Mike "Hubbie" Stearns

It’s way too nice to hot rod. Mike

Love it. Great detail. Mike

I use a gasket maker from Napa. It’s a soft set and works great. The antiseize is just a coating. And yes, it won’t stop the water, but will stop the electrolytes between the two dissimilar metals. Mike

I would stitch it over just about anything. Mike

After thinking about it, I have a couple of suggestions. First is when you reinstall the studs, I would use a thread sealer at the block. And second I would coat the studs with antiseize. It will keep the corrosion from happening. Mike

Great job on the head. Mike

Looking good. Mike

I’m not a tang man, but in general, it’s basically disassemble, fix, reassemble. If it were me, I would start with bodywork and panel fitment. Mechanics and then interior. Mike

Well said Ted. Mike

I like to do puzzles in the winter. Keeps me busy. Mike

I m sure glad we have people like you that knows how to work on things Ike this. You are amazing. Mike

J and M machine if your in the east. Talk to John. Mike

Question for all you guys. I’m use to 12v systems and not 6v systems. I have wire diagrams to go by, but they don’t show wire size. I do know that the battery cables are bigger on 6v. What size wire should be used for the generator to regulator to battery? This is on a 50 8N tractor. Mike

Well some good news and bad on the Ford 8N project. I would like to wish you all a Merry Christmas. I was able to pick up the engine block yesterday morning. In the afternoon I was able to get the valves and guides, lifters and cam out. I have set up a space in the barn about 10 X 10 that I can heat so I can continue work on it. I need to go through all the valves and cams to see which are the best. Bad new is that the ford 8N have three different set ups for the bore. We are use to going to a parts store to pick up parts and there are only one or maybe two options. They made blocks that have no sleeves, .040 sleeves, and .090 sleeves. Mine has no sleeves. You can’t go be the serial number either. You just need to open up the engine to check what you have. I was planning on getting the block cleaned at a machine shop. Now it will need to be bored out for sleeves. I just don’t know which sleeve to use yet. I’m leaning towards the .090 sleeves. I’ll be calling the machine shop next week to see how long it will take to get in. More to come, Mike

Was there any belly to the header? I like your fix. I can’t tell if you anchored it to the header, but it should be. Mike

It’s going to be one fine ride with that seat. Mike

That why we do it. Mike

I’ve done something similar when I was helping a friend hook up the irrigation pump. It had a skunk in it that didn’t want to leave. Mike

It always seams that they go fairly quick at the beginning and then slow down. It’s like a rollercoaster ride. Waiting on parts to come in or items to get attention from someone else are slow. We all will get there at some point in the future. Some just a little quicker that others. Mike

I like your hoist anchor point. Mike

Pics would help. Mike

Well, after a week of work and time running the lathe, I finally was able to pull number one sleeve. I can definitely say that this engine has been rebuilt before. The sleeves have no flange on top. It took about 30 minutes to pull the sleeve. The sleeve is .095 thick and an od of 3.376. None of my books show what the sleeve bore should be. If it has .090 sleeves, and the bore is 3.187, then the sleeves should be 3.367. I mic the sleeve I removed at 3.376. I don’t know if my calculations are correct so chime in if you can. Mike

I bought her some parts for her tractor I’m restoring. She will like the seat cover as well as the new steering wheel. The bling items will look good as well. Mike

I have used carriage bolts, but only grade 5. There’s several sites on line that have them. Mike

When I was on the fire department and we had a fire run, I would usually run the pumper. I have had 6 different chiefs in the 30+ years on the department. 5 of them told me that if I were on seen, I was to be at the pumper. They all asked how I could run it so well. I would reply by saying they are my mistresses and you need to treat them as such. You need to caress them and they won’t let us down. I’m no longer on the department, but still see my mistresses at least once a year and have introduced them to the newest mistress. I believe that talking to them helps both of us. They know we care and they will talk back in their own language. You just have to listen. Mike