Grandpas new ride
 

So grandpa bought himself a 31 Model A roadster for Christmas this year. I partially made this thread to show you guys since i think its badass, but we also need help now fixing it. After a week of ownership Something has already gone wrong with it and Sounds like a rod looking to exit stage left.. but since none of us are familiar with stuff this old maybe its something we are overlooking. Grandpa isnt too concerned about it since he likes to tinker but me and my dad want to atleast have a game plan for something we have no clue about how to work on.

Below are some pics and videos of the thing.



the noise do change when the timing is adjusted and does it noticly quiter when driving at certain rpms

https://s29.postimg.org/uoyti7n87/20161227_124641.jpgadult image
https://s23.postimg.org/u38mxazcr/20...124251_HDR.jpgforum image hosting

Wanna make sure you're not overlooking something stupid? Drain the oil and you'll know right away if it's the bottom end.

that is going to be our next step.

we are just unfamiliar with engines this old, i guess a better way to phrase it, what are the common failures in these

Go on the HAMB. Lots of old timers that might be able to help.

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/f...ssage-board.5/

That looks sweet! My buddy is redoing a 29 chevy, it has me interested :lol:

Best bet is a long screwdriver to probe around (Ear on handle) but I think draining the oil is the best bet. Get your flashlight ready for sparkles. I think that water pump needs to be greased every so often too.

There are no bearings, so have fun! :lol:

This site looks promising for info:

http://www.fordbarn.com/forum/showthread.php?t=90721

no bearings as in they never came with any? orrr they have all disintegrated?

either of those options sound plausible

It has babbit bearings, so you cannot just remove em and replace like current clevite etc. Molten metal poured em, cast, run in, and voila, bearing.

Old stuff :rofl:

Some have been machined to accept traditional bearings. OE was babbit. Water pump rope packing goes out and is a standard replacement item. There are pumps avail with bearings and seals today. If it hasn't been, convert to electronic ignition. Bangers are fairly robust engines but do need periodic maintenance.

An Ardun head with McCulloch supercharger would be a cool upgrade.

That ride is sweet. Hope you get it figured out ASAP.

thanks!

a little update, oil has been drained and was clean, so still more troubleshooting is needed.

Do you have the timing lever advanced too far? The one I drove had a timing lever on the steering column.

it doesn't matter where the timing is set, it still knocks, advancing the timing only makes it worse.

Maybe the distributor is too far advanced then? Did you try to check the timing with a light? Not sure if that will work on that or not

so to give an update..

grandpa went out and bought another engine that was supposed to be rebuilt (not the most economical thing or the way I would have done it). we rolled the dice and took the guys word and installed it last weekend. holy smokes was that other engine hurting, this thing sounds a whole lot better and runs better than the other one ever did. so looks like the car is ready to go, gonna put the old one on the stand and figure out what the damage is inside.

it was interesting working on something that old. it took about 8hrs the first go around, swapping clutches timing distributor and other nick nacks, since we know how it comes apart now I would say it would take half that time now start to finish. but it was fun working with my dad and grandpa at the same time on a car.

That is definitely a cool experience. Glad its running better.

Hey, there is a club down my way that I was going to join. They have a bunch of early pre-war cars. I bet someone there has contacts that will help. you want me to inquire?

everything seems to be good for now, do you know the name? ill write it down the for the future. thanks for the heads up

It's mid jersey AACA http://www.midjerseyregionaaca.org/ based out of Crosswicks. A bit south of you. :)

Iirc they have a facebook page too

Nice ride