Great! We'll take all the info that you want to tell us! Good to see another 490 running! Sixball is this the one?
GG2, That is it! Thanks! I have pictures on my laptop that are hiding. That was a barn find in Reno. I bet it has desert dirt road stories to tell. They used to race between all of the old mining towns around here.
So Ill give a overview of the things I have learned about this engine. First Ill start with the oil pump. Stock oiling on a 490 is external. Early pumps are on the front of the timing cover, late (like mine) on the rear of the generator. The stock pump and generator rear are made of a pot metal that falls apart with age. Someone cast these out of br***! Theres 3 lines to it. Bottom of the pan is pickup, middle is rod trough, top is center main only. Splash oiling to front and rear main. Rooster
I spent way too many days of my youth tearing around fields on cars stripped to bare ch***is trying to kill myself. Looking back I'm glad no one told me about chains that would stop the wheel spin and make me go faster, if they had I might have succeeded!
Is that bow tie he's wearing? Daft part is my parents kept goats, which were tethered on long chains, so there were plenty available !
Heres a pic of the piston. Anybody know who mite have made them? Egge or Ross or ? Number is 341976 on the bottom. There is also 9197 painted on the rods. Thanks Rooster
Can you tell if the rods are stock or stock length? Are there pictures of the top of the piston? Whoever cast the br*** pieces spent some serious time. This is an interesting engine.
Rooster, do you have a shot of the lower rod? The piston pin is pretty low in the piston, but I cannot tell much about it from just the one picture. It does look like someone spent a lot of effort putting that engine together!
Model A crank & rods-261 Chevy six Pistons? That is one of the combos discussed earlier. Also could the crank be drilled to supply oil pressure to the rods & all 3 mains?
This wouldn’t be the first Chebby (or T) with an A crank swap, and would give an extra 1/4” stroke (4-1/4”). The wrist pin does look really low… but might just be short rods. Definitely not an A rod. Looks like a wrist pin pinch bolt on the back side… possibly “compressor” rods…? These are model A big end with T small end. I’ve never seen any forged Eggie pistons… probably Ross or Arias etc…
The rods have pinch bolts on the small end. The rod number appears to be 333144. The manual online says they should be 333150? Not sure. The only weird/odd thing I could see is the dipper at the bottom was extended lower into the trough. Rooster
OK! now it looks like a Chevy crank! (beam between 1 and 2 is different from the latter 4's) The height of the pin to skirt does like similar to the 261 that I have, but yours are of better quality. Do you know what your bore is?
Thank you for sharing the pics and looking forward to finding out just what those rods and pistons are! Sorry I've been so inconsistent for so long- "life" has really gotten in the way, but I'm still working at getting back to my speedster- the shed is in, the storage unit is empty (a real story of terror involving blood-****ers, creepy-crawlies, etc), and I just about have my workspace back to "productive" mode
My buddy went to museam in southern Az. Took some pics of a 490 Chevy Great Race car. Thought ya'll mite want to see the close up pics. Olds 3 port. Looks like a v8 dist. Gear vendors OD. Many thanks to the great Punkin! Rooster
That distributor may be from a 1961-63 Pontiac Tempest four cylinder. They used two different styles, and one looked like a V8 distributor that used every other plug wire tower.
A friend had a dragster with two 4 cylinder engines that ran on one v8 distributer. I converted an old Mallory Double life for a Pontiac to use in a newer Chevy 4 (153). I had a tough time finding an old 2 piece Mallory 4 cylinder cap and thought I'd might have to use a V8 cap. I haven't really looked at my '28 distributer yet. Is there a problem with them?
I picked up a 28 core motor last week, when I opened it I found model A rods, high compression pistons, and a big oil pump. The mystery is the clutch and flywheel ***embly. Looking for info, it is marked "Borg and Beck type 80" it has an 8" disc and plate.
View attachment 5633037 View attachment 5633037 View attachment 5633038 I picked up a 28 core motor last week, when I opened it I found model A rods, high compression pistons, and a big oil pump. The mystery is the clutch and flywheel ***embly. Looking for info, it is marked "Borg and Beck type 80" it has an 8" disc and plate.
Dan, it sounds like you found an old racing engine! Unfortunately, I know nothing about Borg and Beck, but does it have weights on the other end of the fingers? I have heard that these are supposed to create more force the faster it rotates (Ford Guys). The 28 that I bought from Rich Fox has model A rods and high compression pistons in it. It was built for a miget, so did not have a flywheel or clutch. I would definably be interested in seeing more pictures of this engine!
Good find. I'd like to see more pictures. Was there a bell housing? Any fork, throwout bearing. or linkage for the clutch?
All he had was the long block. He got it at some kind of sale and didn't have any other early Chevy stuff. I would love to talk to the person that built it. I bought it hoping to get useable pushrods and a good cam. The water pump has been blocked off and it has an extra water outlet cut on the side like a T model. It has extra breather holes cut in the sides of the crankcase. The valves look bigger but I haven't measured one. When I bought it, I thought it had been used as a stationary engine, but after looking inside, I am convinced it was a racer or speedster engine. I am posting some pics and will post more as I continue taking it apart.
Thanks for the pictures, Dan! This is going to take some looking at! That flywheel is very different than I am used to. I spoke to soon about not knowing anything about Borg and Beck... I do remember that they were thought of the "the race clutch" in the thirties and needed a very strong leg. (Takes a while to get through all the cobwebs) This engine is set up a little different than others that I have seen. (water outlet/inlet on side of block) Many years ago I had a chance to contact an old racer about how to hot rod a chevy. He just laughed and said, there are many ways! Just depends on what parts you find! Will disect these pics. and be looking forward to more and conversation. Be safe Have fun!
Thanks for the pictures! All I know about these is what I've learned from friends & reading, mostly here. It is strange that "high compression" pistons would still be so far down the cylinder, but with no combustion chamber in the head there you are. The clutch does not use a regular flywheel so there is no provision for a starter. Push start? I don't know what I looking at with the distributer. A short quote from the Borg & Beck web site, "Starting life back in 1903 and being the first to patent the sliding clutch..." What are your plans for this?
The Jalopy Journal
