Reproduction Parts for 1916-1964 Chevrolet Passenger Cars & 1918-1987 Chevrolet & GMC Trucks


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While the radiator is off and access to the front of the engine is good, I flushed the water jacket out with clean water from the house.

I put the thermostat housing on (temporarily) without the thermostat in it and clamped it on with a couple of long 3/8-16 bolts with nuts to hold the housing in place. The brass bolts that I'll use for the housing had not arrived yet (purchased them on ebay). The first photo shows this setup.

The second photo shows the garden hose hooked up to the water pump (with a shut off valve inline) and an old bicycle inner tube clamped onto the thermostat housing, the other end of which was placed in a plastic bucket. With this setup, I can quickly turn the water on and off (shock the rust particles) and see what comes out in the bucket.

After water blasting a few times, I reversed the hoses so the direction of the water would be reversed too. See the third photo.

I guess the machine shop and I did a good job of cleaning out the crud that was in the water jacket! Just a few particles of rust came out. beermugs

Now I felt confident enough to put the thermostat housing (with the thermostat) on permanently. Notice I used copper compression washers under the heads of the bolts to help prevent leaks. I also schmeared Permatex #3 under the heads and all over the copper washers.

The last photo attached to this post shows that I hooked up the carb, vacuum tank, and flexible heat tube. The carb is the same one that Lurch has been running with since 1996; a Stromberg OE-1. The original application for this carb was a 1925 or 1926 Franklin, but Lurch seems to like it. I made an adapter for its intake to accept the crankcase ventilation tube.

Cheers, Dean

Attached Images
Step21a.JPG Step21b.JPG Step21c.JPG Step21d.JPG Step22.JPG
Last edited by Rustoholic; 02/08/18 12:08 AM. Reason: added some verbiage

Dean 'Rustoholic' Meltz
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Filling Station - Chevrolet & GMC Reproduction Parts


Filling Station


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Racing ahead (Lurch, racing?), the radiator goes on. See Lurch grinning in the first photo. carbana

The engine compartment is pretty tight, so the water pump inlet is VERY close to the bottom radiator outlet. I went to my local car parts place and rumaged around to find an off-the-shelf radiator hose that has a 90 degree preformed bend to fill the bill. The next two photos show the installation of the lower radiator hose.

DRUM ROLL PLEASE!!!

I primed the vacuum tank with some gas and finally tried to start Lurch's engine for the first time. Yea!! But, no go. Chug,,,,,,,,,,,,,,chug,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,chug,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,no pop. curse

The starter turned the engine over really, really slowly. Putting the starter back in without completely checking it out first was a mistake.

I could smell gas getting into the cylinders, but I wasn't sure about getting a spark. Here is a video of the startup attempt: Lurch's first attempt at waking up

Okay, breath deeply, go take a nap, and drink a Diet Coke. Time to reflect and plan the next steps.

Bummed, but we shall overcome! Dean



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Last edited by Rustoholic; 02/15/18 01:59 PM. Reason: Added verbiage and link to video

Dean 'Rustoholic' Meltz
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A few days later, I ran across a posting by Chipper about how to check an engine's ignition system. Excellent information!! thanku

Here's a link to this valuable info: Chipper's instructions for checking engine ignition system

Turns out that the wire going from the coil to the distributor was not conducting. Proof positive - no spark.

Whew, one more problem licked! Next on the to do list is to fully check out the starter motor before attempting another startup.

Ever onward! Dean


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The procedure comes from 20 years of VCCA tours and trying to diagnose problems when Chevys balk at the side of the road. Between several of us we have gotten a bunch back running so they can complete the days run. Helping fellow VCCA tourists is very rewarding.


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As I mentioned earlier, the starter worked, but VERY slowly. All my cables are super thick, the electrical connections are clean, and the battery is fully charged. So, time to open up the starter.

Good thing that I went this route. One of the bolts that hold the kickback spring was loose. See the first photo where the bolt is circled in red.

The internal parts look okay, but the commutator needs to be cleaned up, so into the lathe it goes. I only took .015 inch off the surface to make it nice and shiney. I bent the tip of a toy scribe to clean out the spaces in between the commutator bars. Some of the copper from the turning operation was bridging over from one bar to another. This little hooked tool dug/scraped the in between area well. See the tool highlighted in the photo below.

The brushes are in good shape, but they are dirty. I sprayed some electrical cleaner on a Q tip and cleaned them off.

When I reassembled the starter, I put a smidgen of high temp bearing grease in the two bearings and then oiled them with a few drops of 10-30W oil.

Then I put the starter back into Lurch's engine and hooked it up.

Next up, a second attempt at starting (fingers crossed).

Cheers, Dean

Attached Images
Step24a.JPG Step24b.JPG Step24c.JPG Step24d.jpg Step24e.JPG Step24f.JPG Step24g.JPG

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Dave,
I have not found any engineering references about the intake deffusers. The 1928 engines had them, I know a fellow that left them out and ended up with a cracked cylinder head, Having said that, there is some discussion about leaving them in for that reason, by the 28 owners I know. I'm going to use the ones I have.

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Sit back, put your feet up, and grab your favorite beverage. The next few posts are going to be long on words and short on pics.

But as always, it's an interesting ride so hang in there!!

After fixing the non-conducting wire from the coil to the distributor, I got a good spark. bana2 After cleaning up the starter motor, the engine turns over much better. So begins round two of waking up Lurch after heart (engine) surgery.

BTW, I put some Lucas TB ZINC-PLUS in the engine oil as per the advice from Hubbard machine shop. Wade, who bored out the block, showed me some solid lifters that were mushroomed over due to lack of zinc in modern oils. This is particularly the case here in California because the zinc was found to destroy the catalytic converters. So, to have clean air, CA drastically reduced the amount of zinc in all oils sold here.

DRUM ROLL PLEASE (again). Whirr, whirr, chug, chug, chuff, chuff, cough, cough, brumm, brumm! It started!! Oil pressure is good and the amp meter is showing 10 amps. Yeah! carbana

Joy for a moment, then dread. I hear a couple of engine knocks. Not engine-destroying-sounding-knocks, but knocks that need to be addressed. @@#%%!!! They sound like they are coming from the front and middle of the bottom end. Since the pistons and wrist pins are new, they are not part of the problem.

Okay, since Lurch is running and the engine does not sound like it is going to explode, I decide to drive around the block let things settle in a little. Another problem presents itself: the clutch will not disengage. This is frustrating! I changed the tranny and put in what I thought was a newly relined clutch (this part came with Justin). I did grind the gears and get Lurch to back out of the driveway, but that was it. greenman I turned him off and, with the help of a neighbor, shoved him back into the driveway.

The plan of attack is to drop the tranny and fix the clutch problem. Then, work on the engine knocks, which I suspect are being caused by too much clearance in the bearing caps.

To drop the transmission without taking out the engine, I jacked up the chassis so that the rear axle will hang down far enough to allow the u-joint to be dismantled and the torque tube dropped. Actually, I raised the torque tube up and supported it up against the truck bed to make room for the tranny to slip out and down. Below is a picture of how I supported the right side of the rear of the chassis.

I used my floor jack (with a small piece of plywood bolted to it) as a platform for the tranny to sit on when I lowered and raised it out of and back into the truck.

Not fun. The four speed tranny is VERY heavy. Luckily, Lurch sits high anyway so when he is on jack stands, there is a lot of room to work under him.

After adjusting the clutch eye bolt all the way and dropping the tranny a couple of times, I determined that the new linings on the clutch were too thick!

FLASH! Then I remembered, six years ago when I first got Justin running I had the same problem, the clutch would not disengage. At that time, since I needed to take the tranny out anyway, I bought a new clutch and throw out bearing for Justin and put THIS clutch off to the side. I rediscovered it in my stash of stuff and put it into Lurch. Dang me!

I measured the thickness of Lurch's old clutch and it was .320 inch. The thickness of the 'newly lined' clutch that came with Justin was .380 inch, so I put Lurch's old clutch back in since it seemed to have a lot of good material left in the linings.

I'll gather my notes and tackle the engine knocks in the next post.

Ever onward! Dean


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I know that this is imaterial and not pertaining to your problem. The valve spring pressure is very weak in an engine of the '20's and '30' compared to modern V-8 engines. An oil additive is not necessary as the oil is a thousand times better than it was in 1928 and the cam to lifter load is very low. When these engines were new the oils had no additives and the oil became contaminated with dust and gas etc. and the lifters never had a problem.


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Good information is never immaterial, Chevgene.

Thanks, Dean


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Warning: another long post.

With the starter cleaned up, the engine turns over nicely. pineapple

Now to figure out where the engine knocks are coming from. It sounded like the problem was under cylinders one and two. If you recall earlier in this series, I put the rod end caps on without any brass shims in because the rods did not seem to put a drag on the rotation of the crank, but didn't seem too loose either.

So, I drained the oil and dropped the oil pan for the first engine-knock go around. Yes, I'll be draining the oil and dropping the pan a few times. I like to approach figuring out a problem in small increments, so I usually do things a number of times before I dial into the real fix. Oh well, it is good exercise to get down and up from being under Lurch in the driveway! Besides, I can take a nap under there and anyone looking will think I'm really busy or dead! laugh

The first thing I noticed with the pan off was that the gasket around the front main bearing was messed up. See the first couple of photos below. As I mentioned before, these gaskets around a curved surface are a booger to get right. It looks like the oil pan has actually sliced through part of the gasket. I'll have to make sure that the pan has no sharp edges and put the pan on nice and straight next time.

Then, I used Plastigage to get an idea about what the clearances were between the rods and end caps for cylinders 1 and 2. The squished plastic said that both gaps were .003 inch. Okay, a little loose, but not too far off.

Since there are no brass shims between the large end of the rods and the rod end caps, there are two ways to close up the gap around the crankcase journal: either sand some material off the end cap or sand some material off the steel spacer between the rod and the cap. I decided to sand the spacers.

I measured these spacers to be .126 in thickness. I put a sheet of fine emerycloth on a steel plate and hand sanded .002 off these spacers. See the photo below showing an original and a sanded spacer. Then, I put them back on the engine and tested with Plastigage again. Now the clearance showed .0015 and the crank still turns easily. Good 'nuf!!

I put the oil pan back on, put new oil into the engine and fired it up.

The engine knocks were certainly diminished, but still there. Now they seem to be coming from the front of the engine and the middle. In the next episode, I'll check the front and middle bearing clearances.

Stay tuned! Dean


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Another LOOOOOOOONG post that is heavy in verbiage and has only one photo.

I dropped the oil pan again and focused on the middle main bearing. In order to play with the middle bearing cap easily, I also took out the oil pump. Theoretically, it will be easy to put back in and I won't have to mess with the timing of the distributor. Cross your fingers!

The first thing I did was take out the spark plugs, put the hand crank in, and turned the engine over to get a feel for how easily it spun. Feels good, nice and smooth.

In the initial assembly of the engine, I determined (incorrectly) that .005 inch worth of brass shims were needed on each side of the the middle bearing cap. So, I started this time around by taking off the bearing cap, removing these shims, and putting the cap back on.

Turning the engine over by hand again, I found that it still spun easily. Okay, the bearing gap is still too large.

Taking off the bearing cap again, I separated the bearing half from the cast iron holder. Still in place were the two .001 inch brass shims I placed in between these two parts earlier. See the pic below. I noticed that the shims did not cover the entire backside of the bearing half so I theorized that the shims were pushing up only on the center of the bearing and the bearing might be flexing around the crankshaft.

To prove or disprove this theory, I replaced the two little .001 shims with one large .002 inch shim that did cover the whole bearing back surface. I reinstalled the cap and hand cranked the engine again.

Ah ha! The crank still turns, but now it seems to drag a little. Okay, now I'm getting somewhere.

I added back in one of the .001 small brass shims in between the bearing cap parts, put the cap back in, and viola, the engine turns over freely again. YEAH! The third time really is the charm!

After reinstalling the oil pump, putting the oil pan back on, filling up the engine again with oil, I started Lurch again! Yep, reinstalling the oil pump did not disturb the distributor. wave

The engine knocks have diminished again, but there was still one knock left.

I drove Lurch to the high school's auto shop and using Andy Shyers' stethoscope, I identified the problem as being with the front main bearing. I speculated that the front bearing clearance around the crank was too large. BTW, these stethoscopes are really cool! You can clearly hear all the mechanical thingees going click click and VERY precisely locate an engine knock.

Another step foward, but the final destination has yet to be arrived at.

(now regularly chewing my fingernails!) Dean
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Last edited by Rustoholic; 06/02/19 11:38 PM.

Dean 'Rustoholic' Meltz
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I am following your "voyage" though I don't have a four . I am curious why you are not shimming the bearing until too tight and then removing one at a time until it spins freely? Your patience is truly admired.


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Steve D, adding shims will make it loose and removing them will make it tight.
It works opposite of what you are thinking.
Steve


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Double Steves, you are both correct. More or less bearing clearance with respect to the crank shaft depends on where the shims are placed.

When new babbitt is put in the bearings, brass shims are placed in between the bearing halves (around the bearing cap bolts) to space the halves apart and create the correct clearance to the crankshaft journal. As the babbitt wears, you remove these shims to tighten up the clearance.

When all the shims are gone, but there is still some usable babbitt in the bearing, you can add a shim or two between the bearing half and its cast iron holder, thus bringing the bearing halves closer to each other and tighten up the bearing clearance around the crank.

This latter situation is the case with Lurch's middle main bearing (and the front main too, I suspect).

This does mean, however, that the next time this engine needs a rebuild, it will need new babbitt throughout. I did not go down this path this time to keep the cost down. Since I only drive Lurch a couple of hundred miles per year, I suspect (hope!) that this rebuild will last for the rest of my days.

Thanks for your thoughts, Dean


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This post is to state what was written above another way and hopefully help those reading these recent posts to better understand.

Shims between bearing mating halves will increase the ID of the bearing. Removal of shims between bearing halves will decrease the ID and therefore tighten the bearing on the shaft. That is true for all bearings.

For bearings with inserts (for example the main bearings on most Chevrolet engines) shims between the insert and bearing halves (block & cap) will decrease the ID of the bearing and therefore tighten the bearing on the shaft. It will be necessary to remove a proportionate amount of metal on the ends of the inserts particularly if the shim is greater than the crush that will occur with adding the a shim between the cap and insert.

Yes it is possible to only add the shim material between the removable cap and insert. If the majority of the wear is in that area of the bearing it can be a reasonable "fix". That is normally the case with the crankshaft bearings. [It is NOT the case with rod bearings.] Just remember adding the shim may stress the shaft and bearing if it causes the shaft to move versus the other bearings. Center main bearings on three main bearing engines are particularly susceptible to crankshaft bending which increases the wobble and therefore wear on the center bearing. Only adjusting the bottom half will not be a long term "fix".

Bearings can also be adjusted by filing the bearing cap. It is necessary for that to be flat and parallel to journal on the shaft.

Be aware that the above adjustments DO NOT result in 100% circular bearings. Proper machining, like line boring is the only way to get the "total" contact. However the small "gap" is not significant for our low output engines. Different story for highly stressed, high HP, high RPM engines.

Caution: metal removed from the bearing cap or insert may render them useless for future use.



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Chipper, you could'a/should'a been a teacher. Great explanation.

I should mention that when I first put the crankshaft into the block, I made sure (as best as I could) that the crank journals were sitting firmly against the upper bearing inserts. This was to help ensure that the crank would not 'bend' as I bolted up the main bearing caps. I'm crossing my fingers that this is the case.

Only time will tell.

Thanks, Dean


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LAST EPISODE!! beermugs

As I mentioned before, only one more engine knock to take care of. It is coming from the front main bearing.

For the umpteenth time, I dropped the oil pan again. Amazingly, the front main bearing cap can be taken off with the engine in the truck. Whew! See the first photo below.

When I layed the crank in the back yard, I put a lot of brass shims in between the front main bearing cap and the block: .017 inch worth - one .005" and four .003".

I took out all the .003 inch shims (leaving the .005" in), bolted the cap back on, and hand turned the engine with the starter crank handle. The engine turned over easily.

Okay, I jumped (slid) back under the truck and replaced the .005" shim with a .003" shim. Now, the crank felt like it was dragging a little, so I took out the .003" and put back in .005".

Presto bingo! The crank turned free again. ;-)

With trembling hands and a sweaty brow, I put the pan back on, oiled it up and started Lurch's engine. NO KNOCK!

I drove him about 12 miles around town. Nice and strong, and sounds great!

We're back! The 10-month engine rebuild adventure is over. Total cost around $2300. More than I was hoping for, but way less than I could've spent. At the bottom are a couple of videos for your viewing pleasure!

Happy happy, Dean carbana

And now, a few words from Lurch:

Howdy y'all,

I am itchin' to get back onto the open roads!!

After limping around with a wore out heart for over 20 years, Dean FINALLY put some effort into giving me a heart (engine) transplant. I'm out of surgery and am now recovering nicely. Thanks for asking!

To celebrate being mobile again, I'm gonna drive to the Niles Depot in Fremont, CA, on Sunday, May 27, 2018. That's Memorial Day weekend.

We'll be leaving Dean's house in San Leandro at 9am. The plan is to tootle slowly down Mission Blvd. and arrive in the Niles District of Fremont around 10am.

Join us!! Let's hang out in the parking lot of the Niles Depot and wow the crowds with mechanical wonders of yesteryear.

Let Dean know if you're gonna be there so we can try and save some parking spaces. 1-510-919-2833

Happy trails to you,,,,, Lurch
Old and ugly is beautiful!!


Lurch's first excursion after rebuild (engine still knocking)

Lurch's engine rebuild is DONE! ;-)

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Last edited by Rustoholic; 03/04/18 01:34 PM. Reason: typo

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Sounds great. Your series will help numerous others to decide to take on a rebuild project and succeed. Thanks for sharing it with us.


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Dean, I have enjoyed watching your progress, good job. I'm glad to have been a small part of the project. Good to know you were able to use the engine block from Washington. Dick


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Thanks guys!

I'm planning for Lurch's first long distance run (50 miles round trip) for April 1st to the Blackhawk Car Museum's Cars and Coffee event Cars and Coffee in Danville, CA

It should be fun!

Cheers, Dean

Last edited by Rustoholic; 03/11/18 01:16 PM. Reason: added link to event

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Another proof that Lurch is alive and well. Last weekend my son and I drove him to the Oakland Aviation Museum.

Check it out: Lurch, Josh, and Dean out for a drive

Cheers, Dean


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Update on Lurch's heart (engine) transplant (rebuild).

We've been driving and showing and he's been running fine. ;-)

One problem, though, the engine leaks oil. I suspect that when I took out the front main bearing cap to eliminate the last engine knock, I disturbed an oil seal somewhere.

I decided to quantify the drip, so I put a cookie pan under the engine, drove 10 miles, drained the pan and measured the amount that the engine lost. It lost 50 ml. over the 10 miles. So, that breaks down to 1 teaspoon per mile.

Okay, it's not catastrophic, but still bothersome.

While Lurch napped under his blankie (plastic tarp) during the winter, I dropped the oil pan, cleaned up all the surfaces I could reach around the front main bearing cap, and smeared some Permatex #2 Form-a-Gasket sealant on all potential leak spots.

After putting the oil pan back on, I put the cookie sheet back on so I could measure if there was any improvement.

Yes, 20 percent less, so now he leaks only 0.8 of a teaspoon per mile.

Time to drive him and enjoy the ride. We can live with this leak. To keep it from going onto the road, I added another baking pan under the cookie sheet, so now Lurch has an oil pan diaper. ;-) The cookie sheet is a drip pan and the baking pan is a reservoir space.

Attached is a photo of of the drip catching attachment.

Ever onward! Let the driving and showing season begin!

Cheers, Dean

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Last edited by Rustoholic; 02/16/22 10:24 PM. Reason: typo

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Dean when the driving season comes to an end and you still have your leak, try this. Clean off all surfaces with a dry solvent like brake clean. Get a can of foot spray powder (about $10.00) and cover the oil pan, front cover etc with powder. Take it for a ride around the block and check for wet spots. This method will pin point the spot your leak starts at. It might be coming from the lifter. Good luck.
Steve

Last edited by SSG26K; 06/02/19 11:20 PM.

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Thanks for the foot powder idea, Steve.

The oil is running down the front of the oil pan. Maybe I didn't seal the oil pan lips sufficiently. The curved surfaces on the front and rear main caps are a booger to seal. Once the oil pan is in place, you cannot reach these areas to smear on any extra sealant.

The area around the oil filter is definitely not leaking.

Cheers, Dean


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Time for an update.

A couple of weeks ago, I started Lurch up for a short drive and found that I had no oil pressure. Not good!

The problem seems to be that I installed the distributor incorrectly and it was now NOT driving the oil pump shaft. Here's a link to that story: No oil pressure showing for Lurch's engine

It's always something! Fix it and keep on trucking!

Dean


Dean 'Rustoholic' Meltz
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1964 Chevrolet Impala SS
1964 Chevrolet Impala SS
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My 1933 Chevy 2 Dr. Sedan
My 1933 Chevy 2 Dr. Sedan
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2 1927 Chevrolet Trucks
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