aussiecowboy

I'm liking the look of the Neway cutters, they aren't cheap but should outlast me. I'll give them a call Monday morning and see what they say regarding a kit to suit my needs. Taking the cars to a shop to have them done isn't really practical for me where I live.

Hi all, I have a number of vintage Pontiacs (among other cars) and several of my cars are in need of valve jobs, I'm looking for recommendations on valve seat cutters/kits. What will give me a good job. I'm not shy about spending a few dollars on good quality tools, I believe that if you buy quality you'll only buy once. Also, can anyone tell me what the angle of the seats on these 20s Pontiacs is? All advice appreciated. Regards

I currently have 5 of these engine in service, they do not run cam babbits. The only lubrication that the cam gets is oil run off from the lifters which drains down plates attached to the lifter assemblies and is directed to these 4 holes, blocking them will starve the cam of oil and the engine will seize very quickly. The holes to the outside of the block need to be plugged however or this oil will all leak out. I have found the most certain way of doing this is tapping the holes and installing grub screws. I did have one of these engine that had oil starvation problems to the cam, never could work out why. My machine shop ended up drilling passages up through the block and taking two small oil lines from the main supply, fitting a small orifice to the end of each and just letting the oil escape into the channel in front of the lifters. The oil pressure can be adjusted externally to compensate for the oil taken away from the mains. Hope this helps.

I realise that the metering rod and connecting rod are different beasts. I can see how it would be easy to bend the connecting rod to the correct dimension, but that assumes it doesn't have grooves worn in it's ends. If this is the case then replacement is almost unavoidable, as carbking suggests above.

Fingers crossed that one of my core carbs has the right pieces then, otherwise it will be ebay time!

Thanks for the replies gentlemen, great information and very much appreciated. I have a couple of "core" W1 carbs, I will check the brackets and connecting rods to find the best set and will also try to locate the correct gauge. Are the brackets and connecting rods the same for all W1 variants or do I need to obtain them from another 314? Also, the rebuild kit came with 2 float bowl cover gaskets and I can't work out why?

Excellent post, I am running a number of marvels so this will come in handy. Thanks for posting it.

I have a 1935 Pontiac 6 cylinder with a W1 tagged as a 314S. This car was a barn find and hadn't been run since 1966. I got the car running without dramas including buying a kit and rebuilding the carb. It now starts fairly easily and feels good at low revs but in the mid and higher end of the rev range the car surges and bucks badly, pulling the choke on smooths it out again and it gets down the road quite well. I have pulled the carb down twice more and can't see anything wrong. Float is adjusted to 3/8" as per the factory manual and it doesn't have fuel inside the float as far as I can tell. I'm starting to think the main jet included with my kit is wrong and the metering rod is now way out of adjustment causing it to lean out. When I stripped the carb I was unable to remove the plug at the bottom of the accelerator pump passage, someone has glued it in place but the pump is delivering a good shot of fuel so I wasn't too concerned. It is also worth noting that the idle mixture screw can be turned all the way in without stalling the engine so I assume there is some leakage at the throttle shaft, but I wouldn't think it bad enough to lean the engine out that severely. Fuel pump isn't the issue, I installed an external pump running from a fuel can and it made no difference. Any advice here would be appreciated. I'd be happy to buy another kit if I can find one that is definitely correct and a metering rod gauge would be very handy indeed. I should mention that I'm in Australia.

I'd love to see some pictures of it.

I must have 4 or 5 of these in the shed, didn't realise they were that rare.

I'm guessing the cap on the oil filler tube?

Beautiful cars Charles, thaks for posting them. I've seen photos of that coupe before, it's a stunning car. I hadn't seen the sedan before. I have asked to have a request put into the next Early Times Chapter newsletter for information.

As there are so few 32 model 302 cars left, it would be interesting to reach out to some other owners to share info, potential parts sources etc. Feel free to message me here or at aussiecowboy@gmail.com. Oakland V8 owners are more than welcome. If I get a few responses I'll put together a mailing list for regular communications.

Is the correct engine colour for a 1937 deluxe 8 green or grey?

This was a common conversion is aus, during the war years pickups were eligible for greater petrol rations than passenger cars, hence a lot of 20s got converted. Many of them were done by body builders or coach makers, others at home on the farm. There are still many of them around today.

I need a rebuild kit for my 1937 straight 8, can anyone recommend a source of quality parts? I need the lot, pistons, bearings, valves, gaskets etc. Thanks

I have since found that 4.62 and 4.125 were also options. A temporary tachometer had occurred to me, might prove valuable, the engine noise may just sound worse than it is. With my tyre size and 4.37 ratio, 50 mph should be 2509 rpm. I'd like to do some longer trips in the car, 60mph would be nice but I'd need more like 3.5:1 to make that comfortable.

Anyone?

I have a 37 straight 8, the engine is very smooth and torquey but the stock rear end gearing has it running out of (comfortable) revs at about 45 to 50mph. I live in a flat area and the engine could easily turn a higher ratio which got me wondering, what ratios were available from factory? I'd like to track down a taller gear set and install.

Will do, not sure when it will be though, time seems to be an increasingly scarce commodity. The kits arrived today, at first glance they seem very comprehensive.

Would you be willing to post to Australia?

Apple Hydraulics ended up being a winner, full rebuild kits for $96 each plus shipping, I ordered two and they were dispatched the next day, great service.

Not a bad idea, if possible though I'd like to have parts on hand before I dismantle them, otherwise the car ends up being out of action for weeks or months while parts are sourced and searched for. If I can't buy parts/kits beforehand then I'll certainly be hitting up my local bearing supplier.

Thanks for the reply Joe, I have emailed apple to see if they will supply me the necessary parts. Vauxhalls are even rarer in Australia than Pontiacs so I don't think that will be an option in that case. That article is great, it will certainly be a great help, thanks for putting it up here. Cheers Heath

Does anyone know a source for seals and bearings for the knee action (DuBonnet) front suspension on 1935 Pontiacs. Mine leak a little and have some play in them and I'd like to rebuild them. Thanks