New to FORD BARN - 1st question

[Ernie Vitucci]

Good Morning...Take in all the advice above and follow it closely. Take your time. Do check your distributor and carburetor to make sure they are clean and ready to work. Check the little wire from the bottom of the distributor to the plate...many a car was put to sleep because that wire shorted to the case and the owner did not know to check it. Prehaps not necessary but I normally purchase a good quality new coil and condenser...just for piece of mind. Work through the electrical system, cleaning and tighting and looking for any wire that is bare do to the covering rotting off. Enjoy the old girl...Ernie in Arizona

[Dick M]

All of the foregoing is good advice. I also urge you to drop the pan. Clean up any visible sludge. Be sure to check under the dipper tray for any sludge. You can easily pop it out of the pan for cleaning underneath...Welcome...

[Synchro909]

I have just completed helping a friend get his first Model A going. It had been standing for about the same time as yours and we did pretty much as has been outlined above. Once the engine was free and we thought it safe, we checked the compressions. Zero in two cylinders. I suggest you do the same. We diagnosed valves so a set of new ones was ordered along with adjustable tappets. It fell to me to change the tappets and valves, which I did with the engine in the car. There are a couple of tricks to getting this done so if you need to do it, get in touch and I will explain.
This engine had been standing so long that rust was appearing on the crankshaft and con rods but it is running like a champ now and we have a very smiley new member.

[Chris in WNC]

yes, drop the pan and clean everything before trying to start.

if you decide to check rod and main bearing clearance (good idea), the aluminum foil go/no-go method is easier and more accurate than Plastigage.

[J Franklin]

Originally Posted by Chris in WNC

if you decide to check rod and main bearing clearance (good idea), the aluminum foil go/no-go method is easier and more accurate than Plastigage.

It may be easier but I doubt it is more accurate.

[Benson]

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Suggestion:

Do not overlook post #12.

There is a bulletin in 1932-34 service bulletins where Ford warned dealers to clean the oil pump filter screen EVERY time oil pan is removed.


There were a number of engines sent to Ford rebuilding centers where lack of oil caused by sludge that had plugged up oil filter screens was determined to be the cause of failure.

This on engines that were less than five years old at the time.

[Dick M]

RE POST #25

I have set mains and rods using the foil method. I also re-checked with plastigage after setting with foil. The foil method was spot on...

[JoeCB]

Hello Bill , welcome to the "Barn" from a fellow Michinanian (or Michigander, if you prefer).
Have fun with your "A" , and just remember that they are a simple machine, easy to maintain... testified to by the fact that so many survived; God only knows what kind of life they lead.

Joe B , Farmington Hills

[jerrytocci]

Put hand crank in and jack it a tiny bit to keep pressure on the crank

[Ayers1]

Welcome to the Forum! If you follow post #10 from WHN that should get you a long way! I have an A that sat for 45 years and did everything he recommended and it did pretty good. Still working on some issues but it will be fine before long. Good luck!

[katy]

Originally Posted by Y-Blockhead

Yes, usually a 1⅜" socket.

Yes, "usually", but not necessarily. The crank (ratchet) nut on my '31 CCPU is 1-1/4", I suspect that it's from a V-8, but that's what's on there so that's what I use. I don't see any need to change it to the "usual" size.

[Billyo194]

First off - Thanks so much for a ton of tips and many private messages. I am so blessed to have found this site. I got the top of the engine compartment cleaned off today and found that my wife's Dad left the spark plugs out of the cylinder head. Guess who had been visitors over the last 30 years? Mice made nice little houses down inside the spark plug holes. Attached a photo of what I've been able to clean out so far. Bad thing is this makes me want to consider pulling the head off (lots of work and buying or fabricating a puller from what I've seen on the Barn forums), good thing is he probably poured some oil down in there from time to time in an attempt to keep it lubed. So I've ordered a scope that should be here tomorrow for me to get eyes down the holes to see how much me and the vacuum missed. What does everyone think - if it looks pretty clean from the scope, would you still pull the head?

[Chris in WNC]

If I was a gambling man I'd bet on the head needing to come off.

I took a flathead Dodge engine apart that had been sitting in a fence row for years.
Don't remember what was in the cylinders, but one valve chamber was clean, the other full of nut shells. Oil pan had the usual pudding.

[Ayers1]

Finding all of the "deposits " in the cylinder I would definitely take the head off. Give you a chance to clean it out good and check for stuck valves too.

[nkaminar]

Billy,

After your post #32, I would pull the engine and take it apart for a full inspection and repair/adjustment where needed. The mice urine is corrosive. I think you would be better off in the long run. Buy a copy of the The Model A Ford Mechanics Handbook, Volume 1. It has detailed instructions for all things mechanical. See https://www.snydersantiqueauto.com/p...0031&cat=41621.

The model A engine is fun to work on and you will learn a lot by doing so. You can rig some sort of lift to get it out and then use an engine stand to work on it, available from places like Harbor Freight. With long enough bolts, the side water inlet is strong enough to support the engine.

To remove the head, use the plastic wedges that are used for tree felling, available at hardware stores like Lowes. Do not use a metal wedge. Wedge at opposite ends at opposite sides, not in the middle. Sometimes it helps to remove the studs. If you are lucky they will come out with vice grips and you can just replace the ones that get damaged.

[Afordman31]

Tom Wesenberg built one of these and posted it.
I built this one and used it on a stuck motor.
It is made from a junk starter end and bendix gear.
Remove the starter then bolt this in its place.
I used a breaker bar and socket and my brother used the crank. Between the two of us we broke the motor free.

[katy]

Originally Posted by Afordman31

Between the two of us we broke the motor free.

And then?

[Afordman31]

???

[Terry, NJ]

Contrary to just about everyone else here, I don't recommend taking the pan down or removing the head. At least not until you get it to run. Taking a head off a model A is fraught with complications(what kind of gaskets? how much do you torque it? how many times do you torque it, How do you get the distributor out, The head is stuck, how do I? .......) These are the complications that make you think twice about owning a Mod. A You're supposed to have fun with this. Ditto for the bottom end Why not start it up and run it for a little bit before disassembling it? There will be time for that later. Start it up on the old oil, run for ten minutes, then change it. You will hear some old timers telling you to use nothing but Non Detergent oil, Yes they still make it. Don't believe it! Run detergent from the start. Most mod. A guys use Shell 15/40. Available from Tractor Supply. I had an engine that was all crapped up with sludge, the oil screen was a bout 80% blocked. The reason for starting on old oil is to give the bearings and cam parts a good scraping before dumping. That rust is Iron Oxide, (FE O2 I Believe ). They make abrasives out of Oxides. When you first start an engine that hasn't been run in twenty five years, you can bet there's plenty of rust. Change again in 50 miles.
Good Luck!
Terry

[ronn]

strong shop vac over each cylinder will clean out most of the mice droppings.


I hang a cinder block on a crank, for tension. Jack method works well too.