Mike36

Sometimes you find the best things when you're not looking. Neat story Don.

That is a small 4cyl, much easier to crank. In the "old" days, when hand cranking was common, many got their forearm broken, because they didn't do it properly.

Good job!

Now it is becoming clear why their population is so high.

Thought hat might be the case as the flathead V8 sounded nothing like the Y block.

In the US, '54 was overhead valve. Maybe different in Canada?

Sounds like an old stock car racers trick. Truck looks great!

In 1967 I had a 62 Merc Monteray convertible. Several of the Ford cars of that era had a long overhang from rear axle to rear .bumper . As a result the lower spring leaf was overly long and lost its arch, causing the rear of the car to sag. Not having much cash at the time, I search the salvage yards for good used ones, with no luck. Finally my Dad said" don't worry about it, we'll fix those" I had no idea what he meant. We jacked the rear of the Merc up, and removed one spring. He took it apart, wire brushed it off, layed the long lower leaf on its side on the concrete. Then with chalk, he traced the curvature of the leaf on the floor. The hoist stood 4 inches or so above the floor. He placed one end of the leaf on the hoist, the other resting on the floor. With the ball end of a large ball peen hammer, he started beating on the leaf. Striking it above the air gap between the hoist and the floor. He moved the leaf slightly between each hammer blow. Occasionally stopping to compare the leaf to the chalk line on the floor. After awhile, he said "that should do it". We assembled the spring and installed it on the Merc, then repeated on the other spring. I drove out of there grinning and the Merc had her butt in the air. Total cost to a young guy with no extra cash--- ZERO. Thanks again Dad.

Wow! Another sign of modern progress. For many years NAPA Echlin was a guarantee of quality. Sad to see them fall.

Mack, I'm surprised you're able to type, would think you were still trying to get up a hill somewhere!!!

Sorry Mack, I just plain forgot about bracket racing. Been to many years since I was there. With that being said, I am now going to forget about it again.

Oh yeah, bracket racing. The reason I quit going to drag races.

Knuckleharley, I wasn't referring to what you had written. Sorry I should have been more clear. I was referring to post no7. I clearly remember how a 426 Mopar would slam me back in the seat at full throttle, and NO stock 272 Ford could come close to that. But I do have a question, are the Hemi engines of the 50's not considered big blocks? I know the first ones were 331 ci, but I always considered them big blocks. I enjoy your posts, keep on typing.

Many years ago I had a 57 Ford Custom 300, powered by a 292 with 4 bbl and dual exhaust, 3 speed overdrive. It ran pretty good for the day, but I can't imagine a 272 shutting down a 426 wedge. That Ford either had a 4.88 or lower gears , or engine mods, or both. Not gonna happen if the Ford was stock. I rode in several of both, and those 426's were very quick.

Have you checked Andy Bernbaum, Vintage Power Wagons, or Roberts motor Parts? Don't know if they have them, just trying to help.

What is that old truck the Beverly Hillbillys drove?

A good way to clean rust and scale from a gas tank is to use a farm tractor. Jack up one rear wheel and safely block tractor so it cannot fall or roll. Fasten gas tank to the elevated wheel using ratchet straps. I then put a 4 ft. Piece of 3/8 log chain and 1/2 gallon of cheap paint thinner in the tank and replace the cap. Start the tractor, put in gear, let the clutch out. Use your judgement on what gear and RPM. Open lawn chair, open cold one, sit in shade and watch your tank get very clean without sweating! I know everyone does not have access to a tractor, but those that do will find your tank cleaner with less effort. Cheers!

For cleaning old baked on oil, dirt, grease, try oven cleaner.

I intentionally did not mention the bottoming tap because there is no chip clearance if a person goes too far in the hole, thereby snapping part of the tap off in the hole. I am sure there are those on here without extensive experience at tapping or cleaning previously threaded holes. When you are inexperienced at this, the danger of a broken tap is real, and something you will regret. A standard plug tap is all that is needed and is safer.

Don, that is a good point I over looked. I believe a better solution would be to use a spiral fluted tap On the holes that enter the water jacket. They are designed to pull the chips and cuttings OUT of the hole, towards the shank. Instead of pushing them ahead, as a standard tap does. Again, do not get in a hurry!

Unscrew the petcock completely out of the block. With a bent wire, see if you can get any crud out of the water jacket. This will give you an idea what is in there, and if you need to remove freeze plugs. If you do not have a shop manual, good idea to get one.

For those without much experience at taping a hole, I will add this. Make sure you have a sharp tap. Do not use an old dull beat up one you found in the bottom of the drawer. Get everything you can out of the threaded hole using compressed air. A nozzle long enough to reach the bottom of the hole is best. Use a light oil on the tap. Turn tap at slow steady speed. I if very little resistance is felt, turn tap all the way to bottom of hole. Stop turning immediately when bottom of hole is reached. Back tap out, blow off with air, blow hole out with air until nothing is coming out of hole. If resistance is felt while tapping, go a little way in, remove tap from hole. Blow hole out with air, blow tap clean and re oil. Do this as many times as necessary until bottom of hole is reached. This may or may not be quite time consuming depending on the amount of crud in the threads. PAY ATTENTION: DO NOT GET IN A HURRY!!! Taps are very hard which means they are brittle!!! They have to be hard to cut steel. If you break one off in your engine, its NIGHT MARE CITY!!! Because of the hardness of the tap, they can be EXTREMELY difficult to remove when broken. Remember, cleanliness, light oil, do not force it. Accurate torque is achieved with a clean, lightly oiled thread.

Hey Don, I used to fuel at the Garlic Farm truck stop in Gilroy. What a name!

If you are not going to remove the crank to mic it, carefully check it with plastigage, then give crank a 1/4 turn and check it again. This will give you an idea if the crank is out of round. If it is out of round, I would not run this engine until a total rebuild is possible. You are in danger of destroying the block if you do. It might run a year, or it might run one more day. Do you feel lucky? If not out of round, check shop manual for clearance recommdations and go for it. Use assembly grease, and clean out pickup for oil pump. What weight oil are you using? Pressure may come up with new bearings, if not go to a heavier weight oil and stay away from higher RPM. If you do not have a shop manual, that is your first step! Get one! Good luck and keep us posted.

I too have a R6 and would like to see your exploded view. Hope you can get it on here. Thanks.