Mark Kikta Posted June 14, 2019 Author Share Posted June 14, 2019 Yes he told me to drill 6 - 1/8 in diameter holes in each piston for the oil rings Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Morgan Wright Posted June 14, 2019 Share Posted June 14, 2019 OK I'll do that, and then I won't worry about the oil getting out the wrist pins, because it can get out here just as easily. So the teflon buttons are no problem regarding oil getting out. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Kikta Posted June 15, 2019 Author Share Posted June 15, 2019 Today I painted my cylinder block. I think it came out nice. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Morgan Wright Posted June 19, 2019 Share Posted June 19, 2019 (edited) The guy at the machine shop said it would be 2 or 3 hours labor to make these buttons, at $80 per hour, so I took the rod back. I made them myself using a hack saw and a miter box like so. This is after I drilled a 1/8 inch oil hole down the middle of the rod. I made them 0.06 to 0.09 thick, some wrist pins are deeper in the piston than others, some are only 0.06 deep. Being 3/4 inch diameter, they just snap right in place perfectly. Note the oil ring Dave gave me and the holes I drilled in that ring groove. . . Edited June 19, 2019 by Morgan Wright (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Kikta Posted June 19, 2019 Author Share Posted June 19, 2019 That looks easy. I guess there is no danger of them slipping out and floating around is there? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Morgan Wright Posted June 21, 2019 Share Posted June 21, 2019 No way. The pistons are 3.365 inches and the bore is 3.375 which is a difference of 0.01 which is 0.005 on each side. These buttons are 0.07 thick. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hubert_25-25 Posted June 22, 2019 Share Posted June 22, 2019 Morgan, Yankee ingenuity at it's finest. What the Buick engineers would have done if they only had some Teflon. That looks like a great fit. Hugh 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Kikta Posted June 25, 2019 Author Share Posted June 25, 2019 Last week I finished removing/replacing main bearing caps in preparation for re-assy of my engine. The bearings looked good to me, measured well(.003) and I had the chance to clean them and put some assembly lube on them before re-assembly. I noticed that the grooves in the Babbitt were mostly clean as well when I removed them, I assume largely due to the amount of cleaning I did in the crankcase with WD-40, brake cleaner and air pressure. So as soon as I can get time to make some piston buttons or have some made, I'll be ready to make some progress going back together. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Kikta Posted June 25, 2019 Author Share Posted June 25, 2019 (edited) This past weekend I went to the VMCCA Nickel Era Tour in Gettysburg, Pa where my wife and I had the pleasure of riding around Gettysburg Battlefields with Brian Heil and his family in his 1923 Buick Touring car. We had an absolute blast! On top of that I was so excited to get my new Water Pump shaft from Larry Schramm. He and his machinist friend made the new stainless shaft and put rubber seals in the pump so I hopefully never have a leak issue on my water pump. I also met with Larry DiBarry and picked up a couple of door handles to get me started. I had none before so thanks to Larry, I'm well on my way to filling those holes in my doors. Thanks to Brian, Larry and Larry for a fun and fruitful weekend Edited June 25, 2019 by Mark Kikta (see edit history) 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larry Schramm Posted July 2, 2019 Share Posted July 2, 2019 (edited) Mark, Glad to meet you in person. I am confident that John did a first class job on your water pump and there will be no leaks. Did yours just like he did mine. The lip seals that we installed are the best. They are good for high temp and impervious to just about any chemical. I would have to confirm, but they should withstand temps higher than 400deg F. Should last forever. We all look forward to you to come tour with us next year towards the end of June. The tour will be in the Marysville, Ohio area. Great group & a good time. Hopefully Larry & Joan will be able to join us also as Beulah is now running well. Got the miss fixed. Edited July 2, 2019 by Larry Schramm (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Kikta Posted July 2, 2019 Author Share Posted July 2, 2019 Larry, Thanks again for making this all happen for me. Not sure how I would have made this happen otherwise. I look forward to seeing you at the next event. Good luck getting your car back on the road after the tour. Mark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larry Schramm Posted July 3, 2019 Share Posted July 3, 2019 Mark, I have already had the radiator out and cleaned out. The shop said that did the work and said it was full of "gunk". One item down, two more to go. Making good progress so far. Hope to have it running again by the end of the week. Larry 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Kikta Posted July 3, 2019 Author Share Posted July 3, 2019 Sounds great! Maybe a filter is in order? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larry Schramm Posted July 3, 2019 Share Posted July 3, 2019 10 minutes ago, Mark Kikta said: Sounds great! Maybe a filter is in order? I need to relocate the sediment bowl and reroute the fuel line. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Kikta Posted July 13, 2019 Author Share Posted July 13, 2019 Finally got my new lathe and Teflon rod so I made my wrist pin buttons today. I think they came out great. I used 1in Teflon rod to turn down. Now I can finally begin assembly of my engine. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terry Wiegand Posted July 13, 2019 Share Posted July 13, 2019 Mark, I like that a lot! Terry Wiegand South Hutchinson, Kansas 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DonMicheletti Posted July 13, 2019 Share Posted July 13, 2019 Looking Good!! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Morgan Wright Posted July 13, 2019 Share Posted July 13, 2019 Looks great. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larry Schramm Posted July 13, 2019 Share Posted July 13, 2019 Mark, Looks great. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Kikta Posted July 21, 2019 Author Share Posted July 21, 2019 (edited) Despite the temperature in my garage of 100 degrees, I finally managed to get my pistons installed into the block and the cylinder block installed onto the crankcase. I laid the cylinder block on it's side so it was easier to install the pistons before moving it to the crankcase. I taped cardboard on the crank journals so I had no chance of scratching a journal while putting these parts together. I first soaked each piston in motor oil so I could lubricate the wrist pin well. Then I installed my new wrist pin buttons prior to using a ring compressor to install the pistons. I held the piston in place and my wife tapped the piston in using a small piece of wood. After we installed each piston, we tied them in place so that we had no danger of the pistons slipping out as we lifted the cylinder block to the crankcase. As my wife slowly lowered the block in place, I guided the connecting rods to their places on the crankshaft. After bolting the block in place, I crawled underneath the motor to take the carboard off the journals and set the rods firmly in place on the journals. I'll come back on a cooler day the use plastic gage to check bearing clearances before final installation of the pistons and rods. For me it was exciting to finally make some progress towards getting my engine back together. Edited July 21, 2019 by Mark Kikta (see edit history) 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dibarlaw Posted July 21, 2019 Share Posted July 21, 2019 Mark: Always great to see you smiling! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Kikta Posted July 21, 2019 Author Share Posted July 21, 2019 Thank you Larry😀 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larry Schramm Posted July 22, 2019 Share Posted July 22, 2019 WOW. Great progress. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terry Wiegand Posted July 22, 2019 Share Posted July 22, 2019 Mark, Great progress indeed! I have a question or two for you. Since you have the starter/generator unit and the water pump assembly going back on, it looks like in the photos that you sealed up the timing gear cover permanent? Please correct me if I am wrong on this, but won't you have to remove that cover to install the water pump shaft? When the guys at Davenport go through my engine I am going to have them not put the fan pulley on the camshaft so that that will only be done once when I button everything up for the final time. I spoke with Larry Schramm and he told me that your water pump and shaft came out just great. And I am sure that you are well aware that Brian Heil is our resident ignition timing expert. I sure am envious of you at this point with your engine assembly progress. Keep up the good work and keep those photos coming. Terry Wiegand South Hutchinson, Kansas Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Kikta Posted July 22, 2019 Author Share Posted July 22, 2019 Terry, I did not have to re-open the timing gear cover to take the water pump shaft off and since have yet to drill the hole for the pin at the S/G end, I don’t think I need to access the timing gears. Am I missing something? Thank you for the kind words Mark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dibarlaw Posted July 22, 2019 Share Posted July 22, 2019 Terry: As I have told Hugh and others that the water pump is a serviceable assembly. Hence the adjustment at the distributer head for re timing. It may be good for your own peace of mind to have the front cover removed to get the marks on the crank gear, timing gear and pump shaft gear all in alignment. If all the assembly was done at the same time. After I had my engine rebuilt I had to pull the water pump, shaft and gear assembly off 3 times before I was done. I would not relish having to jack the engine up, use a puller to remove the front pulley and remove the cover just to install the water pump shaft and gear. Also Mark, do not forget that the spacing of the Oldham coupler plate. I believe it should be about .050. Then locate and drill your end coupler taper pin hole. The Starter /Generator will not motor if the spacing is too tight. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Bourque Posted July 22, 2019 Share Posted July 22, 2019 The only timing marks that need to be aligned are the cam to crankshaft. The water pump shaft doesn’t matter as the ignition timing is set with the distributer. Looking good and great progress... Jim 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Morgan Wright Posted July 22, 2019 Share Posted July 22, 2019 5 hours ago, Jim Bourque said: The only timing marks that need to be aligned are the cam to crankshaft. The water pump shaft doesn’t matter as the ignition timing is set with the distributer. Yeah, whatever position the water pump shaft is in relative to the generator, it doesn't matter, you can always just loosen the screw in the middle of the distributor and adjust the distributor cam to the position it needs to be for the timing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Kikta Posted July 23, 2019 Author Share Posted July 23, 2019 Tonight it was much cooler so I finished checking clearances and torquing rod cap bolts. All checked .0015 or .002 thousands. I think the are good to go Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Morgan Wright Posted July 23, 2019 Share Posted July 23, 2019 Don't forget to make a video of your "first start" so we can see it!! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Bourque Posted July 23, 2019 Share Posted July 23, 2019 Mark Have you had a look at the gear that drives the oil pump that is driven by the camshaft? Typically it’s brass and it may be worn.... Very easy to get at with where you are at in your process. I do like to promote mission creep 😜 Jim 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Kikta Posted July 24, 2019 Author Share Posted July 24, 2019 Actually I did look hard at that gear and it looks like new. I’ll either put some grease on or squirt oil all over that gear. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Kikta Posted July 25, 2019 Author Share Posted July 25, 2019 Today I installed the oil pump and in the process of checking the cleanliness of the oil delivery tubes, I noticed a fairly significant leak at one of the tubing joints. I’ll need to get that repaired before installing the tubes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dibarlaw Posted July 25, 2019 Share Posted July 25, 2019 Yes Mark I had to do the same on my 25 Standard. When I first pulled my pan I saw that someone had smeared Blue RTV sealer over the joint!!!! I clamped the tube assembly to a planed true board to keep thing in alignment. Also use a trammel to locate the mounting holes accurately. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Kikta Posted July 25, 2019 Author Share Posted July 25, 2019 That looks great Larry. Nice work! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Kikta Posted July 27, 2019 Author Share Posted July 27, 2019 While I had everything off the bottom end, I decided to clean the flywheel and make the timing marks easy to see. I see the 7 Deg mark but wonder what the others are? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Kikta Posted July 27, 2019 Author Share Posted July 27, 2019 Next I decided to put the valve cages back in the block. They looked so pretty all cleaned up and reworked, I hated to put them back into the cylinder head where I couldn’t see them any longer. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Kikta Posted July 27, 2019 Author Share Posted July 27, 2019 All done!! Any specs on how tight they should be? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Kikta Posted July 27, 2019 Author Share Posted July 27, 2019 I wanted to install the valve cages before installing the manifolds so I could make sure they didn’t turn any when I tightened them. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DonMicheletti Posted July 27, 2019 Share Posted July 27, 2019 1-6 is top dead center. 7° is seven degrees after top dead center. If you are hand cranking, you want it to fire after TDC so it doesnt kick back. It is also the "full retard" ignition timing point. Onec I had a packing nut loosen and a valve cage rotate. I was surprising how the performance dropped off so quickly. Took me a while to find the problem, I knew the offending cylinderI obviously had a miss, but no bad spark. When I pulled the cages to check for a burned valve , the mis-alignment became obvious 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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