Tell me this noise isn't what I'm afraid it is.

[Kube]

Originally Posted by bobH

Another thing to add to Kube's 'list'... I've never found in all of Craig's posts that the engine was ever balanced. I can't imagine, the way he drives it, WHY? Especially when it's considered that the crank came from one source, the rods source not mentioned, and the pistons changed at least twice. Maybe I missed this detail?? JMHO
(AND, I'm sure price is not an issue. I recently had a 59 engine balanced, and cost was insignificant, compared to the overall engine cost.) Again, JMHO

Balancing should at the very least be checked to see if it is necessary. Ford did a pretty darn good job on these engines when they were first assembled. the problem is most engines have had at least some work done on them since "day #1".
If I understand henry's post correctly, one cylinder was sleeved and the remaining seven were bored. Anyone that has good experience building engines knows this is a big no-no.

[Ronnie]

Originally Posted by Kube

Balancing should at the very least be checked to see if it is necessary. Ford did a pretty darn good job on these engines when they were first assembled. the problem is most engines have had at least some work done on them since "day #1".
If I understand henry's post correctly, one cylinder was sleeved and the remaining seven were bored. Anyone that has good experience building engines knows this is a big no-no.

What is not good with one sleeve?

R

[Old Henry]

I'm not sure exactly how it works but the same size of pistons went into all cylinders so I'm assuming that the one that needed the sleeve was bored slightly larger to fit the sleeve in. No problems now for 20,000 miles so far.

[Kube]

Originally Posted by Old Henry

I'm not sure exactly how it works but the same size of pistons went into all cylinders so I'm assuming that the one that needed the sleeve was bored slightly larger to fit the sleeve in. No problems now for 20,000 miles so far.

If he bored that sleeved cylinder to match the others, that's a good thing.
I have seen engines wherein only one or two cylinders were sleeved and the bore(s) were not matched to the others.

[Kube]

Originally Posted by Ronnie

What is not good with one sleeve?

R

Not a thing as long as ALL the bores are of the same diameter.

[Mike B]

Sponsored Links (Register now to hide all advertisements)

Originally Posted by Kube

Not a thing as long as ALL the bores are of the same diameter.

I might be off base, but who would take and engine in to get rebuilt, and be told:

We need to sleeve a hole"

Okay...

Then the shop would order 7 pistons at ones size, and one at another?

Have you actually seen this?...I'd be extremely surprised...again...talking shop work, not when Bubba took it in and used what he had.

And realistically, what would a 1/2 cube of inches, and .01 of compression, affect the performance of an engine like a FH V8?

My personal opinion, is if I had a 60 over block and a standard sleeve size in a hole,,,no one could tell a bit of difference in a street build.

[Kube]

Originally Posted by Mike B

I might be off base, but who would take and engine in to get rebuilt, and be told:

We need to sleeve a hole"

Okay...

Then the shop would order 7 pistons at ones size, and one at another?

Have you actually seen this?...I'd be extremely surprised...again...talking shop work, not when Bubba took it in and used what he had.

And realistically, what would a 1/2 cube of inches, and .01 of compression, affect the performance of an engine like a FH V8?

My personal opinion, is if I had a 60 over block and a standard sleeve size in a hole,,,no one could tell a bit of difference in a street build.

Actually this method is all too common. Even today engines rebuilt by Jasper, a very large corporation, does this as a matter of course. They go the "whatever is cheaper" method.

In a flathead it may not make a huge difference but it will make a difference.
I suppose it all boils down to doing a job correctly or doing it half a--ed.

[sidevalve8ba]

Some mechanics are fast, others half-fast.

[40cpe]

I would be more concerned about the imbalance created by different sized pistons. I don't think anyone who would bore just one hole would balance it.

[Mike B]

Originally Posted by Kube

Actually this method is all too common. Even today engines rebuilt by Jasper, a very large corporation, does this as a matter of course. They go the "whatever is cheaper" method.

I see your point, I suppose a large rebuilding house could save a buck or two per rebuild and over the course of time it would add up to some decent profit.

Sad thing.

[bobH]

Originally Posted by Kube

Balancing should at the very least be checked to see if it is necessary. Ford did a pretty darn good job on these engines when they were first assembled. the problem is most engines have had at least some work done on them since "day #1".
If I understand henry's post correctly, one cylinder was sleeved and the remaining seven were bored. Anyone that has good experience building engines knows this is a big no-no.

Back in the 'day', I did some checking on at least two flatheads that I had. I used the 'thread' method to check 'big-ends', then 'total'. Pistons were matched to 'originals', as I have never found what stock was, for 46-48 59 engines. This seemed to work ok, for the street engines that they were. If there is a published number for 46-48 pistons, I'd like to know it.
Regarding sleeves... sometimes you just 'have to'. Seems to me, a properly installed sleeve works ok in a street engine. On the flip side of this comment, I've seen a few examples of sleeves not done correctly. Old posts on this board have explained properly installed sleeves. One example of 'bad' sleeves, I posted awhile back about an 8BA engine that appeared to have been assembled with a near-standard piston in what appeared to be a 3 3/8 bore. And, it came in as a running engine. It turned out, after disassembly, it was found that cylinder HAD a sleeve, and the remains of that sleeve were in pieces in the pan. Situations as this give a bad name to sleeves.