VCCA Home Forums TECHNICAL - 1945 AND EARLIER 1912-1928 1928 rebuild

This 1928 has been at sitting at my grandfather’s farm since the early 1960’s. (Usually in a barn). I decided to get it running. Under the hood everything appears except the fuel pump system and the carburetor are missing. Engine is tight so pulling it out and will start work on this winter as time and money allow. A quick glance shows it is a matched head and block so that is nice. The only engine rebuilding experience I have is from high school auto class but I did print the entire “School is in Session 1928 rebuilt” and made it into a book. I do have access to a machine shop but I am sure I will have some questions as I go through this thing so wish me luck. My plan is to start with the head than block, then clutch/trans.

Didier, welcome! This is definitely the correct place to ask questions and get lots of great info.

There is extra info available to you if you join the VCCA. Especially networking with lots of folks who have experience with these vehicles.

I think it is very special that there is a family connection to the truck.

First, I suggest reading this thread:
https://vccachat.org/ubbthreads.php/topics/241592

Second, after you figure out exactly what you have, you need to get a copy of the shop manual. These books are full of basic and technical info. The vendors that advertise on this site (like the Filling Station) have these books.

As for rebuilding the engine, there's a GREAT blow-by-blow description of a master mechanic (Ray Holland) rebuilding one of these engines. The information is in a flip book that is located in the VCCA members-only area of this web site.

Although your engine is definitely from 1928, I noticed the front wheels do not have brakes, which could mean a couple of things:

1. The truck is from 1927 and just has a '28 engine
2. The truck is an early '28 1 ton (model LO), which didn't have front brakes.

If you post all the info you have, for example, if there is a 'car number' on an ID plate, and the casting numbers from the engine, we can help you identify it.

Enjoy the process of bringing it back to life!

Cheers, Dean

Didier
Have 2 1927 Chevrolets in Lake Geneva if you want to come by and look also have some parts.
Dean is the man around here!
Ken

Ken, thanks for the kind words, but I'm a junior around here. Respectfully, there are many others with more experience and history with these cars/trucks than me.

Cheers, Dean

Didier
in the last year or so I had a 1927 4cyl head done, all new modern valves the head was decked - pressure tested and vacuum tested - valve guides knurled - all rebuilt 480 bucks. Before head valve job the car was a pain to start after head rebuild it starts every time. If its a 1927 truck you would have the single port head like mine. My 1927 Chevy Touring car has a 1928 engine. Some like the 1928 better as it is stronger.
Ken

I printed the entire engine rebuild "school is in Session" by Ray Holland and made into a book for bedtime reading, purchased a 27-28 service manual, and paid to become a member of the VCCA so I am ready to go.

The head is all set. cleaned,pressure test, deck resurface, new valves and springs, installed brass valve guides and it had some pitting on one of the valve seats so installed valve seat inserts on all 8 valves.


Now on to the lower end. Started the lower end and everything look good until i pulled the crank and found this center main bearing cap.
broken babbit.



So the question at hand is what do you all recommend? I see Filling Station has BABBIT MAIN BEAR REBUILDING SERVICE. How does that work?
I guess I don’t completely understand this process. I did watch a youtube video of a guy making a Babbitt so that is my only Babbitt experience

With the valve guides,are they brass or bronze insert sleeves?Either way,unless they are well lubricated,you may experience sticking valves due to the different rates of expansion between the cast iron head,the steel valve stem and the brass/bronze guide inserts.This happened to a mate on a rally once,and he'd had the same thing done to his valve guides,and we had to remove the head as it developed 2 stuck exhaust valves.
By the look of the cracked white metal on the centre main bearing cap,it may pay to get a full bottom end re-build-crank grind,new mains poured & line bored,as well as having the 4 big ends re-metalled & machined too.

babbit bearings can be expensive. perhaps find another block. if you have a couple 27-28's they are very similar in a pinch you got some parts. I have a 28 engine in my 27 touring car.

regarding replacement of the valve guides was told the knurl process is best as it creates pockets in the guide that can hold oil and lubricate better than stock valve guides.

I have been collecting 27 and 28 heads also and have extra blocks as I thought I might need them.

great pics

CJP'S 29
by big ends do you mean rods?
Ken

So is the process you send in your old bearings shells and they send you back a new one that will need to be lined bored to the spec of the crank journal? Sounds simple enough….expensive but simple. Can you do just one as only my center bearing is cracked? the rest look good.

It appears Filling Station offers this service at $375 per bearing

That's what we call the conrod bearings here in Australia

You'd probably be better off getting all the bearings re-metalled and machined by a specialist engine re-builder who knows how to do babbit bearings

I have not decided what to do yet about the cracked Main Babbitt but whatever I do I will post who, what, and how it was fixed and if it worked. I am working on the other stuff for now. I hade to bore .040 over to get the rust out of the cylinder wall on #3. Here is a photo of it in the boring machine. (The block sure cleaned up nice after some time in the bead blaster)

looks very nice, I will rebuild one on my 4cyl this coming summer. My touring car has a not so nice transmission in it but I kind of got used to it and the slower I go the nicer it shifts and I like driving these cars slow, your transmission project has got me thinking about it myself, if I want fast can go for a ride in the vette.

If your bearing is cracked only, you can fix it. What I did was gentley heated it up to get all he oil out. Then I chipped out all the broken pieces, then I die ground the edges. Then I melted an old bearing into a V'd piece of metal to use it as a rod to slowly build up the bearing and then scaped it smooth. It needed a little more scapping before I got right. I did over 40 thousand miles on this bearing.
Chris

Chris
great info, great job
Ken

I went the rout of Chevruroo and just fixed the broken Babbitt.
I was able to obtain some Babbitt rod from a local factory that makes windmill bearings (apparently they are Babbitt bearings in them) and I was able to convince the Babbitt maker to come to the machine shop and rabbit the main bearing for me. Then the machine shop made a jig and turned it down on a lath to match the crank journal.
So here it is. Seems like it will work but time will tell.

Looks good! I'm always amazed time-and-again at the ingenuity and hints and tips on this web site.

;-) Dean

So far so good on the motor work. The head bolt threads in the block did pull out on me when I was at about 50 ft pounds (not sure why) so they were all drilled and helicoild and replaced with modern bolts.

Also I did not like the volume of oil that the stock oil pump was putting out when I turned it with a drill. Also did not want to use an 80+ year old oil pump so I went with a more modern gear type. Getting the pipe from the pump to the distribution lines was a pain as the one that was send with the pump was not even close to long enough or bent in the proper contortion. I tried and just kinked everything so I ended up going to a mobile Air Condition repair guy as he has all the machines to bend and make pipes of all sorts. So he made the S shaped pipe for me. Seems like it will work.

You might like to go to the Tech Talk section and look for "School is in Session". How to convert to a gear oil pump. May save you some problems.

We all should be aware that 1928 engine lubrication and requirements is significantly different from more modern engines. Apparently very few understand that the vast majority if lubrication in a '28 Chevrolet engine is from an oil mist produced when the rod end tabs pass through the troughs. That includes cylinder walls, wrist pins, rod bearings and cam shaft. Another fact is that the pump pushes oil through pipes that are open ended so generating higher oil pressure may not increase the lubrication but surely will reduce the available horsepower. As long as the troughs and reservoirs feeding the main bearings are filled then additional oil flow or pressure is not needed. It does give the owner a sense of additional protection so can be worth something.

With respect to 'feeling' okay with the lower pressure in a '28 engine, my Canopy Express always shows a steady 5 psi of oil pressure. Idle or running at 35 mph, the same oil pressure.

Should I be concerned? I've thought about dropping the pan and opening up the bottom of the oil pump to put in a newer vane spring that has more tension than what is in there.

Thoughts?

Thanks, Dean

As long as you have enough flow from the oil pump to produce pressure, the gauge is working and the oil lines are open there is nothing to worry about.

Thanks, Chipper.

;-} Dean

On the 28 intake there is a screw (see photo) on one of the intake ports. On my 27 there is none. Anyone know what it is for?

I have never seen a manifold with that screw. It is not an original feature.

Well that explains it then, thanks.

Someone might have tapped into the manifold to operate a wolf whistle. I believe they run off of vacuum.

well it moved under its own power for the first time in almost 60 years!
the steering wheel wood is all missing and man.....it is not easy to steer like that! I guess i should work on that next

Major congrats and looking good!! The first drive is quite a rush, isn't it?

Until you locate a correct steering wheel, you could cut one out of good quality 1 inch plywood and paint or stain it walnut.

You'll get a LOT of attention this summer at car shows! Bring a photo album to show the work you've done. Include family photos, if you have them, from way back. Document the story and the journey.

Enjoy! Dean

Looks Great !! Congrats!