Ok guys....I buttoned up the bottom end the other week, but I gotta tell ya, even though my clearances checked out ok, this mutha is a real bastard to turn over. One you get it turning its ok, but the breakaway torque required is REAL high.... I cleaned up the heads after polishing, and detailed em b/w the fins with red paint....came out real sano. Now Im checking valve to head clearance....Im running Offy 400 8BA heads and they seem to have plug depths all over the place....pretty shit QC if you ask me. I hope its just the plug depths and not chambers that are unequal. At this stage, testing with the .375" L100 cam without a head gasket, the valves seem to clear the head ok...ill measure with a dial indicator, but right now I think clearance will be around.040" the gasket should crush down to about .050 giving me .090" which is enuff. That is, assuming the chambers have ALL been machined to the same spex.... out comes the modelling clay me thinks. The PM7 and dual 97's are ready to go on one I've broken the engine in with a single 2 BBL....no sense in tempting fate. I also have to check out the Mallory DP dissy - I hear the quality on these are shit too...they provide too much total timing and the condensers are shit....if it does'nt check out I'll convert it over with the guts of a Mopar electronic dissy in the Mallory housing/shaft. I painted the 5 spd trans and bellhousing so that all is getting near to being installed in the frame soon. Should free up some room in the shed !! Enjoy the pix.... Rat
Nice! Are the Thickstun intake and air cleaner new repros? If so, how is the quality? I've heard from one friends that the repopped air cleaner is rather rough and sloppy and needed a lot of cleanup to fix.
[ QUOTE ] but I gotta tell ya, even though my clearances checked out ok, this mutha is a real bastard to turn over. One you get it turning its ok, but the breakaway torque required is REAL high.... [/ QUOTE ] I wouldn't worry thats normal it will soon free up once its running....
[ QUOTE ] Im running Offy 400 8BA heads and they seem to have plug depths all over the place....pretty shit QC if you ask me. I hope its just the plug depths and not chambers that are unequal. [/ QUOTE ] Check every cylinder. I've heard poor reports from several folks on Fordbarn that Offy heads are all over the place. It's not just the plug depths, it's the chambers themselves. Might be worth cc-ing the heads...you should be OK w/L100, but I'd check for peace of mind. I wouldn't worry too much about breakaway torque - if it's smooth & your clearances are on, it'll loosen up a bit after it fires. PS - Nice looking lump!
Thanx for the comments.... Haring...the air cleaner is a repop...not too bad and it cleaned up real well....looks like an old, original piece anyways. The PM 7 is a repro too...try finding an original in Oz I got it from fellow Hamber, Vaphead...the quality is SHIT HOT and polished up real good!! Very good casting with very little flash. Ernie, the turnover torque is very high and I realise that they can be pretty tight till u fire 'em. What do you guys use to turn the crank over....the factory pulley bolt?? Ive already buggered one bolt....need to get a Grade 8, Hi tensile bolt but I'm kinda worried that I'm gonna strip the threads in the crank snout, coz im swinging off this thing with a BIG wrench and a length of pipe to extend the length of the handle. Any advice? Rat
Looks great! As for the torque, sounds too tight. A pal just did his flatty and found that his bearings were mismatched out of the box. They were 20 under bearins with one 30 under mixed in. They machined it to 20 under!Kinda made it hard to turn.
T man....I checked all the bearigs and made sure they were correct and right on. Clearances were within spec too...I never trust what a machinist tells me.....learned that ages ago. Maybe Im just used to overheads...LOL Rat
hey mate, looks super sano! no to steal your thread (like my Av8 could do that anyway) but Flat and I had some major wins last night: brakes are PERFECT, got the thing cranking over at startup twice the speed it used to (new grounding strap), the thing goes like a bat out of hell (carb and throttle cable adjustment). Happy days man I can tell you! --> me --> FlatOz Danny
Forgot to mention guys.... The vlaves hit the heads....the right head (viewed from front of engine) lifts a fair bit at the back; a little at the front.' The LHS head lifts a tiny bit at the front of the head; the rear not at all. These fucking chambers are all over the place....think im gonna get some Dykem blue and paint the chamber and valve pockets to see where this sucker is hittin'. I bet that some valves don't even touch the head at all. Offy QC - what QC ??? Just be careful assembling your flatheads if using Offy heads guys. The machining on 'em is all over the shop.....ask Ron Holleran. Will post progress on the engine with pix. I think im gonna relieve the area around the top halves of the valves to aid flow there too. Rat
[ QUOTE ] I think im gonna relieve the area around the top halves of the valves to aid flow there too. [/ QUOTE ] Seems to be the hot ticket these days. Joe Abbin is touting this as the place for intake flow. I never had to use a pipe to gain leverage - something must be out of whack. Only other thing I can think to ask is about your rear seal - if you left too much rope sticking out of the ends, it might have 'mushed' inwards & tightened up on the crank. I'm assuming you soaked it overnight in oile beforehand anyway - can't install those things dry. Did you check piston ring end-gap clearances as well? Maybe a few tight cyls? I'm grasping at straws now...I would have guessed bearing clearances first... I believe Tony Baron is the one re-popping the PM7, so the quality is very good - glad to hear of another happy customer. I've got an old original PM7 waiting for my '40!
Rat ,I have a buddie with a late flathead, his rear main bearing tabs did not line up with tab hole in block. Drove him nuts.You did soak your rear seal in oil?
Flatdog...yes I did, don't think its the seal. Infact, since my last post, the enginen has been turning over much more easily. Maybe it was just initially tight and I overreacted....DOH ?? Rat
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