How long does a rebuilt flathead engine smoke out the tailpipe?

[bsa48]

was the engine board when rebuilt... an or was there a lot of oil in your exhaust system...

[MarcDeSoto]

Do you mean bored?  Yes it was bored out .030 and .030 oversizeds pistons and rings were installed.  

[MarcDeSoto]

Now I have a new problem.  I tightened the exhaust pipe's bolts so tight that I stripped the threads.  Now I can't remove the bolts and nuts.  They turn, but they don't go anywhere!  I guess I have to use a cutting wheel on a grinder and cut the nut or head off?  

 

[joecoozie]

49 minutes ago, MarcDeSoto said:

Now I have a new problem.  I tightened the exhaust pipe's bolts so tight that I stripped the threads.  Now I can't remove the bolts and nuts.  They turn, but they don't go anywhere!  I guess I have to use a cutting wheel on a grinder and cut the nut or head off?  

 

Jeeez, man.

It's just one thing after another !!!!!

These types of setbacks, when working on our cars, are what leads a lot of people to give up and throw in the towel.

Then the abandoned project sits and sits.....

But, sometimes it's a good thing to take a step back and regroup - clears the head of all of the frustration(s)

 

Keep plugging along Marc!!!!!

[MarcDeSoto]

Thanks Joe, you're a real friend!  I cut off the bolts today with a cut off wheel.  I went to the hardware store and bought new grade 8 bolts and nuts.  I asked for 2" bolts and he gave me 2 1/4" bolts.  So I had to drive all the way back to ask for the 2" bolts.  He got them and measured them, and I took them home, only to discover that he gave me 2 1/4" bolts again.  So that means I have to install the bolts from the bottom instead of the top.  I put in a new gasket too and took out the old one which had lost the top part exposing the metal part below.  I put some gasket maker for exhaust on the gasket and am waiting til tomorrow to test the connection.  Also a couple of days ago I forgot to disconnect my ground cable and drained the battery with hot wire still connected!  So I charged up the battery overnight and luckily the engine started right up with one click of the button without priming the carburetor, just like a modern car!  I've heard that when you leave the hot wire hooked up, the battery could fry your points and coil if the points are closed!  

Edited March 30, 2023 by MarcDeSoto

[squirebill]

That should only happen if the ignition switch is left in the "On" position.

[MarcDeSoto]

4 hours ago, squirebill said:

That should only happen if the ignition switch is left in the "On" position.

There is no ignition switch yet.  That's why it is hot wired.  I'm confused.  Why does my engine start up perfectly then stop after a minute or so.  Then I can't start it anymore?  Very troubling.  I have spark, fuel, and compression and timing, but no start.  Maybe my points or condenser got damaged the other night, but I do still have spark at the plugs.  

[Dave72dt]

5 hours ago, MarcDeSoto said:

Thanks Joe, you're a real friend!  I cut off the bolts today with a cut off wheel.  I went to the hardware store and bought new grade 8 bolts and nuts.  I asked for 2" bolts and he gave me 2 1/4" bolts.  So I had to drive all the way back to ask for the 2" bolts.  He got them and measured them, and I took them home, only to discover that he gave me 2 1/4" bolts again.  So that means I have to install the bolts from the bottom instead of the top.  

Depends on how you are measuring the bolts.  Bolt measurements do not include the head of the bolt.  It would be unusual to find a hardware store stocking G8 in 1/4 " increments.

[TodFitch]

1 hour ago, MarcDeSoto said:

There is no ignition switch yet.  That's why it is hot wired.  I'm confused.  Why does my engine start up perfectly then stop after a minute or so.  Then I can't start it anymore?  Very troubling.  I have spark, fuel, and compression and timing, but no start.  Maybe my points or condenser got damaged the other night, but I do still have spark at the plugs.  

I had a car with a marginal coil. When the coil was cool the engine would start and run fine. When the coil got hot it no longer produced any spark and the engine would die.

 

The way it died was similar to an engine running out of gas so my trouble shooting was always first directed at the fuel system. By the time I got to checking the ignition the coil had cooled down enough to start working again. Took me months to figure it out.

 

Anyway, my lesson learned was that a coil can cause issues that may be temperature related.
 

 

[MarcDeSoto]

Thanks for that great tip!  I just ordered new points and condenser from Rock Auto.  Maybe I should also order a new coil!  

[squirebill]

So my method of hot wire is to run a wire from the neg. battery terminal to the input (negative) terminal of the coil. Then a heavy jumper across  the heavy terminals of the starter solenoid to start the car.  OR a jumper wire from the neg. battery terminal to the small input terminal of the starter solenoid.  The connections to the starter solenoid are only connected until the starter activates and the engine is running, then they are disconnected.  The wire to the coil is required to keep the ignition circuit active and the engine running. This jumper would have to be disconnected to stop the engine.  If you leave this jumper connected because the engine stopped for some reason and the points happen to be closed then yes, you have a closed circuit from the battery through the coil and through the points to ground and you can drain the battery and maybe damage the coil and points.  In my jumper wire kit I have a household light switch wired into the jumper wire for the coil jumper wire  and a momentary push button switch on my jumper for the starter solenoid.  I turn the ignition circuit on with the household switch to the ON position and press the push button switch to activate the starter and release when the engine is running.  When I want to stop the engine, I flip the household switch to the OFF position.   

[Sam Buchanan]

text deleted

Edited March 31, 2023 by Sam Buchanan

[kencombs]

Can't see your gasket, but be sure to use one with a metal sealing ring on its ID.  The type that do not have that don't work as well.  

Grade 8 bolts are OK but really overkill.  Even GR5 is more than enough,   I always use fine thread bolts and nuts as they create more clamping pressure as a given torque, as compare to coarse threads.

 

Of course, be sure the manifold surface and the pipes mating flange are flat and aligned as closely as possible.  

[MarcDeSoto]

Now I have another problem.  The engine won't start now.  So I will have to start the trouble shooting process.  I will become like Sherlock Holmes and try to use deductive reasoning to pin down the reason or reasons.  I will look for problems in the ignition system by checking the coil and condenser with a multimeter.  I'm hoping the specs for the coil are in the shop manual.  I do have spark, but am not sure if that's enough to rule out the ignition system.  

[MarcDeSoto]

Now that I have almost an hour of running time on this flathead, the smoke has died down considerably.  That's some good news!  Now I have to work on the driveshaft wobble and the transmission linkage shifting problem.  Also I need to reattach the bell housing brackets.