Has anybody used a Van Norman portable boring bar, or similar, for DIY cylinder boring?
If this thing works on iron sleeved, aluminum block Honda engines it would open up a couple more options for the next challenge build.
http://www.cavcosales.com/BoringHoningEquipment01_CA2074_Van-Norman-905.html
I work on really old stuff.
I've only ever seen pictures of one of those being used.
Not sure of the long-term results but the "In car overhaul" seemed pretty common years ago. If it's for a challenge car, I'd say go for it.
Honestly though, for how much use a machine like that would get these days, there's at least one too many zeros in that price.
That's generally what small machine shops used to bore blocks. The link isn't working but the theory of the tool is sound.
I remember seeing one in use in the mid-00s to bore God-knows-what. That was literally all the shop had for boring blocks. The nice thing (I guess) is that it's easy to shade a bore this way or that to account for wall thickness issues.
In reply to ShawnG :
Yeah, I thought this Strong's Garage video was pretty good:
https://youtu.be/aG5x-7AjTXM?si=KhPEQypAgBa75HS1
I used one like this a few times about 20 years ago in the local junior college's machine shop (since closed). As noted above, you pretty much center it on the existing bore but you can use some fiddling (like shim stock in the bore when you center it) to move it around if you want. It worked OK but things like blue printing cylinder spacing or bore angle from side to side are not possible. I put sleeves in my blown up Buick Stage 2 block and rough bored them with one of these. Then I made friends with a local race machine shop and never used it again.. LOL
In reply to Kendall Frederick :
You square the decks first, I think, before you set up the boring bar. Assuming you have a decking setup. And imagine how fun it was to bore Chevy 348/409 engines or Ford MELs. (You used a special wedge plate on the block. No word as to what happens when you get to the interrupted cuts at the top of the block)
We got a VMC multi axis CNC block machine in 04-05ish. Waaaay faster. But also waaaay more expensive. You can get a little clamp on boring bar for a few thousand bucks, the VMC added a comma to that price, so the machine had to keep its little legs moving to pay for itself.
Yeah, I think you would have to have a flat deck before using the boring bar. For challenge purposes I'm pretty sure I'm going to do the sandpaper-on-a-plate-of-glass setup to deck the block next time.
Thanks for the input all!
In reply to CrustyRedXpress :
How well does that work?
I ask because I have a block (aluminum, with cast-in iron liners) that it looks like they decked it with flying ferrets. Not something I would really trust with a composition head gasket, let alone a MLS gasket.
That's my Volvo's backup engine and I want to get it prepped and ready to go sooner than later. Current engine is about 60k past the time they can be expected to get a leaky head gasket... because the middle of the block sinks. Thus why the other engine was decked.
I don't need to remove any significant material, just smooth out the existing surface.
In reply to Pete. (l33t FS) :
Your guess is as good as mine =)
I'd get a plate glass from one of those mid-90's living room coffee tables, put it on top of some carpet for support, and grab a bunch of different sand paper grits with the sticky back and then have at it. Mark up the surface of the block with some dye to detect any low spots, and stop sanding when it's shiny enough
Youtube video for inspiration: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HyKN52HD6RU&t=149s
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