automaschinewerks

hello, i am in search of kingpin and bushings parts or kit for a 1924 chrysler. pin size is 7/8". or any suggestions from anyone who has used another kit to modify etc. to replace kingpins in a car like this. thanks - terry

brian, yes thats right about the external balance engines, i balance with the front pulley and flywheel installed. i dont see any instruction on how to calculate adjustments to the bobweights to compensate if i didnt have or couldnt install the pulley and flywheel. with this old crankshaft i would imagine there is no couterweights that have been balanced to the weights of cast iron pistons, the only time balance would go out is on a crankshaft with counterweights. is this what is meant by zero balanced crankshaft. ive heard people call cranks with counterweights that were internal balanced, as in no extra weight lumps on flywheel or front pulley. ive heard people give engines and parts more stupid nicknames than i can keep up with.

hi brian, if you were asking me about the crankshaft balancing, then yes a regular 50s,60s,70s,80s,90s v-8 crankshaft ford,chev,dodge or whatever make, in a stewart warner electronic engine balancing machine. i dont have any pics of my balance jobs setup in the balancer, but im sure google will show lots of pics of same setup.

sooo...... the part i cant get my head wrapped around is when i make the bobweights necessary to balance a v-type engine in my engine balancer, suppose i balance the rotating assembly to a reading on the unbalance gauge, suppose i take and add a 20 gram washer to each bobweight, then spin the crank again, it shows a more unbalanced reading on the unbalance meter. as long as all piston weights changed are equal to eachother, the crank should be in static balance. but dynamic balance, which is when the crank is spinning is a different story though. remember ive only had to balance modern v-types engines with uneven clocked rod journals, not an older single plane crank like yours, which is like a regular in line 4 cyl. crankshaft, which would not need bobweights if it were balance for an in line 4 cyl. engine, but im not sure what it would need for bobweights to balance for a v-8 engine like yours.

this will be interesting to follow. in-line engines are easier to balance because of the cylinder pairing. 1-6, 2-5, 3-4 in a six cylinder for example. it is fine to change weights like lighter pistons as long as all six are kept the same weight or in other words not putting in two cast iron pistons and 4 aluminum pistons. this is because the cylinder pairs are up, down, sideways in relation to the length of the block at all times, if anybody can follow that picture inside a rotating engine. the problem with v - type engines is the cylinder pairs cant be equally spaced from side to side and end to end. even on flat plane engine, piston on one side is coming down and on other side is on its way up, on whichever pair along the length of the block. the problem is the crank and/or flywheel is balanced for the weight of cast iron pistons. any v-type engine i have balanced needs to have bobweights on the rod journals with a weight formula calculated from the rod/piston/rings weight (reciprocating mass). on an in-line engine the crank and flywheel is spun by itself in the balancer with no need for these bobweights (due to the even cylinder pairing) and only the pistons and rods weighed separately and weight removed to make each the same as the other five. that said ive never had to balance a flat place v-type crank so like i said, this will be interesting to follow. terry

ill take them! can you usps to canada? i will give you more than 5 dollars for them. thanks - terry

i got one too. also has erskine's business card. did every copy get his card? dang, i thougth i had something special!

thanks Gary, for the info on the gears. Yes my car is gj commander six cylinder, in my other thread about commander engine. its the car that was advertised on here in the spring. i think i have a bunch of pics on here. i have been checking faxon for the commander parts and service manuals reprints, i have about eight of their manuals for my other cars, including the service bulletin reprints. good manuals for a good price thanks - terry

hello everybody, getting the commander back together and was checking to see if anybody has new old stock oil pump gears. i dont have the parts manual for the commander, so i dont have any part numbers. the original gears aren't unuseable, they got more clearance than new gears. thanks - terry

cylinder head in resurfacing machine

pistons got new bushing installed and fitted to pins, and valves and pistons assembled back into the block

thanks guys, yes i thougth i would in-frame it, get the mechanicals sorted out until im ready to paint the car. the cylinders have more clearance than i like, but i will get the block out and sleeve it to use the standard original pistons, like i did with my erskine. (see thread - erskine engine rebuild). rex, figuring out valve train parts from other (modern or more common) engines - usually works, maybe with some modification, keeps things interesting, parts available, and usually costs down abit, although i would never knock people that are trying to sell and supply us in the hobby with new old stock parts as much as possible. thanks for checking the engine - terry

happy saturday, i got some time to work on the commander engine finally. (see my thread on commander victoria) i got my new valves from 91/93 chev cavalier intake valves, had to turn down the heads slightly on six to make exhaust valves. i got the guides reamed to 8mm, which gave 2 or 3 thou to take out some taper, cut the seats, and got the tappets, valves and springs assembled. valve spring retainers are from ls chev engine, valve keepers are from kubota, so now i guess i got one of those dumb looking resto-mod things.

that's an option i am looking into, if i can find anybody that does it. i will keep battery charged so i can go on some drives yet this summer, alternately if anyone has a spare erskine gen. or armature, and/or parts or pieces, i am interested in purchasing

good morning everybody, after over 800 trouble-free miles since i put my engine back in, i am in search of an armature for my generator. this spring my amp gauge would read over 20 amps when the engine was revved abit, or i was at road speed. the gauge would lower, then come close to zero as the engine speed would come back to idling. the farther i drove, the gauge would come back to a normal reading at road speed, so i figured the battery is recharged after starting. yesterday on a short drive, i glanced at the gauges and the amp gauge was at zero. when i removed the inspection band the armature windings and insulation were black, and the commutator bars were dark kinda black and bluish, not a copper or worn copper color under the brushes. i havent dismantled to check for the armature windings being grounded to the shaft, but im pretty sure thats what im going to find. the screw holding wire going into the gen. from the cutout was not overly snug and the contact surface on the wire end and cutout was kinda black, surely making poor connection. could this have caused the generator to drive more output? i should have got onto adjusting my third brush before i burnt out the generator, and lesson learned. when everybody says on here to make sure all connections are perfectly clean and tight, they mearn it! i looked up the studebaker part # for the armature is 132534. does anyone have listings on what the delco part # would be? thanks in advance - terry

another front pic

heres a few pics of the commander, fuel pump scrubbed up and new rubber diaghram, underneath with oil pan off (for new piston rings and valve job)

i had a 27 chev truck engine i worked on that would overheat quickly and the thin steel plate behind the water pump to direct the water into the jackets was rusted away. without the plate, the water would just swirl around the pump impeller and not circulate into the water jackets. i dont know if 23's had the plate, or when the timeline of this cooling improvement came into use. terry

yes, Pete, those are the hold-down plates i need. also need the springs and c-clips that go down into the top of the lifter. thanks - terry

good morning, i have started to clean up/ drain fluids/ begin repairs on the commander. got a tractor fuel pump kit for a few dollars and cleaned up the fuel pump, removed the rear seat bottom to vacuum the grain and mouse crap. found a couple hub cap wrenches and a crank handle, and uncovered some of the paint color stenciling on the seat floor. looks like the original color is 'machuria blue'(?) i think i seen that somewhere on here or in my literature in paint color listings.

Hello everyone, I am in search of the springs, hold-down plates, and c-clips (if i remember correct) for the lifter end of the pushrods that hold lifter and pushrods in contact with the camshaft. thanks - terry

Hello everybody, so i bought myself a new project! ill get some pictures up and progress when i get it home. this is too much fun! Terry

hi dave, ill give you a call

Hello everyone, I have a fellow who is going to take my old rear seal housings, and cast them in aluminum. I am checking to see if there is any interest or need for some spares. How many i can get cast will help on what the pricing will be, but this fellow isnt terrible exorbitant on costs. Message me on here for now. thanks - terry

what diameter are your king pins? that's where I usually start, and see if there is another kingpin kit for a newer (40s, 50s vehicle for example), that I could start with, even if I had to make bronze bushings from scratch. the kingpin kits for a more common vehicle are usually fairly reasonably priced. I need to do kingpin work on my Erskine, so sizes of pins is where im going to have to start. terry