Getting to Know an Old Jalopy Roadster and Making It Work

[FL&WVMIKE]

hotrod937 ................
I think that your car is beautiful ! Just get it running good and drive it like it, is for a while. People will love it !
Pay no attemtion to any rude remarks, that you might get on here. Anyone would love to have your roadster !
MIKE

[James Rogers]

Originally Posted by hotrod937

As for the gas issue I try not to run any whiskey gas. My other hot rods don't like it. I'll only run the good stuff with lead and some oil mixed for lube sake. I've got a spun tank and Mr. Crapsket (which I already had to replace from mid jan and almost zero running and driving) 2-3psi pump for now just to get her going. Feeds them two 97's good as far as I can tell.

I just spent about 4 hours getting this thing on a stand. I don't work well when confined and surrounded by oil slick and tools everywhere. Took me forever to make the setup but it's on there. I couldn't wait to get the pan off and see what's inside.

I noticed a chipped tooth on the timing set. How do I get the fly wheel off?

I don't really know what I'm looking at just yet but I'm stoked to see something different.. And OMGeez! Those mech brakes are amazing. Makes me wonder why anyone would go juice.

Looks like the silly cone man had a party in there. Don't use any more of that stuff than necessary, it gets in places it shouldn't.

The oversize (.004/.010) drive gears won't help with the slack. The oversize is in the shaft, not the gear. I would also suggest you order from Snyder's. They have a tech dept that actually knows what a Model A is.

The flywheel comes off by removing the 4 bolts and prying it off. If you can't get anything behind it, remove the starter and hit it with a drift as you turn it 1/4 turn at a time. Be careful with that thing, it weighs about 72# and can chop a toe off or break bones indiscriminately.

Nice ride!

[rusty12]

"The oversize (.004/.010) drive gears won't help with the slack. The oversize is in the shaft, not the gear."

Not true, they are oversize in the gear. I have three in the shop- original, .004 and .010. Same shaft diameter but all different gear thickness. The oversize gear helps compensate for wear in the camshaft gear as well.

[Chris in WNC]

looks like something you can have great fun with!
congratulations for realizing that mechanical brakes will work fine.
youy will soon find better alternatives to Macs for parts....
enjoy!

[Tom Wesenberg]

I like to insert a couple long bolts for the flywheel to slide on while prying it loose. Once loose then lift on the flywheel and unscrew the long bolts. A flat wonder bar prying against the flywheel through the starter hole works pretty well. Just keep rotating the flywheel as you pry to walk it off the dowl pins.

I wish my 91 Olds had mechanical brakes the other day!
It must have blown another brake line because coming home from Fleet Farm the other day the pedal suddenly went to the floor. Even with the dual master cylinder when you blow a line you don't have much for brakes. And with the cross feed system they now use the car pulls to the side with the one working front disc brake. The one working rear brake doesn't do much braking.
Minnesota road salt is for safety.......yaah you bet!!!

[hotrod937]

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Crank end end play is .050

[ctlikon0712]

Really? That is allot! Just under a 1/16" or 0.0625" huh? That will cause your timing to change as the heilical crank and cam gear will advance and retard the cam and distrubutor depending on how the crank is thrust/loaded.

[hotrod937]

Alright, So I'm thinking I'm gonna press forward with the fix since the motor runs good. I'm going to talk to an old timer right now with some A and B motors. I'm thinking I need to have a spare B motor to build while I drive the leaky one around. What say you about A motor vs B motor? If it's the counter weight one I'm buying it.

[midgetracer]

To get the flywheel off, pry gently in the starter hole and keep rotating the crankshaft. Be careful when it comes off though, the SOB is heavy.

[George Miller]

Originally Posted by hotrod937

Crank end end play is .050

There is no way you are going to stop the rear main leak with that much end play. should be .004-.006 Looks like who ever built your engine needs a little help.

[Gold Digger]

I see a lot of silicone gasket sealer has been used. Has anyone besides me had problems with that stuff plugging the oil pump screens up and running engines?

[George Miller]

Originally Posted by Gold Digger

I see a lot of silicone gasket sealer has been used. Has anyone besides me had problems with that stuff plugging the oil pump screens up and running engines?

That is why I said the builder needed a little help. He used way to much of that crap. Yes I have seen it many times in the oil pump screen. The scary part is if he does not know how to use sealer, and .050 end play, how about the rest of his work.

[hotrod937]

So it looks like I'm fuct. So I went to buy a motor today and found a pile. There was also a "C" motor with the 3 bolt water pump and counterweight crank. $300 for an A or 600 for the "C". Should I build the "C" motor into a hot shot banger? He said it would run but he also said there was oil in it, just a little water with a little oil. I'm torn.

[switchkid0]

Depending on what part of the country you're in, I'd like to think you could find a used engine to run without too much trouble. Perhaps asking around the local clubs? Lots of hoarders out there, and if you have something interesting to trade, you could get lucky.

[pat in Santa Cruz]

Originally Posted by hotrod937

So it looks like I'm fuct. So I went to buy a motor today and found a pile. There was also a "C" motor with the 3 bolt water pump and counterweight crank. $300 for an A or 600 for the "C". Should I build the "C" motor into a hot shot banger? He said it would run but he also said there was oil in it, just a little water with a little oil. I'm torn.

"C" engines, are really Model B. The C was on the Model B head because a B was already in use for the "high" compression head for the Model A. Clear as mud??

. Any way, Model B engines tend to crack on the deck, usually from a valve toward the cylinder, and often down the bore. That can be fixed, but its not uncommon for there to be more than one crack. And it can get expensive and it can repeat itself again later on somewhere else. A worse situation is a crack through the valve seat running down the port..that can be impossible to fix if it goes too far down the port. Ask if you can pull the head and inspect for cracks.

I like your car. are you going to leave it with the patina it has? It has a real vintage feel to it the way it is.

[hotrod937]

I'm not liking the gamble of paying 6 bills for a "C" Diamond motor when keep reading about "B" motors cracking. I'd settle for a running motor to have while I get the other built.

I'm still gonna try and see what's up in the rear of my motor but I'm thinking the 50 thou thrust is the reason why it's pouring oil..

I'm having a very hard time finding out any info about these A B and C motors. Not much info on insert bearings, pressurized oiling conversions and counter weighted cranks. Yeah, there's the Banger meets on hamb but good luck getting any info out of them unless you want to read every page on every month.

[ctlikon0712]

Try Vince Faulter's FordGarage at http://www.fordgarage.com/ He has allot of A and B info and explains the B/C thing. It is a very informative site and I think it is in one if the "Stickys"

[James Rogers]

Originally Posted by rusty12

"The oversize (.004/.010) drive gears won't help with the slack. The oversize is in the shaft, not the gear."

Not true, they are oversize in the gear. I have three in the shop- original, .004 and .010. Same shaft diameter but all different gear thickness. The oversize gear helps compensate for wear in the camshaft gear as well.

My apologies, you are most probably correct. This would explain a problem I had with a drive in a motor recently. I reinstalled the existing drive along with a Stipe cam and the drive would pop up. I replaced it with a new standard one and it was good. I then used the removed drive in a motor with a reground cam and it worked fine.

[Brendan]

i almost bid on that car when it was on evil bay!

[hotrod937]

So I'm still holding out hope that I can get the great running leaky A motor up and running with this maybe.
http://www.snydersantiqueauto.com/se...A-6334&x=0&y=0

In the mean time I have a line on a counterweight diamond "C" motor and some babbitt guys. I plan on trying to get this leaky motor up and running while building a hot street banger..