Pre war vs post war engine bearings
 

Having recently attended the Hutchinson Ks. swap meet / auction an old timer who happened to be selling some n.o.s. v8 flathead parts was checking the engine bearings for a prospective buyer using a magnet to check the babbit or lack there of, his claim was the war effort dictated the need to of course conserve our resources. I certainly don't doubt the validity just wondering if infact this is a plausible method ? Along these same lines it comes to mind in my youth having seen several 53 car model vehicles with peeling clear coat & rusting grille work ( 53 Chevrolet/Ford comes to mind) this was of course the Korean war effort to conserve nickel/copper & other precious metals.

Re: Pre war vs post war engine bearings
 

They were using 'clear coat' back in '53???

Re: Pre war vs post war engine bearings
 

Yes, but only custom paint jobs and it was clear lacquer over color to enhance the perceived depth of the paint.

Re: Pre war vs post war engine bearings
 

For sure a clear coat of some form, over time it peeled off & had a tendency to turn opaque or take on a yellow hue, the chrome plating looked to be devoid of a copper under plate or very little at the least. My father had a war model 42 Plymouth all trim was painted the same grey as body color, in the early 50's all the side mouldings were removed for a body color change to green & it was found that one side of the car had stainless steel painted grey while the opposite side was tin painted grey those of which were replaced with 46-47 s.s. trim.

Re: Pre war vs post war engine bearings
 

He was checking the babbit in an old engine? Who cares what the babbit was like, you'll have to pour new bearings on any kind of an engine rebuild.

Re: Pre war vs post war engine bearings
 

Maybe using the term "babbit" as a generic term for bearing material on a shell?

Re: Pre war vs post war engine bearings
 

Right you are JSeery, thanks for the clarification

Re: Pre war vs post war engine bearings
 

During my early racing days the " floating" bearings would flake. You couls see little parts of earing materal in the oil when drained through a cloth. after dissambling an engine found the bearings were "Pock marked". At the time we blamed the hi oil pressure. This is a learning experience. We added the full flow oil system. That kept the flakes from causing more damage.