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The Car Which Shall Not Be Named III (1935 Lincoln K)


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Matt.......just a small request. Hurry Up! I should be back in your neighborhood soon...............I would love to take it for a test drive..............I have fond memories of my old 37 Brunn. 🧐

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Looking really good, Matt.  It's great to see the progress you are making.  The pics of the timing chain and oiling system were fascinating.  I would say "overengineered" is an understatement!

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Took some time to re-strip the air cleaner parts. Ugh, epoxy primer is really tough. Really worked the bench grinder hard. I'm wondering if powder coating it is a better choice, even with the mesh inside. I don't know if it'll affect how well it filters. My other parts will be done tomorrow, so maybe when I pick them up I'll show them the air cleaner assembly and ask what they think or what they can do to seal it off.

 

I've been dreading the job, but tonight I tackled the oil pan. About an inch of of Jell-o like slurry in the bottom. I used a plastic spoon to scoop out as much as I could, then some rags to wipe up some more, then I poured some lacquer thinner in it and sloshed it around for a while. The baffles in the pan are surprisingly effective--even the water-like thinner didn't move very fast from one end to the other. A little more wiping, a little more thinner, more wiping, then I sprayed it with a concentrated mixture of Dawn dishwashing detergent, which is an excellent emulsifier. Let that soak for a while, then scrub with a Scotch-brite pad, hose it down with warm water, and blow it dry. Voila! Clean oil pan ready for refinishing. 

 

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Gross.

 

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Not gross.

 

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I have not decided how to refinish the oil pan yet.

Sandblast and powder or wire wheel and paint?

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1 hour ago, Matt Harwood said:

I've been dreading the job, but tonight I tackled the oil pan.

 

It's so funny what jobs people dread compared to others.  Having been a "pot-walloper" in a restaurant kitchen as a teenager (my first summer job), the idea of cleaning up the oil pan seems simple and straightforward to me compared to the much more technical tasks you are performing. Yes, it's messy, but very difficult to screw up!

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10 hours ago, neil morse said:

  The pics of the timing chain and oiling system were fascinating.  I would say "overengineered" is an understatement!

V-8, V-12 and V-16 engines from Cadillac built at the same frame time are very similar. When I'm looking here at the Lincoln engine, I'm wondering if the same engineers designed the Lincoln and Cadillac engines!

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I wouldn’t sandblast the pan........too hard to get clean unless you want to spend another two to three hours on it. Make a mistake with sandblasting on engine parts and you pay the price. On a driver, I think I would sand and paint it. After ten minutes it’s going to be covered in road dirt, and after three hours of running it will really be so dirty that no one will ever know how it was done. I’m reasonable fussy on drivers, but how often do you spend ten hours detailing the engine bay? Once every ten years? I rather see you do an oil drop two or three times after start up than spending 400 dollars on painting the pan. Painting all that stuff runs into big money fast.......as you know. The best thing about my White..........just try and preserve patina as you go along. Today we will be covering up where we had to “clean excessively” while working on it. We saved a bunch of chassis dirt and grime to reinstall back on the car. Insane isn’t it? Spend 80 hours cleaning a perfect car for Pebble, and spend five hours smearing grease and dirt on my driver. We are all nuts........

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35 minutes ago, edinmass said:

I wouldn’t sandblast the pan........too hard to get clean unless you want to spend another two to three hours on it. Make a mistake with sandblasting on engine parts and you pay the price. On a driver, I think I would sand and paint it. After ten minutes it’s going to be covered in road dirt, and after three hours of running it will really be so dirty that no one will ever know how it was done. I’m reasonable fussy on drivers, but how often do you spend ten hours detailing the engine bay? Once every ten years? I rather see you do an oil drop two or three times after start up than spending 400 dollars on painting the pan. Painting all that stuff runs into big money fast.......as you know. The best thing about my White..........just try and preserve patina as you go along. Today we will be covering up where we had to “clean excessively” while working on it. We saved a bunch of chassis dirt and grime to reinstall back on the car. Insane isn’t it? Spend 80 hours cleaning a perfect car for Pebble, and spend five hours smearing grease and dirt on my driver. We are all nuts........

While we all may be nuts, that's the fun of it, right?

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Just confirmed with Remflex that they'll be making me a fresh set of intake/exhaust manifold gaskets for the Lincoln. I'll have 4 extra sets should anyone need an upgrade over the usual copper-clad composite gaskets. They're also going to eliminate the hole for the exhaust passage under the carburetor to help seal that off, so other users won't have to tap and plug them like I did. I've used Remflex gaskets successfully on all my personal cars and found that they not only seal better but need less torque (so you don't damage mounting ears) and compensate for irregular surfaces, which I'm sure to have on this car. I hate exhaust leaks and these are the only gaskets I've found that permanently cure them. Hopefully they can turn my custom set pretty quickly so I can move to the next phase of getting the engine set up and on the test stand.

 

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Remflex will be reproducing the entire 13-piece intake/exhaust gasket set.

 

 

Edited by Matt Harwood (see edit history)
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If you want to know why professional restorations are so expensive, today was a great example. I removed the studs holding the engine front cover in place because some of them had mangled threads and I wanted to use new hardware. However, Lincoln used 3/8" studs with coarse threads in the block and fine threads for the nut, about 1-3/8 long. Not 1-1/4 and not 1-1/2, which are commonly available. I saved the nuts, which are unique and modern nuts would not look right. The studs are flush with the nuts for a tidy appearance. I threw the nuts in my vibratory tumbler to clean them up and let it run while I worked. 

 

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Vibratory tumbler cleans up small parts quite nicely.
Not sure if the plating is still intact, but I like the soft
not-shiny finish.

 

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Front cover uses unique nuts that I want to re-use.
note the flat bottom and rounded top of each face. They

are also slightly thicker than modern nuts, so it will

fit flush with the end of the stud.

 

The first thing I did was wipe down the oil pan and get it ready for primer and paint. I sprayed it with the same primer I used on the engine. While it was drying, I started on the studs. I had to shorten twenty-one 1.5-inch studs to approximately 1-3/8. Ugh. I made a jig for my chop saw that would allow me to screw the stud into place, which positioned it at the proper length, then screwed a nut onto the fine threads so that after it was cut, I could remove the nut which would straighten the mangled threads. It worked pretty well. I used a file to round off the corners and give it a finished look. A few passes with the nut and the threads were straight and the nut spun into place easily. Each one took about 8 minutes, so I'd spray a coat of primer on the oil pan, do two studs, spray a coat of primer, two more studs, etc. Eventually I had 21 properly-sized studs and a fully painted oil pan. It only took 3 hours.

 

And THAT is why professional restorations cost so much--if I were a pro, someone would be paying me $100/hour (or more) to do all this fiddly busywork because the correct-sized parts are no longer available. Either way, the results were pretty good.

 

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New stud, modified stud, original stud.

 

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And they fit perfectly.

 

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Cleaned the oil pan thoroughly, primed, and painted with the same high-temp

gloss black enamel I used on the blocks. Should work just fine.

 

 

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Timing chain and gears look like a work of modern art. Great power plant. Nothing but fond memories of out old 1937.

 

Matt, when it comes to doing stud work......you seem to have things covered very well! 🤭

Edited by edinmass (see edit history)
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I thought today would be an easy day but instead it was only frustrating. I just wanted to reinstall some parts, starting with the drive system for the generator/water pump. It's driven by a sprocket from the timing chain. I removed the idler pulley for painting and it slid right out, leaving the sprocket in place. You may recall how easy it was:

 

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That pulley on the left is the one giving me fits.

 

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This is the pulley. Came apart easily.

 

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This is the bushing. Slid right out. Won't go back in.

 

Somehow, over the last two weeks, my timing chain shrank (not really, but that's how it seems). It's now 1/4-inch too small and that pulley/bushing just will not slide back into the sprocket and allow me to tighten it into place. I banged my head against it for about three hours trying everything I could think of.

 

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Slides about halfway into the sprocket but it needs to be aligned perfectly

to go all the way in and seat properly.

 

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I can crank it down but eventually the mounting ears

just start to bend. Not good.

 

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Appears to be about 1/4 inch off. I can't pull it

any farther to the left to get it to seat properly.

 

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I can't get it into place and get this oil fitting

into the opening. There just isn't enough slack

in the timing chain.

 

Nuts on the studs and tighten it into place? That just bent the flat part of the idler pulley.

 

Use a screwdriver to try to lever it into place? Chewing up the threads.

 

Lots of grease? No help.

 

Remove the studs? Well, aside from the understandable terror that removing studs from this engine engenders, it made no difference.

 

Install one stud and try to use it as a pivot to pull the idler pulley into place? No dice.

 

Big piece of pipe through the center of the idler pulley to try to pull it into place? Fail. 

 

I thought maybe the lower pulley that acts to add tension to the timing chain to keep it taut could move. I put a 1-1/16 inch wrench on the nut and added a little pressure and it didn't move even a little, so I stopped. I don't think it's designed to move.

 

So what do I do? How do I install this thing? I am out of ideas and there is no shop manual for this car, so there's no guide for installation. I'm not too keen on removing an other pulleys or risking screwing up the timing, but maybe that's what you have to do--remove all the pulleys and push them all on at the same time? No idea. Very frustrating. Much sad.


Oh, and I made a mess of all my fresh paint on the crankcase. I had no idea this would be so difficult or else I would have masked it off. Too late now.


Any other ideas? I'm fresh out. The project stops here unless I can figure it out.
 

Edited by Matt Harwood (see edit history)
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Just having a guess Matt, my '28 Chrysler was also a timing chain driven generator and it could be adjusted in and out to tension the chain, no idler gear though. Does it or even the idler gear have adjustment capability?

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Cadillac setup is easier than the Lincoln, and they pop right in.

Matt....that idler gear sure looks like its on an excentric to me. 

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So there's this big bolt on the bottom front of the crankcase. I didn't touch it because I assumed it was holding the oil manifold in place, but maybe it manages the idler pulley?

 

There is no manual, so I have no idea how it works and it's impossible to see in there to determine what it's connected to. Do I risk taking it apart just to see what happens?

 

Adjustable.jpg.bf5952cb35a4f5b00dfb84e0762ab1d2.jpg

 

 

Edited by Matt Harwood (see edit history)
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You have nothing to lose but time, money, sanity, and a few choice words. Sure looks like an adjustment.......and the idler is where you would expect to make adjustments. I urge caution.........make a few calls first. I really want to drive that car..........

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I love old service manuals...

 

"the ratchet latches can be released by using two large nails, or cotter pins..."

 

"...insert a wooden plug... the plug must be made of hardwood."


Now, FOMOCO, or whoever, would use 2 or 3 special tools for $350. 🤣

 

Really glad you found the solution, or at least a very promising lead. Good luck!

Edited by Ken_P (see edit history)
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3 hours ago, Matt Harwood said:

He (and you) beat me to it, Ed. I have the Service Bulletins here at the shop but thought they were at home. Here's the full page with all the details. Hope it's as easy as it looks.

 

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This chain and idler setup is almost identical to that used on the Cadillac V-12 and V-16 as shown in my 32 shop manual. They did have a small note buried in the picture of the generator: "When removing 370B and 452B generators not provided with a set screw in support flange, DO NOT allow sprocket support to move away from its mounting on crankcase." I would assume what happened is the spring loaded automatically adjustable idler tightened up when you pulled the support out. They also show the same wood block adjustment technique on the V-8 gear setup.

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Well, it's amazing how easy things are once you know how to do them. Following the instructions in the bulletin made it a snap to reinstall the pulley. I removed the cotter pin, nut, and washers to expose the mechanism, then used a pair of small picks to release the ratcheting locks. It took a few tries to find just the right spot, but once they were released, it was surprisingly easy to push the pulley down and lock it in place (turns out a magic marker is exactly the right diameter). 

 

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Once the mechanism was exposed, it was relatively easy to release the pulley

and free up some slack in the timing chain.

 

I reinstalled the generator mounting studs with a drop of blue Lok-Tite on the threads, then the gasket, then pushed the generator drive bushing into place. It didn't quite slide in effortlessly, even with the extra slack in the timing chain, but a piece of pipe through the center of the bushing and a little tug and it was in place. I used some nuts and washers to secure the mounting plate to the studs, which will hold everything together until the generator is installed. 

 

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With a little coaxing, I was able to install the mounting plate.

 

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I suspect the timing chain is new given how little
slack there is, even with the idler fully retracted.

 

 

I reinstalled the oil feed line, mounting screw, idler cover, washer, and castle nut, then locked everything in place with a cotter pin. I was careful to lock it in place the way it was originally (which is the right way to do it).

 

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Before and after. Another step complete.

 

The powdercoater called and said my parts were done so I ran over and picked them up. More beautiful work! Just to see how it fit and how it would look, I installed the front cover. A few holes were a little tight, but some dressing with a round file cleaned them up and it slid into place easily. I'm not going to install it permanently until my new engine mounts show up later this week. I'll press those into place then install the front cover and oil pan. 

 

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More beautiful gloss black parts, ready to install.

 

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Front cover looks awesome.

 

I pulled out some more hardware to mount a few other parts like the oil level guide and noted this logo on the bolt heads. Does anyone recognize it?

 

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Do you recognize this logo?

 

I also need to remove the filter element in the air cleaner assembly so it can be powdercoated. Otherwise it'll just get clogged up and won't flow anything. It appears that it was installed and then the cannister was swedged together, so there's no easy way to get it out. I think I'll just have to cut it out and then use some copper mesh to replace it once the filter housing is refinished. It won't be this tidy, but it should work just as well.

 

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Filter element has to come out for powdercoat or paint
but will be difficult to replace.

 

So I quit while I was ahead and went home. Tomorrow I'm going to start a little side project that I'll show you, and maybe do some more reassembly.

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4 minutes ago, dalef62 said:

Matt, that magic marker doesn't look like hardwood!  Lol. Looking sharp, keep up the good work.


Beat me to it!

 

Looks great Matt!

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I was actually shocked how light the spring pressure is. I thought it would need a lot of effort to drop it down and that's why they specified hardwood, but no, it was surprisingly light.

 

Huh.

 

 

Edited by Matt Harwood (see edit history)
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8 hours ago, neil morse said:

You of all people should understand that the plug should be made of "Harwood!"  😄  So happy to see that you have overcome another annoying obstacle!

 

Believe me, this car has already claimed many pieces of Harwood.

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Today was a quiet day at the shop so I took the cylinder heads over to the machine shop. They're going to give them a soak in their tank to clean out the cooling passages (remember the Evapo-Rust soak I did has no effect on aluminum) and then deck them just enough to make them flat. I don't want to add a lot of compression, but shaving a few thousandths can't hurt. We talked about the surface finish and since I'm using copper head gaskets, they suggested a bit of "tooth" to grip the gasket but not too much--it should still be able to move a little. I trust their expertise and I should have the heads back by the end of the week. Nice!

 

I found replacement bushings for the front engine mounts at Steele Rubber--they're track bar bushings for some '60s car. They're about the same length, have a 5/8" steel insert, and are only about 3/16" larger in diameter than the originals. Close enough. I ordered a set, which were insanely expensive ($67/pair) but only one showed up. Looks like one fell out of the package, so I called them up to order another. It should be here in a few days as long as it doesn't get lost again.

 

 

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New bushings are close enough that I can make them work.

 

I spent a little time thinking about how to reduce the diameter of that bushing and ultimately decided that grinding was the best choice. I did some reading and it suggested freezing it to make the rubber hard enough to machine, but they were talking in liquid nitrogen. Yeah, we've all got some of that laying around, right? I did read that sanding it was always possible, albeit messy. So I chucked the bushing into my drill press and used a cut-off wheel to grind it down. It made a lot of fine black dust and some smoke, but it shaved the bushing down pretty evenly and left a bit of texture on the surface. I got it close to the 1.625" diameter of the originals, leaving it a little large (I assume they will shrink over time). Then I had to figure out how to get it into the engine mounts.

 

I removed the original bushings with a C-clamp and a socket, but that didn't have the muscle to push this new one in. Instead, I set up the press and started pushing it into place. I lubricated the bushing and inside of the engine mount with liquid dish soap, which is slippery but will evaporate and won't hurt the rubber. I got the bushing about halfway in but then it started bulging outwards instead of going into the mount. Some more creative press work with a piece of exhaust tubing around the bushing to keep it from bulging, and eventually I got it into place. The compressed bushing is a bit longer than it was before, but I don't think that will really affect anything. The bushing should float in the mounts to mask vibrations and these will certainly do that. I can always cut it off if it doesn't look quite right.

 

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Pressed the bushing into place and it fits pretty well. I don't think the bit protruding on

top will make any difference to function or appearance. 

 

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The old mounts were actually sitting on the frame so I think my
slightly taller bushings will actually help with NVH.

 

Now I just have to figure out how to install the other one--that short mount isn't going to reach far enough into my press...

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These days, every day is like Christmas--lots of packages full of goodies coming in. Today it was the coil cover that I bought from a fellow Lincoln Club member. It fits on the firewall and covers the coils and distributor. Mine was missing, along with the spark plug conduit, and now that I have those pieces my engine should have a finished look. 

 

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Coil cover is ready to install.

 

The machine shop also brought my cylinder heads back (delivery--nice!) and they're gorgeous. They only shaved them enough to get them flat and if you look at the photos, you can see the pattern cut into the deck surface which will help hold the head gasket in place. A few of the coolant holes are a little irregular, but nothing substantial and I don't expect any problems sealing it--it held pressure during the Evapo-Rust treatment without leaks. I plan to spend the weekend polishing the aluminum and getting it ready for installation.

 

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Cylinder heads came back fast. Beautiful!

 

And that brings me to where I am right now, and that's kind of at odds and ends with the project. What do I do next? I can polish cylinder heads, but what is another step towards getting it ready to run on the test stand? There are a few little jobs that I don't know HOW to do, including installing the felt oil seal for the camshaft pulley and replacing the rag joint disc between the generator and water pump, but the big stuff is pretty much done. I still have a few parts out for work, and my friend and professional restorer Jim Capaldi is coming over to pick up my water pump tomorrow to rebuild it for me (ultimately he's the only guy I trust with it). I'm still waiting on my Remflex gaskets, so that will hold things up a bit, too. It's hard when there's no clear path to follow.

 

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How do I install this felt oil seal? It bunches up too much to tuck into the channel.
Obviously it was installed before the assembly went together, but there's no way

to disassemble it now. Do I cut it? Shave it somehow? Jam it in with a screwdriver?
Any suggestions?

 

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What do I use to replace the rag joint? Or should I just

leave it alone?

 

 

 

 

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Matt......the joint on the water pump uses a item called a hardy disk. If you can give me the OD, ID, and bolt spacing I will see if we have made them in the past. Probably did, and probably have new ones on the shelf at the shop up north. Here are a few we have in stock. Die cut, proper material.............

7F6CFB14-7AD7-43DE-B82B-B0CAD877E06F.png

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6 hours ago, Matt Harwood said:

 

 

 

 

 

 

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How do I install this felt oil seal? It bunches up too much to tuck into the channel.
Obviously it was installed before the assembly went together, but there's no way

to disassemble it now. Do I cut it? Shave it somehow? Jam it in with a screwdriver?
Any suggestions?

 

 

 

 

 

 

When I restored my '56 Biarritz, I had the same problem. The felt went it, but not well and since the front of the engine is not leak free. There was a mid-change during the '56 MY with a cover having provision for  a modern seal. I bought one, and sold it in between. So, a little oil leak will not kill me.

I'm wondering if it could be easier when the felt is full of oil? Some one must have a solution because they were used on so many engines.

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12 hours ago, Matt Harwood said:

 

 

4-21-21-5.jpg.5286f2f46b974a3a0caf6d1ef754b5e8.jpg  4-21-21-4.jpg.2c0ebfd31eab8e5a74acbd48cbf78b2f.jpg  4-21-21-3.jpg.2a70acb61d91d35f618f817e20935c06.jpg
How do I install this felt oil seal? It bunches up too much to tuck into the channel.
Obviously it was installed before the assembly went together, but there's no way

to disassemble it now. Do I cut it? Shave it somehow? Jam it in with a screwdriver?
Any suggestions?

 

 

 

 

 

 

Soak it in clean oil until its saturated first.  Then install it, and it will take shape easier as its designed to hold oil.

 

Craig 

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I did some reading last night about felt seals and found some good information here: https://www.mgaguru.com/mgtech/engine/cs100.htm

 

I threw the seal in a small cup of oil and let it soak all day, but I don't think I let it soak long enough because it was still pretty stiff. I'm going to leave it soaking all night and see what happens tomorrow. That site had some good tips.

 

Failing that, I decided to start in on polishing the cylinder heads. Turns out, it's going to be a MUCH bigger job than I expected. I started by cleaning the heads with a Scotch-Brite pad on my die grinder just to knock off the worst of the oxidation. The Scotch-Brite pads are like a 250 grit so I was able to erase a few flaws in the aluminum but it leaves a swirl pattern that further sanding will erase. 

 

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Starting point was pretty oxidized but in otherwise

good condition overall.

 

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Step one was hitting it with a Scotch-Brite pad
to knock off the worse of the oxidation.

 

And speaking of sanding, I started with 320 grit wet sandpaper but it wasn't really cutting through the worst of it. I stepped down to 220 wet and made a bit more progress, but man, it's slow going. Part of its that there are some pretty deep scratches in the head and part of it the shape with lots of little nooks that I'll have to figure out how to polish. But after about 30 minutes of sanding with the 220 I made a bit of progress. Still some deep scratches that I need to work out, but at least I can see it getting better. Nevertheless, this is going to take longer than I thought.

 

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220 grit started to knock out the worst defects.

 

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But some of them still go pretty deep and I'm not

sure how I'm going to polish the bolt recesses

and spark plug holes.

 

4-22-21-7.jpg.e96f995b7523fa2cc8a8e45601641937.jpg

Progress, but a LONG way to go...

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Those aluminum heads look sweet!  I don’t know what your plan is to get down into those deeper recesses and bolt/spark plug holes, but I have had good success using star-brite on the aluminum pontoons of a boat I have. That pic you posted tells me that no liquid application alone will be effective in totally cleaning it, it will require mechanical abrasion, however, I wonder if  using star brite or a diluted acid solution saturating some cotton balls placed down in those recesses, then wrap it in cellophane so it can’t evaporate for a couple days, keeping the solution in contact with those dark tough deposits, then take the cotton balls out and get busy with a Dremel using different grit polishing points could clean them up. A couple days with the tough areas in contact with a solution might break down some of the tenacity of the deposits. It still will be a lot of work. 
 

I polish metals in the lab all the time (titanium, ticonium, gold and other precious metal alloys) (dentist)I have a few favorite tips/points of successive abrasive sizes. PM me and I can send a few to your house. 

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