Craig - I'd like to ask what your procedure is for checking clearance on the main bearings. I'm about to do the same and am trying to figure out how to do it without smearing the plastigauge while I'm torquing up the case.

BTW, your rockers are on the way.

ain't that the point of the plasitgauge?

Paul...I had forgotten the Sunnen...thanks.
Also...might it be possible to mill the intermediate shaft surfaces?
I was just looking at a spare case I have....and it's not that deep into the case when the case is stood up on the flywheel end.
Might be worth a try with a long reach tool.
Bob

The area that was .001 off was at the breather flange, with only the mains bolted up I could just get a feeler gauge in there. I used 4 reference points on the mating surfaces where they were checked with a mic to indicate that only .004 was removed. (Dave) The plasitgauge stays in place pretty good, you can use a dab of oil to help hold it and you do not want to turn anything (crank) and gently bolt the halves together, this will squish the gauge and give you a reading of the bearing clearance once the case is separated. The case project is on hold awaiting money for rods, bearings, chains etc.

Can you carefully turn the case from horizontal to upright to torque down the through-bolts, Craig?

Donnie - with plastigauge, it is often tricky keeping the parts you are measuring from turning, which smears the wax and causes an inaccurate reading. Rods for example, are very difficult to keep perfectly still while you torque down the rod bolts. At least for rookies like me it can be pretty time consuming. I'm going to be doing all the clearancing work before the actual build clinic on the 15th.

Dave, got it; was unsure of the smear part.

Thanks Craig

Yes, once you get it snug you can turn it upright to torque it. It would be very hard to turn the crank with the gauge in place on all the bearings.

A little update: I wanted to make a test bar for the finished case rather than checking it with a new set of bearings, This is what I came up with: Turned and ground a bar to 62mm 20" long to fit the case, this will also be useful for the jig when installing the additional alignment sleeves on each main bearing web:

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c3...1/100_7886.jpg
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c3...1/100_7891.jpg

Great job!! Im enjoying the read. Did you ever say what you used to clean the case so well?

Senor Craig.. this post reminded me of the pm I sent a few days ago..

check yer mail...

That's outstanding! :D

What's that checking bar weigh?

You made me dig thru the basement to find that thing! 508x62mm 26lbs

Craig,

That huge checking bar presents a great opportunity to gather a piece of data that we don't have.

What is the distance between the spigot height and the bar? You could measure with a depth mic. Or with a simple caliper cross a straightedge placed across the spigot.

The 356 guys have this spec, I know we use it when cases are resurfaced, but I've never seen it in print. This will help establish the distance between crank centerline (half the diameter of the bar) and the spigot height, which together with cylinder height will help us understand the geometry for deck height. Not that we can't set it now, I just have never seen the spigot height number published.

I realize you may have to dig out the bar again. . . counts as excercise. . . :)

Only 26 lbs? I thought it would be heavier. The crank is heavier than that.

Looks great Craig. I'm doing all this now. Very entertaining! I'm concerned about the distributor drive.. one can potentially remove all the play in the distributor drive/ crank gear. Did you experience any problems?

Hey Denniger, don't expect too quick a reply on ypur post. In case you didn't notice, the thread was started way back in 2007 and the last post was over 7-1/2 years ago. Still very interesting, though...

I jnow, I've been waiting all thiese years to find out what he uses to get his cases so clean
Tony