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Could it be the bearings?

I've been able to piece together a bit of history on the engine from the owner's somewhat hazy memories, told to me when I bought the car.

Apparently, new babbitt bearings were made by a jeweler back in the '80s. It is unclear whether the engine was ever run after they were installed. The car was at the same time largely disassembled for painting, so it is quite possible it was not. Soon thereafter, the owner got a job overseas and the car was stored (in pieces) for 20 years.

It is possible and maybe probable that the mechanic who got the car running three or four years ago was the first person to start the engine after the new bearings were installed. He had dropped the pan to inspect before he started the car and, when I talked to him, told me personally how surprised he was that it was clean as a whistle inside. He didn't do anything to the engine other than put oil in the sump and antifreeze solution in the radiator. He then drove the car from his garage to the owner's home. The engine was not started again thereafter.

I was reading on a Model T forum that if new babbitt bearings are over-tightened they can burn. Also, that they should be pre-lubed before the engine is run or they could burn. How the bearings were installed is unknown.

This all suggests there is the possibility that some or all of the bearings are burned. I don't have much experience in this area, so I ask: might burned bearings result in the symptom that the engine will turn but only with great resistance?

Anything is possible but it's very unlikely that your problem is caused by "burned" bearings.

As to the story, poured babbitt bearings are not done by a jeweler! They are done by an automotive machine shop that can melt the alloy, pour into molds, cut the parting line, and finish machine to a size dictated by measuring the crankshaft journals. Is it possible that the bearings are the problem? Well, if the work was done by the kind of person who shouldn't be allowed near the internals of an engine, then I suppose it's possible.

In the amount of time we've spent speculating, you probably could have removed the cylinder head and the oil pan and then you'd probably know the story, and much more. That's where I'd start now.

When I got my car the engine was stuck from rusty rings. I spayed some blaster down into the cylinders and let sit.Then i used a breaker bar on the crankpully bolt with my floor jack handle over the breaker bar handle for leverage. Every day I would rock it back and forth a few times and then spray in some more blaster. After about a week or this, it broke loose and I was able to rotate the engine 365 a couple of times without binding. But never purely by hand. This was due to the starter bendix being engaged on the flywheel. Also, is your transmission out of gear?

Owen D - Regarding the jeweler, I thought that odd as well. Just reporting what the former owner told me. It is possible the man had other skills and the fact he was a jeweler merely incidental. BigKev - I've had the starter off, so it's not a problem. I'm turning the engine from the flange in back of the transmission, so have it in high gear.

Clearly, if the current cylinder treatment is ineffective, the next step is to go into the engine. That will have to await the completion of a new shop/garage this summer. Many thanks to all who have responded to my thread. Much appreciated.

Corrosion in the cylinders and rings would be my guess. Air gets into the cylinders through open valves and with changes in temperature the air expands and contracts causing very small amounts to flow in and out . Cool damp air is condensed in the cylinders with some remaining.and increasing over time.

I agree with Owen D, no amount of guessing what's wrong or speculating on if/why the car stayed disassembled. Best to deal with reality instead of fantasy. A socket set is reality, a former owner's foggy memory and that of an unknown "jeweler" is fantasy.

I'm for banning snipe hunts, they're endangered