1955 CC Hurricane Restoration |
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phatsat67 ![]() Grand Poobah ![]() Joined: March-13-2006 Location: Indiana Status: Offline Points: 6149 |
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Dang Alan. Hope they knock it out of the park.
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Gary S ![]() Grand Poobah ![]() ![]() Joined: November-30-2006 Location: Illinois Status: Offline Points: 14096 |
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That is too bad Alan but in the scheme of things it sounds like the best option. Must be an omen.
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john b ![]() Grand Poobah ![]() Joined: July-06-2011 Location: lake Sweeny Status: Offline Points: 3238 |
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Your instincts have served you well in the past. Good luck with the build.
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1970 Mustang "Theseus' paradox"
If everyone else is doing it, you're too late! |
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67nautique312 ![]() Gold Member ![]() ![]() Joined: June-23-2004 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 883 |
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Good choice Alan!! hope everything goes well! I hope some day I get the chance to rebuild an old Hemi. but not under the same circumstances!! hang in there!!
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1963 Classic (handed down to my daughter)
67 Riviera 68 barracuda 1971 Ski Nautique Promo 86 Silver Nautique 1995 Ski Nautique |
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tryathlete ![]() Platinum Member ![]() ![]() Joined: April-19-2013 Location: Lake Villa, IL Status: Offline Points: 1797 |
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It's good to get the little findings like the oil pump shaft without destroying the whole thing. Getting a Mopar expert to go through the whole thing will provide peace of mind lacking when you put the mystery engine into the Hurricane the first time. You're into the home stretch of the refinement process and soon you'll be in the Honeymoon phase when all you do is start it and drive it.
In sure glad I got a ride last Summer at Quinner's. By the way--you're going to balance it at the same time right? |
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81nautique ![]() Grand Poobah ![]() ![]() Joined: September-03-2005 Location: Big Rock, Il Status: Offline Points: 5776 |
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The oil pump was a major reason why I pulled the motor from where it was. I/We spent 2 weeks trying to source a replacement pump to no avail, we ended up going with a 340 Chrysler pump modified to bolt into the Hemi. The oil pick up was in the wrong place so we would have to reinvent the wheel there, it started to look like a cluster to me. I told them to stop, I made a call to Van Ness and he said "yeah I have a NOS pump in stock that will bolt right in" He was also supplying the custom ground cam, custom pistons, and was laser cutting all the no longer available gaskets. Just made sense to stop what I was doing so we agreed on a price for him to do the work and we'll be off in a few weekends to drop the motor off. yes the rotating assembly will be balanced. |
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tryathlete ![]() Platinum Member ![]() ![]() Joined: April-19-2013 Location: Lake Villa, IL Status: Offline Points: 1797 |
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Alan, I have a friend at the former Fel Pro gasket company who
Is a product manager. He could make gaskets for you from their deep data bank or from tracings. He's a Mopar fanatic who built a 340 TA challenger he autocrossed during my racing heyday from 85-88. Let me know if you need help there. He's been working there for almost 40 years (started young, right out of high school). |
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tryathlete ![]() Platinum Member ![]() ![]() Joined: April-19-2013 Location: Lake Villa, IL Status: Offline Points: 1797 |
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By the way, hope to see you at Green Lake mini. It's my second CCF mini. I had my trailer aligned just for the tow up there. Unlike you I'm not a fan of towing my prized possession further than the boat launch 1/2 mile down the road by Quinner's.
Look forward to catching up with you there. |
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81nautique ![]() Grand Poobah ![]() ![]() Joined: September-03-2005 Location: Big Rock, Il Status: Offline Points: 5776 |
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thanks Pete, Van Ness has all the templates so he said he will just cut whatever is not available. The oil pan and the gearcase gaskets are oddballs so they need to be cut. Some of the water passage gaskets as well, I cut them by hand when I tore the motor down to detail it couple years ago not knowing he could provide all of them. We do plan to be at Green Lake unless something family comes up. |
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Gary S ![]() Grand Poobah ![]() ![]() Joined: November-30-2006 Location: Illinois Status: Offline Points: 14096 |
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Yea anyone by the name of Pete is not allowed to tow a boat south of Illinois rt176-- court order ![]() A good friend of mine had a AAR Cuda Pete underrated IMHO back in the day,everyone wanted a Nova,Camaro,Chevelle or Mustang |
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81nautique ![]() Grand Poobah ![]() ![]() Joined: September-03-2005 Location: Big Rock, Il Status: Offline Points: 5776 |
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Well I guess you guys are due a hemi update. Delay after delay sourcing parts and working with a "Specialty" engine builder made me give up on getting the boat back in the water before the end of the season last fall. In the end that was the best thing to do because if you know me even just a little bit you probably know my brain is already working on next week so to be perpetually stuck in someone else's reality and their time frame the best thing I could do was walk away and tell them to call me when it's ready. it was still a long wait but the long block arrived back home mid December.
Anyway the motor needed a lot of work. We ended up turning down the crank and then sent it out for nitriding. We had custom forged pistons made at .060 over by Arias pistons. The pistons that came out were from a 331 poly motor, that was an attempt to up the compression ratio to about 8.5:1. Problem is the bore was so tight it was a matter of time before the motor seized, There was a lot of skirt scuffing. So we opened it up correctly to accept some new pistons and we went with a 10:1 compression ratio. Next we sent the cam out to have it reground. We went with the cam specs from the 1956 275 hp version of this motor which was a drastically different cam with higher lift and slightly more overlap so we hope it will have a slight lump to the idle. Dave Van Ness then took to the heads which we thought should be in good shape since the motor work was really only done about 100 hours ago but once again we discovered the work was dismal at best. After removing the valves from the heads most of the guides just fell out. Looks like the guide bores were knurled and then new guides were pressed in but it was a hack job at best. That forced Dave to rebore all the guides and actually machine new guides to fit. Custom work that took forever and of course added to the bill but absolutely had to be done. Rocker shafts and arms were reconditioned and ground as well so everything is new. He spent extra time with the oil pump issue making sure the shafts line up even machining a new intermediate shaft bushing that was line bored in place for perfect alignment. That nasty issue should be gone forever. So here was my Christmas present ![]() Sort of looks like it's from a Ratfink T-shirt all wrapped up All I've done so far was get it home and put some primer to it. I've been working on another special project over the winter ( more on that maybe tomorrow) so the Hemi has taken a back seat but it's just a bout time to get this project back on track. Spring is in the air. ![]() |
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Luchog ![]() Grand Poobah ![]() ![]() Joined: April-17-2007 Location: Argentina Status: Offline Points: 2135 |
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What was of the crack?
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tryathlete ![]() Platinum Member ![]() ![]() Joined: April-19-2013 Location: Lake Villa, IL Status: Offline Points: 1797 |
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Alan, sounds like you've taken care of all the loose issues to make for a reliable and powerful engine. With 10:1 this little engine ought to sing a beautiful tune and with the right prop ought to make the '55 run like one of TRB's boats! I cannot wait to hear it and see how it performs on the upper register of its sweet exhaust note. It might be best to hear you leave the dock rather than be in the boat. Boats tend to get away from their sound!
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Gary S ![]() Grand Poobah ![]() ![]() Joined: November-30-2006 Location: Illinois Status: Offline Points: 14096 |
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Things happen for a reason Alan. Maybe it saved you from some more irreparable damage. At least you can sit back and not have to worry about it now,no more surprises.
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8122pbrainard ![]() Grand Poobah ![]() ![]() Joined: September-14-2006 Location: Three Lakes Wi. Status: Offline Points: 41040 |
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Alan,
That 331 should now run like it should and even better than it originaly did! One of these days I'll get that Hurrican ride that I'm looking forward to. |
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john b ![]() Grand Poobah ![]() Joined: July-06-2011 Location: lake Sweeny Status: Offline Points: 3238 |
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1970 Mustang "Theseus' paradox"
If everyone else is doing it, you're too late! |
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75 Tique ![]() Grand Poobah ![]() ![]() Joined: August-12-2004 Location: Seven Lakes, NC Status: Offline Points: 6119 |
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQFxmAdyKcg |
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“So, how was your weekend?” “Well, let me see…sun burn, stiff neck, screwed up back, assorted aches and pains….yup, my weekend was great, thanks for asking.” |
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81nautique ![]() Grand Poobah ![]() ![]() Joined: September-03-2005 Location: Big Rock, Il Status: Offline Points: 5776 |
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Here you go Larry 1955 Commuter
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81nautique ![]() Grand Poobah ![]() ![]() Joined: September-03-2005 Location: Big Rock, Il Status: Offline Points: 5776 |
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Spent the day Saturday working on assembling the motor, I could probably put a small block Ford together in a day but there is nothing fast about this one. Everything I touch on it needs to be looked up as far as torque settings, gear box backlash, assembly sequence,etc. Just a slow process and it's just such an odd beast I am being very thorough on checking everything.
Besides that the sheer size and weight of the components are difficult without another set of hands. Here's a reference for you, a velvet drive sitting next the hemi's reverse gear. ![]() ![]() the reverse gear is easily over 100lbs. I was able to get the Gear case and reverse Gear installed. Impossible to line up without the hoist. ![]() ![]() ![]() Moved to the front (or Back) of the engine to install the flywheel and ran into a problem. Found out that the flywheel bolts must be installed before the rear main cap is installed or there is no way to get the bolts into the crankshaft flange. Major brain fade by the engine builder. My options were to remove everything I had just assembled (to get the pan off all that gearbox has to come off) Didn't like that too much so after a few phone calls and some internet research I found we're not the first ones to forget this. The common fix is to drill the flywheel to accept 1/2" bolts and tap the crank flange. ![]() ![]() ![]() Ended up not being that difficult a task and will be better than stock because the factory only used 4 bolts and now we've eight 1/2" ARP bolts in place. Anyway, that's where it sits right now, basically ready for paint and final assembly. All I need is a decent day so I can roll it outside and paint. |
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tryathlete ![]() Platinum Member ![]() ![]() Joined: April-19-2013 Location: Lake Villa, IL Status: Offline Points: 1797 |
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I like the drill and tap workaround. What a PIA that whole drivetrain seems to be. Too bad you can't just drop a GT40 and velvet drive and put that beautiful Hemi in a sealed crate for posterity!
I hope it's ready for Quinner's graduation party/mini. I liked the way it ran before but now I'm really interested in seeing it go! |
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81nautique ![]() Grand Poobah ![]() ![]() Joined: September-03-2005 Location: Big Rock, Il Status: Offline Points: 5776 |
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Is Quinner finally graduating? |
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67nautique312 ![]() Gold Member ![]() ![]() Joined: June-23-2004 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 883 |
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keep up the good work Alan!!
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1963 Classic (handed down to my daughter)
67 Riviera 68 barracuda 1971 Ski Nautique Promo 86 Silver Nautique 1995 Ski Nautique |
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tryathlete ![]() Platinum Member ![]() ![]() Joined: April-19-2013 Location: Lake Villa, IL Status: Offline Points: 1797 |
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Good setup.
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Frankenotter ![]() Platinum Member ![]() ![]() Joined: August-26-2012 Location: Milwaukee Status: Offline Points: 1072 |
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Very cool Alan.
How did you drill the holes? I can't imagine punching and drilling with a hand drill. Did you get the flange off and get it on a drill press or milling machine? That looks like really nice tap work. |
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1999 Ski Nautique 196
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81nautique ![]() Grand Poobah ![]() ![]() Joined: September-03-2005 Location: Big Rock, Il Status: Offline Points: 5776 |
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Chris, the crank holes were there already for 7/16" bolts but needed to be sized and tapped to accept the 1/2-20" bolts, Did that with the crank still installed in the block. The flywheel holes were opened up for 1/2" bolts on my drill press. Actually was much easier than I thought it would be. |
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8122pbrainard ![]() Grand Poobah ![]() ![]() Joined: September-14-2006 Location: Three Lakes Wi. Status: Offline Points: 41040 |
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Chris, The hole are already in the crank flange. Alan just tapped them to 1/2" so the flywheel bolts on from the outside. |
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Riley ![]() Grand Poobah ![]() ![]() Joined: January-19-2004 Location: Portland, ME Status: Offline Points: 7952 |
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Alan, one benefit of it being such a rare engine with significant problems is that it must have had Van Ness' best working on it. She ought to run great now
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81nautique ![]() Grand Poobah ![]() ![]() Joined: September-03-2005 Location: Big Rock, Il Status: Offline Points: 5776 |
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Bruce, he has a small crew including his wife Sue that does tear down and grunt work. Sue cuts all the gaskets. Most of the machining and assembly he does himself which is a big part of the time problem. Classic mom and pop shop with good intentions and not enough time in the day. There will be a lot of knowledge lost when guys like he and Jim Harris stop doing this specialty work. |
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Riley ![]() Grand Poobah ![]() ![]() Joined: January-19-2004 Location: Portland, ME Status: Offline Points: 7952 |
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I thought Van Ness had a large shop with many employees. That's great, he did the work himself. Jim is the first one to tell someone, "don't ever tell me you don't need it in a hurry". There's definitely not enough hours in the day for these guys and there's always people coming in to their shop needing help. I can't think of anyone doing that type of work that's much under 70.
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TRBenj ![]() Grand Poobah ![]() ![]() Joined: June-29-2005 Location: NWCT Status: Offline Points: 21141 |
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Damn look at that monster transmission, ha. Looking great as always Alan.
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