VCCA Home Forums TECHNICAL - 1945 AND EARLIER 1933-1936 engine rebuild

Is there a good reference book/website that will guide me through the rebuild of my engine? I've rebuilt a modern engine before with only a couple of parts left over! But, I had a Chilton to go by. Guessing there's no Chilton for the 207?

Looking for how to's and engine/tolerance specs. No need to replace the things that aren't bad.

Thanks

I would recommend the 1936 Shop manual. Reprints availale from the Filling Station for a reasonable price.

Thanks, I have the repair manual for the 1935 and a supplement to the 1935 repair manual for the 1936. Is that the same thing?

Yes, the supplement covers the changes for 1936.

Thx

Ron,

If it's of any value to your project I have an original (not reprint) 1942 Motors Auto Repair Manual that I no longer have any use for. It covers 1935-42 Amarican cars including some that are long gone.

It might, I'd be happy to buy it from you. More info is better than less info. Thanks

PM me if we want to work something out.

Ron,

I think I sent you a "PM" but I'm not sure because I'm computer illiterate. I used "Email post". Is that corerct?

It's very cool that you are going to do your own engine rebuild rather than pay an "expert" to do it. I've read horror stories on this forum of "rebuilt" engines that are so tight that the rotating assemblies won't move. That could never happen if all the clearances are correct and are verified as each part is installed.

Doing the job correctly takes time, will and skill and a motivated amateur will do a better job every time than a "professional" who is rushing through the job to enhance the bottom line.

Thanks for the advice. When I rebuilt an engine several years ago that was the advice I got from the machine shop. "Make sure everything turns as you go." It's easier to figure out the problem if you know that it all turned OK before you did the last step.

Just sent you a PM.

Ron,

Not so fast.

I'm not so sure I agree about the implied difference you have made between professionals and Amateurs rebuilding engines.

An amateur can make mistakes and get things wrong no matter how much time, will and skill (in other disciplines) he may have. It is not what he or she does.


A professional will do journeyman level work every time and do it in a timely manner. It is what they do.

A good engine machine shop will rebuild the engine professionally. Given the cost, It is almost always the best choice. Unlike body work on your old car's body where some shops park it in the back and hold it as a "when we can get to it item", an engine is an engine and will usually receive timely consideration.

While I may agree that I would rather have my engine rebuilt by some amateur than some professional, that would be the extreme exception rather than the rule.

As meticulous an amateur as Mike is, I believe he would opt for a good professional rebuilder rather then tackle the job himself. I could be wrong.
Just saying,
Charlie

"While I may agree that I would rather have my engine rebuilt by some amateur than some professional, that would be the extreme exception rather than the rule."

Charlie,

I think whether to farm out a job or do it one's self is a choice based on a number of factors. In my case, I learned as a teenager (I'm 70 now) that so called "professionals" idea of a job well done was often to me very shabby work. That left 2 realistic choices, lower my standards or do important stuff myself. The economic effect of that is a side benefit but not the main motivator.

Here's just one example of "professional" work. In the early 1970s when I was restoring my '36 pickup I took the block to Egge Machine to be bored because of their alleged focus on antique engines. Yes, they did bore it. But after boring it they left it outdoors for a few days during a rainy period causing serious rust in the fresh bores. Real "professional", huh?

On that same vehicle, the body shops I showed it to at first indicated a willingness to do the body work. Their idea of bodywork was bondo slathering. I have too much respect for these ancient cars and trucks to apply bondo to them. They deserve to have the dents and other damage repaired, not concealed. So I took 3 semesters of body repair classes in the evening at a local high school. If you have access to VCCA National Meet records you can check Class T-2 at the 1976 meet in Colorado Springs to see how my amateur restoration compared. THAT is a solid indication that a motivated amateur can outdo the "professionals".

The downside is that it takes time to learn the required skills. Speaking just for myself though, the day we stop learning is the day we start dying.

Brino, your comments are valid and well taken.

In my work, I employed "professional Chevrolet technicians", paid them WELL, as "professional Chevrolet technicians".

Too many times, the work performed by some of the "professional Chevrolet technicians" was far below the level of a "professional Chevrolet technician.

I often asked how and why the technician "had the time" to do a job over, but didn't have time to do the job correctly, the FIRST time.

On the positive side of the coin, the majority of the "professional Chevrolet technicians" did upstanding repairs / work.

All that being said, whether an amateur or a professional, the final result of a job, the seal of approval, depends on "applied knowledge" with the desire to "display pride", along with "quality workmanship" in the work being performed.

When I attended a tech school many moons ago there was this posted in our shop class;" Why is there never enough time to do the job right, but always enough time to do it over?" Also had a factory rep who came in for a special training session and the first thing he did was write on the blackboard in large letters: RTFB
When asked what it meant he loudly replied: READ THE FACTORY BULLETINS!! He also said that when addressing dealer service personnel another "f" word was used , but he could not use it at our school. He went on to explain that it was very frustrating to get hundreds of calls on service related problems that already had a fix sent out to the field.

I think the rub is the words "professional" and 'amateur."

If you have schooled yourself to the "professional" level (and have the necessary tools to do the work, then you are not an "amateur" anymore.

I am not saying here that the least so called professional is better than the best dedicated amateur.

If you are going to rebuild your engine then taking it to a professional machine shop is generally better than turning it over to an amateur. How is the amateur going to get the machine work done?

Charlie

"If you have schooled yourself to the "professional" level (and have the necessary tools to do the work, then you are not an "amateur" anymore."

Charlie,

My definition of a "professional" is somebody who does something for a living, is paid for his/her work. I'm a geologist not a mechanic/body repair technician/painter. I tinker with cars, motorcycles, tractors, anything with an engine including my wife's rototiller, for fun.

When I hear the horror stories on this and other forums about rotating assemblies that won't rotate, wood kits that don't fit, etc it affirms my belief that a motivated amateur can out perform the "pros" every time. The key is the amateur has to be motivated enough to learn the required skills. But the satisfaction of saying to one's self "I did that" can't be bought for any price.

Obviously it's not practical for the amateur mechanic to buy and store a boring machine, crankshaft grinder, block and head surfacing machine, valve seat cutter, camshaft grinder or rotating assembly balancing equipment. He/she has to deal with the challenge of finding a competent machinist, no easy task. How many machine shops hone cylinders with a torque plate, or include bronze valve guides and centerless ground valve stems in a valve job for example?

But the amateur can certainly assemble the engine, checking every part and clearance along the way, positioning ring end gaps correctly, degreeing in the camshaft, torquing critical fastners correctly, etc, etc.

I am an amateur but have rebuilt engines with the machine work done by a trusted shop to my specifications, and then I would do final checking and assembly. I have had very good luck with this collaboration. I did have a course in auto shop in city college tho. We had a good teacher and got to rebuild a carburetor, fuel pump, oil pump, engine & trans. It was a good class that has come in handy.

Great post which I think can apply to more than just automotive skills. While I graduated from a Technical College with a diploma in automotive technology I never turned a wrench as I ended up on the parts side of the industry so I still consider myself an amateur mechanic trying to do "professional quality" work.

I'm a shadetree mechanic that learned by watching others, asking questions, reading and trying stuff myself. Have made plenty of mistakes that hopefully learned from. Also tried things that seemed doable even if I was told it wouldn't work. I found that if I understand how it works, I can normally fix it. Often takes too much time but I get there. The after messing with these old Chevys for over 45 years, a little knowledge and experience sticks in your mind and occasionally can be retrieved.

Chipper, Steve D. & J. Franklin,

I wish we were neighbors. We could pool resources and enjoy getting grease under our nails together. What one of us couldn't figure out the others could.

As the antique car hobby has more and more become the realm of investors, guys like us a dinosauers.

Learning from experience is a great teacher however learning a lot from your mistakes could be costly. I have found that the difference between a professional and an amateur is knowing when to seek help.

If you guys ever get together for a engine-side chat, let me know so I can be the 'youngster' who will brew the coffee and learn from your banter.

Cheers (and with immense respect), Dean

Awh, shucks Dean. You don't need to sit at the feet of those guys. If they don't fully agree with me, what in the world could they possibly know that would be worth learning? You're gonna swell their heads.

All the things that one can do to an old Chevrolet is explained right there in the maintenance manual. (Buy one.) There ain't no short cut that those guys know about. Nope. Not nary a one. Banter is the correct term. You nailed that part.

If you were to" listen-in" you would probably learn some bad words, opinions about the best beer and names of bars where the prettiest women hang out. You don't need to know those things.

They'll corrupt you. Will too!

Charlie

BTW: I am, of course, just kidding. Those are great guys and full of knowledge about old cars, especially Chevrolets.