1948 Fordson E83W pickup

Those are so close to other holes, they're not locating dowels, are they?

I to think those 2 are locating dowels as the gearbox has not got any other way of location like a spigot. ? Do they go into a blind hole.

Looking at the picture of the ring gear you can see the broken tooth I remember a while back someone posting up about a place that had some NOS ring gears and another place that had them in a catalog.

Trevor

Hi guys - definitely broken bolts complete with threads The holes immediately above these are the dowel holes, with the dowels fixed to the gearbox housing. You're right Trev, the broken tooth is off the ring gear showing in the hole ... this is right at the spot that the starter sits. There are a couple of places that sell the ring gears - the 'upright Fords' or side-valve Fords are popular (excuse the pun) enough for lots of wearable after-market parts to be remanufactured, especially engine parts.

Bugly

Some trucks just need lots of spares as they break down all the time where other's never need parts to keep going. LOL

Keep up the great work

Trevor

1 and 4 cylinders appear to have oil passing the rings by the way the carbon is washed off the top of the pistons.
Cheers Steve

Hi Bugly, fantastic work mate, looks like lots of progress on the little Fordson van. Now that you're into the driveline mechanicals maybe you'll need to check out the internals of the gearbox. They were well known to jump out of 2nd gear, the real bad one's sometimes had a hook fitted to the dash that you put the gearstick into to hold the thing in 2nd when you were accelerating otherwise you couldn't hold 'em in by hand. Very interesting to see how it's coming along, well done & like everyone else I'm watching with interest to see how it comes out. Cheers Tim.

Hi Bugly, fantastic work mate, looks like lots of progress on the little Fordson van. Now that you're into the driveline mechanicals maybe you'll need to check out the internals of the gearbox. They were well known to jump out of 2nd gear, the real bad one's sometimes had a hook fitted to the dash that you put the gearstick into to hold the thing in 2nd when you were accelerating otherwise you couldn't hold 'em in by hand. Very interesting to see how it's coming along, well done & like everyone else I'm watching with interest to see how it comes out. Cheers Tim.

Thanks for the advice Tim! I haven't driven it yet to know what the box is like, but I suspect the engine and gearbox is out of a 1950 Ford Prefect. I have to open the gearbox up and have a peep inside, because when I drained the oil it was like thin black grease that came out. If nothing else, it'll need a good clean up inside.

Today Clarry's engine went onto the operating table, and was stripped down and all components degreased and cleaned up.

The Ford E93A side-valve engines had shells in the main bearings, but Babbitt bearings in the big ends. Once the con-rods were removed, here's what the big ends looked like ...

I can source new con-rods that have been modified to take shells in the big ends, and come complete with a new little-end bush. I think this is the way I'll go, as the gudgeons have a bit of slop in them as well.

Here's a question for the wise ... the main bearing journals on the crankshaft are only 1 thou (0.001") under a 0.010" grind. I assume 1 thou wear will be OK to go straight back in, as the main bearing shells look alright. The wear on the big end journals is between 0.002 and 0.003 thou under a 0.010 grind, with all journals being round, that is neither tapered nor oval. How much wear is permissable on the big ends? Is a crank grind recommended?

Bugly

? How much driving is Clary going to do.
? Are there any marks on the journals with the condition of those shells.

Trevor

Bugly

? How much driving is Clary going to do.
? Are there any marks on the journals with the condition of those shells.

Trevor

From here on in, Clarry will be on 'light duties' for the rest of his life. There are a couple of very light scratches which should almost buff out with a fine emery paper. The only other marks are a discolouration where the oil groove was in the bearings. That too should 'buff right out'.

I'll be fitting new shells to the big ends, so if the crank needs a grind they'll be 0.020" undersize, otherwise 0.010'.

What's a ball-park price for a crank grind anyway?

Looks like a grind might be the go. 0.001" is ok but once your up around 0.003", its effectively doubled the clearance. I can't really tell from the photos, but it looks like the big ends have been hammering already. A grind costs per journal, the going rate seems to be $20-$30.

I don't know what the price of new, modified rods is versus getting yours re-metalled, but I was thinking that if you got them re-metalled you could easily compensate for that 3 thou. (given, as you said, they are round).

It's a shame the white metal is breaking up, you could have just taken out a shim or two otherwise. I wonder if it was pinging to cause that.

I reached a bit of a milestone today, with the chassis, brakes, steering and suspension all completed. The brake operating system is 'cable and rod linkage', with lots of clevis couplings. All threaded clevis forks were well rusted, and I was preparing to reconstruct them. I tried the molasses treatment for a fortnight first, and bejaysus it worked!! So a quick scrub up, prime and paint, and today I finished fitting all the pins. The brakes are nice and firm at the pedal, and should pull Clarry up nicely!! [smiley=thumbsup.gif]

Today I also checked out the pistons I removed yesterday. They appear to be serviceable, and should be OK with a new set of rings. RINGS???? Have a look at the ring gaps on the ones that came out!! Little wonder poor old Clarry was an oil burner, and I bet it didn't have very much power either!! In order, #1 top compression ring, #1 oil control ring, and #3 top compression ring. All ring gaps were much like these.