Results on Old Post Ref Rear Main Cap Repair

[82BinWA]

I know it has been quite a while, June, 2009, when I made the following post here (

Babbitt-Rear Main Cap

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Posted by DB in WA from c-24-19-29-24.hsd1.wa.comcast.net (24.19.29.24) on Tuesday, June 02, 2009 at 7:48AM :
During the process of checking/adjusting bearing clearances on a friends Model A, we pulled the engine as #1, I do not like the oil in my face while doing it under the car and #2 he had an engine noise (rattle) at two specific speeds. At first we thought it might be the cam but it had a very strong plunger spring so that sort of ruled that out as we could not get any back & forth movement of the cam.
While adjusting the Main Bearings, front and center were right on at .002 clearance. When I got the rear main cap off, the Babbitt had cracks on the forward portion. What a bummer. A further check indicated the thrust clearance was .014 which in my opinion is way too much (I am definitely not expert on this matter). While moving the crank back and forth with the .014 clearance the rattle noise seemed to sound like the same noise as heard before at the two different speeds.
One of my question is, would this .014 clearance be enough for the noise and also would the cracks in the Babbitt be caused by the constant beating by the movement?
Now for the ultimate question! We are going to try and repair the rear bearing cap with new Babbitt to fit the rear main. The Journals are all Standard (Not over .001 wear).
From your standpoint, what are the chances of success to make this work? We do have a Babbitt pourer who is willing to work with us on this. Any suggestions/recommendations comments would be appreciated. Thanks, Dick B.)

AND NOW, I will give you an update. This summer, I was talking with this friend about how the "FIX" was holding up on the rear main cap and he was very delighted to report it is still going strong and no noise, no problem at all and he is still towing his "Tear Drop" Trailer all over the place but he did find out his previous Insurance would not cover anything in case of an accident as it seems there must have been a clause in his policy against towing a trailer with a Model A. He changed Insurance policies and is still having a great time as he REALLY DOES do a lot of traveling with his Tear Drop Club.
I just thought it would be nice to let the folks here know the cracked/broken Babbitt in the rear main cap can be repaired/replaced, with a little care and still work very well. Lots of bucks were saved on this little venture and the experience and satisfaction of knowing it would work was worth just as much. Enjoy and happy AAAA-ing. Dick B.

[1931 flamingo]

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Great news, thanks for the update.
Paul in CT