I think I killed my 390 with neglect, advice needed

[galaxastang]

Hey guys,
    Haven't been around for a long while dealing with health issues for a few yrs, my F100 is stored in a insulated garage, but is not climate controlled. I recently went to start it and it cranked and quickly locked up. I couldn't even turn it over with breaker bar and pipe, oh shit moment! So I started to remove 5,6,7, and 8 plugs, still wouldn't turn over, 2nd oh shit moment! Moved to removing 1,2,3 and 4 plugs and splash, first turn of the breaker bar I get coolant shooting out of mostly number 4 cyl. with mist out of 1,2,and 3. Couldn't believe what I was finding, but have no one to blame but myself! Radiator empty, but no coolant on the floor, maybe it's in the pan!? Have not drained the pan or even touched the truck since finding this, I'm sick to my stomach and again have no one to blame but numero uno! Can't be freeze plug with coolant in the cylinders, so I'm hoping head gasket and not the block! My next move is to drain the pan, from there I'm most likely going to have to pull it and inspect block and heads. So...after beating myself up for the last few days, I need to try something before I go in for neck surgery on the 27th. Any advice or ideas are greatly appreciated for stroked 390 to 445 SCAT crank and rods, edelbrock heads and intake.
         Thx in advance, Wally 
   
 p.s.  my 67 Galaxy stock 390, fired up and runs fine

[e philpott]

did you have plenty of antifreeze or just water ? Quick thought was head gasket but this all would change if you thought it had became frozen

[Drew Pojedinec]

Most likely just intake manifold gasket failing.
It happens with 4 and 8.
I wouldn’t get too excited until you can dig in more.

[galaxastang]

  Well...I've since calmed down a little and truly hoping it's a intake gasket. I always run 50/50 coolant, so it freezing doesn't make a lot of sense. Especially seeing that there weren't any issues with my Galaxie, parked in front of my truck, fired right up and ran no problems.
   So I'm going to investigate over the weekend, drain the pan, pull the intake and inspect the gaskets. In a perfect world, I replace the gaskets, oil filter and oil then fire it up after I prime the oil pump.
   Probably shouldn't have, but I left all the plugs out sprayed a little 2+2 in the cylinders to help evaporate moisture.
   Questions - Should I squirt a little oil in each cylinder and crank it over before replacing the plugs and trying to start it or yank the heads too and clean up the cylinders? Still not thinking straight
           Best gaskets (fel pro?) for intake and sealer for china wall?

        Thx guys

[Mr Woodys Garage]

My Suggestion Would Be To Drain The Oil, And Replace The Oil And Filter Before You Do ANYTHING Else Involving Turning The Engine Over. You Dont Want The Oil Pump Pumping The Water/Coolant Thats Potentially In The Bottom Of The Pan Through The Engine. If You Have A Bore Scope, Take A Loook Inside The Cylinder That The Coolant Had Hydrolocked. You May Have To Turn It Over A Bit To Get The Debris Out Of It. Spray A Little WD40 In It, And Turn It Over A Few Times. Then Add A Slight Amount Of Oil In The Cylinder, And Spin It Over Again For A Few Times. Then, To Save Un Necessary Tear Down Work, Hook Up A Compression Guage On That Cylinder, And See If It Has Some Compression. You May Also Try  Removing The Radiator Cap, And Introducing Compressed Air Into The Cylinder At Bottom Dead Center,  (With An Air Adapter Like You Would Use To Hold The Valves Shut While Changing Springs),And See If It Holds Or Whether Air Is Escaping Through The Radiator. Best Case, Its An Intake Gasket That Failed, Worst Case, A Split Cylinder, Failed Head Gasket, Or An Issue With The Cylinder Head Being Cracked Or Rotted Out. A Pressure Test Will Answer A Few Questions, And Give You An Idea Of Where To Start Tearing It Apart. Please Be Sure And Drop That Oil Thats Probably Contaminated With Coolant (Check The Dipstick) Before You Turn It Over Any 
 More. Hope Its Something Simple To Correct, And Not Much Damage Has Been Done.

[galaxastang]

  That sounds like a plan, thx Woody!