*** June 2013 BANGER MEET ***

What kind of advance does your distributor use? An automatic advance may be advancing too far. The advance is just as important as the the timing. Maybe you could install an old distributor with a manual advance and make some test runs.

 

How did you determine 10 before? do you have timing marks? If not, do you have any idea how much total advance the distributor has? Why don't you retard it to 5 degrees and try it?
You haven't said what the old distributor is but most of the old Mallory's proly had 18-20 degrees advance stock. A stock model B has 15 crankshaft degrees. You can or could buy a kit from Mel at FS for the B that give 29 degrees with a lot lighter springs so it gets to 29 pretty fast.

It is pretty rare to have a piston hit the head. Most usually pop up .015 to .30+. Just recently read stock was .032 pop up. Last build , dead nuts on compression height. popped up .032. I had the block decked once. First build, after block decked, was .025, off the shelf pistons. I use Best head gaskets

 

Thanks to all you for your help,
The dist. is a 23 series mallory singly point.
It can be adjusted and I'm google how to do that. What would be good starting to set the advance at?
Thanks Mike

 

I am looking for weld on counterweights for my A banger. Any good source for weights? I am getting ready to build an insert motor for my car.

Thank You in advance

 

H&H in La Cresenta, CA

 

Bert's in Denver:

http://www.modelastore.com/


http://www.dan4banger.com/products.html



http://www.modelaengineparts.com/index.php/model-a-store-buy-model-a-b-parts.html?page=shop.browse&category_id=7

 

That sounds pretty close with a 6:1 head. What's your initial timing set at?

 

With 10* initial timing, I'd try somewhere between 15-18* advance and see how she runs. Or you could back the initial timing off to 5* and set the advance to 20* or so.

 

I'm back and my probles seem to just get crazy, it started out having a clattering sound at running it at a load on the engine. This are some of things I have done, my son-law was thinking the noise was coming form the bell housing. As I was leaving is place the starter locked up,we rocked it free, and I was on my way. Got back home and it locked up two more time before I call it a day. I had plan to change it too button start, so this good time to do this change. The starter armature was bent, so I got a used one, and rebuilt it and did the changes for the button start. We drove it with out the starter and it still had the clattering noise from the housing. So we are thinking it maybe the timing or the engine was going south. I did reinstall the starter and drove it around the block and it still had the noise coming from the housing, so pulled the starter and found a old bendix drive washer inside, so was sure that was my noise. It was just one that I was hearing, drove and it was still there. So I was back to thinking it was timing or engine going bad. So I was checking out how to change the advance online and came up with how to do it. I went out do it and had to move the pickup around to make room to do it.
As I go to start it the starter locks up three times before I get in place, the same time I'm doing this ever time I push in the clutch it makes a noise and I let off it stops. I'm thinking the throw-out bearings bad or the clutch. This has a 39 trans
I'm going crazy, Mike

 

I blew a head gasket Pop starting mine. It did sound a bad bearing/engine knock. It blew a finger gap in the gasket between the #3 & #4 piston.

 

What's your distributor max. advance?

 

Check your flywheel it may be loose causing the starter lockup and noise.

 

I think the 23 -25 series used a plastic key to adjust the amount of advance. Seems to me that the holes are covered by the point plate. You had to remove the plate then loosen the 2 "pivot" screws then insert the plastic key until you have the advance marked on the piece of plastic, or key. If it is like the early ones it will have the advance scale marked. also under the point plate. Jeg's and other's sell a Mallory timing kit with an assortment of springs and a chart plus that thing I call a timing key. Most of those distributors were 18 to 22 degrees or something like that And,them again I might be full of S--T

I don't think I would go over 25 degrees total advance to start. What timing cover do you have? The pin on the B cover sets the static at 8.5 degrees camshaft then it advanced another 15 degrees crankshaft supposedly giving a stock B 23 degrees. That info is from Vince Falter's Ford Garage.

 

I thought it was 34* total; 19* initial (crankshaft), 15* centrifugal...stock model A was 0* initial with up to 40* manual advance on the steering mast.

 

I am trying to get this one together for the 4th of July parade, my daughter wants to ride in the rumbleseat.... Will be a full-fendered '30 roadster with a '32 grille shell:





Has 17" wires, '32 front brakes, Model B radiator, and reversed eye springs front & rear. I will go to a '32 axle, perches & spindles if I need to get the front end lower. Has a '39 tranny that I rebuilt, and the engine is an A on babbitt with big intake valves, a Stipe 340 cam and a Brumfield head that has been milled a few times. Gonna use a single B carb, and that is as fast as she is gonna go. Also a B distributor tricked out by FSI with a modern advance curve. Hope to have the body on in the next day or two.

Will Kimble

 

All bearings are babbit. Some bearings are poured and some are inserts, but they all contain babbit.

 

"All bearings are babbit. Some bearings are poured and some are inserts, but they all contain babbit."

All the thought and work in those two pictures, and this is your comment? Do you really think I don't know this? I thought this was a banger thread, did anybody actually misunderstand me?

By the way, I cleaned the old babbitt from the block myself and was there while the mains were poured. I clamped the molds to the block and poured one of the mains myself. So I know firsthand that it was poured.

Forgot to mention it has a counterbalanced crankshaft and a lightened flywheel, and all of the engine work was handled by Ron's Machine Shop in Shandon, Ohio.

 

Very nice!! Please post some pics once the body is on. Someone is REALLY going to enjoy the 4th!!!


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Yeah I guess you thought right. In a senior moment I confused posted information with some hands on practical experience I had where I had 9 R 10 degrees at idle and all we could get was 15 degrees from the B advance for a total of something like 24. I am so sorry if I confused some of you with my careless lack of concern for those seeking pure truth!

I guess I'm agreeIng with Will !

 

"All bearings are babbit. Some bearings are poured and some are inserts, but they all contain babbit."
__________________
Well, I guess I'll get a little PC here. I have heard of a west Coast builder that uses Bronze, Some use Aluminum, I think a guy in the midwest had a flash of tin on steel shells but now uses babbit. You know, I read the Barn every morning and learn a lot from those guys.

 

No worries Bill...I lack your practical experience, so I'll defer to you - just going by "what the book says" - would like to hear more about your combo...B timing cover or A? I have both and learning from you would go a long way in helping get mine dialed in come running time!

 

Oh gosh, where to start. Although I have a couple of each, the cover on my 2 port is an A so I hafta kinda pick a place to start when I time it from scratch. Oh, by the way, the book is right, theoretically speaking, but the chart showing the curve is not too accurate. As to the total available in the Mallory 23 mine only went close to 20 so Jere Jobe managed to get it up to 22 when he recurved it many years ago. Those old 23's were made from bent hairsprings and beer cans it seemed like. Too much cost cutting engineering.
As to timing I like to time them on the low end when they just get that loose sound or maybe a little past it, you know, things start to rattle and click as it picks up a few RPM's, Is that a lifter? Is that a loose valve? Do I hear a knock. The pipes sound a little clearer! But we only drive a tenth or a quarter of a mile at a time. You really should seek advice from CDO, he drives the street as do many others on this forum.

 

I had a fiddle with the dizzy, took a file to the slots in the weights so it will advave from 0 to 28 deg. so initial setting is tdc.
I think the dizzy was designed to give 15 deg stock, it is from side valve english style ford prefect.
Brendan

 

Bill

I am not a babbit bearing expert. The tinning is used to get the babbit to stick to the cast iron from what I understand.

 

Tinning is a basic soldering operation, if you want most of those lead or tin based alloys to stick to something you tin it first, it is like plating the surface with the same material you are going to use. The guy I was talking about was using the tinning as his bearing material on a steel shell (insert) I am not a babbit expert either but I learned how to solder in Jr high some 65 years ago.

 

Is there anything that can/should be done to help the oiling system on a A engine. Obviously drilling for full pressure is best, but is there anything that can be done without tearing apart a complete engine? Different oil pump? etc? Or should I just tear it apart and go for it?

 

subscribed

 

Not really anything to add, I just found this license plate and thought it applied......


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That is COOL!!!!!


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When were the Thomas head and manifolds originally manufactured? My mostly traditional A currently has the Lion head and a Weber downdraft intake. These are clearly too new for "full HAMB compliance". I just do not recall Thomas speed equipment from back in the sixties. I had some Crager stuff on my A back then. ...but the finned aluminum Thomas head looks good and apparently performs well too. Thanks.