52 M38a1 Motor Pool Resto

Yes, that will be my first attempt. If need be, I'll drill it out. It usually works!

 

is that a 4 wheel gravely with a weight rack i see in the background?

i'm assuming you have some kind of front drive attachments for it?

Whatever it is, i'd love to see some more pictures.

 

So a few quick updates. I may have patched the original muffler last Saturday. I'm trying to take some pointers from some members here who have pointed out that old steel is better than todays. The repair is crude but effective.....I'm relatively sure that the accumulate hanta virus has been evicted. Even if it lasts a year, I'll be happy.

With patience comes victory. I had an hour after getting home from work and felt like extracting the last manifold nut which should have been a stud if you go by the book. Beneath 2 and 3 on the side of the block, there's some accumulated rust I need to grind off. That manifold was toast.

Also felt like blasting a few parts. Most are ECJ5 which will be primed and put on the shelf for now, but will likely be sold at some point.

Early Saturday AM, I worked on getting some real estate in the shop and put most of the A1 and CJ5 starters and generators on the shelf. There must be 400 pounds of steel I up there conservatively. The 3 generators are in the back and really heavy. Condition of the A1 units are unknown but they're off the moisture of the floor and safe for now.

 

Yes, it's a Gravely 16G and I believe it's a 1982 model. Excuse the clutter but it's been a whirlwind of activity in the barn this winter. There's been no need to use the snow thrower since it's been so mild this winter.

The snow thrower is 48" and this thing really shreds. Remarkably, the 16 horse twin Kohler keeps right up, even at 2,700 hours! I really like this machine.

 

Interesting that the eCJ5 bellhousing inspection cover is louvered where ours is sealed.

 

Big horsepower makes more heat?

 

Horsepower is the same. The A1 bellhouse is sealed for fording purposes.

 

Yes. Ain't nobody got time for a wet clutch during an amphibious invasion.

 

Insomnia lead me to the shop in the wee hours. I've put some time into assessing next steps with the engine. I've cleaned up a little bit of the deck and looking closely a the exhaust valves. This is # 1.
The other three look better but my sense is that all 4 should be done at the same time.

I'm leaning towards replacing them, which I've never done. Seems straight foreword enough but my question is around the valve seats. What am I to grind them with and what size should I be looking for? It seems silly to replace the valves without dealing with the valve seats. Wisdom is appreciated very much guys and gals.

 

If you are looking for an engine to last for a long term, I would recommend taking it to a machine shop. Sure you
may be able to get an operating engine by doing some things yourself but not to the full potential. In the long
run it is better to have it professionally done. IMHO.

 

This is what I believe to be carbon accumulation I dug up with the gasket scraper. Very, very slightly oily.

I do have these NOS exhaust valves, 'Eatonite' brand, covered in some cosmoline.

Working with standard pistons....

And the bores appear to be in terrific shape. The surfaces are not scored at all but at the same time, very polished to the touch. This is # 1;

On each piston, there is the very slightest wobble from side to side. It's nearly indiscernible.

Arthur takes a dim view of a teardown. This will cut significantly into his frisbee time.

 

A good valve job, cylinders honed and re-ring, polishing the crank and new bearings could put that back in order if everything
is within spec.

 

Yes, do all four.

A valve seat grinder. No, I'm not being a smart aleck. That's what the tool is called. Old popular versions were Sioux and Black & Decker. You also need an arbor that fits your valve guide diameter and an assortment of stones. If you were not on the other side of our world, I'd loan you one of mine.

 

Mighty nice of you, I appreciate the virtual offer!

In doing a little research, I've found this thread at the 2A page; https://www.thecj2apage.com/forums/engine-overhaul-valve-seat-cutting_topic12592.html

It seems straight foreword enough. Metalshaper also has some great videos on this very subject. If I jobbed it out, it would really slow things down and I wouldn't learn anything new. I'll probably go for it, being that I have the parts and only need the tooling. Looks like these are the guys to get it from; https://www.newaymfg.com/cutters

As always, I appreciate the thoughts and encouragement.

 

Came back into your build to see how you routed brake lines. That looks AWESOME and I'm going to use that to guide me.

One question - what are you using to bend lines? Simple bender or something more elaborate? I've seen both ends of the tool spectrum - and some videos of no tools - and would be curious to what you like. I'm planning now on that newer copper/nickle type line which I read is pretty easy to work with.

Thanks

 

One of these from Harbor Fright would work well enough for nicop. The trouble with that tubing is getting it straightened
after being in a roll. I have seen several ways of straightening it, like drawing it through grooves it two 2x4 blocks. The
bender will give it a nice finished look though it is easy to hand bend and much easier to flare than steel.

 

It's a delight to work with. You may not even need a bending tool.

But beware of counterfeit ni-copp tubing. I bought a roll on-line that was just cheap copper coating.

 

Wow, you must not have visited this build thread for a while. Thanks for the feedback. Feels like ages ago that the brakes have been complete. Here are all of my brake tools. They are very basic. You probably don't need the brake lining riveting tool at the bottom unless your insane like me. My main bender is directly to the left of the flaring tool. There's also a cheap Harbor Freight bending tool at the bottom which I bought a couple of months ago.

I needed that to bend one of the lines coming out of the banjo fitting for the master, to clear the heat shield (pic below). It was a tight radius. I used nicop for this particular line.

If you do use nicop, keep it simple with your bending tool. You may be able to bend most of it by hand with nicop like Petel says. I buy straight tubing because of the challenge vtxtasy mentions above. I also buy the longest sections the parts store has on the shelf. Just cut to length and make sure buy enough ends for your project....and make sure you put you ends (and loom) before flaring. Keep it um Mike....!

 

I always like when I make a perfect flare and the fitting is still on the bench.
Just like soldering the connection and the heat shrink isn't on the wire.
Done that a few times.

Dave

 

Great stuff. I’ve done more looking than talking, and taking it all in. Soon will be putting more of it in action. I think you also have a whole lot more going on faster than me so it probably feels like forever ago.

thanks