Reply to Pat in WI:
Bill,
I'm not inclined to agree with "more HP is better" in this case.
Keep in mind that you have to hand crank this engine. Higher compression will not be your friend! Then I wonder too about changing the dynamics here with increased HP in a 80 year old engine. When you start increasing cylinder pressures, you add more stress to the head and rods and crankshaft...etc...and for what gain? When I rebuilt mine I went for things to increase longevity...not reduce.
If you are going to go with the Farmall H pistons...then I would go with Steve's recommendation about machining the piston height down.
Is there a reason you are not using the original pistons? Do you need original pistons?
Just my opinion...
Pat
Hi Pat,
Good to see you here......I guess I was doing some wishful thinking and reverting back to the good ole days of when more horse power and torque was the name of the game for our Saturday night adventures ...... 😊
Now back to the reality of things..........you and SteveA are absolutly right and maintaining the integrity of the engine is more important than any gains either in HP or torque. The reality of this engine has finally come to light when I got it on the engine stand and found some surprising things. The pistons are at .090 over (Unfinished pistons milled to finish and hand stamped) and the lifter holding bolts are not looking good. I checked the rings individually....nothing like having to check ring end gap with a piece of 1/4" steel flat bar ! Piston pins are shot....top ring land is worn badly.Then I moved onto the block....after spending time scraping off some kind of crusty stuff it got down to where the mating surface of the head and block was welded and looks to be ground off with a disc grinder. Using a straight edge showed more issues. There is a broken head stud and another was drilled out and a larger bolt used. A lot of pitting was filled with something.
A saving grace would have to be the crankshaft. It appears to be tight on the mains but we shall see later.
So as of this morning I am going to disassemble the other block I have and see what is wrong with it. I know the pistons are .040 over and it turns freely. It has a couple cosmetic issues though nothing serious.
I do have the transmission, finals and roller track in good shape now.
This is a setback and some regrouping.......disappointed ....yes. But most definetly a learning experience.
Thanks for all the positive input guys.
I'll post more later......Bill