1943 Ford GPW Build from Rescued 1943 Parts

[70th Division]

Hello,

I was able to place an order with Bensinger for a new parking brake band !!
(Ron was out of stock)
So that should be on the way, I just can't find the one I have.

So while I wait for that key part, I will start building the engine !!

I got the block out of my Blazer and onto the engine stand.

It was the same height as the tail gate so I mounted the detachable arm onto the block, the just backed up to the stand and slid the block and unit right onto the stand. Note the machined hardened valve seats.

I did test fit the valves into the new guides and all went perfect.
If you look close we can see the new time certs that the machine shop installed.
I next completely cleaned the engine block top and inside of all the oil and machine shop grease debris with brake parts cleaner to get it ready to assemble. Then I sprayed it all down with WD to keep any flash rust issues from developing.

Next I started working the cosmoline off the surplus used, but government packed, like new F marked camshaft that will replace the damaged one I removed from the engine.

I will next use Lucas assembly lube and install tappets and then the camshaft, valves and springs.

Ok an issue has been discovered.
After cleaning and starting the initial assembly putting the tappet valves in their holes, number 2 doesn't slide all the way in, and gets stuck.

That is not good, and I tried the tappet
in other holes and it slides right down nice and slow with tge assembly lube on it, other tappets also get hung up in the number 2 hole.

So my question is, assuming there is rust or crud built up in there, could a small, say 5/8 ball hone clean it up so the tappet will fit in, or should I take it back to the machine shop and have them do it professionally.
I didn't think to have them check these when I had other work done, but I should have.
I am thinking if I take it there, it can be properly honed.

Have others run into this issue.

I do remember when disassembling the engine, this tappet was very tight.

I can't believe I didn't get these checked out while it was there before !

Just spoke with the machine shop, and will be going on another road trip to Jax tomorrow.
I will also have them replace the front cam shaft bearing since I have a new US made one from Ron, and they can remove and install it easier than I can.
They will do all the work while I am in the area, and will call me when done, so may take another trip to the coast while there.
Excellent service from Precision Crank !!


UPDATE :

I made the road trip to Jax this morning, and the machine shop did the honing of the tappet holes, and also removed the old, and installed my new front cam bearing.
Went to lunch, and it was completed !

Total cost from the machine shop $ 0 !!

As I said this is a great machine shop, and very nice place.
I highly recommend them for your jeep engine of Dodge WC engine work.
Other G members told me about this place.

They even have a great machine shop cat .

Now the block is ready to build, and I will start again early in the morning.
I expect it to all going very smoothly !


Best Regards,
Ray

[70th Division]

Hello,

Progress is being made and the engine is moving forward !!

The F marked cam shaft, new valves, NOS valve springs, original F marked tappets, locks, etc. have been installed !
All went like clock work.
I have new manifold studs from Ron and will get them installed as well.

The cam in position, I used 2 bolts for it, to turn it with a driver to move the tappets up and down.
I also installed the 2 new large oil galley end plugs, and used a touch of permatex on them, as well as the 2 interior small plugs.
All where well tightened down.

Here I added 1 new pin for the rear main bearing which was missing when I disassembled the engine.

Next I will get the bearings in, and work on setting the crank into position !


Best Regards,
Ray

[Adam]

Whats the name of the machine shop, I cant find it. In and out, quick service

Adam

[70th Division]

Whats the name of the machine shop, I cant find it. In and out, quick service

Adam

Hello Adam,

It is called Precision Crankshaft Service,
In Jacksonville, Florida.
Just off I-10 at the edge of downtown.
Stockton Street exit.

466 Lime Street
Jacksonville, FL 32204
(904) 354-1359

https://www.jaxengines.com/


Best Regards,
Ray

[70th Division]

Hello,

Happy Thanksgiving 2023 to all the G503 ~!~

Ray

[JAB]

Thank you Ray! We have a lot to be thankful for too!

[70th Division]

Thank you Ray! We have a lot to be thankful for too!

Absolutely Jeff !!
We should always be thankful for everything and always give thanks to God !!


Best Regards,
Ray

[70th Division]

Hello,

Today it got pretty cold here in Florida, down to 57 F !!
Yikes !!!

Plus rain all day, but I got a window where it just overcast and no rain, so I got back on the engine build.

I got the NOS .010 Federal Mogul main bearings placed in the block properly.

Then I cleaned up all the bearings caps, and got the bearings snapped into position on them.

But I wanted to post these pics of the absolute danger using too much RTV on your engine rebuild can lead to when too much is used !
Also note the grit that caused bearing wear in this dirty engine.

Take a look at this long blob getting sucked into the oil pipe.

As earlier in the post, tons of rtv was found throughout the engine, in the oil galleries, and even in the feed hole to the main bearings.

Everything has been cleaned and all the crap has been removed from the block !!
The gallery was cleaned from both ends and all the feed holes everywhere.

Here are the bearings and caps set into position.
Also note the Ford made 34809-S8 lock washers on the cap bolts !
The -S8 stands for a "mechanical zinc" finish.
(I did just find a vendor that has these available, listed as made in the USA as well.)
https://www.amkproducts.com/bulk-fasten ... t_ID=13062
I will get some more to restock, as they are fairly hard to locate, and were long ago discontinued being made by Ford.
They have quite a big selection of lock washers on their website, and list them all as US origin.


[ UPDATE ~~~~~ After cleaning and looking close at the crank today, I will yet again make a trip to the machine shop to have them take a look at the crank.
It may need polishing, as I can see some slight use wear, so to be sure will have the professionals take a look !
I don't want to put this together and find that there may be an issue since it was last turned to .010 undersized. ~~~~]

The next step depending on what the machine shop determines on the crank, and if it is ok, needs polishing, or additional turning, is that I want to place the crank into position then slowly and evenly tighten the caps down in sequences of increasing torque, until it gets to I am thinking 70 pounds, to properly set the bearings into the caps and block.

This will naturally be after I get the crank back, and if it is turned, then I will get .020 bearings if need be to properly proceed.
I am thinking a polishing may work, but will defer to what they decide.
Plus, since I am going back to Jax, I will take the rods with me to have them check them, weigh, and inspect the rods, to be certain they are all good to go and balanced.
Might as well not leave these remaining items unchecked !


I also ordered a set of brand new pistons, so everything will be fresh and new in the engine !!


Once that is done, I will remove the caps, and then use plastigauge under the caps, and torque it down the same way again, to check the tolerances between the bearings and crank.

Once that is done, and all checks out, it will be time to install the rope seal on the end cap, and get it properly fitted.


So for now, the e brake/parking brake band is scheduled to arrive today, so I can pivot back to finishing the transfer case number 1.
Also a box from Ron has arrived with more parts.
Should be able to build transfer case number 2 as well with enough parts here.

Still getting over the nasty bug I have had since November 10 !!
Z pack really helped out, but still the cough is there, but the voice is coming back.
I am thinking it was RSV as it had all the symptoms.



Best Regards,
Ray

[70th Division]

Hello,

Engine on hold until crank gets polished, so I am putting the parking brake unit onto the transfer case.

Using Jeff's F parking brake assembly that he assembled before he sent it, thanks Jeff , I am assembling it carefully with the new brake band and drum.

Just test fitting the new, very nice band onto the drum, I noticed that there are some bends in it, leaving a gap around the drum.
Thinking this is not proper, I see where the pads were riveted on, there was a little bending along some riveted areas.

So what I did to correct this issue, I used a small ball pein hammer and worked out 2 slight bends that caused it to be off kilter.
Leaving the band on the drum is key to easily smoothing out the bent areas.
It provides a perfect backing plate to carefully hammer against !

This worked out great , as seen above, it has fixed the issue.
Now the band fits tight all the way around the drum.

I didn't know that this was also the method described in the manual for setting the band after reriveting a new pad on the band.

Next I will get this installed into the transfer case, being sure to seal the splines during installation.


Best Regards,
Ray

[Adam]

Thanks for the shop info, I will call them,,and possible drop off a gpw engine on the way by to get the block totally machined and all the processes before a cutter touches it.

Adam

[70th Division]

Thanks for the shop info, I will call them,,and possible drop off a gpw engine on the way by to get the block totally machined and all the processes before a cutter touches it.

Adam

That sounds great Adam,
I am sure you will be pleased with their skill and services !
If you are coming down I-95 they are right there, very close, on I-10.

Good luck !

I will be taking all my Jeep and Dodge engines there for machining.
It seems a lost art in these parts where I am located.


Best Regards,
Ray

[rjbeamer]

Ray: At a minimum you should have them resize the big end of the rods. This is very important to have done, and not very expensive. One would be surprised to know how much the big end deforms and is out of tolerance. On the GPW rods they will grind a few thousands off of the rod cap mating surface, torque the cap back onto the rod and power hone the journal hole back to stock size.
If all of the rods are GPW and came from the same engine I would not waste my time on just balancing the rods only. But that is just my opinion. (on the Balancing)
Roger

[70th Division]

Ray: At a minimum you should have them resize the big end of the rods. This is very important to have done, and not very expensive. One would be surprised to know how much the big end deforms and is out of tolerance. On the GPW rods they will grind a few thousands off of the rod cap mating surface, torque the cap back onto the rod and power hone the journal hole back to stock size.
If all of the rods are GPW and came from the same engine I would not waste my time on just balancing the rods only. But that is just my opinion. (on the Balancing)
Roger

Thanks Roger !
Excellent idea !
All the rods are GPW and from this engine.
I will let them decide what to do, if anything, once I get it back up there for them to look at.
I will mention this to them, and get everything checked out.
New non Chinese pistons are on the way, so everything will be fresh on the engine build.

Best Regards,
Ray

[70th Division]

Hello,

The parking brake drum has been installed !

Before I installed it, I added some Permatex Right Stuff sealant to the splines and some inside the companion flange to seal any potential oil leaks.
I then added some assembly goo to the oil seal area on the companion flange so it would slide into the oil seal smoothly and not dry.
I next put in a real pretty felt seal into the dust shield that goes on the back of the flange.
But, this felt I am sure has caused many G members issues with there installation !!!

When I put the drum on, and got it all set, it did not actually set in far enough to be centered up inside the brake band.
That is ridiculous !

The particular felt seal is way thicker than it should be, and is also of the type of felt that doesn't compress very much at all.
Take a look at the picture.
I happened to have 2 different sets of felt dust seals, and the one on the right is the correct, and pliable felt, the white one on the left is way to thick, and not pliable to compress when setting the drum into position.

I have seen this issue reported by a couple G members, and even on a recent you tube video.

I took the drum off, and swapped the felt for the black, and correct one, and reattached the brake drum.

The picture above speaks for itself !
Tightened down and centered on the brake band evenly.

I also added sealant to the end of the splines and under the washer before putting the castle nut onto the shaft.

There has been a lot of talk and also bad info on the G about the torque setting for this nut.

Yves posted a spec from a later TM that states 65 to 80 FT pounds for that nut, which sounds about right.
viewtopic.php?f=4&t=336502&p=1956162&hi ... g#p1956162
Scroll down to locate Yves post about the torque setting.
I have it tight and just perfectly lined up on the cotter pin hole.

All looks good, now I will do some adjustments on the brake band to get it set up properly, and also bend all the cotter pins for the brake linkages now this is set.

Almost ready to mate this to the T84 transmission !!


Best Regards,
Ray

[70th Division]

But of course, as seems usual these days, with reproduction parts that are allegedly made with utmost care to detail I have discovered that this JMP brake band brake pad is longer than originals, and actually is impacting with the rear output bearing cap casting when tightening down on the drum.
What in the wide world of jeep parts is going on with these parts makers ???

The bottom section, note the extra brake pad length sticking past the metal band. This doesn't impact the casting.

Here is the upper side of the band, see the extra quarter inch of brake pad, and how it impacts onto the casting.
When the brake lever is pulled, that pad contacts directly on that casting before the band tightens around the drum.

I wonder if it will self trim through use, as we can see it is starting to crumble, and this is just with a few hand pulls of the linkages.

Here is a brake band that Jeff set with his surplus parking brake assembly.
It was saturated with oil, so I had to use a new JMP one.
Notice that the pad ends flush with the metal band.

Again, pad is flush with the metal band.
This pad would not impact against the casting, since it is not made too long !!
I do not understand that if this is the way they are supposed to be made, that a company that is making nice new ones,
doesn't make it correctly ??
The pad is too long, and when the parking brake lever is pulled , the pad contacts the casting and will crumble the corner.

Anyone have any input on this ?


Ok, I have the band adjusted as best I can figure out .

The drum turns by hand, and when the lever is pulled down, it locks tight.

I used a .010 feeler gauge and worked it around the drum with the brake at rest.

Most areas I get very slight resistance, a couple areas areas it is looser, and 1 area about an inch above the anchor bolt point, it is tighter, but as the drum turns, that area becomes a better fit with the feeler, like a .008 reading.
The band is certainly not a perfect circle at all, the drum may also be off a few thousandths on its circumference.
At the anchor bolt point it is .008 with a feeler gauge.

But it seems close enough to work as an effective parking brake.

I assume any variances will wear in while the jeep is running, and through use of the brake when in service ?

Best Regards,
Ray