I purchased an 82 GSL in Oklahoma City this last Monday. towed it home and started going through it. It had been setting in the back yard for 15 years. Yes there is some body cancer, and the interior is trash, but I was hoping that the power train was intact. Well I pulled the plugs to shoot MMO into it and found one of them was rusty! When I was finally able to get the motor to turn the MMO running out of the rear chamber was rusty!! Yesterday I pulled the radiator to flush it out and check for leaks. I decided to flush out the block as well so I hooked the hose up to the upper radiator hose and water started flowing out of the lower one. It also started running out of the bottom of the engine in the rear!!!
Do these motors have freeze plugs, or is my problem much worse than that? Is it worth taking apart and looking at what is there? Does anyone think that there is a remotor chance that it can be rebuilt?
Thanks for your input,
Darrell Button

 

Any motor sitting for 15 years....any motor will be in bad shape. You will need to crack this one open to see the real damage.

 

Yes, there are freeze plugs in these engines just like any other. They do not always protect the engine from cracking internally, though, and it sounds like that may be what happened. Sounds like you should definitely just get another engine to run or rebuild from, as there is probably not going to be much out of this one that is reuseable.

 

why dont you look for a used engine instead of rebuidling

 

I have come to the conclusion that this is what I need to do. Does anyone know which if any of the 13b NA motors will be a direct swap out with my 12a. Or, do I need to look for a 12a only. My biggest problem is finding one that I can afford, and that is a reasonable drive to pick up. I really don't want to drive to one of the coasts to pick up a motor.
Thanks,
Darrell Button

 

The 13B will drop right in, but you will need to use your 12A Front cover and Oil Pan I believe.

 

13b will require different extractors too

 

you also would need a diffrent intake and exhaust manifold. he Really needs to stay with a 12a. look on car-part.com to find someone cheap/close to you. they really have helped me find them.