ok, i blew my little 305. and with only 80,000 miles on it i decided to rebuild it. im going to have the engine dipped to clean the sludge and all that stuff. but i was told that it would have little effect on the suface rust it has from being 23 years old. my ? is how do i clean that rust off.

 

Acid dipping will clean everything but the good metal off, surface rust included.

 

Where Im at tehy wont even dip them anymore. They just bake em.

 

Of the shops I've worked at, they've done them each way already mentioned, and in spray cabinets. Baking is the best for the environment. Most shops that do bake, also follow up with a mild form of shot peening. This does pretty well at removing the rust, but requires that every machined surface be re-machined.
This is done even in states that don't require it, so check around. Your alternative is to have it dipped, then before machining, attack it yourself with wire brushes or naval jelly or both.
There is one more alternative: don't worry about it. It'll go another 20 years without being a problem, and the way our engine bays are, noone will ever see it.

 

yeah good point, im rebuilding it with help from my cuz. hes a racer and is using alot of parts and services from racing shops. Ive only called one place about it, i need the money first. i would like to clean it up and paint it red or orange because im gutting everything that i dont need like A/C emissions stuff etc. and then put chrome valve covers on with a chrome air intake with a simple holley double pumper carb. what do they do baking it? just get it really hot or what and whats the most effective or expencive