Recent content by bhut

If that is truly the case, it is unfortunate. I thought the babbitt was in good condition for ~20 years of age, particularly given how tired the rest of the engine is. If it's not usable, I'll be picking up a rebuilt engine and I'll probably look for something with inserted bearings instead...

One more issue... I swear, they never stop. Have a crack between the exhaust seat (loose term really - no seat left due to erosion) and the cylinder. Crack runs about 5/8 inch down the cylinder. Can this be fixed without exposing the block to temps that will destroy the babbitt main bearing...

The rods and main cap I pulled all had plenty of shim material. Was actually surprised at the thickness of them, but the rods had what appeared to be solid brass shims around .015 - .020 each. Main cap had brass backed laminated shims, one was .015 the other .018. End clearance with all rods...

Before I wrote the current engine off and ordered one, I wanted to look at the babbitt and see whether it was salvageable. My thought was that I could get the block machined locally and not have to send it off if the babbitt was still good. I wasn't optimistic given the condition of the deck and...

All, thanks for the replies. I may see about the Crestview machine shop, but I haven't heard much about consistently good machine shops in the area.

I posted about my engine woes recently, and am now on the hunt for a replacement engine. I have been reading through the older posts looking at opinions and experiences and the one common thing I have noticed is that there doesn't seem to be an A engine specialist within 400 miles of me on the...

All, I really appreciate the replies, they gave me the hope I needed. I inherited this truck from my wife's grandfather. He and I would work on it from time to time, and it was a great way to spend time with a good friend who shared a love of all things mechanical. It was an older restoration...

After looking over the cracked head (posted elsewhere) I went back to the block with my shop vac and scraped the deck to remove what I hoped was carbon and instead turned out to be pitting around all four cylinders. The whole surface surrounding cylinder 1 is a mess, and in the first photo you...

All, I verified the head was warped with a straightedge last night before posting this. I hope to hold onto this truck forever, so buying a new casting without 80 years of corrosive wear or previous milling is a long-term investment. It may be worthwhile to seek out a better spare than what I...

Without going into the whole story, I recently inherited a '29 closed cab A pickup. It broke down on the 35 mile trip back to my house, and I hoped that it was a radiator problem, although I feared it might be something worse. When I went to drain the oil, out came a quart of water, and I knew...