Made an embarrassing discovery today. When planning an engine rebuild a few
years ago, I took some pistons to work to clean them and loosen the piston on
the wrist pins, as they were stiff. I put them in the parts washer to let them
soak. 2 years later, they turn quite freely. Long time to forget a set of
pistons, but they don't use their parts washer very often. <G>
Anyway, the guys in maintenance are saying the wrist pins are bad, because they
are turning in the piston, rather than on the rod, like on an American car.
Don't the wrist pins lock in the rod and the piston move on an A series??
Brad
"Robert E. Shlafer" wrote:
> LOL...nah, Lester. :):)
>
> You gotta know the vehicle's limitations
> by design of 30+ years ago, and what
> it takes to make such (archaic?) designs (more?) safe, reliable and
> dependable.
>
> As you know...
> metal and other "fabrics" have a memory
> and unlike us, don't regenerate. With mechanicals, it's always a case of
> pay me
> now or pay me later.
>
> With no intent to be politically incorrect,
> as it is in our relationships with the
> "fair sex", there are various ways of
> "paying".
>
> With mechanicals....
> I prefer to "pay" in the self-control which
> comes with discipline in everyday care
> and operation by knowledge of design
> in terms of my experience with these cars,
> rather than by inconvenience and $$$$$.
>
> Our old LBC's have (by today's standards)
> archaic suspensions by design. You wanna keep up with the modern BMW,
> Toyota, Audi, etc. on rough surfaces...?
> OK....but, it's gonna cost you.
>
> And while the motors are pretty much bulletproof (as is most of the
> driveline),
> Spridget cranks still sit in 3, rather than
> 5 main bearings. So you wanna rev it
> like a modern overhead cam Toyota
> "MR"? OK, fine...but, it's gonna cost you.
>
> I'm talkin' "stock" here, not "built",
> though I've run "Vizardized" .60 "over"
> to the extent of 90HP+ at the rear wheels
> and got a reliable, dependable 80K+
> out of it before it required "serious" attention. Daily driver used for
> commuting
> on limited access (good surfaces, mostly)
> highways. Stock 4 speed with a 3.7.
> Could cruise all day at 4-4.5K
>
> So you can drive it like you stole it without
> "thrashing it" or "abusing" it by bearing in mind it's design
> limitations of
> yesteryear...and as importantly, the
> maintenance required for reasonable
> service life from such. Be "smooth" and
> may the force be with you. :)
>
> Time for a brew with the boys...c'ya.
Participate in Democracy.
"In the end, we will not so much remember the words of our enemies,
but the silence of our friends." Martin Luther King, Jr.
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