I've been busy with some small jobs, adjusted the toes with a string, screwed on the rear fenders and running boards – so many screws! Then I cut a new floorboard out of plywood, drilled screw holes in it, and painted it black. That's it for now. Now comes the Christmas season. If I'm really lucky, I might even get my engine block back from the shop before Christmas – that would be something! Regards Harald
Happy New Year! I was able to pick up my engine from the rebuilder, where it was bored to .020 oversize, new valve guides and valve seats were installed, and then it was converted to insert bearings. The connecting rods are new; they're included in the conversion kit. I also did one small thing: I installed new mirrors, which are from the café racer section and are easily adjustable. It's currently only 2°C (about 35° Fahrenheit) in our workshop, too cold to work on it. We're waiting for warmer temperatures. Regards, Harald
Nice job Harald. I like your installation. I've been thinking about much bigger mirrors on my 29 sedan. Like the ones on small pickups, maybe 6 inches tall and 10 inches wide on some sort of tapered dovetail bracket so I can quickly remove them when I park and just slip them back in the brackets still adjusted when I'm ready to drive again. Being generally the slowest car on the road, I'm pretty interested in what's going on behind me. The tiny little motorcycle mirrors that I welded to the top of the hinge pins don't give me much field of view.
Cafe Racer Cruiser Custom Round Bar End Mirrors Rearview Mirrors Chrome https://share.google/E8bo1XqXEGnF3yHqu They're not dovetail joints, but you could adapt them to fit. Regards, Harald
Thanks Harald, but not much gain in size and they would need to be adjusted each time they are installed. I have finally acquired a vertical mill, eventually I'll build something.
Nice work, we have been 46°c here lately, also not much fun to work.... Nice to see the machine work is done
Ouch, you're right, we've had a real winter for a week now, and it's supposed to drop to -12°C again on Sunday. I can definitely take a break. Regards Harald
I was able to install it quite easily; the parts are cleanly manufactured. There seem to be further improvements since then, such as a different output bearing and a different mounting on the output shaft. I've described my installation in my installation report. Regards, Harald
I just couldn't resist, so I used a Hand milling machine to modify the intake and exhaust ports a bit. It turned out pretty well; I didn't want to overdo it since there wasn't that much material to work with, and I didn't want to break through anywhere – that would be disastrous. Then I cleaned the whole block, lapped the valves, and installed the tappets and camshaft. I pre-set the valve clearance without the springs. Regards, Harald
Today I continued working on it, finished ***embling the valve train, checked and adjusted the valve clearance again. I installed the crankshaft and checked it with Plastigage – everything's fine. Then I cleaned and oiled everything and re***embled it. The crankshaft turns smoothly; I'm satisfied. Regards, Harald
Hello neighbor, nice Ford. Where will we see him? in race 61? or on Headbanging Finsterwalde? I will also install a Volvo gearbox in my Ford, it is a very good solution. Can you tell me where I can buy this conversion kit in Germany? Lukasz
Hi, greetings back. The conversion kit is available via: ADAPTER VOLVO M40/41TRANSMISSION | Piston Knockers https://share.google/vyBHLP3zNZ6pcUjba Hindenberg Dirt Track and the Airfield Club Race in Finofurt are definitely on the calendar; I'm not sure about Race61 yet. Regards, Harald
Next came the pistons, piston rings, and connecting rods. The parts already look great. First, I checked the ring gap, and everything was fine. Then I put the connecting rods into the pistons and pulled the piston rings onto the pistons. I made sure the connecting rods were pointing in the correct direction and installed the pistons with the connecting rods, bolted them together, and tightened them to the correct torque. I put the drive pinion onto the crankshaft and placed the timing gear in the correct position on the camshaft and bolted it in place. It's slowly becoming an engine. Regards, Harald
Lookin great Harold! Can you share some details about the parts in the engine? Are those new **** rods? Graphite coated piston skirts… very kool! What was your skirt clearance and who made em?
I bought a complete conversion kit from AER; Antique Engine Rebuilding https://share.google/xLqyUJO8PXG1ClYkH supposedly they're Silv-O-Lite pistons, but these are AER branded. The piston-to-cylinder clearance was set to 0.004 inches by the machine shop. The connecting rods are also AER branded. In my opinion, they're very high quality. Regards, Harald
The oil pump was dis***embled and cleaned. At first, I couldn't get the shaft out of the pump and left it as is. However, I then saw online that the slot widens, so I compressed it. Now the shaft came out cleanly. I installed the new shaft; there's no play, and it runs smoothly in the housing. So, I oiled everything and re***embled it. Next, I dis***embled the cam gear drive and re***embled it with a new gear and sleeve, so everything there is new as well. Then I installed the oil pan. Now I mounted the valve cover, along with the oil pipe that will carry the oil through a filter. I chamfered and rounded the edges of the oil filter elbow so that it looks better with the engine. I screwed in the cylinder head studs with sealant, temporarily placed the cylinder head on for painting, and then installed the flywheel housing. Regards, Harald
Now the flywheel is mounted; it was turned down and rebalanced, but it's still heavy. The clutch disc from the Volvo was installed with the help of this small tool, and the pressure plate was bolted on. The engine was prepared for painting, and my tent was preheated with the small heater. In the meantime, the bracket and the throttle linkage were cleaned, as was the inspection plate. Then everything could be painted; it was a bit tight, but it worked. Greetings Harald
So what's in the engine now? It has a camshaft and cylinder head from Burtz, it's also getting a Weber carburetor, so it's a lively little thing. We installed one of these engines in a friend's car and it was quite lively; it should be a lot of fun together with the Volvo gearbox. Greetings Harald
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