PART 1 Machining your own Valve guides. Zach (SUHRsc) Posted a question on a different thread in the new Ford Barn T section but it may help some of you here with overheads. The valve guides for his BBR Rajo Head are missing and he needs to know what to do for new valve guides. I decided to post it here on the racing thread as it will be easier to find later and really only applies to overheads as a stock T the guides are part of the block. I would use cast iron, I machine my own if I cannot find something to adapt that will fit. Then get your valve stems hard chromed because if the stems are stainless you may have gauling and sticking. Send them to http://www.calvalves.com/ they will do a good job or have a local plating shop do them for you. You only need .0005 - 1/2 of a thousandth of chrome. The second photo shows a valve that a local plating shop masked the head of of and plated for me. The rough spot at the end of the plating needs to be smoothed off before using it, photo 2. Ream the guides for .003"- .004" exhausts and .002" for the intakes. If you have a good machine shop near by you can get a better and smoother surface by having the id if the guide honed out the last .002 or so. Set up this way they will work very well with little to no oil. The graphite in the cast iron will help along with whatever oil you can put on them. I generaly finish off the OD of the guide where it sits in the head 1/2 thousandth- .0005 bigger than the bore in the head for a good tight fit which will also transfer the heat better. I have used this on a lot of T-Head and L-Heads (like an early T with exposed valves) with exposed valves which get no oil and it will work beautifully. The photo shows a new guide machined here on the lathe along with an original one. A piece of cast iron bar and a reamer. This is what is being done in modern cars and trucks as the modern valve guide seals keep almost all of the oil out for emissions purposes. This is the only way that really holds up well unless a seal that meters just the right amount of oil is used, then bronze might work. Zach you can get cast iron from Mc Master-Carr. They have everything under the sun and more. They also have a great website.... here is a link for the cast Iron...... http://www.mcmaster.com/#iron-rods/=7csahk
PART 2 Machining you own valve guides. Before I start I might add that this is not the only way to do this but it is a way that I have found over the years to work out well. You end up with a new guide in which the OD of the guide is perfectly parallel to the the bore of the guide which is important so that it ends up concentric with the valve seat. To do this right you are going to need a good lathe with an adjustable chuck or precision collets so when you flip the guide over to drill the other side you can set up the guide to run true again with .001. You are also going to need a good set of centers that run dead true for the head and tail stocks. Check them with an indicator to make sure as the area of the OD of the guide that registers in the head gets machined off of centers which if you take your time and do it correctly will result it perfect alignment. I first set up and turn the OD of the stock straight and true to give me a good set up that I can check with a dial indicator for each operation on each end of the guide. Then I cut them to length in the lathe. Next set up a blank and indicate the OD and get it true then face off the end (this is the point the photos start at). Then center drill it carefully with a good center drill, photo 1. Next I use an undersize screw machine drill because they are shorter and will walk or deflect less than a standard length drill, photo 2. Drill in a little more than half the length you need and stop. Do one side of all the guides this way and take your time and don't force the drill and make sure it is sharpened correctly or buy high quality news ones which should drill fairly straight. Then turn the guides around, indicate them and get then + - .001 and face the second end then repeat the procedure from the first side. After drilling thru and meeting the other side in the same set up drill all the way thru with a drill that is larger than the short drill but about .010 smaller than your reamer size, photo 3. By doing it this way if you were careful with all your set ups and used correctly sharpened drills you should end up with a good straight hole. Then in the same set up ream to your finish size or smaller if you are going to hone them, photo 4. The OD of both ends and the middle can then be machined in a good chuck or collet but leave the area where the guide registers in the head oversized about .020. After you have the ends machined to the shape that you need, put good centers in the head and tail stocks and indicate them to make sure they are true. Then set your guide between centers and finish off the .020 you left to clean up before on this area and you will end up with a very nice and true guide. Photo 5 shows a old valve guide on a Sunnen honing machine to give you an idea of how they work. This gives a better finish than can be done with a reamer and the last photo shows the mandrel and stone which does the finishing in an oil bath.
John Vesco the original racer of the famous high speed racing family. The first photo shows an early speedster with a four port Riley. The second shows him and son Don that went onto to his own speed career later on at Johns body shop. The next three photos show a streamlinder he built an ran 1949 - 1953 when it crashed. John Vesco's 4-Port Wine-o was #1 in points at the dry lakes in 1950. In '53, with Jimmy Dinkins driving, the car crashed at about 170 mph. Jimmy was unhurt but ground the top out of his helmet . A lever was used to change from 100% alky to 50% nitro during the run. When Jimmy pulled the lever to the nitro position in high gear the power boost broke the rear axle causing the car to crash.
When asked about his passion for racing, Rick Vesco once said, "It's all Dad's fault." Johnny Vesco's passion for the sport began in the early 1930's. His interest in Model T and A Fords led to a friendship with George Riley. The Model B Ford Four and the Riley Four-port head became John's love. He spent time at the Muroc, Rosamond and the Dry Lakes involved with everything from roadsters to belly tank lakesters (streamliners at the time). He also tried his hand at midget racing and track roadster racing with CRA after WWII. His greatest interest was the top speed straightaway racing of the Lakes. Teaming up with Jimmy Dinkins as driver and Tiny Tyler as pit crew, he set out to be #1 in the Southern California Timing Association (SCTA). To accomplish that, they built a car in the 1940's that would eventually be classified a Streamliner. It was a highly modified aerodynamic wing tank. It took them five years to build and overcome numerous problems to reach their goal of SCTA Points Champions in 1953. The tank made its debut at El Mirage and Bonneville 1949. In 1954 at the Salt Flats, driver Jimmy Dinkins, turned the nitro valve on John's homemade fuel injector as the car approached the lights. The power boost was so great that it broke a rear axle at about 170 mph leading to a violent crash. John went back to the drawing board determined to build the safest streamliner possible. The project was completed in 1957 and the old 1932 Ford 4 was used as the power plant. This was the first of a new generation of streamliners with only a 24" tread width, front and rear. The car was 16 feet long. The SCTA officials said it would never work. It would "fall over". After much debate, the car #444 was classified as 'experimental' and allowed to run in controlled test runs. At the end of Speed Week 1957, John and crew received the 'Best Engineered Car of the Year' award. They had reached a speed of 169 mph without incident and without "falling over!" The pages from a 1958 Hot Rod Magszine show the second streamliner.
I bought an intake manifold that has the "half-ear" mounts - like the stock intake. I have a header so half of the washer is unsupported. Do you think this is a problem? Anybody solve this problem in a quick and easy way yet? I'm thinking of drilling a 1" round bar with a 1/2" hole and cutting it in half then welding those to my header. Give me some ideas - Thanks in advance... Looked at Mac's - they have a kit that includes little pieces of angle drilled to slip over the studs - simple and brilliant. I'll be fab'ing up set tonight or tomorrow.
If you look at post # 52 on page 3 of this thread, you will see Elrod's solution to the same problem ...... in the photo of setting the float levels.
I am just finishing the installation of a Riley Two Port engine in my '31 A Pickup and have a question about the valves in the head. What should these valves be adjusted to? This Riley head is the Yapp version 7:1CR. I will post a picture of the truck/engine when I get them download from the camera.
In the past months, someone from Oz, or NZ asked about Indian MC cam profiles, and I promised some drawings of Ollie and Shunk cam lobes that I had. Unable to find (or more accurately stumble across) the drawings, I now suspect that I loaned them out so someone could copy them at a time when my copy machine took a crap. In any event, here is a website that has a bunch of info on Indian cams, and other info about getting the flatheads to go faster. I am going to cross post this, as I'm not sure which topic the request was on. <cite>www.[B]performanceindian.com[/B]/ Worth a look. Herb Kephart </cite>
Boy T Head, you sure know how to make a guy wish he had a way-back machine!! THANKS FOR RUINING WHAT'S LEFT OF THE WEEKEND! (snort, mumble) Herb
Herb...... How about this one? Look at the tubes on the ground and the Motel T tire and rim leaning up against the AA Truck. Chicken dinner anyone?
I've taken my chickens to the allotment (they make great rotovators) in the Fordor - they perch on the back seat and peer out of the rear window...
Very nice find that Carter! I run an ex-generator diamond B engine in the Fordor. Bit of port work, a Thomas head, touring grind on the cam - apart from that it's still on the original bores and pistons and the white metal was still factory perfect! Hope you find the same in there.
Does any one have (or is prepared to draw up) an illustration of an A Model crank with the bearing "spacings" etc. Don't need bearing diams, stroke, etc. Looking for journal widths and centre spacings from a datum (say.. the rear flange?) Looked all over the WWW and can't find anything like it.
Oh, wow, that is amazing. Im always surprised you dont see people building stuff like that for the street. -Dave
Herb, This was probably my request from last month's meet. I have loads of Indian and H-D cam profile info but i don't have any drawings and Mr. Mosher is unwilling to share all of his knowledge which is understandable. Thanks for taking the time to look. Nevertheless, the link you posted is very informative and should be checked out by any performance buff. I highly recommend it. www.performanceindian.com/cams.html
Check it out! ANTIQUE NATIONALS 2010 The results of the latest labor, no theories, no extended calculations. Just a 18 year old kid driving grandpa's Winfield flathead powered car for the first time. But on a sad note some complaints because they, tech registration, called it a model "T" based on the body. There is not a class for "Lakes Modified'" When the grandson and his father went to pick up the award they were told that it really wasn't fair as the car had a model "A" engine and should have a model "T" engine. I guess the term hotrod has been changed . After all it is bracket racing.
Bill.... I would like to see how to do it as I may put a set on my BBR Rajo. I would also like to try a barrel valve like this if I could fine one and a manifold.
Ford racing car maker and speed equipment manufacturer Robert Roof tells all in a most interesting story. Note the ad for the Hi-Turb head on the last page that we read about before in the post by 88daryl88.
That is a very lucky KID.... I wish I had a grandpa. I can what to get my kids out to play but at 3 and 6 I have some time ...
Over on the Technical 1928 four cylinder Chevrolet forum a poster asked a question, which I am taking the liberty of re-posting here-because there are a number of folks here that can appreciate the problems involved, and might have some ideas or information that may be helpful. The question was concerning replacing babbit with inserts,when a suitable size stock insert was not available. NORSONAUTO asked- Could you use a bearing of the correct lenth, but too long and "roll" it to the correct diameter?? While the practical answer to this is- no, because it would be nearly impossible to reform the insert accurately to a new, smaller radius, and also to cut off the excess length, leaving just enough standing above the parting surface to get the proper crush. Having said that, I have to admit that I gave the idea some thought a while back. I have to believe that the steel backing has the copper and babbit layers applied as a continuous strip, which is then cut and formed (or formed and cut) to the dimensions for the intended application. If this is true, how does the factory perform these operations without leaving a single mark or blemish in the babbit surface? It might be that the babbit layer is thicker to start with, and the inserts are paired up and bored as a last operation--but this does not explain how the (almost) perfect half circle is formed in the tri-metal blank. Cannot be rolled, as a rolling process leaves a flat area at either end, so it must be pressed to a slightly smaller radius to allow for springback. Is anyone out there privy to how this whole series of operations is carried out? Also, any ideas on how to reform finished inserts to a smaller radius? A mirror finish male die, and a female the new size? How about a male die with a reasonably smooth finish, and a layer of aluminum foil to avoid marking the babbit? I see this as the more difficult of the two problems, as the length (and crush amount) could be hand fitted with considerable care, and the proper amount of crush force could correct small errors in the radius by forcing against the block and/or cap bore. Any comments/ideas/ridicule/ laughter? Herb Kephart
I've wondered the same thing, like possibly clamping the halves in a die and rolling them internally, just dont know about the internal surfaces kinking or shrinking.
The Jalopy Journal
