276 stroker from 35 years of parts

[flatford8]

You’re doing a great job on the engine ‘Ol Boy....What kind of a sandwich did you have????....... Mark

[GB SISSON]

Originally Posted by flatford8

You’re doing a great job on the engine ‘Ol Boy....What kind of a sandwich did you have????....... Mark

Half a ham sandwich, and an english muffin with peanut butter. Cup of hot black coffee to wash it down..... Whadya think of using my engine decks as a surface plate to check to see if my heads are flat? Or is it just another 'telescopic driveshaft' in the making?

[38 coupe]

8BA era engines have a timing mark on the crank pulley and a pointer on the timing cover, no need to add a TDC mark. My memory is the factory mark is 4 degrees before TDC and is where the factory ignition should be firing at idle. Always worked well for me.
I like the idea of setting each head on the decked block to inspect for flatness, they are the mating surfaces after all. The calibration guys I used to work with would dim the lights and shine a flashlight from one side while looking from the other side, it made gaps obvious.

[GB SISSON]

Thank you Fred, I'm up early, maybe I'll head down there and set it up and see what I see. When I was working on the domes in the heads I had the heads on and off maybe 15 times each. I would set the four .052 maple slats in place and lower the head onto them, guided by two studs and then install eight head bolts. The head bolts were then tightened ever so slightly until a fifth .052 slat used as a feeler gauge had the same amount of resistance all the way around the perimeter before turning the crank to compress the foil. I noticed the driver side head would rock slightly corner to corner until I got a tiny bit of torque from a palm type of ratchet I was using. I expect that one will show some warp, but the other side always felt dead flat. The DS head when set directly onto the block with nothing in between feels the same as it did on the slats, a slight rocking that I can take out with very light hand pressure using the little disc shaped palm ratchet. I've never worried about it as there will be 24 bolts at 45 or so ft/lbs.

[Bored&Stroked]

Originally Posted by GB SISSON

Half a ham sandwich, and an english muffin with peanut butter. Cup of hot black coffee to wash it down..... Whadya think of using my engine decks as a surface plate to check to see if my heads are flat? Or is it just another 'telescopic driveshaft' in the making?

All you really need is a good accurate steel ruler . . . you lay it on edge and then see first of all if there is "light" coming through anywhere on the head. You can use a feeler gauge underneath it to see the level of warpage.

Do this in a few directions and you'll soon know if there is any appreciable warpage. You'll probably find that your heads are fine.

[GB SISSON]

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Thanks Dale, I did it the hard way as usual. I did come up with some interesting findings. I slid 3 utility knife blades outa my blade dispenser (think pez) and measured them. All were .023". Two were placed under the ends of the heads at mid height. I stretched an old screen door spring and cut it into 4 springs at 1/2" long on the bandsaw. The pass side was as expected, entirely flat, and yes I realize that just because it didn't rock didn't mean it wasn't humped or swayback. But the 3rd knife blade as a feeler was all the proof I needed as I went around the head's perimeter. The other side showed the twist that I expected. With both end spacer blades in place and starting at the front I adjusted the top and bottom bolts for a nice fit of the feeler blade.Now from the back I could see it was more open at the top and just above the deck at the bottom. I installed the bolts and springs and was able to twist it to flat with just spring pressure, and while the springs were doing their trick I used my feeler blade to ascertain that the perimeter showed no hump of swayback. Lastly, with these rear bolts loosened I was easily able to remove the twist with palm pressure. I agree, I think I'm fine here and will plow onward as time allows.

[cmbrucew]

Gary

My shop instructor told us to put sealant only on the removable part to hold the gasket. Easier cleanup that way. That was over sixty years ago, don't know about today.
Bruce

[GB SISSON]

Tonight I have some good news on the driver side head warp. I finally got a chance late this afternoon to do what Dale told me to do... Put a good straightedge on it and I will find what's wrong. My stainless rule had a slight bend that made it hard to use on edge so I contact cemented it onto a level so I could read it correctly. I glued it overhanging by 1 /16" so a knife edge against the head. Dang, head was straight as a string in all directions, diagonally etc. Could not get an .001 feeler under anywhere. I could not figure it out but then,,,, I saw the little freeze plug I was gonna ask you all about but keep forgetting to. 30 seconds with a flat file and case closed. No rocky head. The freeze plug was .008 proud of the surface. Both heads have one, but the other was driven flush. As fate would have it the wood slat ran vertically across the plug, and this morning and the utility knife blade was set under it for THIS test. What is the purpose of this trouble maker freeze plug?

[petehoovie]

Originally Posted by GB SISSON

Tonight I have some good news on the driver side head warp. I finally got a chance late this afternoon to do what Dale told me to do... Put a good straightedge on it and I will find what's wrong. My stainless rule had a slight bend that made it hard to use on edge so I contact cemented it onto a level so I could read it correctly. I glued it overhanging by 1 /16" so a knife edge against the head. Dang, head was straight as a string in all directions, diagonally etc. Could not get an .001 feeler under anywhere. I could not figure it out but then,,,, I saw the little freeze plug I was gonna ask you all about but keep forgetting to. 30 seconds with a flat file and case closed. No rocky head. The freeze plug was .008 proud of the surface. Both heads have one. Why was this done?

[cadillac512]

Maybe to use late heads on an early block...I can't remember all the details but I think that's it. If you have an early block handy see if that hole overhangs the deck.

[tubman]

If I have everything straight after all 25 pages, you have a late block and late heads. I believe "cadillac512" has it right about the freeze plugs and you would be better off removing them, as they will restrict the good coolant flow the Ford engineers finally achieved with the 8BA's.

[GB SISSON]

Hip Hip Hooray! Not only did I find out my head isn't warped, but I'm on the road to better cooling as well. My 10" S10 clutch disc arrived today along with a couple other boxes. Pretty fun stuff, Christmas in June.

[38 coupe]

Great news on the head. You're closing in on having everything together and running. This is getting exciting. Fingers crossed the clutch disk works for you and assembly continues.

[GB SISSON]

I cannot say enough about all the help I'm getting from the world's greatest flathead support group! I remember now that when I built my pressure test head plate (from some kitchen counter top material), that in order to test an 8ba block I had to first tap that hole in the deck and install a flush pipe plug. I can now see that I musta used a 59ab head gasket as my template in building the plate. Dang. And Dale, looks like I missed your post about the straight edge by two or 3 minutes as I was already down there reinventing the wheel with knife blades and springs. Dang again, because I ended up fretting all day thinking about shipping the head off island to the machine shop. Gonna head down and do some work on the two exhaust manifolds I have chosen before my day job begins and hopefully tend to some other tasks. The S 10 disc the the T-5 seller gave me measures 9 1/8" and the one I got yesterday is 9 7/8". Very happy with it. I just hope I install it right side out!

[Bored&Stroked]

You're getting close . . . carry on my flathead friend!

[GB SISSON]

Yes, you guys can count on me to do just that. I will keep on keepin' on. Grandkids are counting on the woodie for the July 4 parade. No guarantees, but we have the Foyota for a backup plan.

[petehoovie]

Originally Posted by GB SISSON

Yes, you guys can count on me to do just that. I will keep on keepin' on. Grandkids are counting on the woodie for the July 4 parade. No guarantees, but we have the Foyota for a backup plan.

[GB SISSON]

Geekers Pete! That's so big and clear everyone can see how I drive around with that huge fogged out area on the windshield. Gotta get somebody to fix that some day. I have the new glass and the rubber settin on a shelf. It's ok driving straight ahead and great on those sweeping left turns, but right turns.... Pulled the clutch outa the woodie's 221 after breakfast and the pressure plate has about a third of it's surface in one spot is all blue and yellow and black and the remainder looks like it never touched the disc. ??? It always had poor engagement. Has only 5000 miles on it so I figuered I'd use it, but no. I ordered a new PP because I'm getting worn out with fighting all this old, crooked messed up stuff.

[38 coupe]

I lived with a series of crappy clutches in my 53 sedan for years. When I finally got one in there that worked it was so much better I wondered how I had put up with the bad clutches for so long. A smooth clutch is worth the effort it takes to make it happen.

[Bored&Stroked]

You're going to make it . . . the Grandkids shall NOT be denied! LOL