VCCA Home Forums TECHNICAL - 1945 AND EARLIER 1933-1936 'Rods, '34 Db Pickup Part Numbers

Please be patient. I seem to have a lot of catching up to do.
I bought a running engine from a rodder years ago.
It's been sitting, in pieces, but I'm now back at it and having fun, mostly.
Now the rods:
All six of my rods are 837107, followed by random seeming numbers, like 179, 454, 469, 478.
I have a "set" of rebuilt rods, five of which are 837107 and one is 837684.

The weird part is that neither of these numbers is in my excellent 1935 parts book, which lists 363414, 363713, and 364323, 364822, and 601343.
Can anyone explain this little mystery?
Of course you can....that's why I'm here!

Wouldn't it be nice if we could send rods off for exchange for $1.70, as the parts book says?
Of course I'd be willing to pay the $2.35 for new ones too.
I'd like to know the differences among the various rods, but that's beyond the scope of my present activity.
Thanks,
Wilson

From 1952 parts book.
forge number 836601 1929-1932
forge number 837684 1933-34 Master has 2 1/4 inch holes on top
forge number 837684 1935-1936 has one 5/32" hole on top

1941 book
364414 1929 -1932
363713 1932
364323 1933-1934 Master
601353 193591936

these are part numbers as forging nmbers are not in book

The forging for the 1933-34 rod was almost the same as the 1935-36 rod except the 1934 rod had cris-cross oil groves in the babbitt and the 1936 one strqaight center grove.....plus the oil air relief holes mentioned.
The1933-34 Chevrolet replacement rebabbited rods had
deeper oil groves than the originals for better lubrication.

no good reason that the single straight grove would not work in a 1934 engine.

There were always problems with the rods due to the thick babitt used. ...as years went by the babbitt got thinner and thinner....

Thanks, Gene,
Not important, but my '35 book has some differences, which may just be typos in your message. 363414 instead of your 364414 and 601343 instead of your 601353.
Your '52 book shows different hole configuration for the same forging number.
I suppose that's possible, if the holes are drilled after forging?
I also suppose that rebuilt rods may have any oil grooves the rebuilder wants to put in?
My parts book has pictures of the various rods.
Not very useful, since they look the same, EXCEPT for some being different lengths.
A little measuring suggests the difference is due to different enlargement factors.
Are there any rods that won't work.
That is, did the crank journals or wrist pins ever change size during the time we are looking at?

I have one 837684, on your list, but all the others are 837107, not on your list.
As I'm understanding, one can't identify a rod by looking at the '34 parts book, because the book has part numbers and the rod has a casting number?
Thanks for your time and help, as always,
Wilson

One thing to watch out for is weight. I bought a nicely rebuilt engine from a fellow who is rodding his 29 coupe. New aluminum pistons, re-babbited rods, everything redone. The engine had been sitting so long it had rusted. I pulled it apart and took it to a local machinist to clean it out. While I had it apart I had him check the weights of the components. The piston rod combination was off by 48 grams. Almost 2 ounces, not good. By switching things around and without any grinding he got it down to 14 grams. Not close enough for a modern high revving engine but should be just fine for a 2600 rpm engine. I had him lighten and balance the flywheel/clutch plate combo as well. Back in the car now and almost ready to run. Art

The combination weight of piston and rod assembly is important. Matching the end weights are even more important when statically balancing. So pistons with rings should all be as close as practical. Removing non-structural weight to get them very close to the same will pay off in a smooth running engine.

Wilson,

Back decades ago when G & D still had technical articles for hard core motorheads there was an article on converting poured babbit rods to insert bearings. Apparently that's still of interest to some enthusiasts:

https://www.inliners.org/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=63724

https://www.stovebolt.com/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=441248

It's an option you have.

If I were doing my '36 PU restoration today I would certainly convert it to inserts and also cross drill the crankshaft for full pressure lubrication.

Another improvement you can easily do at the stage you are at is improving the clutch function. The pre '37 clutch is "hair trigger" and is no fun starting up a steep hill with another vehicle right on your rear bumper. If I had known that when doing my restoration I would have adapted in a modern pressure plate from another vehicle for smooth, progressive clutch engagement. I have a 1971 Dodge van that I bought new and still have. Its clutch engagement is and always has been silky smooth.

Ray W

Great info is lurking under every rock!
I followed up on the above and found that Russ is still at Paul's Rod and Bearing, Parkville, MO, 816 587 4747. This is a NW suburb of Kansas City, MO.
They do only Babbitt work, on rods, mains, and cams.
A set of six rods is $450, poured and finish bored. Same cost for inserts.
Russ says their new babbit is much better than the old stuff, but i didn't take his time to elaborate.
The trick here is that there is not an infinite variety of inserts, so one must find an insert with the right ID and an OD that can be machined into the rod end.
If the rod end ID, of the steel, is too big, there may not be an insert that will fit.
The machining includes what he calls "tangs," shoulders to retain the insert
As luck would have it, he did not have dimensions for my forgings, which end in 107.
I suppose he would have to take the babbit out of one to determine the ID of the steel.
Anyhow, just in case someone is looking, here is a good shop. They have been doing it a long time and do nothing other than babbit work.
Wilson

Paul's has done babbitt bearing work for many VCCA members including me. There is also Harkin Machine in Waterton SD that does main and rod bearings. Have had good reports on the work that they do as well.

I think we should have a list of such places recommended by users, to save newbies countless hours of looking and many messages to experienced members.
I volunteer to compile the list, if people send me names/addresses/phone numbers and services offered.
Obviously this should be limited to specialized stuff that your local boring/turning place doesn't do.
BTW, Harkin has died, but there is a new owner, as reported on another forum. I verified that George is there, sounds like a nice guy.
It is being run now by George Gohlike 651-300-8785
Wilson

VCCA member Verlyn Husman from SD and Minn says George does good work. Trained for a year by Harkin.

"I volunteer to compile the list, if people send me names/addresses/phone numbers and services offered.
Obviously this should be limited to specialized stuff that your local boring/turning place doesn't do."

Wilson,

That's a great idea. One thing to bear in mind is that discussions of specialized services may include photos of the specialized work being discussed. For example, if I were to post information on how modern tie rod ends can be substituted for the clunky, sloppy, spring loaded tie rod ends of yore a photo or 2 would be more enlightening than a lengthy text. BUT, this forum does not allow people who are not VCCA members to post photos.

There are ways to get around that prohibition, like sending the photos to someone who is a VCCA member. But why would someone who is excluded from providing illustrated information simply and directly even bother putting time into something that is artificially made more difficult and time consuming by some nonsensical rule?

Your excellent idea may be easier to launch on a forum that doesn't make people pay for the "privilege" of giving away free information. There are probably countless forums that don't have that artificial prohibition. A couple of examples that I belong to are Machinist Web (http://www.machinistweb.com/forum/) and Stovebolt (https://www.stovebolt.com/ubbthreads/).

Ray W

Ray,
I gladly pay for the privilege to be able to post on this site. Without contributions by VCCA members the site would not be possible. Sorry you don't feel the same but it is your choice. As you should be able to see I have also taken my time to post a bunch of times (over 20X your postings). I also volunteer to help others in my area. Those also cost me to do my participation. I am blessed to be able to do that and try to payback where I can.

I will help with the list of people what provide services but since I do most of my own work can't contribute too many. As one that provides services I don't feel it is right for me to toot my own horn.

"Ray,
I gladly pay for the privilege to be able to post on this site."

Good morning Chipper.

Thank you for sharing your thoughts. I sent you a private message explaining the lack of relevance of VCCA membership to some people who do all phases of restoration (except glass cutting and chrome plating) single handedly at home.

Ray W