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Club coffee car project.


Mattml430

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  • 4 weeks later...

I have been getting a few more parts ready for our coffee and chat working bee this Saturday. 
Getting all the brake parts ready for reassembling. The new linings should be ready today or tomorrow. The master cylinder has been resleeved.
   IMG_5801.jpeg.05084f4f4992ffec1f0f7d839b494792.jpegFront axle has new bushes and bearings also. 

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We had a great day today with our club coffee and chat working bee. 
we had 17 people turn up to give a hand with the car and there wasn’t a clean hand in the workshop. Everyone got stuck into doing something and we got so much done it was great. 
Jude , Lynne and Glenda kept the table full of food , coffee annd Tea and the they cooked the BBQ for lunch. IMG_1375.jpeg.a53085903d30fb78d5a01f185e8286b2.jpegIMG_1380.jpeg.887f725a022db3e7520f3cd6806e6f79.jpegIMG_1376.jpeg.7a1f5b0dce15d433f0a7526946e356ec.jpegThere was definitely no shortage of food. 
Job’s we got stuck into were getting the brakes all together. 
IMG_4626.jpeg.a393e82b372c01fc478ebd08b842abe3.jpegIMG_1373.jpeg.db788ed5a5a5fd08073580d78cbc21e7.jpeg
Rich and Terry got the brakes altogether while a few of us others started on getting new bushes into the springs and chassis. 
IMG_5812.jpeg.3fa9e749259ec237ff514c08513d861c.jpegTrev and Arnold getting things ready to fit up. 
IMG_4625.jpeg.96bc3cd6ce16029c44b54efb945a9f25.jpegNot sure who that other idiot on his knees is looking rather useless. Making out he’s doing something important. 
Once the bushes were in the boys got the front axle fitted up. 
IMG_1372.jpeg.899fd48537c0778f278ffe52d67c6c28.jpegIMG_5817.jpeg.35016b3e6f804c7466090fbed67bf0e0.jpegLooks like Rich is overseeing the brakes being fitted, Cracking the whip. 
IMG_5818.jpeg.a6f3d69b54bc327cf07764387701dd83.jpegWe gave Grant an axle of another car and just told him to stay busy pulling it apart to keep him away from the real thing. He was none the wiser and felt he accomplished a lot for his days effort. 
All jokes aside for a second or two Grant was here at 7:00 and has spent quite a few Saturdays here with me and Rich getting a lot of the parts cleaned and ready for today. 
IMG_5816.jpeg.ecadacc991985c8b7d3dd7995142b642.jpegMore food and another coffee break and a fair bit of BS being discussed between mouthfuls. 
IMG_1377.jpeg.684e63cae8a7dca404817ba7d7a58b85.jpegKevin , Frank and grant got the rear springs all bushed up and bolted the rear axle in. 
Once that was in they fitted up the rear brakes and drums. 
We lost Frank for a while out at the sand blasting cabinet. Every time we looked he seemed very attached to it so we left him be. We thought best to not take a photo of that. 
Kirk and Jim pulled the rest of the engine down and got it ready for a good steam clean. 
IMG_5815.jpeg.f1be2cded5903b53620bb50a18db6de8.jpegJohn , Ross, Jim and Grant got stuck into all the sanding of the wheels, cowl and bonnet parts ready for a bit more paint to be applied. Doesn’t appear to be much happening just at this point in time but they got heaps of sanding done. The Wire wheels will be getting their cream top coat some time this week coming. 
IMG_5819.jpeg.e1c5322b4af18fd2cb00b142baa33cca.jpegTrev and Kevin finishing of mounting the gearbox in so we can work out the placement for the overdrive. 
IMG_5828.jpeg.6ddf75d5ca2295b0d4b2e54d5381b25e.jpegRear axle fitted up. 
IMG_5829.jpeg.a70ef120f6840e71d74d52c3790a69d2.jpegGear box mounted. 
IMG_5830.jpeg.c909278a94f492ae8d876d2de13d8709.jpegFront axle all done. 
A huge thank you to everyone who turned up today and gave a hand. Everybody put in a huge effort getting a massive amount of work done in just one day. We will have it rolling around the shed in no time soon. 

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Guessing the gent on his knees in photo 7 is still getting used to his cheaters. Sometimes you have to get down and steady to see things properly, the only problem is getting back up in a few years.... you've been warned.

 

Great photos, looks like a fun and productive day. 

I think I spent more time looking at the parts and the tools in the shop than the work the people were doing. 

Sweet anvil stand!

Edited by 30DodgePanel (see edit history)
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7 hours ago, 30DodgePanel said:

Guessing the gent on his knees in photo 7 is still getting used to his cheaters. Sometimes you have to get down and steady to see things properly, the only problem is getting back up in a few years.... you've been warned.

 

Great photos, looks like a fun and productive day. 

I think I spent more time looking at the parts and the tools in the shop than the work the people were doing. 

Sweet anvil stand!

My knees are already buggered from my apprenticeship cabinet making. Spent most of the time on my knees not realising. Deep sea krill oil and magnesium keep them moving these days. 
 

I made that anvil from scrap I found at the metal recycling place near us. It’s made of solid steel pieces welded together. It must weigh about 250kg. There was all these different size round discs about 1”1/2 thick. So I welded them all together and then shaped it all. Took me bloody hours of grinding. The main bed of it was already that shape and that’s what gave me the idea. It had been cut that shape with a oxy torch so it must have been a serious bit of gear to blow through 8” steel.

It makes a beautiful ding when you hit it with a hammer. I cooked it upside down on a fire for a day and then drop it in a bath of oil. It’s probably not tempered as good as a normal anvil but being so solid it still works well. 
 

 

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     How much longer does it take to get something done with help than it would to do it as usual?

     With that large a group of capable helpers, that probably isn't the case.  

     Working on your own and keeping a crew going are two different things.

     Keep up the great work.

Nat

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I got the chassis and wire wheels painted after all the work was done. 
IMG_5855.jpeg.ce6108a95e2706b33cb9d8d953110133.jpegBrake drums are done in gloss black for easier cleaning. IMG_5854.jpeg.650a6be45e536ad6be5a2a946aaaa15d.jpegIMG_5850.jpeg.e8e39a6043efb480fa2f460305c5e7f2.jpegside of the chassis above the running boards is also gloss black. The rest is in satin black. 

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  • 4 weeks later...
  • 1 month later...

I have done a little bit more here and there when I get a bit of spare time. 
New flexible brake lines are all fitted and the rebuilt master cylinder is bolted up. 
Steering box is all done with new bushes and a freshen up. 
IMG_6547.jpeg.a4162b66087afc19ac5423730db02e68.jpegIMG_6548.jpeg.2623ca5d0835a315690b31784a11d91c.jpegDismantled and cleaned up ready for assembly. 
IMG_6343.jpeg.5e8dd3f0e9ce1306aee6531db1cd11b5.jpegI have also made a start on fitting up the overdrive. 
Spent a day machining the main shaft to adapt to the dodge gear box. 
IMG_6550.jpeg.a9d1f42a94037264cc24ac5c362f3ad1.jpegMachining the old hardened Jag spline off was no easy task. I had to grind  the bulk of it off. 
IMG_6549.jpeg.38bba89239b2628a591057793c7ef87e.jpegMachining the dodge tailshaft spline down to fit inside the overdrive shaft. 
IMG_6552.jpeg.2e556de3152f80986c8da498c41643ce.jpegDA spline fitted to the overdrive. IMG_6551.jpeg.42ed060141642ec04f36221684d86c27.jpegUsing original parts it can be reversed at anytime in the future. 

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Making the adaptation plate to bolt the overdrive to the chassis. 
Start of with a block of aluminium about 40mm thick. It needs the main shaft bearing recessed into it by 18.5mm and the on the opposite side it needs a lip seal machined into it. IMG_6553.jpeg.5a9f03c113282d5e91a935faf363aac6.jpegStart off with a 1/4 hole so when it’s turned over for the seal I can centre it again. 
Also drill a hole big enough so I can machine out for the shaft and bearing. 
IMG_6554.jpeg.f8cac21465c59280dd1315564c2157a9.jpegIMG_6555.jpeg.954f12474f939dc02b2900345cb6ec9d.jpegRecess for the shaft bearing. IMG_6556.jpeg.d651c83920f2f2830cbb01b09b9d3cb0.jpegTurned over I can use the 1/4 hole to centre the aluminium for machining out the seal. 
IMG_6557.jpeg.3c9f90e822f8cd3ee6f7b31ec92df7fe.jpegI still need to enlarge the shaft hole by 5mm and recess the lip seal. 
 

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Posted (edited)

Got the overdrive dry mounted today. Just waiting on a new main shaft bearing to fit it up permanently. 
Seemed to fit in very nicely so now I just need to make a new tail shaft. 
 

IMG_6570.jpeg

IMG_6569.jpeg
I will fit a rear support across the back of it between the two chassis rails. 

IMG_6568.jpeg

Edited by Mattml430 (see edit history)
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I received some engine parts today. 
060” oversized pistons and rings. 
new valves and 8 valve guides. Someone obviously thought it was a 4 cylinder so I’ll need to chase up another 4 of them which is a little painful. 
IMG_6604.jpeg.5cc551545ae0a2978fb605f8447c84bf.jpegI have cleaned up the crankshaft the best I can, it’s definitely not beautiful but I think it will be ok. We’re not racing it. 
Also got the full gasket kit with a copper head gasket. 
IMG_6603.jpeg.3b809741b3410f854c79315eb4ef40d1.jpeg
So I can continue with the engine rebuild now that I have all the parts. 

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Made a start on the valves today. 
Removed all the old guides first and then cleaned up the intake and exhaust ports. 
IMG_6651.jpeg.b597792e2d2189edbd46ba05edc740a8.jpegI turned up a tool to remove and insert the guides. It worked very nicely. 
IMG_6652.jpeg.f27790c12d1939d1051955d0feef0068.jpeg
After cleaning up the ports which is Much easier doing that while the guides aren’t in there. I then re inserted the guides and cut new seats. The Toledo valve seat cutter works very nicely.IMG_6653.jpeg.36ef2ed89d462bf963001b38016a50c1.jpegStill have 4 seats to do after the other guides turn up. They are on their way. 
IMG_6654.jpeg.e1c771446dbe4de330def21829e05567.jpegFinally made a start on lapping in the valves. The 4 I’ve done hold thinners out with just the weight of my fingers on them so I’m happy with the way they have sealed up. 
I will start on boring it in the next couple of days. 

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Interesting thread, enjoying seeing all the rebuilding processes, machining and camaraderie. Curious about the fit up of the overdrive unit. What consideration is there made for "flexing" of the chassis? With engine/tranny solidly bolted to forward chassis members(with vulcanized rubber mounts at bell housing) and O/D unit bolted solidly to middle cross member, I would expect some twisting/deflection on bumpy roads, or when jacking car to change a wheel. I would expect a U joint or other flex option as well as the sliding spline somewhere in assembly? 

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5 hours ago, Gunsmoke said:

Interesting thread, enjoying seeing all the rebuilding processes, machining and camaraderie. Curious about the fit up of the overdrive unit. What consideration is there made for "flexing" of the chassis? With engine/tranny solidly bolted to forward chassis members(with vulcanized rubber mounts at bell housing) and O/D unit bolted solidly to middle cross member, I would expect some twisting/deflection on bumpy roads, or when jacking car to change a wheel. I would expect a U joint or other flex option as well as the sliding spline somewhere in assembly? 

It has the original u joint of the gearbox and will have another at the other end. I used the same method on my roadster with good results. 

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Thanks for explaining how you intend to utilize U/joints at gearbox and after O/D unit. Most installs I've seen have O/D directly bolted to transmission. I've never seen U/joints used at only one end of a short shaft, and don't see how joint at gearbox could flex much with a snuggly fitted spline joint connecting 2 rigidly mounted apparatus. But, the proof of the pudding is in the taste, so I'll get back to setting the toe-in on my CD8! 

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1 hour ago, Gunsmoke said:

Thanks for explaining how you intend to utilize U/joints at gearbox and after O/D unit. Most installs I've seen have O/D directly bolted to transmission. I've never seen U/joints used at only one end of a short shaft, and don't see how joint at gearbox could flex much with a snuggly fitted spline joint connecting 2 rigidly mounted apparatus. But, the proof of the pudding is in the taste, so I'll get back to setting the toe-in on my CD8! 

I think the amount of movement between engine and chassis is very minimal in these old girls even with the DA rubber mount. The u joint should take up any misalignment at anytime. 

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Well I stuffed up my job today. 
I was boring the last hole and the boring machine had moved on me when doing the last cut. It moved across to much for me to correct it. I obviously hadn’t tightened it down enough, Damnit. completely my fault for not checking on it. 
So I will have to start over again on one of the other blocks we have. Luckily for me we have a few. Just looking at it, it looks to be actually a bit better than the one I was just working on. 
So I’ll put this down to a very time consuming lesson for myself and start again. At least I can use all the parts we have and nothing has been wasted except the old block. 🤦🏽‍♂️

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4 hours ago, RichBad said:

Sleeve it?

Yeah thought about that too Rich. I’m just having a look at the other block  now. Done so much work to the other one that I stuffed it’s definitely worth thinking about isn’t it. Doug said the same. 

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Grant and I pulled the 3rd engine down on Saturday and cleaned it up. It was the worst looking engine out of the 3 but has ended up being the best out of them all. I finished cleaning it all up today and checked out all the tolerances.

IMG_6698.jpeg.914758cd52188cd4cb1077c96d83780a.jpeg
The crank mains needed a little bit of adjustment but ended up getting it to .0025”-.0030

For the journal size it’s not to far out of spec. Being older bearings I think on the bigger side will be better.
What do you guys think would you make them tighter than that? 

IMG_6697.jpeg.f044645207bd871faf3115969f3b5c99.jpeg

Torque up it feels really nice. 

IMG_6700.jpeg.9114a348a171caa9df7af4642cf4733f.jpeg

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I’ll make a start on boring this one to 060” once I’ve done everything else. This time I will check, double check and check again. 

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On 7/8/2024 at 9:07 PM, Mattml430 said:

Grant and I pulled the 3rd engine down on Saturday and cleaned it up. It was the worst looking engine out of the 3 but has ended up being the best out of them all. I finished cleaning it all up today and checked out all the tolerances.

IMG_6698.jpeg.914758cd52188cd4cb1077c96d83780a.jpeg
The crank mains needed a little bit of adjustment but ended up getting it to .0025”-.0030

For the journal size it’s not to far out of spec. Being older bearings I think on the bigger side will be better.
What do you guys think would you make them tighter than that? 

IMG_6697.jpeg.f044645207bd871faf3115969f3b5c99.jpeg

Torque up it feels really nice. 

IMG_6700.jpeg.9114a348a171caa9df7af4642cf4733f.jpeg

One thou per inch of journal size is the norm even for these old engines. Bad luck on that bore. Happened to me yeas ago, but only gouged to top of bore above rings in my case. Was going to do my own dodge engine with my boring bar but it had seized up through lack of use, so went to the engine reconditioner.

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3 hours ago, cutdown said:

One thou per inch of journal size is the norm even for these old engines. Bad luck on that bore. Happened to me yeas ago, but only gouged to top of bore above rings in my case. Was going to do my own dodge engine with my boring bar but it had seized up through lack of use, so went to the engine reconditioner.

Thanks mate. Just wanted to run it passed some real world experience with these old girls. With the journal size it will be very close. I was talking to Bob today to and he said the same. 

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The new block is progressing well so far. 
IMG_6722.jpeg.0fb75a830cf061c2995e637cf3b5da8d.jpeg
All the parts are cleaned. 
IMG_6720.jpeg.a48a3321f1f3b898a3103192f0e612a4.jpegGot the head cleaned up on the surfacer and also did the block deck. 
IMG_6721.jpeg.8010e2652d8e8beece82345bc7a9b2d0.jpeg
Incredibly the block only needed 2 passes which is pretty amazing after 90 odd years of service  IMG_6719.jpeg.2d57602e56c343804b147e4f0c128f90.jpegI’ve got a couple of head studs to get out and finish cleaning up all the valve ports. 
I’ll get the new valve guides in tomorrow and cut the new seats. 
 

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Cylinder boring is going a lot better for me this time round. 
Definitely taking my time and being very thorough with the set up each time. 
IMG_6736.jpeg.74fd2b902d5efef43068bc668cce08e8.jpegI’ve got 3 cylinders done but it was getting a bit late in the day to keep going. Stressful stuff after buggering up the last on. 
IMG_6737.jpeg.dc1fbe338f7dbdc6b0e3de9f9ca612f8.jpeg
The bores will be perfect after a light hone. They are all exactly the same so far. Hopefully I can keep it going like that. Ring gap is spot on to spec with the supplied pistons. I did invest on some good quality measuring equipment before starting again and I must say it’s made getting it precise a lot easier. 
IMG_6738.jpeg.0680205125d26112cb588daa50f24f25.jpegAll the new valve guides are in and seats cut. I just need to lap the valve in once I’ve finished the cylinders. Figured crossed tomorrow goes as well as today. 

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Engine is all bored and valves lapped in. 
Gave the engine a wash with kero and a damn good hot wash inside and out. 
All the bores came out really well, all identical and the pre fitted rings are @.014” after a light hone which is good. 
Little bit more cleaning up on the block to do and we can start to assemble it. 
IMG_6743.jpeg.653d56b2008300ddcf841318b6ec8c5d.jpeg

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  • 2 weeks later...

We started the engine assembly today. Grant ,Rich and I spent the day getting all the fiddley stuff done. 
Cam shaft and crank are in and bolted up. We then got all the lifters and valves in. 
We then spent quite a bit of time fitting all the rods to the crank. A couple of them needed a bit more fitting than others but we got there in the end. Next job is balancing the rods. Pistons are all within 2 grams of each other. Once that’s done we can start fitting the pistons in. So far all is going nicely. 

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  • 2 weeks later...

With all the conrods balanced over the weekend I took the opportunity today to fit all the pistons into the engine. 
IMG_6960.jpeg.80daac045ef10ad2d5f3290f4d000926.jpegI did a check on all the rings even though they come pre fitted. I think there was only 2 I had to take a smidge off. 
IMG_6961.jpeg.96680362c2625607e1cf67b5a95de362.jpegAll went together nicely. 
IMG_6962.jpeg.a16245a3216a99eef8f7471589e9a6cb.jpegIMG_6963.jpeg.21c576e5c9fda92eb4700a392fd36df4.jpeg
With all the pistons fitted it was time to refurbish 1 of the 3 oil pumps we have. 
I also ordered a new timing chain as all the ones we have are to stretch to fit. 
IMG_6964.jpeg.f80c2c90f0210aa90501394ee961a09d.jpegI used all 3 pumps to make one good one. 
IMG_6965.jpeg.70f32d7b88715a4514aeb454eed09da4.jpegPicked all the best bits out of them and cleaned them up. I resurfaced the bottom plate. 
IMG_6966.jpeg.59d39093e895db4af69da71f6cd4a11a.jpegReassembled ready to go back in. 
IMG_6967.jpeg.9d3641e5ac76c9568e37a7d758fe32ae.jpegwith all that done and a double check of everything I fitted the sump on. 
I had to make a new water jacket cover as the one we thought was ok ended up having a few hole in it. 
IMG_6968.jpeg.f715b7e5042168f864d8fd32c09be973.jpegI used a bit of loctite 567 on all the bolts and also put a fibre washer under the steel washer of the bolts to prevent any weeping of the coolant. 
With all that done it was onto fitting all the head bolts and head. 
I did the valve timing before fitting the head. 
Set the No.1 intake clearance to .007” and get the piston to TC and then turn the cam to have the valve starting to open. 
The X on the both sprockets lined up spot on. So hopefully I got that right. 
With all the head studs fitted it was onto fitting the head gasket and head. IMG_6970.jpeg.13253cbff81e3a72900ff3868bd5d720.jpegI spayed a bit of permatex copper coat on the head gasket. And also used some 567 on the head bolts into the block. IMG_6971.jpeg.1e7f26faf80a5cb8506003f166c70d4f.jpegWith the head on I’ve only pulled it down to 20lb and I’ll let it sit overnight before pulling it down anymore. 

IMG_6969.jpeg

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Ronny found us some really nice steering wheel controls and a light switch. Ours were pretty much buggered so thank for them Ron. 
IMG_6958.jpeg.5a902e0613259821e864f3d0e73d6652.jpegFrank and Kevin have also been busy getting us a few parts together. Frank dropped off a roll of copper tube so we can do all the brake and fuel lines. 
IMG_6959.jpeg.db9b048bfa21f540ef0c53a7f4310741.jpegWe are hoping to get The brake and fuel lines done on our working bee that we are having on the 17th of this month coming. Hopefully I’ll also have the engine ready painted to drop in. 
Kevin Has done a beautiful job of rebuilding a carburettor out of a few for us. They are so delicate once they get a bit of age about them so he’s done very well to make one for us. 
I have ordered a new coil and electronic ignition for it and that will be here in the next few days. 
The distributor we had was missing a lot of parts internally but I managed to find a similar northeast one on eBay that I was able to use its internals. So we also now have a distributor ready to go. 
 

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Once the new timing chain gets here I’ll be getting some paint on the engine. 
I found this colour on the back of 2 of the engines we have so I’m imagining that it’s the original colour. 
IMG_6990.jpeg.f003cff3280c9b23d93ecef76615d313.jpegI’ve mixed this green colour up so it should be a close enough match. 

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