Hot Rods Gambling on the $Bay . . . Merc Crank - You Guys Weigh In !

I've collected a lot of the 221/81A full-floaters . . . knowing I'd need them someday. I really like the ones that were marked 'Cadmium Silver - Heavy Duty Truck and Bus" -- they are the best, but also the hardest to find. They were softer than the typical copper ones and were better for strokers and race motors. You should be able to find bearings -- if you can't let me know and I can dig in my 'stash'!

I have a few Schiefer aluminum flywheels (with bronze faces) as well as a new Fidanza that I REALLY like.

The Weber flywheel looks like it was only used for a VERY short time - almost no clutch wear pattern on it - looks like a 9" clutch setup. It is the type that is straight aluminum - no special friction surface. I'm sure this crank and flywheel came out of some sort of race engine - what, I don't know. I'll probably clean the flywheel up and sell it - really don't have a need for it. It would be a nice race flywheel, light and snappy for a light car.

 

Good for you. Looks like you had luck as well with the packaging of the crank. Keep the box for whenever you or a buddy have to send a crank of to someone else.

 

Good score....

 

Photo analysis can be great entertainment...
on here once, someone posted a bunch of dirty, rusty Ford banjo centers for sale cheap. I have no idea why I even looked, as they were heavy, dirty, far away and I have some already...but one pinion looked different than the others.
Magnifier, stare, stare, count the visible teeth and try to guess how many on the other side...hmmmm. 3.54 center with good gears for $25!!

 

Nice score on the crank, but thanks also for the side talk re the cams and a Brucie bonus at the end!

Mart.

 

I know what you mean....I scored a nice set of Iskenderian adjustable rockers for early Olds V8s under similar circumstances.

 

Yessir, leave a crankshaft on the floor long enough and there it goes...just a round puddle of iron on the floor!
That's how manhole covers were invented, in fact! We get them from India nowadays.
If you go over there, you'll see fields full of crankshafts slowly sagging into lumps and then platters. Those people have the patience needed for the job, Americans don't anymore.

 

The old 6" counterbalance trick was learned by me in my shop one rainy night...I had a large line of cranks hanging from angle iron hangers so they wouldn't 'bend'!
It was O.K., they were in a compact place, out of the way.

But I had Fords and Mercs...I was welding a fixture together to hang the crank horizontally from the nose and rear centers, then measure the rod journals' distance from the fixture's frame: Frame rail was 8" from center.

I was about to hang the first crank, when just looking at the counter weight, I thought: 'If one has a longer stroke than the other, the long stroke must have more counter weight.'
Sure enough, third measurement taken was the 2nd one from front: one measured 5.75" across, the other was 6" (plus a few hundredths)

When I went to the Turlock swap meet and overheard some guys looking over a flathead crank, the argument (and subsequent doubt) about the oil hole (.375" on this one) stopped right there. I asked 'How much for the crank?' Seller said, "$40, might not be a Merc..."
I took out a dollar bill and laid it across the #2 counterweight. It was 6". (so is a dollar bill; always have some paper money with me, so I can measure...)
"Take $30?" "Yeah, I'll take $30."
I paid the kid with the wagon $5 for hauling it to my F100...

 

good score . pay dirt , now you need the charlie sheene shirt that says , WINNING ! across the front