model a engine

[murrie]

How is the best way to determine if an engine has been rebuilt?

[WHN]

Why?

There must be more going on to ask this question.

History and any known issues could help. Unless, you just want to tear it down?

[murrie]

the engine is in a roadster i want to sell it.the owner passed away before finishing it,but the rolling chassis had all new parts.the engine runs great but i don't want to call it rebuilt until i know.

[Gene F]

In your case take it up to temperature, be ready to pull the plugs (gloves, wrench, a helper is always good). Set the throttle 100% open. Compression check. White the results on the head in silver sharpie. Orally tell a buyer what you just told us, and then let them decide. A compression check goes a long way towards the strength of an engine. Besides, that test drive will sell the car if it is priced right.

[Chuck Sea/Tac]

Was he in a club, that others would know? Are his invoices available? Do the gaskets and bolts look new? Are there signs of gasket sealer? Can you look in the cylinder through the spark plug hole and see a clean piston head? What condition are the plugs? Sooted up , clean and tan, indicated if the engine has been ran. What’s the oil look like? You could pull the valve cover off and see how clean it is in there.

[nkaminar]

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What Model A engine has not been rebuilt?

[oldspert]

Originally Posted by nkaminar

What Model A engine has not been rebuilt?

Exactly, In 1960 I bought a 1929 Model A that the engine had already been bored .080 oversize. Not many stock Model A engines left from nearly 100 years ago that have not had something done to them.

[ModelA29]

Not so much a question of was it rebuilt but when it was rebuilt.

[murrie]

gee, great information.going to try all suggestions.all mechanical is done,just body work remains.i only had to add brake rods and emergency brake bans.report later.many thanks

[Dodge]

Find somebody with a bore scope or buy a cheap one from ebay and pull a spark plug and
have a look and pull the oil fill tube and peek around in there.

[eagle]

Unless you are going to pull the oil pan and do a full bearing review etc, you cannot say for sure what the condition is. Even then, if it hasn't been run much you won't be able to tell if the proper alloy for the bearings was used. So I would tell the buyer that everything you can find leads to the conclusion that the car was restored carefully and properly, if that proves to be the case. If it is something you need to be sure of, I'd bring it to a respected model A restorer and have them give you an opinion. However, if you don't have one reasonably near you it probably isn't worth it. Document what you can, sell without warranty, let the buyer do their own assessment.

[1crosscut]

Without documentation of a rebuild there is really no way to reliably tell what the condition of the engine is.

At this point you can do the minimally invasive checks as suggested or pull the engine and disassemble it in order to document the condition of the engine with pictures and measurements before putting it back together again.

[Bob Bidonde]

Do a compression check. If the cylinder pressures are within 5 PSIG of each other, and the pressures are 60 PSIG or more, the engine was likely rebuilt. Remove the valve chamber cover and observe the valve lifters. If the lifters are adjustable, the engine was rebuilt.

[rotorwrench]

Pull the head and see if it has original type valves and standard size pistons. Pull the valve chamber cover and see if it still has solid tappets and two piece guides. Pull the pan and look at a crank pin or a rod journal and any associated cap shims. I know this is more than a person should do unless there is a good reason for it but characteristics and current dimensions are the only way to find out if things have been machined for oversizes plus types of parts that are installed. Even the type of head gasket will tell a story if you know what to look for.

[nkaminar]

When you buy a car that is new to you and if there is any doubt, pull the engine for a complete inspection.

[WHN]

What is more important to you. A rebuilt engine or a good running engine?

I have sold a good number of cars. Never listed in condition a rebuilt engine. Who knows the quality of the rebuild? Who really would know the mileage on car since the engine had been redone.

What seems more important to the buyers of our cars was, how it ran the day that they inspected it.

I bought a Model A 42 years ago that the paperwork that came with car said engine had been rebuilt in the 60’s by Sears. I really didn’t care about a rebuild, I cared that the car was a great runner. Just sold it, never had a problem with the engine. Who really knows whether it was really rebuilt?

How does it sound? Check compression and inspect the timing gear. Without a lot of work, those three things will tell you much about your engine.

Sounds great, compression is good, new timing gear, what more do you need to know?

Good Luck.

[Epetek1]

if you decide to sell LMK also where are you located?
Pete

[rotorwrench]

I wouldn't overhaul unless it's burning oil or losing compression. A good reason will be in order, otherwise run it for a while and see how it does.

[murrie]

ok men compression is #1-61 #2-60 #3-62 #4-63.post later,getting camera to look at pistons and remove oil filler tube to look around.learned alot from this post.check in later.thanks

[alexiskai]

In my book, a "rebuild" means modification (grind, rebore, etc.) of major parts due to wear: crank journals, bearings, cylinder bore, etc. A valve job is not a rebuild, nor is the replacement of individual broken parts. If you went through an engine and removed carbon, adjusted shims, changed the gaskets, but didn't replace or re-grind anything, that's more like a tune-up or inspection.

All of which is to say, if the major moving parts are still factory standard sizes, it hasn't been rebuilt (or it has been restored, which is different). If they're not, then it has.