: Porcelain would be a ceramic, maybe that wasn't done years ago, perhaps the insides of the engine and pan were just painted with Gyptal, insulating paint useful on interior oil contact surfaces.

The word "useful" is not one I would use when it comes to painting Gyptal in a oil splash engine.

I have heard of coating in porcelain to salvage VERY rare early engine blocks that have rusted to porous when no replacement could be found. Frankly, I think it is a bad idea, for the reasons given By Scott C.
Glyptal is one of those things that many people are adamant about being the greatest thing EVER! A nearly equal number of people seem convinced it is the worst thing since lead bathing suits. I think it is much ado about not much. It does have some wonderful properties and uses for which it is ideal. Other things? Eh?

What year is the engine you want rebuilt? It may be best to just get another block.

That is my 2 cents.

My thoughts as well. Will have block sandblasted. Thanks for your thoughts

Dan T mentions insulating and useful in the same sentence regarding the glyptol coating. An oxymoron if there ever was one. Anyone recall the finned valve covers that were sold for the original VW Beetle ? They were hyped as adding additional cooling because of the heavier construction and the fins. Actual tests showed they cooled all right. They cooled a thin layer of oil that clung to the insides of the covers and that layer actually caused less oil cooling than the original pressed steel covers. If glyptol insulates it probably shouldn't be used to coat engines. Inside or out.

It sure wouldn’t bother me. Consider that the cylinders and combustion chambers will NOT be coated. Also highly probable that the water jackets will NOT be coated. No implication that the pan is coated (and certainly easily changed)!
So the oil will drain quickly from the crank case walls. The outside will look great.
I’ll take it!!

Are you sure it was not ceramic coatings.This is done to reduce friction in race engines
Cheers pete

Whatever the coating is get rid of it. No model T engine needs any kind of coating on the inside. 15 million plus...

How did we go from the out side of the engine to inside the pan?

Most any coating on the outside of an engine won’t hurt anything. Any coating on the inside of an engine is asking for trouble unless you know the exact circumstances, condition of parts, product used, etc.

I'm going to hazard a guess that the coating is NOT ceramic. My reason is: I imagine that iron and ceramic have vastly different coefficients of expansion when heated, so there could not be any adhesion between them, and the coating would flake off. Unless, of course, the engine was being prepared for display in a museum, never to run.

On the other hand, Powder Coating is a definite possibility. It's really nothing but a different way to apply paint, but it can produce a surface so smooth it looks like a toilet bowl (ceramic). And, since a large number of Model T engines are painted, I don't see much difference between paint that is brushed or sprayed on and allowed to dry by evaporation, and a paint that is sprayed on dry and baked.

Now, as to whether painting an engine is a good thing or a bad thing, I have no opinion.

Peter

FWIW, Porcelain is not unknown in the automotive world for use on exhaust manifolds and other parts. From Pierce-Arrows to Jaguars...

Many years ago, in a fit of XKE envy, I sent my Austin Healey 3000 exhaust manifolds out to Prairie Auto for Black Porcelainizing. They were (and still are) gorgeous. They just aren't correct for the car, and now wish they'd flake off. They won't. Life just isn't fair!

Scott:
thanks for pointing out the fact that several autos used porcelain coatings on engine components … Cadillac V-8 for years … looked great and the engines did purr … not because of the porcelain or inspite of it … always an optimist ...Gene French