The 2X4 sounds like the better way to go. I could get the truck transmission but it's not what I want when the time comes for this to be mobile. When you lever up against the flywheel, I assume you're going to the face of it right where the friction plate rides. I'm guessing you've never had any trouble with the trust bearing. I can do that a heck of a lot cheaper and no lump of unsynchronized iron laying around when I'm done.
Why I built a Flathead
- Thread starter Sawbones
- Start date
The 2X4 sounds like the better way to go. I could get the truck transmission but it's not what I want when the time comes for this to be mobile. When you lever up against the flywheel, I assume you're going to the face of it right where the friction plate rides. I'm guessing you've never had any trouble with the trust bearing. I can do that a heck of a lot cheaper and no lump of unsynchronized iron laying around when I'm done.
Here's the guy who did it.
http://www.extonautomachine.com/
He's got some kind of wild *** dragster and I think he said it's about $1500 for one shot down the strip. He's still got all the old knowledge and gear for doing valve seats and anything else you like on these engines and you could tell he was really into it with his full heart and soul. He was pissed, legitimately, about finding that crack but he's confident in the Devcon. He said he did something on his oil pump or his remote oil filter on his drag car. He also said the longer it can sit before being put to service, the better. This block sat for 7-8 months. It was holding temp just fine on the initial run and there's no water in the oil. I think between that and the Pioneer ceramic block seal I'll be fine.
sugarmaker
Well-known member
Sawbones,
Awesome story! Your Dad would be very proud. Its not about the money!
I dont have a flathead (at least not yet)! But I understand what your dad was talking about Engine sounds stick with a guy for a long long time! Your doing good. You will find a good home for the engine. Its right around the corner!
Thanks for sharing.
Regards,
Chris
Awesome story! Your Dad would be very proud. Its not about the money!
I dont have a flathead (at least not yet)! But I understand what your dad was talking about Engine sounds stick with a guy for a long long time! Your doing good. You will find a good home for the engine. Its right around the corner!
Thanks for sharing.
Regards,
Chris
GB SISSON
Well-known member
My rub area is on the outer perimeter of the flywheel, the un machined area alongside the ring gear. Of course the largest diameter exerts the most load on the engine as well. I have a lot of ruff-cut locust which holds up well to the torture, but white oak does well also. As far as the unsynchronized T-9 , it remains my favorite flathead ******. Granted, it has taken 1/3rd of my adult life to learn how to shift it properly, but living on the side of a mountain and running some heavily loaded trucks, I love that granny low.
There's things about the truck transmission that I like. That granny gear being one of them and the brake right on the tail stock. I could get a truck trans for $100. Even a side shift trans would be $300. A top shift trans is way out of range for me. I blew my wad just getting this engine together. For the foreseeable future, this thing will never see asphalt. I'm on a private mountain road myself. I don't know... I've driven home with a snapped clutch cable, now and then I practiced upshifting with no clutch. I've managed to downshift a few times without using the clutch as well. I think it would translate. It's awkward but I think I could figure it out. The low gears and the integral park brake would be helpful. Plus there's an extra lever which I think is cool.
GB SISSON
Well-known member
I think you should mount it on the scout chassis and perhaps set a model A cowl on it and start mocking things up. Heck model A stuff is everywhere. I have two cowls out back. Couple beater fenders,hood, grill. Then a wood bench seat like a buckboard and a little wood flareside box from scrap lumber. In fact you can use the 2x4s you would have used on your motor break-in. You'll be riding those couple hundred miles on summer afternoons instead of working it on a stand. Ok, yer gonna need brakes too.
Bored&Stroked
Well-known member
Hey Sawbones - something to think about: When you build a new engine and you put it on a "test stand", you really should only run it on the stand to check things out, bring it up to temp, look for leaks, adjust timing, adjust idle, etc.. Do not run it on the stand for much longer than it takes to do those things as it is NOT under load and this means it may not seat the rings.
An engine needs to be under load (in a car or an engine dyno) to seat the rings properly. If you run it on an engine stand for much more than the initial check and tune phase, you risk glazing the cylinder walls and the rings may never seat.
Though it is fun to hear it run on the stand (I get that) - hopefully you can find a way to put it in a car and break it in correctly.
PS: I read some earlier posts and it appears you knew this already - so I was probably just preaching to the choir! Sorry about that!
An engine needs to be under load (in a car or an engine dyno) to seat the rings properly. If you run it on an engine stand for much more than the initial check and tune phase, you risk glazing the cylinder walls and the rings may never seat.
Though it is fun to hear it run on the stand (I get that) - hopefully you can find a way to put it in a car and break it in correctly.
PS: I read some earlier posts and it appears you knew this already - so I was probably just preaching to the choir! Sorry about that!
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That's all I've done so far. It only has 5-10 minutes of run time on it just to make sure it's going to run and hold temp and behave for me.
I wouldn't mind that a bit! This thing is probably never going to see asphalt, just bebopping around the dirt roads on the Mountain. For now I have that Beetle body and I kind of figured if I do it right it might look like a 1950 Plymouth fastback if I do the front end right and you squint really hard from 30 yards away. If I could find some Model A stuff down the road I don't have to be committed to the Beetle.
GB SISSON
Well-known member
Beetle body on a scout chassis with an 8ba up front? What's not to like about that? Couple of 1 1/4" chrome tipped straight pipes poking out of those notches in the rear for sure. It will sound great pulling your mountain grade in 3rd while properly seating those rings..
I kinda like it myself. Bastardizing is a way of life for me. Somewhere along the way I started getting a kick out of mashing unrelated things together and ending up with something that works. I think it's tons better than those glorified golf cart UTVs that everyone else is getting. If I can lay hands on a divorced transfer case we can really make this thing stand up and holler! Definitely dual straight pipes. The exhaust guy down in town ought to get a kick out of it when I bring it to his shop!
I have a column shift trans on the way from Irontrap. Somewhere I saw a guy that had a column shift but the linkage was all kinds of screwed up so he cut a hole in the floor and had two shifters. One for reverse and 1st and another for 2nd and 3rd. You had to keep in mind to go into neutral with the one before you try shifting on the other but that's not much to deal with.
GB SISSON
Well-known member
I was gonna suggest a divorced t-case like from an 80s nissan 4wd pickup, but with that scout wheelbase the driveshaft angles would be pretty severe. I recently sold an '80 turbo diesel scout with factory nissan sd33t to my stepson. Even if it's just a rolling engine stand, make up some mounts on the scout frame and mount the 8ba and a radiator. What happens after that just happens. After I found out they were valuable I dug up 3 8ba truck pans in my stuff.
I remember a 1981(I think) Suzuki Samurai had a divorced T-case and I've heard tell that an early K5 Blazer had one. I don't know what other vehicles to look at though. In time we'll have something or other. For now as you said, start with the rolling engine stand. That'll keep me busy and I might stumble across some more goodies. I want to run it up and down the mountain a few times as a driving chassis too and freak out the Elite folks!
GB SISSON
Well-known member
Just make sure you have brakes! This is a 47 tonner frame that I used to mock up the cummins 6at (210 cu in inline turbo six generator engine) that I later installed in my tonner PU. As seen in the video I just had to take a couple laps in granny low w/o brakes (to freak out the Elite Folks), Well the chev trans had an offset shifter and granny was actually 3rd and I was heading downhill. I smashed through my wifes henyard gate and came to rest with a rear wheel lodged under my boat's Vee hull. There was a huge cliff after that. Have brakes.
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/6unhaM7Seww
That was just about all she wrote for you! Did you plant it into the boat to stop? No worries, I'll have brakes. Some of these knuckleheads don't know how to share the road when they're on dirt. An accident could be completely their fault and the Cops here would side with whoever looks like they've got more money.
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