27 Dodge Touring Car engine

[Guest soarhead]

I have been reading John Steinbeck's famous novel "The Grapes of Wrath". In it he describes, in exquisite detail, a repair of the subject engine, done on the road by members of the Joad family. It consisted of removing and replacing a piston-connecting rod assembly. But the thing that puzzles me is that,although the author seems to be quite conversant with automobile mechanics, I consider the thing he described to be impossible. He described the removal of the aforementioned assembly from the UNDERSIDE of the engine (past the crankshaft it would have to be). Can anyone please confirm or refute this claim?

[keiser31]

Artistic license.......imaginary scenario.

[Steve Braverman]

If the crank has no counterweights, which it probably doesn't, it may be possible.

In fact, I replaced the pistons in my grandfather's 1931 Lincoln, and they had to come out the bottom. The big end of the rod was bigger than the cylinder bore.

[oldford]

Same with my 27 Studebaker Big Six. Pistons had to come out the bottom. To accomplish this, you would turn the crank a few degrees at a time to get the piston to clear. I lost a rod bearing on number one and dropped the piston and rod without ever removing the head. Compressing the rings was a bit dicey, but it got done.....

Frank

[Mark Shaw]

Buicks also have this capability.

[Ivan Saxton]

I aquired a 1921 Dodge engine for a friend who needed one for the car he has which has been in his family except for 18 months since new. (Engines for the early low radiator cars differ in having the fan mount on the block rather than the head; so you cannot get away with the later ones.) Basically what had been a good useable engine before someone loosened the head needed sleeving, so I had to strip it out with stuck pistons in rusty bores. I can assure you that the pistons and rods were definitely never intended to be serviced from underneath. By contrast there is a report that Fred Duesenberg ran a big end bearing on an A Duesenberg; and he drove home after removing the affected rod and piston. He would have needed to clamp something over the oil hole in the crankpin, to assure proper pressure to the rest of the engine. With the small bore size of the A, it may even have been possible to remove the rod and piston through one of the hand-holes on the left side of the crankcase.

[Guest wombvette]

Same for the 20s-30s V8 Cadillac and it has counter weights.