The Ford Barn

VAN HELSING · 08-12-2018, 04:16 AM

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Hi Guys,

Been a member for a while but this is my first post.

I live down under in Australia and have a fairly complete 8BA here that I bought about 6 months ago for a project.

This is my first Flathead V8 I've ever owned so I'm in unfamiliar territory with these engines though I am an " old school " car mechanic from years back, in the early to late 1980's when I was last on the tools there just weren't any flatheads around in those days so I've never worked on them.

To the subject,

This 8BA I have here came out of an old farm truck. It's not seized and the heads are off it. The bores all look good and there is no ring ridge at all in any of the cylinders. I have an inside micrometer/bore gauge but haven't as yet done any measurements with it but my instincts and experience tell me this is a re-ringable engine with a clean up and freshen up.

At this stage ( without pulling it apart just yet ) I would like to re-ring it.

However,

At some stage in it's life it was fully rebuilt by Ford Australia and has a stainless steel plaque attached to the engine block near the distributor stating the work that they had done.

It was rebuilt to take .045 oversize pistons, .010 under on the crank pins and mains.

Back in the day .045 pistons were probably ? easy to find, however fast forward 40/50/60 odd years to now and this oversize is now not considered a common overbore.We seem to go in units of 10 now for oversize pistons, not in units of 5.

And my problem is I can't seem to find .045 rings for an 8BA anywhere?

I am planning on a pulldown,inspection and re-ring in coming months with view to get it running in my garage on a stand and I'm OK with reboring it to .060 if required but if it's an engine with life left in it as is, with a re-ring ,then I'd rather go that way if I can with a rebore as a standby option.

Can anyone advise if they know where I might be able to find .045 rings at all ?

Cheers from Australia.

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08-12-2018, 04:16 AM	#1
VAN HELSING Junior Member Join Date: Aug 2017 Location: Australia Posts: 6	Finding .045 Piston Rings 8BA .... Hi Guys, Been a member for a while but this is my first post. I live down under in Australia and have a fairly complete 8BA here that I bought about 6 months ago for a project. This is my first Flathead V8 I've ever owned so I'm in unfamiliar territory with these engines though I am an " old school " car mechanic from years back, in the early to late 1980's when I was last on the tools there just weren't any flatheads around in those days so I've never worked on them. To the subject, This 8BA I have here came out of an old farm truck. It's not seized and the heads are off it. The bores all look good and there is no ring ridge at all in any of the cylinders. I have an inside micrometer/bore gauge but haven't as yet done any measurements with it but my instincts and experience tell me this is a re-ringable engine with a clean up and freshen up. At this stage ( without pulling it apart just yet ) I would like to re-ring it. However, At some stage in it's life it was fully rebuilt by Ford Australia and has a stainless steel plaque attached to the engine block near the distributor stating the work that they had done. It was rebuilt to take .045 oversize pistons, .010 under on the crank pins and mains. Back in the day .045 pistons were probably ? easy to find, however fast forward 40/50/60 odd years to now and this oversize is now not considered a common overbore.We seem to go in units of 10 now for oversize pistons, not in units of 5. And my problem is I can't seem to find .045 rings for an 8BA anywhere? I am planning on a pulldown,inspection and re-ring in coming months with view to get it running in my garage on a stand and I'm OK with reboring it to .060 if required but if it's an engine with life left in it as is, with a re-ring ,then I'd rather go that way if I can with a rebore as a standby option. Can anyone advise if they know where I might be able to find .045 rings at all ? Cheers from Australia. ........