Back in the day, it was a 38 Pontiac oil pump shortened and bolted to the front cover, with a hole drilled for the shaft tang to engage in a slot milled in the cam nose. Here's a poor shot of my gennie sprint motor with one such setup.
Well i finally got to hear what a model A is supposed to sound like! Got my valve fixed, seated and gapped. Fired right up after i got it back together! Runs on all fours. Waaay smoother then i thought a model A would run and a very snappy throttle, can't wait to drive it! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V_xZzuYs8gA also got a hood, chopped and mocked up a headlight bar, picked up a pair of tractor headlights that i'm making look like fog lights but they will actually be running lights/ turn signals. the head painted VW distributor that im going to eventually adapt to the banger. my 94 that im in the process of rebuilding.
Was the crank modified? As Crazy stated the radii are critical areas. i have broken 2 "A" stock stroke cranks. Both broke at #4 rod throw. Some cranks break at the flange, I know of 2 that broke at the flange, both were running a chopped flywheel that weighed around 40 lb. Both engines were then equipped with Al. flywheels AND SBC dampeners both are still running. After I broke my second counterbalanced "A" crank I complained to the shop that had built up the cranks and was told to install a SBC dampener which I have done on the last 3 engines I have built. The 2 port has made many hard pulls with a "stock" "C" crank. It is down now because it had only a 180 degree thrust on it. When you are on the line and "turning the wick up" to 3 or 4 grand with a 10" clutch you are putting quite a bit of pressure on the rear thrust. I'm now swapping the engines in my modified and I'm putting my Winfield (repop head) in with a 4.562 (4 9/16") stroke ground on a counter balanced "B" crank and will tell you when it breaks. A friend of mine, who recently passed away, had a 1/8 stroker in his 29 tudor and had put over 15,000 miles on it, freeway and all, plus hill climbs and Antique Nationals. I check my cranks for straitness on "V" blocks and indicate the runnout at the center main. Some shops consider .005 runnout good or close enough. I straiten mine to within .0015. It would seem that a crank out .005 with .0015 clearance is flexing and operating under a constant stress. This may be "over kill" but after you have a crank break and destroy an Al. billet rod it gets expensive. A comment regarding aftermarket flywheels. I have an Al. flywheel that we had a problem installing. I found the holes to be ,008 off on center so I'm now installing bushings in the holes. The bolt mounting hole were drilled .032 oversize. The firm I purchased the flywheels from is out of business due to the death of the owner. I had purchased 2 AL. flywheels from them. The first I used had mounting holes that were "snug" on the bolts This one is not. I use ARP 12 point V8 mounting bolts with loctite. They are too long and have to be shortened but the unthreaded diameter is .437. I bought my first V8 Al. flywheel at a swap meet for $ 75 and the mounting holes were all beat out because it had been run loose so I bushed them and have had no problems. That flywheel weighs 11.5 lb. and contrary to popular belief's has made all the hill climb starts in 2 nd. gear, the car weighs 1500 lb.
Hi everyone, Does anybody have pics of how you ran your fuel line on a single downdraft manifold? I'm trying to setup a fuel line from the firewall sediment bowl to the 81 carb on a single zepher intake. Thanks for any help. Tom
ya it was 1/4 inch total. i talked to some people and they think it was a fluke accident. going to drill and grind another crank and stuff it in. i've broken 2 starter bendix, but thats it i am running 12v and need to slow the starter down still.
i'll be at hershey in the red field. cant remember the spots, but right behind the stadium across from chocolate world, stop and see if we got anyhting your interested in
do you think that the high horsepower high torque bangers need to have lighter flywheels than 40 pounds, a 40 pound flywheel for an A is very light, but in a 100+ horsepower high torque app is that too much flywheel weight? is the SBC damper a bolt on accessory or do they need to be machined to fit? And why does the shop that built your engines feel they were necesary?
The shop thought the dampener was necessary based on their experience. They, Taylor Engine, make a kit to install the SBC dampener. The weight YOU use depends on YOU. I had a chopped flywheel come loose and decided at that time to install the V8 flywheel as per article by Mike Hart, now deceased, his articles were in the S O S S magazine. I do not advocate that You use one. If you are happy with your 40 lb. flywheel then by all means use that. Just think about it, with my combination how much less the stress on the flange/crank it takes to get it started to turn. The lighter the flywheel the farther you can go into the turns and the faster you pickup RPM's coming out. Shifts faster too.
this is mine my block is fake I have lines running inside the fire wall to a pump and filter mounted in side in front for the gas tank Bill
i do have a v8 flywheel lying around, is it a bolt in modification or is there some science to it. i am running a 39 tranny behind it so i have the bellhousing adapter. i am lways looking for more ways to improve.
I have been told by a few people that running a 6 volt starter on 12 volts is too much impact, and could lead to broken rear crank flanges. Their treary is that the faster start and the resulting sharper impact of the 6v starter on 12v puts undue forward thrust on the outer edge of the flywheel twisting the flange and possibly cracking the rear flange. No solid testing done on this, just speculation. After breaking two cranks, I now run a 12v starter on 12v. If you have a 6v stater and are running 6v, then you should be ok. Starting a high comp. engine with too much advance would create more stress in that area too. .
I have a 12volt starter on my engine currently and it fires up damn near immediately upon cranking up. I have heard like you said about the 6 volt starters snapping the bendix armature when put to 12volt power but this is the first about the crank flange, I will have to ask and see what some of the banger guys I know say about the crank flange. A guy here running his speedster with 6volt starter powered by 12volts response about not having a 12volt starter is that if it breaks he will just crank start his car. Interesting and I thank you C-D for the info/opinion. I sure do like 12volt better then 6volt on my engine and it seems like less stress on everything in the long run. I also have a lightened and balanced flywheel/clutch set-up on mine so that helps also. Thanks again for your imput C-D.-Weeks
A starter/generator rebuilding shop here in SA that's been in business for a long, long time told me that 6v starters love to run on 12 volts. But conversely, a starter wired internally for 12v would burn up if used on 6v. The windings on a 6v starter have to be of larger diameter wire than a 12v unit needs. Does your banger crank slowly on 6v? You might need a larger gauge wire from the neg battery terminal to the starter switch. Those skinny battery leads you got at WallyWorld were made for 12v systems. Good ground, fat cables, your banger will happily crank right off with 6 volts. It'll crank right off at a faster starter rpm with 12 volts, until the bendix breaks. Fearless (Don't ask me how I know...You don't have all day to listen!)
I start an engine with 8.5 compression with a 6 volt starter but I had to go to a 1/0 cable on the ground side and a repop negative cable. I also ground to the trans and use a solenoid on the starter. Actually it is a Ford 8N solenoid. I have found the Bendix gears on the imported units to be far more brittle and prone to breaking.
has any tried to use a starter switch off an MG TD, it has a progressive type pull switch (rheostat), the slowly applies juice to the starter rather than full juice all at once?
"A starter/generator rebuilding shop here in SA that's been in business for a long, long time told me that 6v starters love to run on 12 volts. But conversely, a starter wired internally for 12v would burn up if used on 6v. The windings on a 6v starter have to be of larger diameter wire than a 12v unit needs." B.S.! The armature stays the same. There are 4 sets of field windings. For six volts they are wired as #1 and #2 in series---#3 and#4 in series. Then the 1-2 pair are put in parallel with the 3-4 pair. For 12V the coils are wired 1-2-3-4, all in series. The 12V conversion field coil sets available from dealers make this an easy swap as the new coils are connected in series when you get them, but it is possible to reconnect the old coils if you unwind one wrap of the field winding strap to get enough length to make the new connections. Stay away from any place that told you the above, no matter how long they have been in business Herb Kephart
Speaking of starters, the first couple times I use my starter, the starter just spins up with no engaugement, the next time I push it, it crashes into the flywheel and grinds, if I push it quickly again it will finally engauge and start the engine. What is causing this? You can see it in the video I just posted. Thanks!
Were you just trying to turn it over? If so, just another junked A model coupe. Dirt racing claimed more than its share of the Coupes. No reason for anybody to put a coupe in danger. Kevin Ooltewah Speed Shop
This picture came outta a book I was leant recently. The publishing date on the book was 1952 and they talk about bangers as though no one ran them anymore and that they were old technology lol. IN 1952.=Weeks
I went to a local electrical supply warehouse and they had to send it out to Fresno to get rebuilt. Expect to pay a bit for the conversion. I wonder honestly how difficult it is to do on your own and may try with my next starter for my back-up engine. I paid for a core starter 20 bucks and then was quoted 200$ by the shop that did the work. I was able to get them to come down on the price about 25% so I ended up with 180 invested or so after it was all said and done. I have seen some cheaper on the auction site now but I have a warranty on mine for awhile. I could possibly get the info for you on the shop but I would imagine there has to be someone near you that can do the work. PM me if you can not find a shop to do the work even though one fella already furnished a shop.-Weeks
I'll check with a rebuilder shop near me..Has anyone used a gear drive starter ???? I saw one on ebay a while back
Ok, I've got a Mallory dizzy in my banger. Are there different springs for the timing advance? When I get the timing where it runs best, it's hard to start. If I back the timing of to where it starts easy, it runs like crap. Are there weaker springs for the advance? Could this be my issue??
There is a kit available from vendors such as Summit Racing that contains springs timing key and directions. This actually should be done at a shop with a distributor machine. THe FS distributor has about 29 degrees of advance that is all in by 2000 RPM. By the time you buy a Mallory and pay to have it dialed in right you still will not have same total advance as the FS. I had Jere Jobe do a Mallory and it had 20 degrees total by 2000. With the FS you start with about 5 degrees static and theoretically end up with 34 degrees total. This is MY personal experience. FS will now convert a "B" distributor to electronic and recurve the advance to 29 degrees advance for just under $200, this includes the proper coil. I think I will have them do one for me. One thing I do know is that if you use a converted starter with the Al V8 flywheel conversion don't try to rum too much advance.
Wow!1 It is hard to believe that with all the trucks in Bakersfield there is not a shop that repairs starters. I use a guy in Hesperia ca and the last complete rebuild on a 8N Ford tractor starter was $50. Most "A" parts suppliers sell the 12 volt coils or windings for around $30 and most do not change the armature. I was told by a large rebuilder that they used the same armature in the 6 or 12 volt starters. I was inquiring about a flathead V8 starter. The first starter I used was one that I picked op at a swap meet and after I modified it I used it on 12 volts. I thought it was a 6 volt unit because it spun the engine so fast. I took it to Raul at the starter shop and he said it would cost $20 plus the 12 volt windings to convert it, He found, when he tore it down, it was already a 12 volt starter so now we are going to try some 24 volt windings
The Jalopy Journal
