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Stripgear

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Posts posted by Stripgear

  1. Steve,

    When I rebuilt my 215, I got it all together except for the last head bolt. I had the torque wrench at the absolute minimum in the manual. I could feel it was going to strip, but what are you going to do? I pulled the head and helicoiled it. Put it back on, and another stripped.

    At this point I wasn't happy. I didn't want to do this again at 1000 miles, with the engine in the car, so I pulled it apart and helicoiled every last one of them.

    I don't know if that's over kill or not, but that was ten years ago and I trust my engine.

    If you want or need to helicoil the head bolts or anything else, you need to get the long ones as stated in the thread repair section of the shop manual. Mine had to be ordered.

    Scott

  2. I've been in the bearing business for 30 years, and here is my two cents:

    Front wheel ball bearings are very slow moving items and are not used on anything else. That's why the prices are high, especially for anything American made.

    In the '60's some companies made roller bearings as been mentioned. Everybody stopped making them long ago when the demand fell off.

    If the Chinese make either the ball or roller bearings then the price will come down, but I don't know if the demand is there. Roller bearings can handle more load than ball bearings which is the reason for the swap in the first place. I'd be a little nervous on using Chinese ball bearings on our cars.

    Scott

  3. You can change the compression ratio with different pistons. When I rebuilt mine, the only pistons available were the Egge Machine #L2153, which were for the Olds engine. My receipt doesn't list the compression ratio, but as I remember, it was 9.25 or something close to that. I tried looking at their online catalog, and it's not loading right now. You can probably call them and get the C/R. They offer more pistons now.

    Anyway, even with the lower C/R, my Skylark requires premium, or it will knock.

    I rebuilt my car top to bottom and I'd be glad to answer any questions you have.

    Scott

  4. 1962 Skylark Complete restoration in 1995. New engine (balanced), radiator, transmission, suspension, interior, top, top motor and cylinders, dash, brakes, all weatherstriping including top. Everything replaced or rebuilt. 9,000 miles since rebuild. New brakes again last year. Runs well. Has power steering, power top, automatic trans, A/C, all works. Contact me for more details or questions. $12,500. Car is currently in Texas.

    Thanks

    Scott

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  5. My '62 Skylark (215 V-8) started running rough when warm. If I manually close the choke, it runs great. So I take the carb apart looking for either a vacuum leak or fuel restriction. Well, I found a "vacuum leak". If you look at the pictures, you will see an intentional path to allow unmetered and unfiltered air into the carb above the throttle plates. I have a spare carb and unopened carb kit, and they are all the same. I've never seen this before. I guess I'll never hose down the engine...

    Scott

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  6. The heads are aluminum, so they already have alloy valve seats. How hard are they? I'm not sure, but I've got 10,000 miles on mine after rebuild and they are fine. If you are thinking about changing them be sure the machine shop knows what they are doing. Aluminum expands more than steel, so if they are not done right, they can fall out.

  7. I live in central Texas and have a '48 Super, '62 Skylark V-8 (A/C), and an '82 RX-7 (A/C and electric fuel pump), all with carbs. The Skylark and RX-7 both have vapor return lines. I have had all of these cars over 15 years and have never had any concern about driving them anywhere, anytime. I've never had any problems with heat EVER until last year.

    Starting last summer, anytime the temperature is over 100 degrees, when I get off of the highway and get into an idling situation (like in line at a car show or a parking lot) I better get where I need to go and get parked fast. If I don't, it's going to start to miss and finally stall. It's not going to re-start. When I open the hood and take off the air cleaner, I can see the gas boiling over into the venturis. I've never gotten stranded, I've just got to wait 20-30 minutes and then I can go on my merry way.

    I've used different gas stations and I use premium in the '62. I kind of ignored it with the "old" Buicks, but when the "modern" RX-7 did it this week (at 103 degrees) I really bothered me. I think they've finally got the vapor pressure of the new gas so low that carbs just can't handle it in triple digit temps.

    Any comments? Is this happening to anybody else?

  8. I had a knock on my '62 Skylark A/C. At first, I thought it was the clutch bearing. After I took it apart, I found the bearing in good shape. The problem is that the outer hub (the piece that the belt wraps around) is a two piece and these pieces are loose. The compressor is the standard A-6, but the clutch is different. The bellt is located all the way towards the back, so this is not the standard A-6 clutch that everybody sells.

    Does anyone know of a place that can rebuild this, or does anyone have a spare?

    Thanks

    Scott

  9. Doncastor is correct, it is solid and unique to the '53 Skylark. I think you "may" have made a mistake by putting the car up on Ebay. There are many parts that I saw in the pictures that are unique to that car. All the side trim, all the SS trim aroung the vent windows, the interior SS trim under the rear quarter windows, the front seat backs, etc. Plus many rare items like the hydralic switches and valve under the rear seat.

    I restored a car not quite that bad. (see attached) I had some spare pieces left over and I was surprised by what I got for them on Ebay. I shudder to think what that horn ring would go for. There are several guys in Sweden,Norway, etc. and they really bid the prices up. If it doesn't sell, contact me and I'll try to get you a list of the valuable items.

    Scott

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