Engine and trans storage prep

[Dino]

It's been about 5 weeks now since the engine and trans were installed in the car, but except for torqueing all the bolts I never really finished the initial step of the process.  The car is in my garage on stands and has a cover on it. The engine does not have the exhaust manifolds installed and the parts of the heads where they bolt to are bare metal. I masked around the manifolds and then removed them when I painted the engine. I should probably put something on the metal to prevent it from rusting but I may just try to get the manifolds cleaned up and painted so I can install them.

What should I do about fluids? The engine only has lube on the cam and I poured some oil over the lifters after soaking them, and I poured oil on the timing chain but that's it. The trans only has about a quart of fluid in the converter, that's about it.

So what's the best way to proceed to make sure the engine and trans stay safe for the next 2 years or so?

[BLK 68 R/T]

If it were me, I would finish installing the manifolds, then plug the outlets with a tennis ball or something else that would plug the hole. As for the internals, if you put break in lube on the cam it should be ok since it is sticky. I would also squirt some marvel mystery oil into the cylinders to keep them from rusting and install the spark plugs. You could also buy some dessicant bags and put them on the motor before you put a cover on it to help with any moisture. Other than priming the oil pump and circulating the oil while slowly spinning the motor over by hand for a while before you are ready to actually start it, I don't know what else you can do.

For the transmission, I would fill the pan up with oil so the valve body is covered and call it good.

[Dino]

Perfect! I'll do what you suggested.   

I have the old plugs in there currently but didn't spray any oil inside the cylinders.

[don duick]

could you make the effort to start it and run in the cam as soon as possible ? when I installed my new comp cam I used the break in lube that they supplied and by the next day it all fell off and dripped into the sump. If you leave it for 2 years you could remove the distributor and prime the oil pump with a drill. try and find a break in lube that is solid enough to remain on those lobes.

[Dino]

No I won't be able to start the engine for a very long time to come. It'll probably be a few weeks before I can even do the little things like BLK 68 R/T suggested.
I left the distributor out though so we can prime the pump before starting it.