Briggs short block numbers

[creia]

OK- Understood. Thank you Brian and KE4AVB!
Michael

[creia]

Update:
I (finally) negotiated a price on the short block. I ended up getting it for $ 110.00,( which included shipping) which I believe is a pretty good deal. I do have a follow-up question and hoping you all can help...
This is a NOS short block and by the looks of the packaging, I would bet it is 30-40 years old. Due to the age, is it recommended to open it up, take apart and inspect all internals, (re) apply assembly lube to all wear surfaces, then reassemble all internals BEFORE running it?
Thanks for any help.
Michael

[bgsengine]

I'd just unbox it and inspect it as it sits , if there's still the sealing tape over the cylinder & valves & ports, I'd probably leave that part well enough alone, unless it looks like the crank externally has had any water damage or shows signs of rusting, in which case I'd first just peel the tape off the intake & exhaust ports and look at valve stems to see if they show any signs of rust. If any worries , then by all means take the rest of the tape off and roll engine over by hand while looking at cylinder (and feel/listen for any issues) and look for any signs of rust/corrosion in the areas where the rings sat - But if you don't find any external issues like that then chances are the internals are in far better condition as they'd be far less exposed to humidity, etc changes (and probably still have their original pre-lube) and then you could likely , if you are concerned with oil / pre-lube settling away , you can always pour in a couple or three ounces oil and in and kind of "wash" the internals by rolling the entire block in your hands to distribute oil over everything before trying to turn engine over- if you let oil settle afterwards down into the piston from inside then flip it upright, the oil would tend to drip and drizzle down over the crankpin as well.

But if your external inspection shows a pristine like-new engine, I wouldn't worry about the internals at all. (of course, you'll want to have an eye out to see if the externals look like someone's scubbed any rust away , etc. There'll be obvious signs though)

[creia]

Thank you Brian!
Understood and duly noted. I'll report back after I receive the short block and look it over.
Michael

[creia]

Update:
I received the short block and have had the chance to inspect it. It looks good - REAL GOOD.
It turns over nice and smooth with no weird noises. I checked the valves and they are corrected lashed. No reason to lap them on an all - new short block, correct? (This is my first short block purchase so i do not know what to expect)
Interesting note: I found what I believe to be date stamp on the block under where the flywheel will be installed of 4 9 79. The crank is for a points engine (has the flat spot for the points plunger) and it even has the points/condensor cover cup, so that would jibe with the 1979 date? I feel that I( did pretty good for (only) $ 110.00 shipped!
Michael

[bgsengine]

I'd say you did excellent. A New short block from back then, the block head and intake/exhaust ports and valve box would have been covered by a wide strip of what I always thought of as Masking Tape (It was put there before the block was painted) However, considering its age (And if you have the original carton with the block part number, there's a date code on the part number label - 4 digits like 7903 would indicate March of 1979 - first 2 digits are the year, second 2 are month of production) Then I would not be at all surprised if someone took the tape off so as to inspect the valves, cylinder and head mounting surface so it wouldn't be a big deal if it was missing.

[creia]

[quote="bgsengine"]I'd say you did excellent. A New short block from back then, the block head and intake/exhaust ports and valve box would have been covered by a wide strip of what I always thought of as Masking Tape (It was put there before the block was painted) However, considering its age (And if you have the original carton with the block part number, there's a date code on the part number label - 4 digits like 7903 would indicate March of 1979 - first 2 digits are the year, second 2 are month of production) Then I would not be at all surprised if someone took the tape off so as to inspect the valves, cylinder and head mounting surface so it wouldn't be a big deal if it was missing.[/quote

Yes, the "sealing tape" was there, however, it was loose as someone had completely removed it and just set it back into place (no adhesive left on it). The factory lube in the bore had completely dried out, so I am a bit concerned about the factory lube on the internals if it has done the same. I am going to do the splash lube technique with a few ounces of oil like you suggested in an earlier reply. It did have OEM box from Briggs, with the part # printed on it.
Michael

[bgsengine]

Factory lube in the bore was a form of a light white lithium grease that is easily soluble in oil, and that would not be a surprise if it dried out, but I'd imagine if you soaked a little oil into the lube it'd soften up and liquify again soon enough - Internal lube normally was not that sort of grease, as I recall, it was more of a thick assembly lube (I think basically STP oil treatment - sort of like Marvel Mystery oil - thick and sticky and stays in place a long time. ) But either way definitely would be worth doing the splash lube (a 10 weight oil , or 5W20 non-synthetic would be best) just to coat against potential corrosion (if you fill it with a quart and then watch for the oil coming out the crank vent into breather box, to see what the oil looks like coming out) or you could just sit it upright and overfill it 'til oil starts coming out the breather box vent (piston at BDC) then pour in some more oil into the bore and let it sit that way a few days and you'd be pretty sure to have everything well coated in oil , and any dried out lube rejuvenated by then... (or just leave it to sit that way 'til you need it and drain the oil before doing a build, but then the oil would have any sediments already settled to the bottom, so might need to do an extra oil change after the first hour of run time)

Hint: to overfill when it does not have provision for dipstick or oil filler on top of the side cover, you can fill oil through the breather box drain-back hole...)

[38racing]

Mike,
Sent you a private message

[creia]

Mike,
Sent you a private message

I just replied. Let's continue by personal emails. I provided mine in the PM reply to you.
Thank you,
Michael