Water Distribution Tube Removal

[Jim Yergin]

Jim I hope it works out. please keep us posted:) If we have to make a junk yard run let me know. If the ground is frozen it's safe.

Thanks Rodney. I will keep you posted. Might start the process of removing the broken engine this weekend. I intend to remove the front clip first. I started on this car before my son was born. He is now 16 and 6'4'' so it is nice to have his strong back available to lend a hand.

Happy New Year.

Jim Yergin

[Young Ed]

Jim Keep up the good work. I know very much the pain of having a freshly restored vehicle with a bad engine. Little story for you. When I was 10 I convinced Dad not to get rid of his 51 convert and to fix it. So in 1990 it went to a restoration shop. He brought the frame home and he and I installed all new springs suspension etc we rebuilt the whole frame and installed the rebuilt engine. Fast forward to 1996 the car was done and we were preparing to go to Iowa for a national plymouth club meet. Dad decided he better do a test drive of his freshly done car before going on a long trip. 120 mile round trip back to the restoration shop and the car had almost 0 oil pressure when we got home. So that engine came out and another freshly rebuilt one he had ended up with got installed the weekend we were supposed to be in Iowa. Let me tell you it was nerve wracking swapping motors into and out of a freshly painted and restored car.

Now back to the engine. In the 7 years the car took to get finished the engine shop had changed hands and the old owner died. No warranty. Shop hadn't gotten the main oil gallery clean enough and some dirt came out and wiped out all the new bearings. New shop owner re-rebuilt it and it was sitting in the garage awaiting a home when Dad bought me an engineless 46 dodge pickup for my 21st bday.

[Joe Flanagan]

It's stories like this that really worry me. I rebuilt my engine early in the process, some seven years ago, and every time I hear a story like this, I wonder, "Did I get the oil gallery clean?" "Did I tighten the rod caps to spec?" "Did I put that little plug in?" I am going to be one nervous fella when I start my flathead.

[Young Ed]

Joe then I probably shouldn't tell you the ordeal of the engine that went into the 51 as the replacement.......

[Joe Flanagan]

Oh, just go ahead, Ed.

[Young Ed]

Alright another long tale. Engine came with Dads 50 plymouth club coupe. Was supposedly all professionally rebuilt. It was strapped on a pallet and shrink wrapped to it. However the timing cover had never been put on. The timing gears showed surface rust so dad thought he better have it checked out just to make sure it was ok. So he dropped it off at our engine guy to have it checked. Disassembly found a huge mouse nest in 1 cylinder and mouse pee had eaten the coating off that piston. Engine had to be taken all apart and hot tanked again to get clean. Now after a few $100 cleaning bill that engine did go into my dads 51 convert and it is running strong. As is the re-rebuilt one in my 46 pickup.

[Joe Flanagan]

I did not know mouse urine was so corrosive. Weasels, sure. Mountain lions, you better believe it. Wolverines, forget about it. But mice? Who would have thought?

Luckily, that engine was not installed in the car before you discovered the problem. Can you imagine the mouse living in cylinder 1 showing it to guests?

"Yeah, it's a nice place, but it's hell on the compression stroke."

Did you and your Dad do your own rebuilds? I'm wondering if it's possible to get some idea of the failure rate of home rebuilds. I think that would be very interesting.

[Young Ed]

We have done a few along the way. Usually the less then 100 jobs. We have done a really 1/2 a$$ed one in his 50 coupe that is since sold and one in his 54 with a used piston. A much more complete one for his 40 ply pickup which is still! in the resto shop so can't say how that one came out. Thankfully we didn't put any brake fluid in the system because this many years in the shop would have destroyed all that work. We are just about to reassemble his SD220 when it comes back from being hottanked. That will be all new bearings rings but old pistons. The bore passed its tests.

[Don Coatney]

I'm wondering if it's possible to get some idea of the failure rate of home rebuilds. I think that would be very interesting.

I carried my engine home in a basket and rebuilt it. So far after close to thirty thousand miles it is a keeper.

[Joe Flanagan]

Don,

But you have a lot of mechanical experience to begin with, no? Was that your first rebuild? All your pictures remind me of Norm Abrams' workshop. You know, the kind of workshop where everything goes smoothly and you never forget something or bungle something up.

[Andydodge]

And I always thought that Chevs were mouse engines.......andyd

[Don Coatney]

Don,

But you have a lot of mechanical experience to begin with, no? Was that your first rebuild? All your pictures remind me of Norm Abrams' workshop. You know, the kind of workshop where everything goes smoothly and you never forget something or bungle something up.

Thanks for the compliment but I do live in the real world.

Not the first time I assembled and rebuilt an engine. When I was about 9-10 years old my dad came home to find I had disassembled the lawn mower engine and had parts scattered all over the garage. I did put it all back together and it ran.

[Young Ed]

Don are we counting lawn mowers? My buddy at the hardware store scored me a almost new honda mower with a bent crank from an impact. He got me the part and I swapped out the bad crank for the new one. 600-700 dollar lawn mower for $50 in parts.

[T120]

But, you have only done this once, so............................ is your input of any value;)

Hi Shel,I kinda know what your referring to (on another thread).That's funny and rather witty.Yes,some of us are still "grasshoppers":D gave me a laugh. Happy New Year,guys - Ralph