Engine Parts Mystery

[Guest shadetree77]

I won a couple of auctions on EBAY a few days ago. They were mixed lots of parts for a '51-'52 Special. I got them for a really good price. However, when inspecting some of the parts I noticed something rather strange. One of the lots included an entire set of ball studs. These are the studs that screw into the end of the rocker arms and make contact with the push rods. There is a hole drilled through them that allows the oil to flow through the rocker arm, down through the ball stud, and into the push rod. This hole MUST be open for oil to flow. The ball studs I received have been completely filled with solder! What reason would someone have for doing that?

I easily removed the solder by holding the adjusting nut with pliers while heating the stud with a propane torch. The solder melted and dripped out of the studs. I followed up with a wooden toothpick to make sure I got all of the solder out. I have the studs soaking in oil right now. I've included a few pictures of the studs filled with solder as received and one after I've cleaned the solder out to show you how they are supposed to look.

Edited October 23, 2012 by shadetree77 (see edit history)

[JohnD1956]

Was this one of the years where the stick shift car had solid lifters?

[Guest shadetree77]

Yes, it was John. You think maybe someone put a manual trans. on a former Dynaflow car and had to fill up the oiling holes? Hmmmmm. I guess it's possible. I wonder what else they would have done to the oiling system to make it work with the manual?