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

[Jason Morri]

Thanks for all the quick and informative responses.  As for the plastigage,
I bought all three sizes and tried the green one first.  But it barely
registered a measurement, so I upped to the size that showed me the best
results.  

>From these responses, I think it's as I feared.  I need a take it back to
the machine shop and get it mic'd again, check the rods or find another
crank.  

Just when you think you're out of the woods...

Jason Morris
Jmorris at AlamoCityCorvair.org


-----Original Message-----
From: Roger Gault [mailto:r.gault at sbcglobal.net] 
Sent: Monday, December 17, 2007 12:56 AM
To: Jason Morri
Subject: Re: <VV> '65 Project coming to a close...

Jason,
Are you sure you measured .008" ?
The commonly available Plastigage variants are "Green", which is good for
.001" to .003" and "Red", which is good for .002" to .006".
I'd be a l ittle suprised if you found some "Blue" that measures to .004" to
.009"

If you did (or if the long version of the story includes searching around
and finding some blue) then I'd check the rods.
Look for:
1)  Bunged up mating surfaces where they bolt together that is keeping them
from coming together tightly.  Unlikely on several rods.
2)  Out of round rod ends that need to be re-machined.  Eight thousanths is
pretty egg-shaped, but anything is possible.

If you see this problem on several rods, and they're all off by the same
amount, then you have to suspect the crank.  If the crank's that far off, it
needs to be ground to .010" undersized so you can buy bearings that will
fit.

These kinds of dimension problems are well within the capabilities of a
cheap pair of calipers.  If there's a Harbor Freight or some other low
priced tool shop around, go buy yourself a set of dial (or preferably
digital) calipers and measure it yourself.  Cheap insurance to check things
yourself and handy to have around anyway.  The rod journals should be 1.799"
to 1.800".

Or, take the crank and some rods to the machine shop and tell them, "I'm
confused, something's wrong, show me."  Then watch them do the measurements
so you can be sure what the truth is.  Don't put the engine together until
you're sure it's right.  Trust is good.  Trust and verify is much better.

Roger



----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Jason Morri" <neosore at gmail.com>
To: <virtualvairs at corvair.org>
Sent: Sunday, December 16, 2007 11:20 PM
Subject: <VV> '65 Project coming to a close...


> 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
>
>
>
>
>
>  _______________________________________________
> This message was sent by the VirtualVairs mailing list, all copyrights are
the property
> of the writer, please attribute properly. For help,
mailto:vv-help at corvair.org
> This list sponsored by the Corvair Society of America,
http://www.corvair.org/
> Post messages to: VirtualVairs at corvair.org
> Change your options:
http://www.vv.corvair.org/mailman/options/virtualvairs
>  _______________________________________________