YYYYEEEESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!



Then I'm going to write you a big check because the bores are going to be rough cut this weekend to determine the final size, and I'll order the pistons, pushrods, and timing crap on MONDAY!!!!!!

Heber City, UT (15 mins outside of Park City- basically it's in the mountains)

55 Effie

I tried to mention this the other night but got knocked off. I had a good crank and just had it polished to use .001" undersize bearings. they are not all that common but they are out there if you want to have that scratch polished out.

55 Vicky & customline

58 Rack Dump, 55 F350 yard truck, 57 F100

59 & 61 P 400's, 58 F100 custom cab, 69 F100, 79 F150, 82 F600 ramp truck, 90 mustang conv 7 up, 94 Mustang, Should I continue?

Ryan, if it is any consolation we find that when using Clevite bearings we usually have very little oil clearance. You will probably want the main journals close to 2.4980". Most crank grinders will shoot for the middle of the spec which is 2.4984". You might want to measure the crank first or plastigauge it and will likely find it needs to be a little smaller.

More good news. Your bellhousing is done.

http://ford-y-block.com 

20 miles east of San Diego, 20 miles north of Mexico

The passing of time does well curing anxiety.  At the tail end of quite a bit of block work I was present for the milling of the deck .028.  It required successive small cuts taken by the huge machine.  After the 3rd or 4th pass I was looking almost straight down on a block corner, and there was a crack running from a water jacket hole into the upper, end, head bolt hole!  It wasnt there before.  Worry, indecision, a whole bunch of bad feelings are now nothing more than a story.  It all worked out great.

Mike, located in the Siskiyou mountains, Southern, OR 292 powered 1946 Ford 1/2 ton, '62 Mercury Meteor, '55 Country Squire (parting out), '64 Falcon, '54 Ford 600 tractor.

Nope, they're not the same two machinists. I've actually got 3 different machinists who've helped out throughout the project. My main machinist is Steve Flatt, who owns the Machine Shop in Lindon. He recommended the crank grinder, Casey, who also did a great job. And because neither had the right fixture, lathe, and set up required to narrow my aftermarket rods and bearings Bill Jones was recommended for the job.



What sucks, is that I didn't even ask him to check the stroke. I just mentioned that I was curious about verifying the stroke length against what Casey had said before I decked the block. I probably shouldn't have mentioned it. Completed my align hone, and bore, stuffed the crank in with the rods and pistons and measure to determine how much to deck. Oh well.



It's all part of the process of building a motor I guess! It's too bad I love it so much. I really am having a great time putting this Y together. I'm a convert.

Heber City, UT (15 mins outside of Park City- basically it's in the mountains)

55 Effie

You've got a good eye. My crank grinder was highly recommended, it's Casey's Machine shop in SLC. The radius is 1/8th inch. Because we were taking soooo much meat out of the crank I asked him to leave as big of a radius as possible. He thought that an 1/8th was about right.



The radius in the mains are the same- 1/8th inch.

Heber City, UT (15 mins outside of Park City- basically it's in the mountains)

55 Effie

What Tim said X2.

 

Sounds like sloppy work and from your description, it’s difficult to call the guy doing the checking a machinist. The guy performing the stroke check of the crankshaft is obviously not the same one that turned the journals undersized for you.  The V blocks I use for that have teflon pads for the crank to sit on while some of the other V blocks I’ve seen have brass inlays.  Regardless of the material, the key here are V block surfaces that are both clean and wide that will not hurt a machined surface when turning the crankshaft.  A little bit of oil also goes a long way in protecting freshly turned journals when doing a check of this nature.  At the very least, the guy doing the checking (just can’t call him a machinist) should have taken it upon himself to correct any issues rather than creating the problem and just passing them on to you.

 

I’ll mirror what Tim says in repeating that polishing the crankshaft to the point of removing the blemishes is likely going to leave you with an excess of bearing or oil clearance.

Lorena, Texas (South of Waco)

One other thing I noticed in your pix, who ever ground the crank did a nice job on the radius. Most shops wont take the time to dress their stones in this area so you get a square corner and a great place for a crack to start.  If the radius in your rod journals looks as good as the mains your crank should take a lot of pressure.

   God Bless.   Tim                           http://yblockguy.com/

350ci Y-Block FED "Elwood", 301ci Y-Block Unibody LSR "Jake", 312ci Y-Block '58 F-100, 338ci Y-Block powered Model A Tudor

tim@yblockguy.com  Visalia, California    Just west of the Sequoias

I am a total newb, so I just wanted someone like you, with a little bit more experience (27 years) to chime in and tell me what you think.  Thanks Tim! 

I am a little pissed off, but if it'll be ok then I'll just turn my perfectionist brain off and let it go.  Thanks for the response to my post!

Heber City, UT (15 mins outside of Park City- basically it's in the mountains)

55 Effie

OK!  Here's my opinion for what it's worth.  I've been grinding cranks for 27 years now so I have a little experience, It will be fine!   On the other hand I do think the guy was a little careless with your crank, I can check the stroke on any given crank in the grinder clamped in the chucks and only just touch the journal that I'm checking the stroke on.  I don't think those scratches are going to polish out completely but it really wont hurt anything, just make sure it doesn't drag on your bearing.  On the other hand if you get it back from him and the grooves are completely gone I would be a little suspicious that he polished the crank too much, so check the clearance with some Plastigauge to see if it is correct or if you have a Mic and know how to use it that would be better.

   God Bless.   Tim                           http://yblockguy.com/

350ci Y-Block FED "Elwood", 301ci Y-Block Unibody LSR "Jake", 312ci Y-Block '58 F-100, 338ci Y-Block powered Model A Tudor

tim@yblockguy.com  Visalia, California    Just west of the Sequoias