Grinding a crank with Dads portable crank grinder

[George Miller]

Originally Posted by 40 Deluxe

Plus, I imagine you did not always grind to a specific undersize, but could stop whenever the journal cleaned up and then just bore the rebabbited rod to any size needed, right? Is this where semi-finished inserts came in, also?

Yes i did that a couple of times, but most of the time I tried to go with a standard under size.
We lived in northern Mich. and people would come up from the lower part of the state or ohio for vacation. The ones that had not changed oil when they should, would have lots of sludge in the engine that would stop the good oil flow. Then on long trips some would burn out a rod or rod bearing. Plymouth and dodge seemed to be the worst.

[Freddie (Memphis)]

Guess I'm just too much of a Newbie. I just can't imagine grinding a crankshaft while it's still in the engine...much less still in the car! I guess trully "necessity is the mother of invention" and all that....but I just can't fathom doing it.

I've seen fellas remove the pan, windage tray and oil pump...then remove the rod ends and bearing caps and drop the crank while the block stayed in the car, and - to me - even that seemed like more work than just pulling the engine. But, never have I observed crank grinding while still in the car.

Guess I'm just a product of the CNC age... ...ain't so bad...

[TechNova]

Originally Posted by Freddie (Memphis)

Guess I'm just too much of a Newbie. I just can't imagine grinding a crankshaft while it's still in the engine...much less still in the car! I guess trully "necessity is the mother of invention" and all that....but I just can't fathom doing it.

I've seen fellas remove the pan, windage tray and oil pump...then remove the rod ends and bearing caps and drop the crank while the block stayed in the car, and - to me - even that seemed like more work than just pulling the engine. But, never have I observed crank grinding while still in the car.

Guess I'm just a product of the CNC age... ...ain't so bad...

I've put 302 Ford bearings in at least a dozen times while the engine is still in the car, even a few Chevy 350's. Really not that bad of job when you know the tricks.

[James Rogers]

Originally Posted by Freddie (Memphis)

Guess I'm just too much of a Newbie. I just can't imagine grinding a crankshaft while it's still in the engine...much less still in the car! I guess trully "necessity is the mother of invention" and all that....but I just can't fathom doing it.

I've seen fellas remove the pan, windage tray and oil pump...then remove the rod ends and bearing caps and drop the crank while the block stayed in the car, and - to me - even that seemed like more work than just pulling the engine. But, never have I observed crank grinding while still in the car.

Guess I'm just a product of the CNC age... ...ain't so bad...

Freddie, back in the day most rebuild operations could be and were done with the engine still in the car. My boring bar can be used with a vacuum to bore the cylinders in the car and contain the cuttings. My valve tools are designed to be used to cut the seats in the car either with the high speed motor and stones or with a drill and the neway cutters. I don't have a crank grinder that does in the car work but may get one soon. I have seen them that work like the one George uses and one that uses a blade and scrapes the journal. Engine work outside the factory and dealership back then was rudimentary to say the least. It still got done and the cars still run today, some with these repairs.