34 Vicky flathead update

[FamilyFord]

I removed the pan today to take a closer look inside. I plan to take the advice and order the book from Early Ford V8 next week to get a better idea of the markings.
We've had this car since 1979 in the family, where we purchased it in Peru and had it shipped back to the US. There's some pretty good stories that go along with it, which I will share soon enough. Thanks for the wealth of information on the board.
Looking forward to the continuous learning experience this winter. Chris

[FamilyFord]

I loaded some more pictures in my album, please take a look if you have a chance and comments are appreciated! Cheers.

[Mike in AZ]

looks pretty clean on the bottom end....lots of sludge in the oil pan??....what do the cylinders look like??....number stamped on trans. bellhousing same as number on frame??...Mike

[FamilyFord]

I haven't gotten to the transmission yet, plan to get into that once I know more about the motor. I picked up a complete front axle set up that I want to install, since the king pins are worn pretty bad on this one. Last time I drove it on a regular rode, about 25yr ago, the front end shook pretty bad.

[FamilyFord]

The pan has a layer of sludge in it that won't be too bad to clean out. The valley below the intake is another story. It is really sludged pretty good. All of the valves and springs appear to be ok, but there is a lot of heavy oil deposits all over.
The main bearing caps have castle nuts with safety wire. Was this original? How can I tell if there are sleeve bearings or babbit, without removal?

The water jacket is really full of rusty deposits, which I'd like to clean out. My thought was to disassemble the complete motor, down to the block, and have it dipped to clean out. I understand that this can be a problem with the babbit bearings, that they would require re-forming and insertion, then break-in.

Any suggestions? Thanks.

[David J]

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You have the right 34 block and in your pic in the other thread you also have a 34 oil pan . The castle nuts and saftey wire is normal . The block will be babbit mains and will NOT have cam bearings unless someone modified it . Hot tanking it or anything like that will ruin the babbit mains . If you take the four 3/4" plugs out on the pan rail and if you are willing to spend some time with a air hose , a vacum cleaner and various pics-rods you can get these pretty clean by hand . If you are taking it apart a steam cleaner will get the crap out of the valley nicely .

Originally Posted by FamilyFord

The pan has a layer of sludge in it that won't be too bad to clean out. The valley below the intake is another story. It is really sludged pretty good. All of the valves and springs appear to be ok, but there is a lot of heavy oil deposits all over.
The main bearing caps have castle nuts with safety wire. Was this original? How can I tell if there are sleeve bearings or babbit, without removal?

The water jacket is really full of rusty deposits, which I'd like to clean out. My thought was to disassemble the complete motor, down to the block, and have it dipped to clean out. I understand that this can be a problem with the babbit bearings, that they would require re-forming and insertion, then break-in.

Any suggestions? Thanks.

[FL&WVMIKE]

FamilyFord ................
If you have your engine all apart, you can clean out your block by hanging it up, with the front side down, with an ordinary pressure washer. You will be surprised as to what comes out. You WILL get wet !
MIKE

[FamilyFord]

Thanks for the info. Are the four plugs removed with a drill and sheet metal screw, like a freeze plug? Sorry to sound really dumb, but I don't have my Early Ford V8 book ordered yet. Thanks, again.

[FamilyFord]

I appreciate the information, David J and FL&WVMike. It's a little bit of a struggle for me on this project, trying to figure out the best way to proceed. I've had experiences with other projects where I've spent more time and money than needed, so I'm approaching this one with more safety.
The motor ran good when I pulled it into my barn last summer. It fired right off after having a good fuel supply from the 6v electric pump and sounded good. There was some blowby coming from the breather, but other than that, it was quiet.
However, the car sat for about 17 yrs without being cranked over before I got my hands on it again. So, it was always in my plans to at least get into the motor to see how things were going.
A part of me says "clean it up, leave the crank and pistons in place, and button it back together." However, I want to do this right, so, I'm leaning toward disassembling the motor and doing the power wash, cleaning of the water passages, etc. I can then mic everything to make a decision on what the next steps are for getting the car down the road again.
The plan is not to get it back to original condition, I'm more interested in reliability and enjoying the feeling I used to get when I drove the car back in 1980 across Texas. Thanks for the help.

[David J]

The car in the pic to the left had been sitting since the mid 50's and was actually slightly stuck . I took all the rods-pistons out of it and taped the rod journals to seal them . I plugged the oil pump hole and the drain tube on the rear main cap . Set it up on the tail gate and did what Mikey said - powerwashed it . I only did it from the top side and it worked well . I had cleaned the crankcase by hand . Good idea to clean the water jackets out first . Didn't want to power wash in there with the crank & cam still in place . The powerwasher will also flush any remaining crap in the water jackets out . If you do this make sure you use air to blow out the valves-ports-lifters etc . The waterjacket plugs can be removed as you described and once you get them out cleaning is much easier . Remember these are true "expansion" plugs that sit on a thin ledge and you hit it in the center to expand it . What I'm saying is be careful taking the old ones out as the ledge may already have issues . If all else fails just tap the holes and plug them .

[FamilyFord]

Got it, thanks! I'll report back next weekend on the progress.

[jimTN]

I believe you would be well advised to remove the crank, oil pump drive gear cover and clean out all oil passages including those in the crank. Washing the engine down internally, what ever the method is going to get crap in the bearing journals.

[David J]

I thought about this but the issue here is the camshaft . If you don't remove the camshaft you cannot properly flush out the oil passages . I would guess that at least some of his guides are stuck and removing and replacing the valve assys intact isn't gonna happen . Like I said above I hand cleaned the lower crankcase and only powerwashed the valley and the water jackets . It worked fine and the motor is still in the car with almost 10,000 miles on it .

Originally Posted by jimTN

I believe you would be well advised to remove the crank, oil pump drive gear cover and clean out all oil passages including those in the crank. Washing the engine down internally, what ever the method is going to get crap in the bearing journals.

[Brendan]

if you don't plan to rebuild the engine I would just clean the pan and the oil pick up screen if you clean more with out completely taking it apart you could get some of the junk in a baring. I have a 36 pickup that had a lot of sludge in the pan and I just cleaned it out and the oil pump screen. I think the rest of the motor was very dirty also

[FamilyFord]

Here's a question: Is anyone aware of 34 Victoria being produced with a steel top, originally? Do you think I should be able to get this information from the Early Ford V8 1933 to 1934 book that I'm about to order? Thanks.

[bmwillia]

If you are talking about the restoration manual from the EFV8 club then yes, you can find that info in there.

[pebo va]

All '34s had the canvas insert roof. There were no all steel roofs that I am aware of.

[FamilyFord]

I picked up the plugs from the local John Deere shop. I used my shop vac to pull out a lot of the junk in the top of the water jackets, but plan to get a long flexible wire brush to help get some of the stuff from down below, once I have the plugs removed.
I can't seem to locate the engine numbers anywhere on the block, but there is a lot of dirt on it. I did get down to the original paint on the bell housing, though. Thinking about kerosene now to run down through the valley into a pan from the bottom end.
I loaded some pictures into my album. Take a look if you get the chance and offer some feedback. Thanks.

[FamilyFord]

I can't seem to get the head studs to break loose, at all. Been soaking in Kroil for 24 hr periods, tapping with a hammer, then trying to remove, and they aren't budging. The last thing I want to do is twist one off into the block, so I'm being extra careful. I don't want to even consider the blue wrench, which was suggested by some of my friends. Any suggestions?

[Charlie Stephens]

Originally Posted by FamilyFord

I can't seem to get the head studs to break loose, at all. Been soaking in Kroil for 24 hr periods, tapping with a hammer, then trying to remove, and they aren't budging. The last thing I want to do is twist one off into the block, so I'm being extra careful. I don't want to even consider the blue wrench, which was suggested by some of my friends. Any suggestions?

I am lucky (?) to live in Los Angeles where there are several companies that make a business out of removing studs that are broken off in the block. There may be someone in your area. I am not talking about a machine shop that will brute force the problem.

Charlie Stephens