276 stroker from 35 years of parts

[petehoovie]

Originally Posted by GB SISSON

I'll do that Terry, and I made a very careful inspection of the inside of the pistons to look for aluminum chips etc and they are all surgically clean. It's easy to see in there. I did my cam end play test with one of the two aluminum covers. The nice clean one. The other aluminum one and the cast iron one are HEAVILY caked on both sides with hard grease/oil. If the iron cover is the way to go, I will heat it on the woodstove in the morning, scrape with a putty knife and set it in a bucket of solvent while I get started on a set of rift-sawn white oak cabinet doors in the woodshop. The solvent is of unknown origin as many leftover solvents find their way into that bucket. I do like cast iron....
On the crank, still just snugged down as I wanted to make sure split lockwashers are good and 60,80,100 ft.lbs sequence. The crank shows .003 endplay. With all schooling on the 8ba, I found some really good parts today. Maybe best is a perfect, rebuilt model 94 1 1/16" version. The bores look so much larger side by side with a 15/16". I will pull it apart for deep inspection and a fresh kit. I hadn't realized the 94 came in different sizes.The other thing I found mixed in a full 3lb coffee can of 5/16" bolts was four what must be the special cam gear bolts. I cleaned one up. Short on threads, but a deep shoulder. Been a great day in the engine shop.

[38 coupe]

Looking great so far, you should end up with an excellent engine.

That 1 1/16 carburetor has the truck type top on it with the double bevel clamp area for the air cleaner. You need to run a matching air cleaner, or swap a top with a straight area for the air cleaner onto the carburetor.

Going back the picture you posted with bell housings, starter plates, and an oil pan. Please be aware that the starter plates are different between the stamped and cast bell housings. I learned you can't mix-n-match these when dad cleaned up a mis-matched set and it wouldn't go together on his 8BA.

[Bored&Stroked]

Another thing that I hate to bring up, but is very important. Your distributor is what is known as a "Load-O-Matic" - which relies on a venturi (from the carb) vacuum signal for the advance curve. It was designed for a stock engine and really can't be "tuned" for a different engine. Now, it will run your engine - no question - but will the advance curve be what your engine really wants? I have no way of knowing.

If it was my engine, I'd start looking for a flat-top Mallory with mechanical advance or get a modified SBC style distributor from Charlie NY. I'm not trying to spend your money but do want you to at least know that your original distributor may or may not do the trick (performance wise) . . . nobody can really tell you that it will.

I'd hate to have you complete this great engine and then have it hamstrung by a distributor that can't figure out how to correctly run the advance for it.

[cadillac512]

As for the nice aluminum timing cover, as long as the distributor fits nicely in it, no problem using it. I had just assumed you'd been talking about the cast iron one being the nicest one.

[Mart]

Hi GB. The cam gear bolts should be fine thread. Just make sure they are the right ones. If too long they will stick out the back of the cam flange.

Mart.

[Ray in La Mesa]

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Hi Gary, Being an "A" guy I'm learning so much about the intricacies of putting a flathead V8 together, thanks for the education with all the input from the other members. Ray in La Mesa

[GB SISSON]

Gosh, a lot to digest here this morning!
Scotty, start collecting parts fvor that rebuild and yes, I started collecting old stuff when I was 19. I have some interesting air cooled engines and the like. 38 , I hope to find an oil bath air cleander that fits, but I also have a lot of the early carbs I could rob a top from and use the woodie's current oil bath. As for starter plates, in Pete's enlargement(thank you) of post 161 there is a cast bell, primered red with a flat steel plate alongside with matching primer. I plan on a cast bell. You can also see an unpainted flat plate that has embossed stampings. What goes with what? And Dale I am well aware of the bad rep the 'crap-o-matic' setup has. From my recent searches it's quite obvious that a 'big' cam kills the vacuum signal, but I have also read that if a stock cam is used the problem, if any is far less severe. And please don't tempt me to create a full mechanical advance system (model A style) on the column. How simple (and cool) would That be? Terry, I've already built the fire in the stove. Cast iron cover on 'med-low'. Mart, I'll get a close up, yes they are fine thread and a distinctive looking bolt. And Ray, you've conquered my driveway.... Is the woodie gonna love that extra torque coupled to the T-5's 4.3:1 granny gear? Me thinks a resounding yes. ps, nobody gave me a yes or no on main cap lockwashers.

[51504bat]

Originally Posted by GB SISSON

Gosh, a lot to digest here this morning!
Scotty, start collecting parts fvor that rebuild and yes, I started collecting old stuff when I was 19. I have some interesting air cooled engines and the like. 38 , I hope to find an oil bath air cleander that fits, but I also have a lot of the early carbs I could rob a top from and use the woodie's current oil bath. As for starter plates, in Pete's enlargement(thank you) of post 161 there is a cast bell, primered red with a flat steel plate alongside with matching primer. I plan on a cast bell. You can also see an unpainted flat plate that has embossed stampings. What goes with what? And Dale I am well aware of the bad rep the 'crap-o-matic' setup has. From my recent searches it's quite obvious that a 'big' cam kills the vacuum signal, but I have also read that if a stock cam is used the problem, if any is far less severe. And please don't tempt me to create a full mechanical advance system (model A style) on the column. How simple (and cool) would That be? Terry, I've already built the fire in the stove. Cast iron cover on 'med-low'. Mart, I'll get a close up, yes they are fine thread and a distinctive looking bolt. And Ray, you've conquered my driveway.... Is the woodie gonna love that extra torque coupled to the T-5's 4.3:1 granny gear? Me thinks a resounding yes. ps, nobody gave me a yes or no on main cap lockwashers.

The starter plate is for a truck and uses the insert shown that then bolts up to the truck pan. IIRC

[petehoovie]

Originally Posted by 51504bat

The starter plate is for a truck and uses the insert shown that then bolts up to the truck pan. IIRC

[cas3]

Mac VP has a page on starter plates in his wonderful web site too.

[GB SISSON]

Tim, Happy to say I have all 3 of trhose parts and Skip, I forget about all the info on VanPelt site. Imagine my surprise when I got off the barn this morning and walked into my woodshop. So much for 'medium high'. Cleaned up real good though and finished off with the needle scaler. Is this pump the '48 truck type I need? If so, anybody have a driver side collecting dust? I have a lot of trading stock.

[petehoovie]

Originally Posted by GB SISSON

Tim, Happy to say I have all 3 of trhose parts and Skip, I forget about all the info on VanPelt site. Imagine my surprise when I got off the barn this morning and walked into my woodshop. So much for 'medium high'. Cleaned up real good though and finished off with the needle scaler. Is this pump the '48 truck type I need? If so, anybody have a driver side collecting dust? I have a lot of trading stock.

[38 coupe]

That is the type of truck water pump you need. I may have a decent looking used mate for it, but need to check; it will probably be a couple weeks before I can look. Shipping would be from Texas at whatever rate the US mule requires these days. Keep us updated and one of us will have something you can try.
If you need to swap carburetor tops be aware the design changed slightly around 1950. The spray bars (correct name?) changed design, with the new design being taller. The top of the carburetor over the spray bars gained a small bump out to clear the new design spray bars. An earlier carburetor top will not work over later spray bars.
I expect the single stock type carburetor combined with a stock camshaft will work great with a stock distributor. Make sure you have a good vacuum diaphragm. I have seen replacements in the last few years where the threaded section wasn't machined correctly and it would push the vacuum line out of the clamping nut on the end of your vacuum line. Compare an old unit to a replacement unit in that area before installing it.
Keep up the good work, this is fun to participate in from the peanut gallery.

[GB SISSON]

Thanks for the offer and the words of encouragement. Hopefully today I can get some time today to check out the ring end gap so I can move in that direction. At this stage I am concerning myself with the engine's internals knowing that I can easily try a different distributor or carb etc down the road if the current setup isn't satisfactory. I will definately need a new diaphram as between the 3 distributors, only one had a good one and I swiped it last year for use on my H six distributor. I thought I'd try napa first as their ign parts tend to be of good quality. I will do a search for the correct air cleaner, as having a proper oil bath unit is important to me. Last night at 10:30 I was looking something up in my Frank Oddo book and saw he suggested that if a crankshaft had 3/8" cleanouts it was 99% certain to be a 3 3/4"stroke and if 5/8"it was sure to be a 4". Having just scewed in plugs that were clearly the small size I had a mild panic attack as I have never measured the crank, just taken the PO's word for it. Fastest way to tell last night was to open my new rod bearings and install one piston without rings and voila! Perfectly flush at deck and I know Les had gotten the right pistons. According to Oddo, this makes it a Canadian crank, something he has only encountered one time. Crisis averted. While at the shop I noted that my great find of cam gear bolts was indeed coarse thread, so no go there. I would love any advice on inspecting and choosing my short body oil pump, but I'll do a search here too. So far, so good and with so much help from so many, I am very pleased with how things have turned out so far. I have ferry reservations to get off this rock and head to the swap meet at Monroe on May 18th so if anyone going there has something that I need, please let me know. Unlike the grocery store, swap meets are one place where I actually enjoy spending money.

[flatford8]

Gary.....I like the idea of a control for manual advance. I have complete confidence that you can pull it off.....if you need a water pump core or a distributor.....I got a bunch of 8BA truck stuff.....Mark

[GB SISSON]

Originally Posted by flatford8

Gary.....I like the idea of a control for manual advance. I have complete confidence that you can pull it off.....if you need a water pump core or a distributor.....I got a bunch of 8BA truck stuff.....Mark

Thank you Mark. I'll make up a list tonight! And an advance/retard lever off the distributor body linked to a quadrent on the coulmn? Can't be any harder to make up than the string operated, spring loaded remote chinacarb knocker I installed in the foyota for when the float needle sticks.
Long day in the woodshop, not much progress enginewise. My hope is finish off these cabinet doors on Thursday and have a 3 day weekend of engine assembly. I did, however tell my son I'd help him replace the lower unit on his outboard over the weekend. I counted 8 bolts. That couldn't take long....

[38 coupe]

I have seen an 8BA cast iron distributor adapted for Model T use with every other lobe on the points cam ground off and a manual advance lever made up that attaches to the vacuum diaphragm opening. It looked odd, but probably worked. I wouldn't replace the factory vacuum advance setup since it works very well if you haven't changed the vacuum characteristics of the engine. The manual setup would be entertaining for those that are familiar with such things, but would cause problems for anyone who isn't familiar with driving Model Ts, As, or the like (and some drivers don't get those right either).

[Mart]

Manual timing sounds like a bit of a retrograde step to me. What's wrong with stock?

Personally I prefer crab and 59A type cam. My French motors have been re-done as 59A crab type.

[GB SISSON]

I think I was pretty much just having fun thinking about the manual advance. I'm a serial tinkerer and sometimes I don't know when to quit. My plan is to go with the cast iron distributor, get a new diaphram assembly, points and condensor and give it a whirl. If I ever actually DID make a manual lever, the vac advance would still be functional and involve a flex hose connection. This would allow fine tuning while underway for experimental purposes, and a straight rod through the firewall would greatly simplify things. Ok, done with all that and time to move forward.
I tried a ring in various cylinders coming up with an end gap of around .013-.014. Maybe a little big but I think .017 is the limit. This was a ring for the #2 position from the top. My question about lock washers on the main caps still remains and my five different books show torque specs ranging from 80-100 ft/lbs torque. Will be inspecting oil pumps next. Advice welcome or a link to a good thread. Never opened one up before. Thanks and wish me good speed on those stupid cabinet doors so I can get back to what really matters.

[51504bat]

IMO the easiest and best distributor solution is a converted Chevy or Mallory unit. I'm running a mechanical advance Chevy unit converted by Bubba (RIP)
The only issue is the appearance of the Chevy window cap. A Mallory conversion would solve that issue but I can't justify the cost for solely aesthetic purposes. Now that Budda is no longer with us Charlie NY is a good choice for the conversions. There may be others as well.