Would I want to get adjustable rockers? I've seen a lot of people use them. That would do away with shimming to get the valve heights right?
Adjustable rockers are nice, but seldom cheap. The only ones currently in production are roller rockers. Several places sell new shafts, which you'll most likely need, regardless of what style arms you end up running.
Also, concerning getting the crankshaft to turn, facilitating transmission removal---I've taken apart several early Olds V8s, and was always able to unbolt the rod caps and drive the pistons out of the bores with a mallet and a piece of wood (to avoid destroying the rods). Pine is cheap, available, and soft enough to take the brunt of it instead of the parts you're trying to save.
Thanks Heathen. How do I know if I need 1:8 or 1:5 ratio on the rockers? Does anybody know what dimensions I should end up with, when trying to measure the ratio? Talking about piston removal, should I be concerned about the ridge on top of the cylinder?
All '52-'58 Olds engines had 1.8:1 rocker arms from the factory. As near as I can tell, Iskenderian only used the 1.5:1 ratio for the adjustable arms they sold with their camshafts, though, and others also sold adjustable rockers in both ratios. Unless the ridge is very pronounced, don't worry about removing it before driving the pistons out.
Anybody have a set of old (not the currently made rollers) adjustable rockers for sale? I'll try to measure the ridge and report back. It looked pretty bad, but most of it was just carbon build up, that I was able to clean off.
Little update: I was finally able to remove the distributor. Man, what a pain. The plan is to get it cleaned up tomorrow and get it to Bubbas Rod Shop in Indy for some refreshing. Also the last lifter gave in today. Now the big question is, how to remove the cam? It's stuck! Sprayed all the bearings with PB Blaster, but still no luck. I was hoping to get it to move once the lifters were out of the way, but I guess it ain't that easy...
Bolt the gear back on the cam for better leverage and try to turn it. I've found that pouring lacquer thinner on a cam that's stuck in the bearings will sometimes dissolve the varnish and free it up.
The jetaway crank is definatly different to the hydro crank. Early 56 (and I think only the 88 model) used the hydro. When I went to fit another 56 engine to my car the jetaway wouldn't meet up with the crank. Local machine shop opened up the crank end for the jetaway snout to fit. Not a major, especially if you are having machining done. Good luck, these engines are real character building.
There is wealth of knowledge here on the HAMB on these engine don't be afraid to ask question about the olds engines. Have you checked out the olds tech thread?
Sounds like a plan. I was also thinking about using a piece of tubing, drilling two holes and bolt it on top of the cam gear. This way I should be able to wiggle it back and forth a little with the added leverage. As far as I know, the Jetaway was optional in the 88 and stock in the Super 88 & 98. But once they ran out of hydros, they put the Jetaways in everything. Do you happen to still have the dimensions, the machine shop used? My problem is that the Jetaway is still in my car, and I don't want to pull it until the other engine is ready to be swapped in. This way I can drive the car while I rebuild the new engine. Yes, I've looked through this thread many times! But I couldn't find any dimensions on the pilot hole. I'll add them to the thread, once I'm done with this. Thanks for you help, guys!
Fuxl, I pulled apart a '55 324 this winter that looks a lot like yours. Tons of sludge in the valley, and 4 stuck pistons. I tried everything with the pistons, let them soak in diesel, kerosene, water, took a piece of wood and a BFH to them. Nothing worked. I poured coke in the cylinders, came back a couple of hours later, a couple of hits with a hammer had them sliding. Just a thought. Good luck on the tear down and clean up.
Hey speedy! You got a '56 too, right? Any chance it's got a Jetaway on it? I'll try the coke trick! Thanks! Really need to turn the engine around, to stamp the rods and stuff, but that's a pain with the tranny still on there.
Nope. I have a '54 and a '55. Both of them have slant pan Hydromatics. Sorry I can't help. And trust me, I know what kind of a pain it is to free up pistons with the hydro still on. See post 42: http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=559727&page=3 You get good at rolling the engine around without damaging anything...
I'm at work at the moment but if I get a chance this weekend I will measure the snout on a Jetaway & post it. I have a couple of them sitting on the garage floor.
took apart a 55 324 this winter. pulled the trans with the crank still bolted to it. what a pain. got 4 pistons out with a steel rod and a BFH. btw i used trans fluid and acetone mix in a couple holes and about a week later the fluid had drained through. take your time, it'll come apart. and my cam was stuck also.
Speedy, I had seen that post. What a pain. I ended up turning mine a little yesterday. Got the numbers stamped on the rods at the passenger side. Of course ATF was dripping on the floor, when I was trying to turn the motor over all the way. So I gotta drain that today before I do more to it. Also got the oil pump off. Hope it'll clean up. There was a lot of water in there. Rckt98, that would be awesome, if you could get me the dimensions off the Jetaway! Thanks! Buddy, there is only one piston where my penetrating fluid is not draining through. Hope that means, that I only got one stuck? We'll see.
Word from someone who's been there. Do yourself a favour. Pull the dipstick out, and use a rubber mallet to carefully pound the dipstick guide tube up from the bottom of the block. That way, you can flip your block upside down and rest it on a couple of 4x4s. Gives you a safe stable way to work on the connecting rod caps, pistons, etc. When those things start to roll, it's not fun.
Regarding your stuck cam, I recently tore down a 351 Ford engine and the cam would not budge. It would turn somewhat but not slip out of it's hole. I made a simple puller out of some 1/4 inch plate with a hole drilled in the center, and some all thread that screwed into the hole in the cam. I shimmed the steel plate away from the block a couple of inches so that when I tightened up the nut on the all thread it put pulling pressure on the cam and it finally started to come out of it's bearings. I guess what happens is that a ridge of sludge or wear builds up on the bearings acting like a lip and you have to pull the cam past that ridge. That is what you might have to do. Don
Thanks Speedy and Don, will do. Today I was trying to rebuild the fuel pump for the Olds. After lots of trying and figuring out I was finally able to disasseble the thing. But when I was trying to get the check valves for inlet and outlet back in, they just fell in the hole. So I'm not sure if I tore the hole up getting them out, or if the new valves, that look different by the way, are smaller in diameter... Here is a picture of what it looks like: And the two different valves. the new one on the left, and the old one on the right: Is there anything I can do to make this work?
What gap size? If it's 5 thou or less, maybe look up green Loctite gasoline compatability?, as green will take up 5 thou slop on bearing races, etc. If Locktite is not compatable, it would be tough unless there is some fuel proof sealer/adheshive/epoxy...maybe a sleeve of some sort? Needs to be gas proof, fit tight enough to hold them at different temps swings, and not leak.
Says that it is used on carburetors: http://www.loctite.ph/php/content_data/LT3770_AAM07v3_sml.pdf Bottom right on page 9. But it doesn't mention it any more later in the document... That might be something to look into. Thanks, Frank!
Be sure that you don't loose two special oil gallery plugs during diss-assembly and cleaning. There are two special plugs,one in the front and one adjacent to the distributor shaft. Both have a small hole to squirt oil on the timing chain on the front, and the distributor shaft at the rear. Kids at the machine shops nowadays often don't know about these and will take them out for cleaning the oil galleries and then loose them and put sbc type plugs in instead with no squirt holes. BTW, I had to take rod caps off and drive the pistons out of my '56 block with a steel pipe with ends capped and a big sledge hammer to get my crank out with the trans. attached. Protect the crank from glancing hammer blows with wooden planks. You can do it if you don't get impatient and start jerking things around and forcing it.
Measurement of the front of the jetaway that hits the crank is 1 5/8" across. From memory (& it isn't as good as it once was) the crank end needs to be machined wider not deeper, if that makes sense. I think the hydro snout sat deeper into the crank end. There is no mention of this difference in my 56 workshop manual at all. Good luck with it. Russell
I'll keep that in mind, thanks. The plan is to just drop off the parts at the shop that need to be machined. disassembled. Thanks Russell! Did you see the picture I posted on the first page of this thread? It seems like the common consensus is that the one on the left is the manual and Hydomatic flange, and the one on the right is the Jetaway flange. Would you think +0.005 tolerance on the 1.625 would be alright, or should I go with +0.002?
Traded a few flathead tools, that I didn't need any more, for a bunch of Rochester 2 Jets. Here are the two better ones mocked up on my Edmunds intake: Also took apart the fuel pump that came on the replacement engine. This one has got the retainer plate bolted in, so even if the valves are a little loose in the bore, they will still be sealed in place. But this one is just filthy. I soaked in kerosene over night, but not much difference. What's the best way to clean it out?
Adjustable push rods are the way to go! They are cheap and work awesome. Small block chevy lifters fit in the olds blocks but the height is slightly different so they actually push the valves open resulting in no compression. You can have 16 adjustable pucs rods made for about $100 bucks though Smith Brothers, they work great, I have had no problems at all. Pete-
Thanks Pete, I'll look into that. Figured somebody would be making adjustable push rods. Finally got the car running again. Had to use parts from both fuel pumps to make it work. The one on the replacement motor was the original stile with the retainer plate for in- and outlet valve. Cleaned all the junk off real good, an put back together. Feels good driving the car to work
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