Whats the best "trick" or tech tip a mentor showed you?

The left hand thread is started at the headstock end and fed toward tailstock. Bore the stock to minor diameter, Cut a relief groove at the bottom of the bore. The bore dia. should be a tad larger than the dia of major dia. of thread. example( 3/4" -5 acme) 3/4" would be the major. Relief groove should be wide enough to accommodate threading tool. Tip width of Acme threading tool is different for each Acme pitch. 29 deg. included with flat at tip.( Look up in machinery handbook) Set compound to 14.5 Deg.
Run tool by hand to bottom of bore and set stop. This is so you can return to relief groove blind. Then it just like right hand threading but backwards. If you are cutting a big acme thread you want to rough out with different tool. Take your time and go slow. You will take very small depth of cuts and scratch the metal out. It will take many passes to cut the tread. Good luck.

 

They cut faster when you grab screwstock out of the rack that was mismarked.

 

It's not a single tech tip. It's the slow and continues motion to keep learning more, thanks John for everything!

But a proper and simple step by step troubleshooting procedure, that I used in a long time!

 

My dad used to say "When all else fails, try following the instructions". He also said "son, if you are not in bed by midnight... go home"

 

RTFM (read the friggin manual)

 

Hello,
Besides being shown the right hand thumb in or thumb out rule, my late brother told me that when up side down, under the car it comes in handy. If it is late at night trying to take off a nut or two, use the right hand thumb pointed in and follow the fingers to tighten. Use the reverse for taking out a nut somewhere in the dark reaches of the car. It will save you time and effort for taking the rachet or wrench left or right.

Yes, taking out the myriad of nuts off of the rear axle and gear housing third member, should be simple and easy. But, even after doing it a million times, being on your back on cold concrete at 10pm at night plays tricks on your memory. (even as a sharp witted, teenager.)


Since I was the “wrench” on most of the motor stuff, I used to be impatient to get it done. 8 spark plugs, gapping each and reinstalling at record speed usually cost me a trip to the auto parts store for some replacement ones. Luckily, it was a bicycle ride of several blocks and back from our neighborhood supplier. They knew me because of going there all of the time, so they started to discount the parts we bought. (in our Willys build, they were finalizing a sponsorship program of free parts for our build…we had to put their logo on the door, but the clutch ended that project.)


Then, remembering to tighten the nuts on the valve adjustment at the correct level made me slow down and get it right, for smooth adjustment and quiet running. Even when I had to change out the Bruce Slicks on either the Willys or the Impala made me do it in record time. Thank goodness for those spinning cross lug wrenches. Changing the complete third member from 4:11 to 4:56? That was never ending, but justified for better performance.


Finally, I realized I was breaking a lot of stuff just doing the “gorilla” wrenching and my brother told me that it is ok to be a gorilla, but when you get close to the correct tightness, slow down to cinch it down. (Great info…no more broken plugs, broken studs, or axle lugs) My brother always had me doing the speed ratcheting in the assembly, but took over to do the final torque down of the motor, car, and parts, until I quit being a teenage gorilla.


Jnaki


Thank you, brother, for teaching me to slow down and use finesse instead of “gorilla” tactics. To this day, I use that information on just about everything. Finesse, that just sounds right…

 

Use a combination wrench to add leverage to another wrench to loose are tighten a sturbon bolt are nut.

 

Put valve grinding compound on the tip of a phillips screwdriver to help remove a damaged screw.

 

Turn your hand around... it feels like someone else is doing it.

 

Comet or Ajax cleanser and spit was the flight line method.

 

Use a piece of rubber fuel line or vacuum line on the end of a spark plug to start them, sometimes turn back first then forward.

 

Like they say, "a pictures's worth a thousand words"

 

Hollie Swindle (the original Backup-Pickup wheelstander) told me how to get sockets off of your ratchet when you have greasy hands. Smack the ratchet on the edge of something, the ratchet stops and the socket keeps going right into your catching hand. This was before "button" releases on newer ratchet handles.
My contribution is something I use all the time. Saves injuries. Ask yourself "What If" before you do something. Such as: What if... this wrench slips, what will happen to my fingers? What if...this Exacto knife slips? What if...this jack stand slips? Good habit to acquire....

 

When I build motors with hydraulic lifters and adjustable valve train. I take a small paper clip and straighten it then bend a small 3/16" 90 degree angle on the end. I then adjust the lifter until I can just slide the clip between the lifter plunger and plunger retainer with the adjusting nut tight.
Gives me about .010 clearance and all lifters have the exact same preload. Never touch them again after the motors together and running.

BTW I rotate the cam so that each lifter is on dead bottom of the cam lobe before I adjust it.

 

Gonna have to come back to this. A lot of good posts.

 

To turn the grinding disc over with smooth side to the metal on big Sioux grinder, so it will shrink the metal ! Shown to me by a old metal man before the shrinking disc came out.pretty cool trick that still works !

 

A few guys here had mentioned making guide pins for locating transmissions, but I was always taught to just pick up some studs from the hardware store. It can be tough to hold a tranny in place while you try to locate bolts, but if you just use a couple studs to begin with it's much easier to just put a washer and nut on them.

 

I read this whole thread. Thanks to all who contributed.
My little bit of info:
Rad leaking and no egg white in sight or chicken to entice to lay an egg?
Find some black pepper. Regular ol' pepper from the shaker.
I drove 7 hours to home with a heaping spoonful of pepper in the rad.
Never leaked. Never plugged the heater either.
I kept saying that I need to fix it properly. Forgot about it.
1 year later I stopped driving the car, after numerous 14 hour trips.
1 year after that I junked the car. Rad was still full with the same coolant.
Funny thing is some old folks say it's good for your circulation.

 

After washing your car take the nozzle off the hose and FLOOD the car for the final rinse, don't put your thumb on the end either, makes it much easier to dry as the water just sheets off. Thanks to my Grandpa for that one.

 

Quit tryin to correct every stupid remark 'experts' make at car shows.

 

Do the hard to reach bolts first

 

Not trying to be smart here and some of you probably already know this, but I never heard of this in all my years(78). The inner grease seals on my banjo rr axels have worn a groove and have a tiny amount of pitting in the groove. I was wondering how to fix this...no shaft savers that size. I read in a seal manufacturers installation instructions that if the seal seat is deep enough to accommodate a shim behind the seal it will run in a different track. I made some 1/8" circular shims to go behind the seals...presto....works fine. -Phil

 

Parts man at NAPA who has been selling parts longer than I've been alive showed me how to restore some stripped out threads on a brake fitting. It was a banjo fitting on my '51 Hudson that is smaller than the other makes used and I couldn't find one anywhere. I thought I was out of luck and was trying to come up with some fittings at NAPA and he asked what I was trying to do. I told him and he proceeded to tell me how to simply use a nut from some steel line and use a small triangle file to cut a line perpendicular to the threads and it would function as a tap. Worked like a charm.

 

Back in '68 I broke a rear spring shackle on my '29 A coupe. Spent forever getting the old parts out, then tried putting in the new shackle and couldn't get the spring to spread far enough to get it in. My retired neighbor, a former truck mechanic, came over after seeing me spend more than an hour failing to do the job. He said to put a piece of 2x4 between the top of the axle housing and the spring end. I did. He then told me to get ready with the greased new shackle to push it in place. He got up on the left rear bumper, said "On three: one, two, three" as he jumped up and then down with all his weight on the bumper. The spring slid along the 2x4 just enough that I caught both eyes and slammed home the shackle. Took 30 seconds and I'd wasted more than an hour trying up until that time. He was a great guy.

 

Told them to buy a shop manual for their cars.

 

Great stuff

 

That's simple allways make a list of things to do, things to buy and things to make.

 

Something I was never taught in school. To find half of a common fraction just double the denominator. Half of 3/8 = 3/16. Half of 7/8 = 7/16, Half of 13/16 = 13/32 and so on.

 

Great thread and worth bringing back up for those who haven't seen it.

 

When the shop sink, tub or shower drains slow, a shop vac will usually suck it clean in about 10 seconds. Have needle nose pliers handy. Take the filter off first. Delete if not auto related enough.