After completely disassembling the engine, the most pressing task was to try to repair the cylinder head damage, using JB Weld. The original cylinder head cap was damaged beyond repair, so I planned to use a 1/4 thick disc of aluminum, in the hopes of trying to repair it to somewhat "running" condition, at least for demonstration purposes. Running the engine at all was problematic, since at least 60 PSI would be required, and I have no practical means to keep up such pressure for any length of time (even on air). Also, these engines had no flywheel (the wheels of the car served as the "flywheel").
[ Guests cannot view attachments ]
The JB Weld repairs were a bit tricky, requiring the use of small wood dowels to leave the cylinder head bolt holes open at the right diameter, while ensuring that the remaining parts of the cylinder head were sufficiently strengthened.
[ Guests cannot view attachments ]
With the JB Weld hardened and sanded, all that was left was to tap the correct threads into the bolt holes. I was surprised that it all turned out as well as it did!
[ Guests cannot view attachments ]
With the cylinder head repaired, I proceeded to clean up and paint. These engines were originally painted all black, but I decided to use a multi-color paint scheme to highlight all the details. The bronze frame proved to be difficult to strip completely, so instead I chose to paint it, using a shade called "hammered copper", which turned out to be a very close match to the original bronze frame. Some of the smooth exposed steel surfaces were treated with cold bluing compound, instead of paint.
[ Guests cannot view attachments ]
The best option I could find for making the cylinder and valve chest cover gaskets was a 1/8 thick rubber type that I could only find in red. These were hand-cut using scissors, a razor, and a leather punch.
[ Guests cannot view attachments ]
These photos do not show the many screws and bolts, but they likewise required a lot of rust-removal with a wire brush, and many were also blued. Almost all of the original screws and bolts were used, with the exception of the lower cylinder head bolts that attach to cylinder head to the frame - they were replaced with modern black bolts very similar to the originals (some of the cylinder head bolts were too far gone to use). Two of the four large bolts holding the main crankshaft cap were non-matching replacements, so I replaced those with fancy chrome bolts - the other two are original (these will be shown in Part 3).
[ Guests cannot view attachments ]
Next steps involved the reassembly, some of which was easy and simple, other aspects were not. The hardest part was getting the main crankshaft bearings assembled, which involved the delicate insertion of about 130 individual ball bearings, two sets each of 1/2 inch balls and (roughly) 1/4 inch balls. I lost count of how many times I had to start over after the balls spilled out!
The final segment showing the completed engine comes next (a bit later this evening).
Home
Search
Today's Posts
Login
Register