Holy Cow !! Sand EveryWhere!!!

Last year my Dad, Brother and I did our first resto job on my 53 Super M. After my elbow fell off from 4 weeks of sanding, grinding and more sanding the whole project turned out great. This year to save on the tendinitis, and 3 men walking around with limp elbows we decided to have a shop sandblast my Dad's 49 Allis WD. It came back in fantastic grey shape. Wow where we happy - clean as a whistle and no laying in bed whimpering from nails being driven into my elbow. But... there is sand everywhere. In the underside of the governor cap, oil fill cap, air intake, you name it. The shop taped everything off but man, gritty sand is all over. Now.. will or could some of this get into the valves, or pistons ?? We thought we should remove the valve cover and oil pan and flush with kerosene - is this too much or a smart thing to do. Or does a little sand not hurt. Thanks for your input. Joe

Remove the valve cover and oil pan. Flush well with kerosene or diesel. Remove the intake/exhaust manifold and vacuume out with a shop vac.

Rebuild the carb. Remove and dismantle the distributor in order to clean it out.

Check the bell housing. It is probably full as well.

Getting any sand out of the cylinders may require the removal of the head.

Once they are cleaned out, fill with fresh oil and install a new filter. Run for about 5 minutes and remove the pan and valve cover again. Let the engine drip\drain and wash the covers and the pan again. Replace the filter.

I can almost gaurantee that when you start to prime and paint, you will find sand will blow out of cracks and crannies and into the paint.

Good luck.