Jump to content

Going down the babbitt hole


Hickory

Recommended Posts

I will post my engine experience so other early babbitt owners may have some references. I own a 1929 DeSoto and the engine is babbitt poured bearings. There isn't a lot of info out there on these engines, or a lot of help. The knowledge is limited on my normal forums ( yes this includes the NDC and here) on the babbitt engines. I am so grateful for the help that I received on my 49 Chrysler so I will try to return the info I get on my 29. I will post pictures as this process develops. I have already sent my crank out to be turned.  I have found info to help from a Facebook group for flathead 6s and of course the Jalopy journal (hamb). There are a couple others but those two have helped a bit. I will be back with pics tomorrow.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I do have the luxury of having some machines at work to save money. We have valve grinders, hot tank, bead tumbler, lathe. I'm hoping to get the crank back early next week.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It is a removable shell. Look at how thick it is. This is a babbitted shell. It threw me for a loop too. But I have been told it is babbitt. I will post pics of rods at lunch and those are straight babbitt and no shell.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

Yes I also like seeing this old type of auto repairs.

I like to watch some of JonathanW work on youtube with his old steam engines.

He posted a couple videos on how he makes his babbit bearings. Here is one of them .... not sure what is included in it.

I have watched one video where he shows how he picks the junk metal to melt down to come up with his own recipe for bronze.

Not really high tech, but works for the RPM his old engines work at.

 

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

So for the babbitt pouring I have picked Paul's in Parkville M.O.  The company I was going to use was a 2 hour drive from my house but my machine shop had horrible things to say about them. Then they told me to use Paul's.  I can ship them the rods and just the main bearing shells and they can pour with the measurements. They will pour the main shells .060 under and then I get the block line boared here saving me the expense of shipping the block. Then they will pour my rods to .017(I believe that's correct)clearance and then I can polish them for more clearance if I want. They use their own babbitt blend that resists wear to the babbitt and the crank so  the use of shims are not necessary.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.

Terms of Use