[Fot] Beware: Spitfire Cranks & Parts

[Ken Knight]

Found this problem on a street motor I was building, with reground crank, for a TR-4.  A good practice for us all is to add this item to checklist for rebuilding engines.  It is easy to forget to look at the many details that can bite you in the backside.  A good shop would have stood behind the screw up, crank grinders, good ones understand this issue.

Ken

Sent from Mail for Windows

From: Terry Sopher via Fot
Sent: Thursday, September 7, 2023 5:29 PM
To: fot at autox.team.net
Subject: [Fot] Beware: Spitfire Cranks & Parts

FOT Spitfire Racers,

Beware of Crankshafts from Kurtis Johnson/Dean Johnson of MN!

Two of us FOT members bought “fully serviced” small journal crankshafts for 1296 race engine builds from Kurtis Johnson (Son of Dean Johnson, former Spitfire SCCA racer).

Both Don & I experienced crankshaft failure leading to catastrophic engine failure on very low hour engines.  Upon inspection, the crankshafts were improperly ground, leaving a sharp step right at the radius - right where they cracked!

Kurtis is liquidating Dean’s huge repository of Spitfire Race parts - Cranks, blocks, NOS camshafts and much more.  My and Don’s experience with him was generally ok, but not always good…on a few items, he substituted lesser quality/worthless used parts from what he originally pictured, but made it right after he was called out…

I contacted Kurtis after the engine tear down reveled the crankshaft failure & root cause of my engine failure and told him that he shouldn’t sell any more of those cranks and certainly should warn a perspective buyers first.  He said he would see what he had left and if he had any more would let any buyers know.  He also, unsolicited, offered to make it right for Don & me, but then retracted the offer saying “that’s racing”.

If you bought a crank from him - have the radius grind checked!   

Best, Terry, 
#64 Spitfire Racer
‘66 TR4A
‘68 Spitfire 
‘68 TR250
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