Machine work update 2/21/12

Post date: Feb 21, 2012 11:54:45 PM

Delivered the bearings today and got some interesting notes.

He noted that the last time he worked with a halo girdle, there was hell getting consistent clamping and bore shape. He ended up sending out the caps to have them precision ground, and even then it still didn't work quite right. The 403 setup would require quite a bit of cutting, plus some odd cuts around the #5 to clear the oil pump.

The suggestion? Use precision washers to hold the girdle above the caps. Just so happens to line up with the #5 (#5 is taller than the rest at the bolt hole).

It's an interesting idea..... I'm not certain how much that helps, as I assumed the halo acted like straps applying more even force across the top of the cap, and that surface area helped it hold the cap in place.

I guess we'll see! It would be hilarious to destroy the bottom end of this thing.

He also noted that #1-#4 mains were 3thou smaller than book spec, while #5 was within spec.

Another rod was also bad. To rewind, I provided two sets of rods. One came out of the 403 core I got locally that had been rebuilt once, the other was the one from MO and was untouched. The MO one had already been torn down when I got it. Turns out the TX one had 350 rods, the MO one had 403 rods. Well, the 403 set had a spun bearing, one cap wouldn't go on at all, and one cap was mismatched. The 350 set is lighter so he started working on them, and then found that one of the caps was seriously misaligned. Like five thousandths off to one side. Very strange. So Richard over at classicoldsmobile graciously gave me a set of 350 rods and pistons. Kim grabbed one of those, things were great.

Then he started balancing the rods and noted that one was bent! Lay the big end flat, the small end is off the table. So grabbed another one from the pile.

24 rods to get 8 good ones. Crazy. I think it's good that little oddities are noticed. The shops I worked with before just churned out parts and sent me on my way. This thing better come together!

He hopes to have the machine work done this week. I still have MORE stuff to order, and it'd be nice to have a complete car to install this engine into. Who knows, maybe I can start engine assembly in mid-March. The next big hold-up will be pushrods. This combo will require a custom length, so have to assemble everything, measure, order, wait......