Wow, you kicked it up a notch. I'll drag race you when you are on the road...in a banger of course. Subscribed
Finally got a little time to start assembling the motor. I sat and scratched my head for some time how to drive the valve guides in and how far to drive em in. Steve over at Berts was awesome and had the number needed in a couple minutes. He also recommended using an air hammer to drive em in. now the new dilemma; how to drive em in without marring the valve guides or having the air hammer slip off. Time for a little garage engineering. Ended up grinding the air hammer bit down to fit through a socket that would keep the bit centered over the bolt that went in to the valve guide. A brass washer on the bolt kept from damaging the valve guide. I used some tape to mark the depth but that ended up being a PITA to remove. I was surprised how well this worked. Took more time to set everything up then it took to drive in all the guides.
The decisions you're making and the direction you're going is brilliant... keep it up & you'll have a truly righteous traditional Hot Rod.
Thanks amigo! Right off the bat, a 5:1 high compression head, lightened flywheel, Stipe cam, and 12v ignition are going in. Next will be a single downdraft intake with Strom 97 carb, speed head, and headers. Totally undecided on header/exhaust situation as of now. I've seen so many things that look and sound great but am unsure which direction to go. Planning to drive the hell out of the car, so loud and obnoxious will get old fast, however I still want some go/show aspect that's somewhat period correct. From there, who knows..... I'm certainly no traditional Model A hotrod expert but I learn something new every day and this thing keeps putting a smile on my face and a dent in my wallet.
That's awesome man! Down the road if you want to experiment with OHV. We've got a Crager crossflow thats for sale. Currently sitting on a janky Model B block.
That’s really interesting. Gonna go flatty for now but an OHV conversion in the future might be in the cards. The funds focus is really aimed on finding a body.
There’s a bunch of sand in the water jacket inside the motor casting. What’s the best way to get it out? Tried compressed air but it doesn’t seem to be getting it all. Thanks
Thats always an issue when rebuilding old flat v8 blocks too. I use a long skinny screwdriver that will go all the way down to the bottom, scrape, twist, curse, scrape some more. And while its all happening I have my shopvac squeezed down with duct tape and a piece of copper tube that fits in the jackets. Clean the vac out first so you can see what you get. Combo of vac, scrape, and air blast is about all you can do. I have a photo of the pile removed from the last v8 block but i am on a different computeriser now. if interested i can fire up the old beast and post it
Been hosing it out, scraping, hitting it with compressed air and running a heat gun to get it all dry. Each time I get a little more out. I guess the question now is how much crud is acceptable? There’s no way I can reach all the nooks and crannies to get everything!
I would say if you have done all you can do, you are done. I dont know any thing about that block, but often the water jackets are lower than the route out for crud to get trapped . on the old v8's, we are talking about 60-70 years of crap that was probably never cleaned effectively on the last rebuilds. thats not the case here. I would assume the factory cleaned it, and you cleaned it again, put it together! And, an overhead head sure would look right on that fancy block !
And it shall be done. Oh boy, what a headache sorting out the bearings. Let's just say they all required individual massaging to get the crank to spin somewhat freely when torqued. Not 100% happy about it but it'll do.......hopefully. Not much of an engine guy, done a few but this was certainly the most challenging. 10 hours of muckery took place with a few choice words and trips to NAPA.
Thats too bad that things did not fit as they should. I am sure the block n crank was not cheap. The scrape on the one shell looks like a bad grind on the crank? I wont brag that I am an engine builder expert, but if a new bearing scrapes like that something had an incorrect finish, the crank, or the shell. the scrape is mostly off to one side, poorly machined/ crooked bearing seat in the block? Time savor is a product made for fitting babit bearings. Invented for final fit of prop shafts going thru the hull for navy ships. I never hear of anyone here mention it, but good stuff. Its an abrasive like valve grinding compound, but breaks down to nothing so it needs not to completely washed out. You mix a little bit with oil, spin the crank, and look again to see where it is removing material. Never heard of it being used with "modern" bearing shells, but if it were in my shop, thats what I would have done...because its on the shelf. Too late now, have you plastigauged the clearance? the link, good stuff for fitting lots of stuff https://ws2coating.com/timesaver-lapping-compounds/
We got it figured out. The bearing anti-rotation notches in 3 of the bearing caps were undersized. A dremel and needle file solved the problem with a set of new bearings. My inexperience led me down the path of filing the bearings, which I've come to learn is a big no no. Customer service from Terry Bertz (engine manufacturer) is awesome. Crank is now rotating freely and I learned a bunch. Win win!
Great project. In the same boat, have a running chassis with no body yet! Hope to find one soon, or settle on a Brookville if all else fails.
Finally got my Stipe IB 330 cam delivered, that thing is gorgeous! Really wanted the 340 but beggars can't be choosers and I didn't want to wait. Valves are in, lapped and adjusted. Had to backyard engineer and fab a spring compression tool to get the modern valves in with the tapered clamshell keepers. Still waiting on a finned aluminum Thomas head and side cover from Snyders. Last I heard, they just got a supply of fresh heads in. Hoping to have all this buttoned up and running by the end of the month. The heat gun was to dry the water jacket after flushing with water. The thing just happened to fit snugly in the port opening.
That 330 will be just fine.Not sure if you would even be able to tell it from a 340.I have a 330 in mine and it rips pretty good but it has plenty of other mods as well.
Exciting thread... (Had a similar 'mis-fit' with crank/con rod brgs. on an assembly, hung the crank from an old flywheel in the big bench vise, fitted each one individually, like a 356 Porsche operation) Turned out the machinist let the young apprentice 'learn' with my con rods at his Sunnen rod machine... For a minute, I thought my inside mics were lying!
I must be cursed. Right after posting this, Snyders called and said it'll be an addition 2-3 months for the head. Dang! Question..... Looks more and more like I'll be doing a 30-31 Brookville Roadster body. What's your opinion on gas tank type and location?
Cool build so far - thanks for bringing us all along! And now I've got a new place to check out the next time I visit CO...
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