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914Driver
914Driver MegaDork
1/28/24 7:57 a.m.

Smooth because the crank counter weights weigh about 8 lbs. each.

914Driver
914Driver MegaDork
1/28/24 11:59 a.m.

Q & A time: 

Below are photos of my lifters.  They don't appear to be hydraulic, but they do have an oil feed supply.  There are 4 sets of these, each handling 2 cylinders.   When an engine is fired up for the first time, it's done to seat things, like the lifter to the cam.  If for some reason a lifter is placed back into the engine in a different location, is that a horrible thing?

Thanks.

 

DarkMonohue
DarkMonohue GRM+ Memberand Dork
1/28/24 12:32 p.m.

Conventional wisdom says that a lifter always stays with its cam lobe.

914Driver
914Driver MegaDork
1/28/24 4:47 p.m.

Thanx, glad I identified them just in case.

TurnerX19
TurnerX19 UberDork
1/28/24 5:42 p.m.

Moving a lifter to a different lobe always destroys both rapidly.

914Driver
914Driver MegaDork
3/26/24 8:18 a.m.

Quick, belated update:

The crack has been stitched up and the block pressure tested to 30 psi.   Passed.   Now it will be decked, honed, line bored etc.  

Ian Roussel:  "The only thing left is everything".     =~ )

914Driver
914Driver MegaDork
4/18/24 12:56 p.m.

Quick update:  Cleaned, honed, valves redone.  One cylinder didn't clean up at .030 over so it was sleeved.  It now spouts 352 cubic inches.  Assembly begun.

 

The gear to the left of the cam is worn a bit.  One identically work is $188, new one is $1,100.  It drives the distributor and oil pump.  No fear of it jumping off or skipping a tooth so I decided to let it go.

Top of the engine; intake & exhaust flow through the top surface.  Lifters were a real mutha to get in!  Instead of measuring the gap between stem and lifer, you push the lifter all the way down and the gap has to be .035 - .070

AngryCorvair (Forum Supporter)
AngryCorvair (Forum Supporter) GRM+ Memberand MegaDork
4/18/24 2:08 p.m.

In reply to 914Driver :

Thanks for the update!

AMiataCalledSteve
AMiataCalledSteve HalfDork
4/18/24 3:30 p.m.

I'm super excited to see this thing run again!

914Driver
914Driver MegaDork
4/18/24 3:58 p.m.

GRMers understand, but I think Angry more than most may understand that lying in bed at night building a car takes waaaaaayyyyyy longer in real life.  I have more invested in the engine now than in the car.

Cadillac has a tool called J36-E657890 to help install the lifters, I don't have one.  So lift the valve, jam a screwdriver etc. to hold it up, then install the lifter rack.  Now you check the gap as described above.  One lifter rack holds 4 lifters; under the horizontal bar just above the tool party there by the valves.

 

914Driver
914Driver MegaDork
6/29/24 8:34 a.m.

Thank yo for your patience, it's been too long of a process.  One that I believe is worth the wait.

So - recap:  It's a La Salle 322 engine that had a hole in it that was repaired and it failed.  Block is beyond fixing so I found a Caddy 346 (same block).  Had to punch that up .030 to get the bore clean so now it's a 352 cu.on.

Engine assembled, painted a 1941-48 Caddy  Cavern Moss Green and not the original Olive Army green.  Putting in the transmission I cracked the bell housing, so fell back on the 322 housing, it fit but I had to MacGuyver the starter fit.  I tried putting it it myself but had trouble and safety trepidation;  wait a week until Ian came up.  (school's out for his wife & friends so they're on a girls' weekend).

The engine:

 

914Driver
914Driver MegaDork
6/29/24 8:35 a.m.

914Driver
914Driver MegaDork
6/29/24 8:39 a.m.

Yeah, I really  dislike the La Salle wheel covers and had a hard time finding Baby Moons for a 16" wheel, so I bought Cadillac dog dishes, hope to swap out the center logo.  New beauty rings are in the mail.

Indy - Guy
Indy - Guy UltimaDork
6/29/24 8:45 a.m.

In reply to 914Driver :

The engine/trans combo look great.  Happy to see this moving forward  yes

Dusterbd13-michael
Dusterbd13-michael MegaDork
6/29/24 9:02 a.m.

Thats beautiful and exciting 

ShawnG
ShawnG MegaDork
6/29/24 9:26 a.m.

Glad to see it's coming together.

Those lifter blocks are very similar to the Auburn lifter assemblies.

914Driver
914Driver MegaDork
6/29/24 5:21 p.m.

Dusterbd13-michael
Dusterbd13-michael MegaDork
6/29/24 6:58 p.m.

I like the green 

Recon1342
Recon1342 UltraDork
6/29/24 8:52 p.m.

In reply to 914Driver :

Looking good!!!

914Driver
914Driver MegaDork
6/30/24 7:51 a.m.

I've seen these cars sell for $30-$40,000 and the exhaust manifold looks like a big rusty pickle.  Either these had a very easy 84 year life or someone went and re-ceramic coated them.

DrMikeCSI
DrMikeCSI Reader
6/30/24 8:02 a.m.

Beautiful engine. Does this count as a hot V?

ShawnG
ShawnG MegaDork
6/30/24 9:51 a.m.

In reply to 914Driver :

That's porcelain, and it looks to be in amazing condition. 

914Driver
914Driver MegaDork
6/30/24 11:29 a.m.

In reply to DrMikeCSI :

It's a V bored .030 over, so maybe.

ShawnG
ShawnG MegaDork
6/30/24 11:37 a.m.
DrMikeCSI said:

Beautiful engine. Does this count as a hot V?

Flathead Fords are hot V's since they run the exhaust through the water jackets.

Recon1342
Recon1342 UltraDork
6/30/24 1:51 p.m.
ShawnG said:
DrMikeCSI said:

Beautiful engine. Does this count as a hot V?

Flathead Fords are hot V's since they run the exhaust through the water jackets.

Wait, wut???

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