Having bailed out of the Vintage Grand Prix au Grattan last July by
mid-Saturday with 2 lbs of oil pressure at 6500 RPM in the Works Midget, I
last night pulled the caps, bearings and crank for the look-see. Ughhhh!
Lack of adequate lubrication does ugly things to metal that likes to be
slippery. Bearings: chipped, gouged, distressed, none of the copper stuff
left; Crank journals: blue, scored, out of round; Oil pan: full of copper
chips; Cam bearings: imbedded with scratch crap that was undoubtedly
circulating in my oil and got peened into the bearings; Pistons: scored
beyond use with rings stuck into the lands devoid of that pleasant
springiness we have come to expect; Wrist pins: tight tight tight...well
baked and full of crud. It's a wonder this thing didn't seize up at the end
of the straight and throw a rod through the block! Good news is the oil
pump I put in during last year's rebuild looked great and does not appear to
be the cause of my oil problems. Bad news is the same amateur who built the
engine last year is going to do it again this year-- me. But, I'm gonna be
more careful this time and I will measure twice and buy once!
So, my first question of the winter season: What pistons do those
in-the-know recommend for streetable vintage race car with a 1275?
--John Deikis
|