Projects Shade tree Model A speedster kind of thing

how do you manage to roll that hoist around on that ground?...

 

I think I'd roll the car out of the way, attach the engine to the stand and roll the empty hoist out of the way.
What I'm wondering is what keeps him from working under that pole shed in the background. Nice day to be in the open, but it may not stay that way, haha.

 

Yep, roll the car. Pole barn is full of boats and lumber and machinery. Tarps for when it's not nice. Also, leave the engine upside down on the stand with the oil pan on. Works pretty good.

 

That was my first thought when I saw the picture as well. I have tried it and it is a pain in the ass.

 

Is that the flywheel sitting on the ground in front of the front axle??? :Looks like one of those early ones with the multi disc clutch.

 

That is the flywheel. I never saw anything like it. Any information would be appreciated.

 

I believe that was early 28 only before Henry moved to the conventional friction type clutch. That's the multi disc clutch in the bell housing in the second picture. It's what some restores call an AR. They are pretty hard to come by so take care of it. If I remember that bell housing is different than the conventional one as well.

 

When I got this chassis I ran the numbers and it came up early 28, so that makes sense. Clutch is working fine, so I'll leave it be. Haven't found much in the way of parts for it in a quick internet search, which may be a concern at some point. Thank you for the information. It was kind of a surprise to see that for the first time.

 

You don't see them very often so take care of it.
A restorer will pay serious money for it.

 

I would unload that clutch and the related parts, in a heartbeat. You don't need it, and the money that you get from the sale could fund the rest of the build.

 

Removed those ridges after work today. Rent-a-tool lathe reamer from the Zone. Works just fine. Got all four done before dark.

 

Making progress. Camshaft seems like it's in good shape. Got the pistons out and been honing away this morning.

 

Checkout those sweet piston skirt expanders!

 

Well, I decided to keep my multi-disc clutch set-up. At the suggestion of some on here, I put it on the auction site at a reserve that I thought represented what it would cost me in parts and time to convert it to the newer style, and the bidding didn't come close. Turns out the bellhousing, clutch, flywheel, transmission, and pedals are all unique. I also think its kind of cool, and I like the idea of keeping it all together, since the numbers match on the frame and engine. I took the flywheel to my machinist and had 16 lbs taken off of the outer rim, which should ease the load on the rear main considerably, and help out with the throttle response and whatnot. I know the flywheel is kind of rare, but I found a couple on the net, so they aren't hen's teeth or anything. The clutches and transmissions seem much harder to come by. Anyway, it's my flywheel, so...
Here it is:




If you compare this picture to the one in post 366, you can see where we took the material off. Keep in mind that the snout in the middle takes all of the clutch stress, and we didn't touch that.
In other news, I'm hoping to get the rings gapped this weekend, and to have it back together next weekend, but that's dependent on weather and family and all.

Edit:
I decided to re-post the "before" picture with the "after" one. Scrolling up and down seemed aggravating.

 

Is it time to turn the ring gear around? The teeth look a little chewed up in the last picture, but it may be just a reflection.

 

It is a little worn. Looks a little worse in that picture than it does in real life. We thought about turning it, but I can't find any information on whether or not it's the same as the later one, and I didn't want to risk breaking it in case it's different. It's been starting fine, no noise or jamming up. Pulling the engine on this thing is pretty easy, so I can always do it later, if needed.

 

no float?

 

Well, I think I found out how all of that oil was getting into my combustion chambers.


That's one of the rings that was in the engine. My new ones are 30 over, and are just too big to fit, so I should be able to gap them a little closer than this. Damn.

 

What size are the pistons are they just as loose as those standard rings? I’m just asking because I saw in a previous picture someone had added pistons skirt expanders to try to take up the slop. Did you hone the cylinders with a rigid hone to check for taper? Sorry for all the questions maybe you already thought of all this but pistons may have to be oversized to get it correct.

 

REALLY cool build! I like that you're keeping it period instead of adding all the "modern" stuff. This thing isn't going to look like a recent build when you're done, it's already looking like it's had a long and glorious history on the tracks!

 

Thank you, 1953.
12: Standard bore, less than .001 taper and out of round, honed with the three stone doohickey in a drill. The expanders sure look stock to me, but I have no experience with Model A pistons. No scuffing to speak of on the skirts or cylinders. The pistons are not a sloppy fit at all, those rings were just ground that loose. I just finished gapping my .030 over rings, but now I have discovered that the oil ring is too big to fit the groove, which is irritating. Those little bumps on the inside edge are the problem. The compression rings fit perfectly. Pretty sure the pistons are stock. I'm investigating.

 

That’s odd. I have actually taken a early AR motor apart as well. And I will have to check at home I believe the pistons I took out of it were .005 oversized. I also don’t remember seeing piston expandeders in them. What is your piston to wall clearance measurements? I will check mine tonight and if Yours are out on piston to wall clearance the ones I have my help you.

 

Bores are 3.880 - 3.882. Pistons are 3.878 at the skirt, so that's .002 to .004, right? Probably a little loose but, like I said, they don't appear to have been slapping too bad. That's measured perpendicular to the wrist pins, with the expanders in. I took some more detailed pictures of those expanders. Stock or not, they sure fit well. I also researched up on the Fordbarn that 1928 pistons are different. The oil ring grooves are 1/8". 1929 on they are 5/32". I'm trying to find out if there are any rings made for them. I really don't want to replace my pistons.

 

Dang it. Subtract .002 from all of those. Forgot to zero the calipers. Doesn't change the clearance measurements, though. I know calipers aren't ideal for this kind of measurement, but they are what I have.

 

I just had an interesting conversation with a real nice man that I messaged on Fordbarn. He had posted about a similar ring situation last year. The 1/8" thick oil rings are unobtainable. He called tech support at Hastings, and they advised just using another compression ring in place of the oil ring. He said it sounded odd, but he did it, and so far all has been well. It sounds odd to me, too. Maybe those rod dippers splash enough oil around? The old oil rings were 3 different designs, so I think reusing them is out. Decisions, decisions.

 

Perfect circle made a tool they called a Manulathe for cutting worn piston ring grooves to wider sizes. Then a thin spacer ring was installed with the new ring of original dimensions. We had one in the auto shop in high school in the early 70's and the A & P shop had one too, so the repair was approved as air worthy. Make the groove wider, then you can use that real oil control ring.

Find an old automotive machine shop and they will likely have one in the tool room that hasn't been used in 40 years. Not a difficult job in a real lathe either, but simple to do by hand.

 

That's a possibility, I have a lathe, but I'd have to open them 1/32", and there's not a lot of room between the grooves. That picture in post 381 shows it pretty well.

 

Hard to believe Hastings said to use a compression ring instead of 2 scrapers and a drainage spacer. The oil is supposed to be forced into those holes in the oil ring groove and back to the pan. Compression rings have no provision for that.

 

.031 is not a lot of material and there is very little load on an oil ring land. Top ring that is pounded against a carbon ridge at the end of every upstroke might be a little different, but I wouldn't worry about that either.

 

I agree about the compression ring in the oil slot, but he said he questioned them pretty hard about it, and they were adamant.