FB Standard Wagon

[EK283]

I can't comment at all about other brands but I used the real McCoy !!

I tried to remove some in one area and it pulled the stone guard off with it.

It will be ok, these cars don't cop the punishment like the old days, out in rain hail or shine, maybe?? Most probably 1/10 of the the time.

Regards Greg

[FbSTDwagon]

Well hang on a minute… I thought Father’s Day was al about getting socks and jocks!!!

Best contract I have e ever had written up in my life!

Looks like I’ll do roller rockers and a supercharger

[Blacky]

Nice one - she's a keeper !!!!

[Brett027]

I'd be a bit worried about the 'clinical team leader' bit- white coats coming?.

Well done Drew.

[Errol62]

Repco crossflow head with custom headers, oh and maybe a Vauxhall crankshaft for when you are breaking through the 6000rpm wobblies.

FB ute driver, EK van project

[EK DAZ]

Lucky, Wish I got one like that.

[FbSTDwagon]

So a few weeks ago I dropped the J motor to Southcotts for a strip, dip, inspection and crack test.

The bloke rang and said it was all good, nothing cracked and good to over haul.

I asked them to measure the block height to ensure it hadn’t been machined too far.

They came back with a height of 9.125 inches.

Went and picked it all up and came home to have a squiz and I threw the vernier over it, the measurement I got was bang on 9 inches.

Called a mate at a big engineering shop to see if I could use his big micrometers and it measured 9.009 inches.

Got me fecked how a engine building shop can get a measurement wrong by 120 odd thou.

Came back home and checked the head out, sure it looked good but it had been previously machined down to the thumbprint, so the dick heads hot tanked and crack tested a head that can’t really be overhauled.

As it works out the block is only 9 thou above the compressions height so it will be touch and go if that can be decked without going under the top height of the pistons at TDC.

They charged like wounded bulls and I regret taking it to them.

Honestly this is why I just do things myself.

Kicking myself big time

[Errol62]

I went through three different heads when I got my machining done at Lonsdale engines. They didn’t charge meany more than the original quote. First head they tanked and crack tested before rejecting on valve seat recession. Gave it back to me no charge and I sold it for what I paid for it. Second head was cracked. Third head was good.


FB ute fixer upper, EK van on rotisserie

[ardiesse]

Drew,

Depends on where the engine shop measured the block height: from the sump rails, or from the crankshaft centreline (i.e. the machined registers for the main bearing caps). There'd be about 1/8" difference. Otherwise, do you have a grey cylinder block you can use as a reference for the block height? I can't remember if grey motors have a thumbprint on the block as well as the head.

I've rebuilt a couple of greys with aftermarket (Repco/ACL) pistons, and the crown height is lower than OEM pistons (about 1.5 mm, by memory). This allows you a little leeway if the block's been machined down a lot. The very early grey motors used to have the piston size stamped next to the bores, which was a useful thing: if you could still see the imprint, then the block hadn't been decked. But I think they all had a little octagonal stamp on the machined surface. You could try looking for that.

And I've used a head that had no thumbprint left. I "just" had to put washers under the head bolts so they wouldn't bottom in the holes; and spacers under the rocker pedestals to stop the pushrods fouling on the rockers at full lift.

You can use the pushrod cover as a very rough gauge: Lay the head on the block (with an old head gasket is best), and trial-fit the pushrod cover. If all the screws go in easily, and the return at the bottom of the cover doesn't hit the engine number/distributor pad, then you're largely OK.

(I have an unmolested B block at home, but lockdowns and travel restrictions . . . )

Rob

[Errol62]

I've got a couple of runners here, well I believe they are runners. No J blocks sorry. Also a period correct B engine minus the lifters which went to Harv. Bit closer to home. I can't see myself using them, wrong colour.

FB ute driver, EK van project

[FbSTDwagon]

Cheers Clay for the offer but I have a hand full of donks at home that I’ll start fossicking through for other parts.

Rob I measured the block height from the center line of the crank main journal, to achieve a direct comparison to the compression height.

Compression height measured is 1/2 stroke + rod length + piston compression height.

Block height measured is 1/2 diameter of the main bearing cap diameter + height from top of main bearing cap to block deck.

Bottom face of block is very rough milled and impossible to get an accurate measurement from and yes it would be + 80 odd thou.

I watched the bloke at southcotts measure it and did it from top of main bearing cap to block height, same way I did it.

He also wanted to be clever and do a metric conversion ‘for my convenience’…. his measurement showed a 2 thou discrepancy form end to end of block.
He wrote down that it is .1mm difference.

Anyone that can use a calculator knows 2 thou is .05mm…

Bloody mugs.

[ardiesse]

. . . you don't even need a calculator to remember that 0.1 mm = 0.004".

Rob

[FbSTDwagon]

. . . you don't even need a calculator to remember that 0.1 mm = 0.004".

Rob

Exactly… so it is a big concern when you have engine builders that don’t know that.

[FbSTDwagon]

So after picking up a 3.36 diff center from Rick and checking out his wild green machine I threw my diff housing in the acid bath then gave it an etch and a coat of GMH black.
Didn’t get a photo of the finished paint sorry

A12F757E-F258-4558-82AC-4492CDE04CD4.jpeg (103.15 KiB) Viewed 614 times

I also have been stripping grey motors to find some
good usable components, didn’t have a harmonic balance puller so I whipped one up.
If any one needs to borrow it just shout out
Worked a treat

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[Blacky]

just whipped one up eh ????????

nice work , when you have another 5 minutes spare can you whip me one up too ????