Up the creek without a crank

[RRoller123]

Excellent, thanks for the insight. Those of us with more eagerness than knowledge really rely upon you few here who have so much knowledge in these matters, and it is appreciated. My guidance on this came from a fellow who restores Shelby Cobra Mustangs, so the comments about the big V-8 cranks make sense. I had the sense that he may have been overly cautious. I will leave the crank inside my second block until the last possible moment in the new build. Secure ancillary parts, etc.; first before tearing it down to that final stage. Then I suppose laying it out flat on a thickly folded up moving pad will keep it safe.

Pete

[djape1977]

i was just fortunate to dig up severan NOS fiat twincam cranks, still in original wooden crates.
7 for fiat 124/131/132/argenta 2 liter and one for 132/argenta 2500 diesel.

from my experience, you could maybe bend the crank if you dropped it onto hard surface from considerable height, like from 6ft
however, if it struck nose first, it would be damaged even if it fell from 1 foot. not unrepairable, but still best to avoid.
if it somehow managed to strike with one of bearing surfaces, they would also be damaged easyly and next to impossible to repair.

[124JOE]

i was told a long time ago to protect your cast metal from rust i should slosh it.

HOW TO MAKE SLOSH,get a gallon of diesel and add a cup of axle grease,mix well and cover all metal.this is good for long term storage.

to wash off use straight diesel

[Ragno124]

Crank shafts are heat treated for strength but this also makes them very brittle. If they are dropped or put under any uneven pressure, they will snap into pieces.

[djape1977]

nope, they're not brittle at all, at least not fiat ones.
in fact, wether heat treated or nitrited, there's only a hard surface layer of certain depth, less then one milimeter thick, under which there is a mild steel core. this gives them high level of flexibility.
in heat treated cranks, up to mid 70's, hard layer is about one milimeter deep but not completely uniform in thickness.
in nitrite treated cranks, this surface layer is about 0.15mm

[SP3]

Crank shafts are heat treated for strength but this also makes them very brittle. If they are dropped or put under any uneven pressure, they will snap into pieces.

No. You're thinking of something that is through-hardended which crankshafts are most definitely not.

Here's a nifty video of the entire process of making/crating/storing a crank.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8pGBHZuq9FY