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1933 Dodge BARN FIND - HARLEAN'S COMEBACK


Sactownog

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update: 

The engine I have (1953 Dodge 230 Flat Head straight 6 ) has been turned before.

 

The pistons are.030 over factory spec, I have ordered .060 pistons, new wrist pins, clips, connecting rod bushing from Then and Now automotive that are NOS. 

 

I felt having the original pistons that would have been put in this engine back in the day are better than some new machined ones from EGGY. not to say Eggy is a bad company in any way, but NOS seems to be what is working best for my build in many aspects. from the rear end rebuild to the bushings and bearings. 

 

NOS just fits better. 

 

Anyway, now to deck the head, deck the top of the block, clean the valve intake and exhaust ports, and I am going to use a dremel to widen the intake exhaust ports as well. 

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2 hours ago, Manuel said:

Apparently decking the manifold side of the block is a good idea too -- so I have been told.

 

Manuel in Oz

I agree, I have heard its a good idea to do so, however, there are stud's that go in the block that have to be pulled out to do this, I did not have any issues with the manifold or intake leaking and chose to not do this. I will be doing the top side though. 

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I have heard also not a good idea, if you have a cast iron manifold, and you have warpage on the manifold, when you plane the block you put undo stress on the manifold when attaching, unless you have a thick enough gasket to make up for the warp...

 

Also you do want to pull the studs and replace all of them on the block, to ensure tight threads and no water leaking from any water jackets, and especially after hot tank bath, simply double nut them to wrench them off.

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14 hours ago, Surf City '38 said:

I have heard also not a good idea, if you have a cast iron manifold, and you have warpage on the manifold, when you plane the block you put undo stress on the manifold when attaching, unless you have a thick enough gasket to make up for the warp...

 

Also you do want to pull the studs and replace all of them on the block, to ensure tight threads and no water leaking from any water jackets, and especially after hot tank bath, simply double nut them to wrench them off.

you are refering to leaking out of the bolts on the intake/manifold side correct? 

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UPDATE: 

 

started port matching the intake and exhaust ports. 

 

also, got both front lower cross memeber and 2nd shifter/shift peddle assembly cross memeber out of the car, I am going to sand blast the parts, paint and re-install. also, this is going to make it easy to put the engine back into the vehicle with the lower member being removable. originally the lower solid member made it a pain in the butt to get the engine out without removing the flywheel/clutch assembly. 

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My intake/exhaust studs looked fine - from the outside.  I noticed one had bad threads, apparently cross-threaded - so I decided to replace it.  When I got it out, I discovered about 3/4 of the inner threads had rusted away.  I was shocked at how little of the hidden inner threads remained.  And this stud was a bear to get out, despite the damage.  Do not take it for granted that any studs that appear okay on the outside, but come into contact with the water jacket, are solid and in good shape.

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checked the studs on the exhaust/intake side, all threads look good, they will stay in and be reused. the engine ran for a year and had no leaking problems so for now they will stay. 

 

however, I have ported the intake/exhaust holes on both the block and manifolds. 

 

the Valve guides are next to be checked with a ball gauge. I have new valve's and springs and if all goes well, I wont have to change the guides. but we will see. 

 

I will be polishing the intake/exhaust ports and then doing the proper valve job to seat the valves. 

 

new .060 pistons have been ordered and will be here Thursday, so that I can get the measurements to bore the block out and get the turning assembly sent out to be balanced. 

 

lost to come in the coming weeks, however I have to wait because no class tomorrow (sema) and no class Monday (veterans day) so now I wait. 

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I got the intake/exhaust holes ported on both the block and manifold's and will be polishing them this week. 

 

also I received the pistons from Then and now and will be measuring them so that I can bore out the block to the correct size and get the turning assembly sent out for balancing. 

 

stay tuned. 

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UPDATE: 11/15/19 

so I have been in a  community college class for the last 2 months, I am pretty advanced when it comes to building vehicles and feel my skill's would be greatly increased by taking an Engine Building class. 

 

I decided yesterday after 2 months of frustrating issues with this class to load my 230 flat head 6 engine into my truck and all the parts I have amassed and take it over to an Engine Builder who specializes in not only engine building but flat head engines. 

 

I feel mislead by this community college and the instructor (who did not know how to use the bore machine or cross hatch machine) should have had more of a hands on approach. 

The tool department was not very well versed in the tools in the tool department or how they work or what they are used for, they also constantly had Micromiters that were not accurate and ran out of supplies offten. 

 

so, with that being said, the engine will be built in about a month, and I will continue to work on the engine bay. 

 

I have been cleaning parts as well as sand blasting cross members for paint, so when the engine is back, it should be easy to slide it right into the car and move on. 

 

stay tuned. 😕

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7 minutes ago, Sactownog said:

are you speaking of the throw out bearing? 

 

clutch/flywheel/pressure plate/throw out bearing are all restored to new. 

No, should be a bushing/sleeve on this pivot. (may be on both sides of the shaft)

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Edited by Surf City '38 (see edit history)
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The plan this week is to remove all the parts from the pieces that were sand blasted and make sure the sand is out of the moving areas. 

 

then, I will be installing the cross member back into the vehicle with peddle assembly. 

 

Next is to take the Radiator to S&S in Oceanside and have them flush it to see if I need to have it re-cored or if it will be fine. I dont want any junk blocking the engine water way's

 

 

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  • 2 weeks later...
3 hours ago, Sactownog said:

update: have a buddy here in San Diego who rebuilt my original distributor, its back to new. such a great job, I am very pleased with this rebuild. 

 

Does your buddy do that as a business? If so can you share the contact information?

 

Thanks!

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  • 1 month later...

UPDATE: 1/31/2020

Well after about 3-4 Months of going to a night college, finding out the college instructor did not know how to operate the school's bore / hone machine, or how to deck the head and block and many months of frustrations. I have finally got my engine close to the finish line. 

 

I ended up taking the engine to a local machine shop to have the head/block decked, the new valve guides installed, and bored the block .060

 

while the block was there, i figured, why not have the shop put the short block together, and now in about a week I should be getting the engine back. 

 

here are some updated pictures of the engine, it will be painted silver. 

 

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