HO-HO-HO December monthly BANGER meeting

All Lion Speed heads are tapped for sparkplugs on the drivers side of the head, which explains the modern distributor cap.

The blank bosses on top of the head are there so you can run dual spark plugs to every cylinder

 

Its easy to reverse the arch of the front spring in a press.
That gives you 'reversed' eyes.
No spreading needed on the front spring.
It goes together by hand.
On the rear I used a spring that someone had bent about 6 inches from the eyes.

 

One method is to install the spring in the front or rear crossmember and the attach one side the spring perch. The you place a piece of wood, 1 to 1 1/2" for the rear and 3/4 to 1" for the front, under the other side and jack up the axle until you can install the other shackle, some times it helps to put some grease where the wooden block rides on the axle. Also if it doesn't want to slide quite far enough you can tap on the block with a hammer. Everything must be straight. There is a point when the holes will line up.
I have made a pair of adapters that clamp on the spring and use my spring spreader on some aftermarket springs

 

I can't speak to Model A's, but I've never heard of cranking a T engine with 12v (on 6v starter) ever breaking anything except the bendix or the spring. Even if the condition did occur that CrazyDaddio set out:

"I'm told that the extra torque produced by the 6v starter running on 12v trys to twist the rear crank flange off. Then if the engine kicks back, the increased power of the doubled voltage keeps the bendix engaged further stressing the rear main bearing journal."

the bendix is going to break before this condition breaks a crank. If it were to break the crank, I'd say that crank was ready to go anyway.

Again, this only applies to T's...A's may be different...I don't know much about them.

 

Again, I have never seen one do it, but I have had many "ol'timers" warn me of it.

I run 12v as a precaution. Starters are cheaper then cranks!!!!!!!!
.

 

you just need to be careful not to start and stop the starter in rapid succession. really would work great if you could set it up so you could progressively engage the starter on a T. instead the whole car damn nears jumps when you hit the starter.

 

Really enjoy the monthly Banger meetings and need some help with my A motor. I was cleaning the valve chamber on my motor and noticed that the center main bearing oil feed tube was blocked about a 1/4" to 3/8" down into the tube.
Common sense tells me that this is a problem but don't know if there is a restrictor hole in there that I can't see. I ran a plastic rod down the aft and foward tubes and they seem to be clear all the way to the crank.
The motor has not been ran for quite sometime and I was told all was good by the fellow that put it together. He said it had been rebuilt but as I gain more knowledge about these motors I suspect it was not a rebuild but just an assembly.
So am I going to have to pull the crank and check this oil feed tube?

Thanks guys

Mike

 

I finally got my fuel line ran. It may not look like much, but I am not that good at bending hard line, and copper is so soft I found it kinks way to easy. After two attemps I was fiannly satisfied with the end result. Now I just gotts go pick up my starter from the shop tomarow and we'll be seeing what she'll do

 

I also went to see my good friend Len. My Dad was helping him put together his B. He has a Lions head with dual plugs, so he found a Nissian dual plug distributor and has the shaft machined to fit the "B" drive rod. The truck it's going into is a 28/29 woody RPU. He has a quick change rear and also a T-5 with a home made adapter kit. Should be pretty neat to see what she'll do!

 

Charlie Yapp offered the Dual plug head early on then discontinued it Now only offers the single plug head, but I think you could drill and tap the others out if you wanted it dual.Some think he should have left the left side holes plugged and tapped the top ones. Anyone have "comment on this?

 

Just fired the vicky up and have a chattering sound now when the clutch is depressed I am running a 6V starter on 12V.
How do you guys check the ring gear and move it back ?
I assume you just remove the starter and tap the ring gear back with a drift.

 

Hi Crazydaddyo,

As you probably know, there are a whole lot of myths and old wives tales about using 12v on a system designed for 6v. I think this is one of them.

I think it is the starting amps that you have to worry about, anyway...not the voltage. Use a low starting amp battery, with a good reserve amperage. (Think tractor or marine battery.) The voltage only potentially damages the generator. Just be sure to use a 12V cutout. Keep in mind that the T was designed to run on 24v, so the generator is the only component that you need to worry about in regard to running on 12v.

In the case of Model T's, a good starter costs more than a crank!

 

That would be a good idea.

 

http://rides.webshots.com/photo/2996575720049181497RpyuzD
Another method is to push 1/4" copper tubing down from the valve chamber inside the existing tubes pushing enough so that you can form a slight flare in the bearing saddle so it can't move and I also use a small amount of JB weld to seal it in place. This is not a good photo but you can get the idea of the plumbing in the valve chamber. Some people install a small pressure relief valve in the valve chamber but I prefer to use a modified early flat head oil pump with internal relief valve. Some sources as Taylor Engine carry or have carried a remote oil filter adapter with a built in adjustable pressure relief valve. Taylors is also a source on the early V8 oil pumps when there are enough cores.

 

bought mine off egay for $39 bucks plus shipping same guy sells them all the time
lots easier than running around looking for them
Ken

 

the method with the spring pins is also called a "dutch dowel"

 

I have received several requests for the information regarding pressurizing the "A" engine. I would suggest that you buy a copy of The Restorer # 5 and do as I did and follow Urb Stairs method. He ran this engine in the Great American Race. He was an old time race car builder and he used copper tubing. The S O S S articles warn against this but if you bother to open the photo I posted you will see where I have ground the block where the oil lines contact it and I use a small amount of JB weld at those points. This block and its plumbing is now in its 3 rd. incarnation with the original plumbing. Not a high milage engine but it has had the S--T run out of it.

 

Finally got everything together and running. The generator is not charging, so I have to charge the battery up all the time. Going to have it rebuilt this week, then sgould be about good. She is pretty hard starting, I choke one carb and give it a couple pumps, but it cranks and cranls before firing. I have it at full advance, too. Any downdraft experts have any tips or advise??

Here's the video, it sounds a lot better in person, my camera's speaker sucks


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G5h8c_yOzyo

 

Well damn, Chris steals my thunder...

I also got mine running, not nearly as impressive as Chris' 'B' but I'm still stoked about it!

 

C'mon Fencepost, weres the video?? How'd it run? Did any mice nest blow out the exhaust like mine did when I first bought the car?

 

The names Graham, by the way, haha

We pulled the plugs and turned it a couple of times, make sure there wasn't anything obviously wrong from the get-go. We got it running on fuel fed from a funnel, then I hooked the line back up to the tank and ran it like that for 10 minutes or so. Idles good, starts hard however. We needed to use a 12v to get it going, but it ran on the 6v fine? I backed it out of the shop, we were going to film a quick 'spin around the yard' but then it died, and that was it. I don't know if it had a bad connection that decided enough was enough, or what it was exactly, but there's no power getting to the starter now. Damn, it was fun while it lasted!

Next weekend I'm going to pull the fenders and body off and start cleaning up the chassis. I need to find some friction shocks.

 

Ahhhh... 2088's December Banger meet! I found it thanks to Chris!

I've been working on the Bonneville Banger... and dreaming about the motor I wanna build!

Sam

 

Lenny's p/u is really coming along! Good work Len

 

Chris,
Did you rip around the block in the "A" yet? I can't wait to see that. Looks bad ass, way better than that guys in Cour De Alene.

 

There is a shoulder on the flywheel that the ringgear needs to be up against. Check to see if it has pulled away, (with the starter out) then I tapped it back against the shoulder all the way around and tacked it in 4 places. A guy on Fordbarn suggested i relace the ringgear and/or the flywheel.

 

hey chris, cool vid. i'm far from a carb "expert" but there are a couple things to check. I'm assuming it only does this on cold start?? I usually pump the accelerator about 4 times before I fire off a cold. Check to make sure your carbs/accelerator pumps are working correctly before you light off. the fuel maybe draining out of the float bowls while it sits. where do you have your idle screws set at?? On my dual carbed bent 8 i run about 3/4-7/8 of a turn, these make a pretty big difference in engine tune. with your dual carb setup I would also recommend running both carbs at half choke instead of one choked one open. what are you running for jets?? have you checked your power valves??

 

Revkev,
Thanks a lot for the advise, I'll try your suggestions and see what happens. They are 81's, and the jets and all are stock. Do Stromberg carbs have power valves?? I thought Strombergs do not...but I am not an expert either. I rebuilt em so I should know...but I'm drawing a blank

 

does anyone make a simple looking 2 carb downdraft intake for an A or B thats pretty cheap?
i need something for a project that looks older.... but i dont wana spend $200

if thats the only option i may try to just make one
thanks
Zach

 

The power valves are located in the bottom of the accelerator pump wells and operate just slightly before full throttle when the accelerator pump is almost at the end of it's travel.. Some people with duals disconnect 1 accelerator pump thinking they are dumping too much gas coming off idle and by disconnecting the pump they can't open the power valve in that carburetor and lose top end. I have a friend who ran 4 97's on an early Hemi and he disconnected 3 accelerator pumps and was amazed at the increase in top end power after he reconnected them In an early issue of the S O S S there was an article on drilling small holes in the accelerator pump piston to lessen the amount of gas delivered but most people keep tinkering and tune the problem out. Did you balance the carburetors? This is one area often overlooked but can make a big difference. Just eyeballing the linkage is not close enough.

 

Bill, no I have not sync'd the carbs yet...in fact I have not really tuned it yet, but once fired it runs pretty good. When you say "just eyeballing, the linkage is not close enough"...what exactly do you mean?

Thanks Bill