'53 8ba flathead rod bearings- where do I get them?

[Chris Wiehle]

I need rod bearings for my rebuild. There are some 49-51 on ebay for $40 a set. Will these work? Some places want30-40$ a pair which is insane. VSI has them for $40 a set but not in standard size, they only have them in 10, 20, 30 under. Flatlander racing has them supposedly for $110-$120 a set I think- which is the cheapest I've found so far. Does anyone have a connection for me?
Thanks in advance
Chris

[Flat Ernie]

'49-'53 should all be the same...

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif

[alchemy]

If you need standard size, watch Ebay. Nobody wants standard size so they usually go cheaper.

Or try Red's Headers, he's supposedly got everything, and at reasonable prices.


- alchemy

[Chris Wiehle]

49-53 "should" be all the same or THEY ARE all the same? Would hate to buy some and they be wrong. Tried Red's, they got'em for $99.

[Flat Ernie]

Should. You never know what someone else has done in the past - bear in mind it's a 50+ yr old engine - someone could have swapped to early rods & stroked the crank! Then you'll find out what expensive rod bearings are!! http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/blush.gif http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Is it currently apart? If so, do the bearings look like modern bearings with a tang on one end & only fit in one rod or are they flat & wide to fit both rods (floating bearings)? If the former, they are the same. If the latter, start looking for expensive bearings... http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif My guess is the former...

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif

[Chris Wiehle]

So, what your saying is - if the motor is original they should work OK?

[Digger_Dave]

[ QUOTE ]
49-53 "should" be all the same or THEY ARE all the same? Would hate to buy some and they be wrong. Tried Red's, they got'em for $99.

[/ QUOTE ]

DON'T BUY ANY bearings until your crankshaft has been checked for wear and a proper UNDERSIZE bearing determined.

'49 - '54 ('54 in Austrailia and Canada) Ford AND Merc use the same bearings for the rods. This will only vary on the UNDERSIZE of the bearing. .010, .020, .030. "Standard" bearings aren't used on rebuilds; usually because the journals need to be "cleaned up."

BUT if someone has made some serious modifications. (offset rod journal grinding for longer stroke for example) Then you start to "mix and match" rods and bearings.

Other sources; Speedway, and if you do a search for "flathead engines", you can find at least 20 more suppliers.

[Digger_Dave]

[ QUOTE ]
So, what your saying is - if the motor is original they should work OK?

[/ QUOTE ]

"ORIGINAL?? That's a statement I would not bet the "farm" on.

Even if it's "original", how many miles on it?

[Flat Ernie]

[ QUOTE ]
So, what your saying is - if the motor is original they should work OK?

[/ QUOTE ]

Yep, but I gotta agree with Dave (again - or still?) if you're ready to buy bearings, your crank has already been to the machine shop...

If that's not a true statement, you're not ready to buy bearings yet! Have the crank checked, turned/polished, & then buy your bearings.

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif

[Chris Wiehle]

The motor is at the engine shop right now having the valves ground. I'm just trying to get my ducks in a row for when I get it back. We're gonna reuse the mains since they looked so good.

[Digger_Dave]

[ QUOTE ]
The motor is at the engine shop right now having the valves ground. I'm just trying to get my ducks in a row for when I get it back. We're gonna reuse the mains since they looked so good.

[/ QUOTE ]

I'm sorry, I don't mean to sound like an ass, but the term "looked so good." doesn't mean much if the main journals have not been MEASURED VERY CAREFULY! The main bearing allowance on flatheads is about ONE AND ONE HALF THOUSANDS!

If you can detect that kind of clearance by eye, you have a hell of a lot better sight than me!

If there is ANY kind of wear on the rod journals, you can "bet" the mains will have some wear too!

Think of your rebuild this way; You can spend some money doing a "patch up" rebuild now; but you will spend the same money over again to do the job right.

[Bruce Lancaster]

Also, unless you are sure of your own knowledge and expertise, get serious inner engine parts from someone like Red's or Joblot so you can get questions answered and someone who knows what you are talking about when strange problems crop up. These bearings are widely available, but buy some from someone with some serious background--you'll need help somewhere in the process, and it ain't on EBay!

[Chris Wiehle]

Our engine guy is timing the cam doing the valves and re-installing the crank. I trust his judgement- He builds race motors for most of northern illionois and he use to build race flatheads. I'm sure he will replce the bearings if they don't guage out.

[Digger_Dave]

[ QUOTE ]
Our engine guy is timing the cam doing the valves and re-installing the crank. I trust his judgement- He builds race motors for most of northern illionois and he use to build race flatheads. I'm sure he will replce the bearings if they don't guage out.

[/ QUOTE ]

Chris, first of all, I appolgise for "jumping on you."
You should have mentioned the fellow who is doing the work on your engine at the very begining. Although I find it strange that he wouldn't have given you a little more information about the parts you were looking for.

If he is as good as you say, then your in good hands.

[Chris Wiehle]

No problemo man. Your criticizims sound like they came from my grandma compared to some of the posts I read on here. I havn't actually heard anything from our engine guy yet. I got scared when Mac's told me they were like $30-40 a pair so I started researching.