I GET CRANKY

I experienced a setback with the engine in Gary's '51 Chevy coupe. While driving it to town I noticed that it had low oil pressure and limited power. By the time I arrived at the muffler shop to have the exhaust system installed, it had a definite knock to the engine. I left it and came back with my tow dolly to haul it home. The car languished in my driveway over the winter and this past weekend I moved it back into the shop to remove the engine. 

I felt like a coroner taking the oil pan off looking for a sign of failure. I expected the worst, but was surprised to see everything looking pristine. 

I first took off a rod cap and placed a piece of plastigage on the journal. Then I torqued the cap back down. Removing it again I could then measure the thickness of the squished plastigage. It was perfect. I was baffled. It wasn't surprising to see the perfect clearance, I'd gotten used to trusting the work from my friend Bryan at K&U machine shop in Sunnyside. 

I took all the pistons & rods out and inspected everything. Everything was in perfect order. It was interesting to see the amount of wear on the bearings & piston skirts. 

Then, I put plastigage under one of the main bearing caps. When I pulled the Capp back off I was shocked to see that it hadn't compressed at all. I measured the diameter of the crankshaft and then looked at the markings on the back of the main bearings - then it was obvious: I'd installed standard size bearings when the crankshaft measured machined to ten thousandths undersized! No wonder the low oil pressure and the knocking. 

STAY TUNED

Yes, dear reader. After an extended hiatus Dougs Drugs will be once again actively reporting. In the next few days I'll be showing and telling once again. 

ALTERNATING TASKS

I just checked my most recent submission and realized I didn't even have one new post during the month of March. Although I was busy with the wiring on Gary's 51 Chevy Coupe and the rust areas on Grace the '68 Camaro, I didn't have any under-dash pictures to make a story worthwhile. 

While working on the Camaro however, I discovered that the threads in the alternator housing had stripped, and instead of a 5/16 inch adjusting bolt at the top holding it in place, there was an extra long bolt going all the way through the stripped threads to a nut on the other end. This is an important fastening point because it secures the tension on the alternator v-belt. 

To remedy it I replaced the damaged housing with a chrome unit. It's now very secure and looks more at home under the hood with the polished aluminum Edelbrock valve covers and air cleaner.

I was working with the overhead door open recently and noticed this cool view of the rigs I've been working on lately. Grace is the Camaro that's now nearly ready for paint, the '54 pickup belongs to my lovely wife (nowhere near ready for paint) and the black rear fender belongs to Gary's '51 Chevy that's getting body work these days.