Milwaukee Midget

[Stan Back]

YIKES!!!   So many ways to go wrong!

[manta22]

"The result - nothing goes clunk when you turn it." This is good! 

The last time my engine went "clunk" it turned out it was a couple of teeth missing on my flywheel.

[Milwaukee Midget]

Stan -

DOHC, belt drive cams, canted valves and British - that's about as unforgiving as it gets.

When Fordboy set up the shims on the valvetrain, I was dumbfounded as to the tedium necessary to set the clearances. That tedium I experienced first-hand - to a lesser degree, but with a lot more insecurity - when I needed to pull the cams to check the valve seals last February.

Every time I take a wrench to this thing, I appreciate crate motors more and more . . .

"The result - nothing goes clunk when you turn it." This is good! 

The last time my engine went "clunk" it turned out it was a couple of teeth missing on my flywheel.

I get it, Neil.

The fixes themselves are often easy, but the headache is the work involved getting it to the point that you can access the easy fix.

If I can paraphrase Woody, "It's the 10-minute jobs that take all day"

[fordboy628]

"The result - nothing goes clunk when you turn it." This is good! 

The last time my engine went "clunk" it turned out it was a couple of teeth missing on my flywheel.

I get it, Neil.

The fixes themselves are often easy, but the headache is the work involved getting it to the point that you can access the easy fix.

If I can paraphrase Woody, "It's the 10-minute jobs that take all day"

YES

[WOODY@DDLLC]

 

[fordboy628]

YIKES!!!   So many ways to go wrong!

midget,

If there is any question AT ALL of proper camshaft timing, PUT A DEGREE WHEEL ON IT AND CHECK TO BE CERTAIN.
NO HYSTERICS, NO HARANGUE, JUST DO WHAT YOU NEED TO BE CERTAIN.

At a minimum, double check TDC using a dial indicator with an extension.  If TDC checks out, cams should be OK, if you used the thicker gasket.

The proper tools are in my toolbox @ T&T.   Loan out to you for the asking.

And before you reply about "complexity" or "time available" or ?  or ?,  CONSIDER the "replacement cost" . . . . . .

Jus' sayin' . . . . that:  "A dead horse won't run."

    
 
Now back to my bottle of 3Floyds Robert the Bruce

[fordboy628]

No kidding.  One of my final projects is the Healey 3000 road race "engine from hell".

Damn project keeps expanding as more parts are found to be inadequate for the design spec bhp & rpm range . . . . . .

"Why won't it be OK?"

  

             

[manta22]

"Jus' sayin' . . . . that:  "A dead horse won't run."

The SOB won't even walk!

[Milwaukee Midget]

midget,

If there is any question AT ALL of proper camshaft timing, PUT A DEGREE WHEEL ON IT AND CHECK TO BE CERTAIN.
NO HYSTERICS, NO HARANGUE, JUST DO WHAT YOU NEED TO BE CERTAIN.

At a minimum, double check TDC using a dial indicator with an extension.  If TDC checks out, cams should be OK, if you used the thicker gasket.

The proper tools are in my toolbox @ T&T.   Loan out to you for the asking.

And before you reply about "complexity" or "time available" or ?  or ?,  CONSIDER the "replacement cost" . . . . . .

Jus' sayin' . . . . that:  "A dead horse won't run."

    
 
Now back to my bottle of 3Floyds Robert the Bruce

This is precisely why 10 minute jobs take all day . . .

One of my best friends - a man who has expertise in engine building I will never achieve, posts up IN CAPS WITH OVERSIZED TYPE IN ALARMING COLORS and says:


And before you reply about "complexity" or "time available" or ?  or ?,  CONSIDER the "replacement cost" . . . . . .

Jus' sayin' . . . . that:  "A dead horse won't run."


And then punctuates the statement with this:


    



Oh, good lord . . .

Well, if at some point I had thought I had done it right, I certainly have enough doubt NOW to reconsider my confidence . . .

SO . . .

2022-08-18_11-00-56 by Chris Conrad, on Flickr

30 degrees ATDC -



2022-08-18_10-59-42 by Chris Conrad, on Flickr



Turning through 300 degrees rotation back to zero on the dial indicator gets me . . .

2022-08-18_10-59-19 by Chris Conrad, on Flickr

A grand coincidence - the transmission pilot tool is a friction fit into the center of the timing wheel. That saved me 10 minutes looking for refrigerator magnets . . .

As to the cam timing . . .

2022-08-18_12-28-25 by Chris Conrad, on Flickr

BULLSEYE!

And as long as I've gone down the rabbit hole, I might as well access my new-found welding skills . . .

2022-08-18_11-06-46 by Chris Conrad, on Flickr


So now I can actually put a timing light on it, knowing that the trailing edge of the 7th tooth is TDC.

Trust me, I'm not bitching - I've made enough errors on this build and ducked catastrophe often enough that double checking - and re-checking - has become second nature and expected.  And I'm grateful to have Mark's eyes looking over the Cheddar Curtain to help keep this project moving forward.

Thanks, Fordboy!

[WOODY@DDLLC]

'Mark' that tooth MM: https://www.amazon.com/TOMICCA-Luminous-Fluorescent-Shellac-Halloween/dp/B08DNSNC28/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?keywords=glow+in+the+dark+nail+polish&qid=1660845283&sr=8-1-spons&psc=1

[fordboy628]

midget,

NICE JOB!   It would appear that you were awake in class.       (All appears good from down here below the cheddar curtain.)

"I see you have constructed a new lightsaber... your skills are now complete.
 Indeed you are Powerful, as the Emperor has forseen."

See, I can use text modifiers for "good" too.

    

Darthbeerboy


Gee, I wonder where the super trick timing pointer setup came from?   Hmmmm . . . . .

[Milwaukee Midget]

Gee, I wonder where the super trick timing pointer setup came from?   Hmmmm . . . . .

The scrap pile, actually!

Stan Back PM'd me suggesting I needed wheel chocks on the trailer. He's right, and I found a pair (I actually have 4) that I had gotten from that cheaper-than-cheap freight forwarding "hardware" supplier that smells like the cargo hold of a ship.

2022-08-18_03-46-53 by Chris Conrad, on Flickr

Stock, they were too tall to clear the bumper, but with a trim and a plate weld, I was able to make a pair that will bolt to the trailer.

The scrap?

2022-08-18_03-47-49 by Chris Conrad, on Flickr
 
Well . . .

The pointy part was already done. Bending it and tacking in a few little gussets will keep it from getting knocked out of place. It's bolted tight up against the water pump casting so the base won't twist, and should make life a little easier for anyone tuning it.

[Milwaukee Midget]

Oh, you mean THIS one . . .

2022-08-18_10-59-19 by Chris Conrad, on Flickr

Didn't Mike Hart make that?

 

[fordboy628]

Oh, you mean THIS one . . .

2022-08-18_10-59-19 by Chris Conrad, on Flickr

Didn't Mike Hart make that?

 

Uhhmm, NO.   It was that other Illini machinist.

The one with the matching, universal set.   In both English & Metric threads.   Another 10 minute job!

10 minutes here, 10 minutes there, pretty soon you're a member of AARP like Woody!

 

[Stainless1]

Hey I'm just surprised Woody knew so much about nail polish  I only have white in my tool box...
Looking good Chris... I see racing in your future.... mine too I hope