The Ford Barn

steamgas · 04-27-2017, 10:14 AM

do the early v8 Babbitt motors have shims under the bearing cap like the model a engines have to take up the wear of the Babbitt material

deuce_roadster · 04-27-2017, 11:07 AM

V8s with Babbitt are the mains only.

flatjack9 · 04-27-2017, 01:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by steamgas

do the early v8 Babbitt motors have shims under the bearing cap like the model a engines have to take up the wear of the Babbitt material

Yes, they do.

Lawrie · 04-27-2017, 03:49 PM

Are you sure?
Lawrie

Kurt in NJ · 04-27-2017, 03:49 PM

I say no, there may be in the aftermarket, but so far I haven't seen them in the Ford book, or service information

Pictures of nos caps - semi finished

flatjack9 · 04-27-2017, 05:12 PM

Sponsored Links (Register now to hide all advertisements)

I'm not sure about factory blocks, but when I had an engine rebabbited, shims were included.

steamgas · 05-01-2017, 08:44 AM

thanks guys for the reply.it only stands to reason that shims were used.why scrap a perfectly good motor for only .002 wear on the Babbitt when all you have to do is remove a .001 shim and have a almost new motor.

Lawrie · 05-01-2017, 04:58 PM

From time to time there are shims on e/bay.
Lawrie

JM 35 Sedan · 05-01-2017, 05:39 PM

I've never seen shims used on any of the original factory built 21 stud babbitted mains engines that I've torn down, but I do have them in the rebuilt '35 babbitted engine that's in my avatar fordor sedan.

Frank Miller · 05-02-2017, 07:39 AM

I have read that the thicker the babbit the the more likely for failure. I'm thinking Ford felt they got it right at this point and used no shims. The smoother running of the V8 vs the Model A or B may also be a factor.

rotorwrench · 05-02-2017, 10:41 AM

Thicker babbitt usually only applies when you get a block re-poured & machined to fit under size crank pins. The shims wouldn't do any good when the crank gets worn too far and has to be ground undersize a good bit. Babbitt can crack or spiderweb under certain conditions and little pieces of babbitt start to flake off. The thicker it gets, the more this happens

The de-shimming of worn main bearing journals only works for a while. Some of those old crank journals are kind of small so they can only be undersized a small amount anyway but your limited on how many journal shims you can start out with effectively too. Egg shaped bearings don't last as long as nice round ones.

All this makes conversion to replaceable shells more appealing all the time if you want to keep using the old original engine blocks for the 1932 to 36 vehicles.

One of my older friends knew a guy with a model A when he was in the army back in the 50s. The guy would drive his old banger back home once a month to see his folks. Before he would make the trip, he would scour the billets for troops that needed new combat boots. He'd trade them out cigarettes for the old boots so he could cut the tongues out to reshim his rattle trap crankshaft journals with the leather. By the time he would get back to base from home the old car already had a few good knocks going on in there. I guess he did this for near a year before the old motor finally gave out and he had to take the train.

04-27-2017, 10:14 AM	#1
steamgas Senior Member Join Date: May 2010 Location: va Posts: 138	v8 babbitt motores do the early v8 Babbitt motors have shims under the bearing cap like the model a engines have to take up the wear of the Babbitt material

04-27-2017, 11:07 AM	#2
deuce_roadster Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2011 Location: Shelton, WA Posts: 3,800	Re: v8 babbitt motores V8s with Babbitt are the mains only.

04-27-2017, 03:49 PM	#4
Lawrie Senior Member Join Date: May 2010 Location: Qld, Australia Posts: 4,215	Re: v8 babbitt motores Are you sure? Lawrie

04-27-2017, 05:12 PM	#6
flatjack9 Senior Member Join Date: May 2010 Location: Oshkosh, Wi Posts: 4,526	Re: v8 babbitt motores Sponsored Links (Register now to hide all advertisements) I'm not sure about factory blocks, but when I had an engine rebabbited, shims were included.

05-01-2017, 08:44 AM	#7
steamgas Senior Member Join Date: May 2010 Location: va Posts: 138	Re: v8 babbitt motores thanks guys for the reply.it only stands to reason that shims were used.why scrap a perfectly good motor for only .002 wear on the Babbitt when all you have to do is remove a .001 shim and have a almost new motor.

05-01-2017, 04:58 PM	#8
Lawrie Senior Member Join Date: May 2010 Location: Qld, Australia Posts: 4,215	Re: v8 babbitt motores From time to time there are shims on e/bay. Lawrie

05-01-2017, 05:39 PM	#9
JM 35 Sedan Senior Member Join Date: May 2010 Location: Near Rising Sun, Maryland Posts: 10,858	Re: v8 babbitt motores I've never seen shims used on any of the original factory built 21 stud babbitted mains engines that I've torn down, but I do have them in the rebuilt '35 babbitted engine that's in my avatar fordor sedan. __________________ *John* *"Never give up on what you really want to do. The person with big dreams is more powerful than one with all the facts". Albert Einstein*

05-02-2017, 07:39 AM	#10
Frank Miller Senior Member Join Date: May 2010 Location: Auburn, MA Posts: 2,106	Re: v8 babbitt motores I have read that the thicker the babbit the the more likely for failure. I'm thinking Ford felt they got it right at this point and used no shims. The smoother running of the V8 vs the Model A or B may also be a factor. __________________ “The technique of infamy is to start two lies at once and get people arguing heatedly over which is true.” ~ Ezra Pound

05-02-2017, 10:41 AM	#11
rotorwrench Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: San Antonio, Texas Posts: 16,431	Re: v8 babbitt motores Thicker babbitt usually only applies when you get a block re-poured & machined to fit under size crank pins. The shims wouldn't do any good when the crank gets worn too far and has to be ground undersize a good bit. Babbitt can crack or spiderweb under certain conditions and little pieces of babbitt start to flake off. The thicker it gets, the more this happens The de-shimming of worn main bearing journals only works for a while. Some of those old crank journals are kind of small so they can only be undersized a small amount anyway but your limited on how many journal shims you can start out with effectively too. Egg shaped bearings don't last as long as nice round ones. All this makes conversion to replaceable shells more appealing all the time if you want to keep using the old original engine blocks for the 1932 to 36 vehicles. One of my older friends knew a guy with a model A when he was in the army back in the 50s. The guy would drive his old banger back home once a month to see his folks. Before he would make the trip, he would scour the billets for troops that needed new combat boots. He'd trade them out cigarettes for the old boots so he could cut the tongues out to reshim his rattle trap crankshaft journals with the leather. By the time he would get back to base from home the old car already had a few good knocks going on in there. I guess he did this for near a year before the old motor finally gave out and he had to take the train.