I bought roller tips and adjusters from Isky. Easy one stop shopping. On to Dodge Bros. Info. Zenon Lukasiewcz being separated from his hot rod burned off some energy and wire here yesterday while working with me on my Dodge mounts. Originally the Dodge had some ball type thing sticking out in front. I never saw the whole thing. But with the desire for a harmonic dampener and such that had to go. So we split a 1 1/2 inch 1/8 wall square tube length wise and formed it to wrap around the pan. The pan is .080 steel and very sturdy. I made some 3/8 plates to weld in to the first 3 inches of the half tube and tapped it for 5/16 bolts. After grinding and finagling everything to fit Zenon melted bunch of wire all over it until it was truly stuck in place. It is my thought that this is a better (mid mount) location to support the block than at opposite ends. And there weren't a lot of other places to stick it. Thanks Zenon for all the help.
Was out in the garage today working on the wife's car, new rotors. Anyway, was taking the crank pully off the 28 chevy motor and got to wondering if anyone ever made a DO conversion for a early chevy motor? Was there ever a DO HAL for a Chevy? Maybe a single OHC? I just don't ever remember seeing any pics of one, but then again, i don't remember what i had for breakfast.
Michael, you really need to read Gerber's book. He did a redesign of an existing head that he felt flowed worse than factory, then came up with his own OHC design. By the time he was done, there weren't many Chevy parts left. He designed his own patterns and had a foundry cast them, then he machined them. Really an inspiring book. MAC, what is the complete title?
Outlaw Sprint Car Racer, by John Gerber- absolutely worth the money!!! Michael, a DOHC would be nice, now wouldn't it! Pat, I haven't thought the oiling issue through completely- one idea that's been bounced around is using the shaft oiler from the Stovebolt 6. Nice thing with the '28 is that it does have the cover plates, but better sealing (maybe coming up with an aluminum replacement) is necessary.
another question..... the pressure side of the two filter bungs in my block has a T in it. it points between the gap in the barrels ...it is pinched off at the moment...........would that be for the guage?just wondering if i'm missing an oil line to something critical.?
Mac, if you got the cover plates to seal could you drill some drain-back holes in the block near the lifter bores? If you could do that then you could use rollers on the rocker tips. I used Torrington needle bearings on my 302 because of space limitations, the intake rockers were 1.9:1 ratio. On the chevy theres room to use available parts like Rich suggested. Give some thought on how you are going to retain the roller axle, there is a lot of impact force on them. Pat
If anyone is interested I'll digup the McMaster part no's that I used for the pre-heatreated rocker shaft and the rocker bushings. The shaft come solid and I used a hardware store 1/2" x 12" drill to make it hollow and then tapped the ends for a plug.
Oooh, that's right, I forgot that you worked on the Spurgeon Giovanine engine... you lucky dog! Pat, great ideas on adding drip holes. I'm hoping to imitate Herb's modifications on the rocker shaft bosses.
Again, I thank you for your patient and gentle reminders, Jimmy ! When I was in middle school, I won the "O. Spurgeon English Music Award"... since then, that spelling has been seared in to my memory Pat, even I know that's a sturgeon
bct-- Sorry, but I thought that I had answered your question the first time that you posted it--but I see that I didn't--SO There are two hex fittings on the block ahead of the oil fill pipe. Inside the block is a piece which Chevy calls the "oil distributer". Oil from the pump comes up to this (internally) and goes to a spring loaded valve. Once the pressure ( a couple pounds is enough) opens the valve, then the oil goes to the troughs that the rods dip into. This valve is under the larger hex nut, and has a T fitting screwed into it. Top of fitting goes to dash gage, side of fitting goes to oil filter through hole in middle of block. Oil from filter goes back through block to smaller hex fitting on oil distributer. If all lines are crimped off, system will still work, but more flow will be had if lines that did go the the filter are connected to one another, because the oil then does not have to go through the spring loaded valve. If you have no pressure, the oil pump is a simple thing with two spring loaded vanes. I have had a pump that didn't work because the vanes were stuck from sitting, and also had one that would only pump under high RPM--the light spring that is supposed to push the vanes out was rusted away but the RPM would throw the vanes out from centrifugal force. This applies to '27 and '28 engines- Don't worry about low oil pressure- as long as you have some the system is working. Also 10-30 oil is recommended, as flow is more important than pressure with these engines. Hope this helps-- Herb
awesome ebtm3......... thanks for all the info and your time...before i started it i loosened both bungs off and after a few cranks the oil ran out of the front....so i figured it was the pressure side , some of the earlier engines seem to have had oil feed lines outside the block so i figured i had better ask. , i am useing diesel oil here are some more questions, how much oil can sit in the head? how much oil should be in the sponge/mat? soaked ? light? is it meant to sqeeze the oil out between the cover and rocker? what gap should i be useing in the spark plugs? could i run a small modern motorcycle oil filter ? too restrictive? tia.....i love this old engine, esp. the sound, and i can't wait to run it ....
I've got my '28 Chevy motor all tore down now, even had the original babbit and it just popped out. I want to soak the entire block and the head in a 4 to 1 mixture of muratic acid, mainly to clean out all the water passages. Will submerging (sp?) the block and head hurt any of the machined surfaces? Cyl walls? deck and head surfaces? Also, there is a plug in the rear of the block that looks like a freeze plug, i'm guessing it should be removed also, right? Also, about how long would you leave soaking to get the water passages cleaned out? Thanks, Mike
bct The only place that oil can sit in the head is the pockets where the valve springs sit. If the oil level gets too high in these from what drips off the felt pad, it will leak down the guides and cause a little smoke- no big deal. Since my engine is only used occasionally, I take the cover off before starting, and put 3-4 tablespoons of oil on the pad. Spark plugs .030", points .022"-,025" I would think that a motorcycle filter would be better than non at all, and since the system works with the lines blocked restriction isn't a big issue--only a portion of the oil goes through the filter, unlike a modern full flow system where every drop that the pump moves, goes through the filter before going to the bearings. Incidentally, the main bearings get their oil from what splashes around inside. This oil fills a little pocket in the block casting above each bearing and flows to the bearing by gravity. It is recommended by most people who run stock Chevy 4's that you fill the crankcase one quart over the full mark on the dipstick, since the speeds that you will be running will be faster than the speeds in '28. Oil picks up engine heat and an extra quart gives the oil more time to shed the heat. Mike- While Muriatic acid wont hurt the machined surfaces, I don't know that I would use it for rust removal in the jackets, as it will be hard to neutralize, and leave a film of surface rust behind on everything after the block dries. Better take it to an automotive machine shop and have them run it through their hot tank, after the main bearing inserts are removed. The water jacket on the Chevy block is so basic and simple that most of the rust can be removed with an assortment of old screwdrivers bent and ground into scrapers. Yes, remove the core plug (commonly called a "freeze plug" in error) from the rear of the block--it is probably very thin by now. Herb
Mike- don't forget your cam bearings as well! One idea that I've had with one of my blocks (that really has no ridge) is to fill the water passages with a product like Evapo-Rust to get rid of the scale. Oh, this little nugget is WAY out of my price range, but might be of interest to some of you all- it's supposed to be a line boring machine for ealrly Chevrolets: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=270738124564&viewitem=&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWAX%3AIT
great site its only taken me 2 days to read i have a couple of questions .i have a 1927 chev holden body roadster with a 1928 chev motor is there any difference between 27 an 28 water pumps im having a bit of clearance troublebetween the fan an the radiator its very close 1\4" is this normal also there has been a lot of talk about the rockers bending the motor gearbox i got came from a saw mill an it has a several bent rockers so some one has taken the lock nuts off the top of the rockers an put them under the rockers to get more adjustment it seems to work ok as i turn the motor over by hand . can any one tell me the head bolt tension an the rocker clearance ive set them at 10 thou . ill try an get some pics you guys should get a laugh thanks
i had some water pump issues ....so i took it apart and was about to press the shaft out and it freed up....seems the pulley sets the thrust on the shaft .....mine must have mooved about 1/4" because i can push and pull the shaft in n' out.....maybe yours is too far out? do all your pulleys line up? thanks for the rocker/nut tip and welcome to the hamb.
Metalmorphis & BCT Valve clearance is .006" intake, .008" exhaust, although .010" both is fine. Bent rockers (from over-revving) and putting the nuts on the other way are VERY common. Water pumps are the same from about 1925. I don't know what the radiator to fan clearance is with the engine in a holden body, but 1/4" does sound close. Head bolts about 55 pounds/foot---Chevy just said "tight" There is a baffle washer that is supposed to be behind the water pump. It fits into a recess in the rear gasket face of the pump casting and is made of sheet metal, It has about a 1 1/4" hole in the center. They all have rusted away and or left out by now, but if you have overheating problems, try making one up and installing it Mac- there are no cam bearings---cam runs in cast iron holes in block like Ford Herb
thanks BCT and ebmt3 the head is torqued an the valves set took the water pump off an it is basically rusted away the pulleys all lined up . so now i have a new problem does any one know of another water pump that can be retrofitted
metalmorphis123, I've been hoping to run down to the salvage yard with my water pump to see if anything fits once school lets out. Will let you know when/if that happens!
Guys, a 1928 Chevrolet transmission and rear axle just came up for sale near me (along with another engine, which I don’t particularly need). Probably pieces abandoned during the course of this rat-rod build. Would it be worthwhile to pick those up? I had been planning to substitute Ford parts, but nothing fits quite like factory pieces... How much would you pay for a stock transmission and rear axle? -Dave
Dave, I wouldn't spend more than $100. The tranny is okay, but the early Chevrolet rears are VERY weak. You'd be better off reselling the axle shafts to someone who wants to do a resto and use a better rear. Hey guys, I'm looking to get my chassis up-and-running this summer and all of the spring shackle bushings need to be replaced. Are the Chevy parts the same dimensions as Ford A/T? Chevy bushings are around $8, while their Ford counterparts are under $1... go figure
Mac is right about the rear axle being weak. My father had a 28 chevy and said he kept an extra axle under the seat. He further related that if you drove off a curb the axle would sometimes break. He owned his 28 when still a teenager and probably drove it hard but just the same the 28 rear ends were a weak link in an otherwise fairly good car. Dick
in what year did the axle strength improve i have a 33 axle i can use over the original 28? thanks again gentlemen
Don't know about that, but you might be even better off using a later Chevrolet 3 speed- should just be a matter of aligning the holes.
The Jalopy Journal
