<VV> '65 Project coming to a close...

[Frank DuVal]

Three points:

1. You don't want to get to .000. If you did, the bearing would seize up 
as there would be no space for oil.

2. Did you move the rod relative to the crankshaft while the plastigage 
was in place? This can cause a smeared reading which is usually 
interpreted as smaller clearance, but I had to ask....

3. The shop said the crank was OK for std bearings. Did anyone check the 
hole in the rods? It is very common for the holes to be elongated in the 
rods. A typical rod needs to go to the machine shop and have the cap 
ground down slightly and the hole honed back to standard size.

Plastigage used correctly is a good indicator of clearance on parts. 
But, it only measures clearance, not the size of any part.

Frank DuVal

Jason Morri wrote:

>After almost two years I'm happy to report that my '65 Monza has completed
>the body and paint portion of the restoration (boy was there a lot of
>rust!).  (Picture here: http://alamocitycorvair.org/PIC/65%20corvair.JPG )
>
>The only major project left is to rebuild and install the engine.  Which is
>why I'm writing this email.  
>
> 
>
>After cleaning and prepping all the engine parts (including having the heads
>professionally rebuilt, cylinders honed, new pistons pressed onto the rods,
>etc.), I started the reassembly process by first checking the clearance on
>the rod bearings.  Even though the machine shop told me my crank was in spec
>for STD bearings, I still used some plastigage to make sure.  I checked to
>make sure the rod bolts were tight and torqued them to 30 lbs.  Well long
>story short after checking different rods multiple times, I'm showing a .008
>clearance.  Which means, according to the assembly manual, I'm .005 over the
>max.  
>
> 
>
>My question is, is this something that I should worry about?  Should I trust
>the machine shop or trust the plastigage (which by the way, is the first
>time I've ever used it).  I checked Clarks and they only have rod bearings
>that are .000, .001, .002, .010.  How does one get to .000 with a .008?
>
> 
>
>Thanks for any help that can be provided.
>
> 
>
>Jason Morris
>
>Jmorris at AlamoCityCorvair.org
>
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