VCCA Home Forums TECHNICAL - 1945 AND EARLIER 1929-1932 Questions on a 1929 Head is off

I bought this vehicle form my son-in-laws father. He purchased it in 1977 and had it painted and upholstered. I don’t know what shape it was in at the time of purchase except it was not running and was delivered on a trailer. They moved to Phoenix 20 years ago. The vehicle was put in a garage for 20 years. My wife thought it was a cute car ( and it is ) so I now own it.

There was still some gas in the fuel tank, fuel pump, and carburetor. I remove the fuel tank and filled it with water and Tide laundry detergent let it set for 4 hours in the hot Arizona sun. . (after I removed the fuel) I have done several fuel tanks this way over the years and it seems to work will. Ordered a kit and rebuilt the fuel pump. The carburetor is an aftermarket not the Carter. Could not find a kit so I took it apart soaked it in carburetor cleaner for a couple of hours, there was a lot of crud and many passages were plugged. Put some gas in the tank, primed the fuel system, pulled the choke on, turned over about five or less times and fired. While the carburetor seems to work the idle adjustment screw does not seem to do anything and I can smell it is running rich at idle. This was when I discovered the oil in the radiator and posted my first question. On flushing the radiator I kept seeing bubbles. Took a compression test (dry). I did not take a wet.
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Spent time searching the forum for information. Where I found most of the answers I had question. AAAnd a bunch of useful information I need to know now that I have the head off. Like rocker wicks. There was no wicks in the rockers.

There is “0” wear on the cylinder walls. Can not feel the slightest ridge. The vehicle shows 57000 miles on the spedo. Pistons are marked 639 STD and an arrow pointing to the front. The pistons are very tight in the hole. The engine has no paint anywhere. S/N on the engine 781878. Find it hard to believe this engine could have this many miles?

I still have questions. They have probably been answered before but I can’t seem to find.

1. The 1/4 inch oil return line at the center in the rocker assembly has been pinched off with side cutters. There is no oil coming from this line. The rockers are oiling with what appears to be plenty of oil. Is this the way it is supposed to be??? MY Thought are not!
2. What oils the top of the valve springs?? Splash? Not much splash going on. The tops were dry. It has set for 20 years.
3. Head gasket? Put on dry or is there something recommended as a sealer?
4. Would appreciate any suggestions while I have it this far apart.

SOP I will check the block and head with a straight edge.
I will be pulling the oil pan to reseal and make a visual check of rods.

I do want to thank everyone for the help I have already received reading the forum. Great group of people.

1, The line was pinched off to increase the oil flow to the rockers. I was designed to produce a little head so a small amount of oil fed down the rocker shaft. It was common for "mechanics" to pinch it off.

2. Basically only fumes and splash oil the valve tops and rocker ends.

3. Dry no sealer. Some use chassis grease to help the gasket seat.

4. Looks like you have a problem in No.5. May be a valve not seating properly. Not unusual for an engine stored that long. I highly recommend pressure testing the head before reinstalling it. They are known to crack if overheated. The cracks may be in the valve seats or even internal passages.

Hello CRS1929,
Review Vetteman61's posts concerning head installation. A clean and straight block and head is required. Use quality head gasket. No sealant required. Clean,clean,clean bolts and tap the holes. Torque in increments and beware busted head bolts. Rebuild or replace carburetor.

The cylinder heads on the 29 Chevys are very good for cracking. I just had a head that I pressure tested to 80 psi which checked ok. Had the head cleaned by a machine shop and then magnafluxed to have the head rebuilt. They found 7 external cracks in the head around the valve seat area but seems they have not gone all the way through yet. Also check your head gasket around the fire ring area by the water passages to see if the head gasket looks black and burnt. This would indicate cylinder combustion gases going pass the head gasket into the cooling system causing the air bubbles in the cooling system. This could also be oil or slime in your cooling system that you had. Head gaskets can do this if the cylinder head in not retorqued after the head gasket has been replaced.

If you need gaskets, let us know. We have a head set for 29-31 engines, the oil pan gasket and other items. Check out the website www.marxparts.com ,e-mail bob@marxparts or call 715-652-2405.

When you pull the oil pan off, make sure you check that the rear main bearing cap oil return passage is clear and that the check ball is working correctly.
Regards Bob@marxparts

My post got so long I did not include some observations in the post. 4,5,6 spark plugs had some light rust on them at the threads. The head gasket had what looked like water had been in contact with the copper as it had green water marking in 4,5,6. The head gasket between 5,6 looked like there had been some blow over between cylinders even though #6 had 75 psi on compression test. Thanks for the web site address. I will use you. I am off to the head shop to get the head checked out this morning. Hopefully no bad news. Thanks again.
Craig

Head going out this morning.
Thanks for the suggestion.
Craig