i had a rear main leaky seal on my 289 so i yanked it and while i had it out i checked the bearings and they showed some wear. looking online it seems as though the wear was caused by higher than safe rpm's at start up. that makes sense because the carb that came on the car was too big for the motor, and when the engine was cold you'd have to rev it up for a minute or two to get it to idle. no problem, i got a holley from my buddy and it ran great after the switch. back to the bearings, i dont have a micrometer, and not sure i'd trust myself with one anyways, can i just take the bearings in to my local parts store(the guys at tuxedo are great) or a machine shop and they can tell me what size i need? i'd rather not have to bring the engine in and completely remove the crank. btw the crank looks good, the bearings are not scored its just that since the motor is on a stand in the garage anyways i want to redo the bearings.
? If I was trying to do this on the cheap without removing the crank, I would just take a chance and roll in a new set of bearings the same oversize (or std) as is stamped in the shell. Might not be perfect, but it will probably be a lot closer to "right" than what you have now.
The Jalopy Journal
