Been assembling the engine for my 36 standard sport sedan. Today will be media blasting the valve cover and side panel. More in the engine section. Steve
I had most of the day (at a very leisurely pace) checking engine parts as I now have most in readiness to reassemble. I have 2 distributors 1 with a Delco Remy tag 649G the other has no tag but looks identical but the vacuum advance units are different, with the tag has a adjustable base with markings while the other is adjusted only by the bolt securing it to the block. Both vacuum units seem to work though the linkages are a little worn. I will also post about this in the mechanical forum. Tony
I got the engine installed last week. The tranny installed over the weekend. The valve cover looked like a starry night when held up to light, so a replacement supposed to be here this week. Rebuilt the Generator, starter (waiting for new brushes), water pump is apart and cleaned. Todays plan is to reinstall the cross member, clean up and paint the driveline tube and attach it, put together the water pump. Go buy more parts.
Steve I would not worry about a few seconds of smoke at first start though it should abate after a few minutes running. No funny noises is a good thing. I have started putting my 38 engine back together, the crankshaft and camshaft are fitted and turning nicely, not sure when the next step will happen but Rome wasnt built in 1 day. Tony
Thanks for the reply. Yes smoke is a lot less now. Dealing with low to no oil pressure at the gage but lots of oil at the rocker arms. Re torqued the head and manifolds, adjusted the valves a bit, runs nice. Picking up the grill today, I hope. Good luck on your engine, I like the picture. Steve
Just purring with no funny noises only means you did something wrong. Pistons are too tight in the cylinders, valves tappets too tight, rods too tight. Did you have to pull it leaving some tire marks on the pavement before it would turn over? You should take it back apart and loosen up the partss a bit. If you run it for very long it may overheat. (Just messin with you)
Sounds like you were conscientiously engaged in your work and did a journeyman level job.
Today I finished the lower section and closed the bottom end up, I am not sure when the next step will take place as it depends on when the $$$$ become available. Tony
Congrats Tony. It is a nice feeling of completion when you close something up. Now on to the next item when you get the funds. Any idea what that next step will be? Charlie, thank you for the nice words. You are not alone, this car is also messin with me! At 400 rpm idle I am getting a faint knock from the lower end. At 600 idle it goes away. Does not knock when I accelerate the engine. So the idle is now set at 600. I have run the engine about total of an hour, with 30 wt oil to get it hot and retorque the head and readjust the valves and flush the crankcase. Drained the oil out and now has Valvoline 10-30. Exhaust smoke is about gone. The charging system is finally working. I still need to get the door latches and window regulators installed before I can take it on its first test drive. And the tranny is leaking. Need to pull the cross member to see where the leak is coming from. It was not the drain plug like I thought, dag nab it.
Yes Steve it is nice to get something closed up, the next move is a flip the coin between sorting the clutch or the cylinder head. If I do the clutch I most likely will put the lower engine (without head) in the chassis. As for the faint knock are you sure it isnt caused by slightly advanced ignition timing, while 400 rpm idle means it is running well but 500 or 600 is a little better for driving as better accelaration.
At 400 rpm idle I am getting a faint knock from the lower end. At 600 idle it goes away. Does not knock when I accelerate the engine. So the idle is now set at 600. .
The faint knock you are hearing just might be wrist pin since it disappears at higher RPM. If you installed new pins that is most likely not the noise.
Thank you for the reply Dick. No I did not install new wrist pins and the machine shop said the pistons and rods looked good. I will wait till I can drive it around the block and see what the noise does. Thank you Tony for the idea. I know the drive gear on the distributer is a bit loose and the timing mark does jump around a bit. But it does not sound like an ignition knock. Repaired the tranny leak today, well I will find out in the morning if there is a puddle on the floor. I replaced the u joint housing gasket. Sure am getting a rumble from in front of the differential when I make the drive shaft turn. Something else to trouble shoot. Shoot. Steve
New wrist pins should always be fitted on a Chevrolet engine with cast iron pistons rebuild. Especially on the 1936 and prior models. If it is a wrist pin the noise will go away or be reduced by running the engine at about 2000 RPM for about half of a minute. This cuases he oil to be thrown-up to the rings and wrist pins. A fresh rebuild or overhaul should never be run at an idle speed for any length of time because the oil s not being broken -up into a mist and lubricating the cylinder walls, etc.. The wrist pin noise is kind of a hollow sounding clucking noise at idle speed. The good part is that it will not harm anytihng.
Well I did not replace the wrist pins. Always learning new things. I will see what the noise does when I get a chance to take it on a test drive. I will keep hoping it is a wrist pin. Thanks again for all the help, advice and input everyone has given me,
If the pin is loose on the piston it won't cause damage but if loose on the connecting rod serious damage can result. A pin loose on the rod will wear on the cylinder wall.
I did look at the pistons closely when I cleaned them and I really did not notice anything really loose, so I will just take it for a test drive after I get the drive line together (new thread in drivelines) and see how it is, last I heard at 600 idle no noise. Steve S