XXO/BVGC '38 Chevy Coupe Build

[Tman]

I was hoping someone would ask me, why I built such an odd piece.

John 

Because you are an odd guy?!

[Tman]

I was hoping someone would ask me, why I built such an odd piece.

John 

Because you are an odd guy?!

Basher, that was a typical quote butcher. Happens a lot with teh format here. I was shooting the odd quote back at John K, not you!

[basher13]

 

[BoredAndStroked]

Working on a prototype support system for the lifter blocks.  The idea is to tie the lifter blocks together and then tie the whole assembly to the 3/4" steel intake girdle plate.  We'd use find threaded nuts on the rods and adjust them to put a bit of down-force or 'crush' to the lifter blocks themselves.  Hopefully this will stabilize the blocks and remove some stress from the four cast iron 'tabs' that the lifter blocks bolt to.   I am very nervous about those stock lifter block mounting tabs - they are very small, hang out in the breeze and with roller lifters and heavier springs - will have lots of load on them.  Break a tab off the block - everything becomes a blender in a hurry.

The two rods would go through the aluminum valley plates and tie into the intake girdle plate.   I don’t believe they can just bolt through the intake girdle plate (due to the intake manifold bottom – at least from my memory) – so we may need another plate that bolts to the underside of the intake girdle.   In a perfect world, the rods would like up with the cut-out holes in the intake girdle plate (giving us a place for the adjustment nuts).   It isn’t a huge effort to make and I believe it would really strengthen the whole lifter assembly and take some strain off the block ears.

So - here is my prototype design . . .  what do you guys think?

Thanks for looking . . .

[BoredAndStroked]

Okay - Round 2 of the Lifter Block and Strut System:

Don reviewed my design and had some good ideas - so I incorporated them into a new design.   Basically, I'm letting the lifter block bodies bolt down as they always did (7/16 studs to the tabs/bosses in the block) - decided to NOT use the same studs to hold the bridge plate to the blocks.

To handle this, I redesigned the lifter block, increased it's width and added 4 new bolt locations to bolt the bridge plate on AFTER the blocks are all in.  This makes it much easier to get all the valve and oil line drama completed - then just drop the bridge plate and support rods in last.

Mark/Fordboy:  The rods will go all the way through the aluminum valley covers and will mount to the 3/4" thick intake girdle plate.  This is a very solid piece of steel that goes from one side of the intake/exhaust ports to the other.  This should give us a nice solid mounting plate.  I think I'll continue to use the 3/4" steel rods as having the nuts for adjustment on pre-load, will be really helpful.  I hope that with two of them, that we have things solid and tied down enough.   This is a bunch of semi-edumacated guessing . . . but I'm with you, those four tabs do not look like a safe bet to me!

Thanks Don for the ideas!

[Rex Schimmer]

Bored and Stroked,
An idea for making your vertical mounting bolt set up extra stiff and preloaded. As you have it now if you tighten the top nut you will pull up on the lifter blocks, if you tighten the middle nut you will push down on the lifter blocks and the problem, as I see it is that preloading in either direction will not preload the long bolts enough to keep them from stretching. Maybe you could remove the very bottom nut that locks the vertical stud to the lifter plate and then install a heavy wall tube over each of the studs, min. 1/4 inch wall. If you want a slight preload down on the lifter blocks you make the tube .001-.002 longer than the distance from the lifter plate to the upper block girdle plate, if you want the preload the other direction then you would make the tubes slightly shorter. Now once you have the tube the length you want, shorter or longer, you can torque the BFJ out of the vertical studs which will put them in stretch and preload them such that they will not stretch until the load exceeds the preload, which looking at your dwg will probably never happen. Just a thought.

Rex

[BoredAndStroked]

Bored and Stroked,
An idea for making your vertical mounting bolt set up extra stiff and preloaded. As you have it now if you tighten the top nut you will pull up on the lifter blocks, if you tighten the middle nut you will push down on the lifter blocks and the problem, as I see it is that preloading in either direction will not preload the long bolts enough to keep them from stretching. Maybe you could remove the very bottom nut that locks the vertical stud to the lifter plate and then install a heavy wall tube over each of the studs, min. 1/4 inch wall. If you want a slight preload down on the lifter blocks you make the tube .001-.002 longer than the distance from the lifter plate to the upper block girdle plate, if you want the preload the other direction then you would make the tubes slightly shorter. Now once you have the tube the length you want, shorter or longer, you can torque the BFJ out of the vertical studs which will put them in stretch and preload them such that they will not stretch until the load exceeds the preload, which looking at your dwg will probably never happen. Just a thought.

Rex

Hey Rex, I like that idea - pre-load up against the outer tubes to tie the whole assembly together.  Also, it is easy to rework the tube length in my lathe to precisely get it 'tuned' to length.   I like this idea of making everything a solid assembly - instead of having the rods under very light pre-load.  In the current setup, if I move/tighten either of the upper nuts too much, then I put a bunch of pressure on the lifter block studs/bosses -- either up or down . . . this removes the pressure and make the assembly more integral and died into the intake girdle plate (which is thick).

Thanks for the idea!

B&S

[38flattie]

Randy has been thrashing on the new front end. With the narrower rims, tires, and axles, the front end is 9" narrower.


Randy says it's a good thing we have the proverbial '40 acres' to turn this thing in!

[Richard 2]

38, What brand of hubs and spindles are you using. looks like you have your scrub about right.

[38flattie]

Richard, the spindles are Speedway 1937-41 spindles. The hubs are Magnum aluminum Nascar style hubs, 5X4.5

[38flattie]

Well, I'm out here Randy's, and went to get the new tires on the new rims. The rims are disappointing-the edges are far from round, and one of the welds leaked. After a trip to the welding shop, I finally got the tires mounted.

Don has been working with Rick at  Boyd Enterprises, to get the block ready. The plan was to rough in the main bores, fill the block 5" from the deck, bore and polish the mains, and do the valve job. Simple right?

Nope! . Rick went to rough in the main bores, and found out the center main was off a thousandth and a half  of being round. WTF?

Dale had wanted 5 thousandths crush on the mains, like we ran last year. After Rick and Don did some investigative work this morning, the 'crush' is the issue-when the girdle is tightened up, it's egging the half of the main integral to the block. We didn't catch this last year, but I'm happy we did this year !They will remove the crush one thousandth at a time, until the issue is resolved, then continue on with the block work.

Nice catch, Don!


Update from Don: Ok I just talked to Rick and yes as soon as he released the girdle the block straightened out with-in .0005  so the crush on mains have to be .001 to .0015 max   

[38flattie]

Don has been busy! Today he whittled the prototype roller lifter blocks, from aluminum.

Some pics of his progress.

[38flattie]

...and the finished product!

 Don, 1st class, but we've come to expect that! Your work takes this build to the next level! Thanks again!!!!!


Tomorrow Don is doing the prototype lifters!

[tauruck]

That is some serious machining. Very impressive. I'm drooling.

[Stainless1]

WOW, When you guys jump in, you don't screw around.  Nice looking work Don.  

Buddy, hope you can stop for a longer visit next time through. Thanks