Yeah! Crank's Here!

[aeronca65t]

The brown truck just brought the crankshaft for my 1500.

Since I killed a rod bearing at BeaveRun, my racer is in a zillion bits.
Just sitting around waiting...waiting...waiting...I bet some of you can identify.

I've had the previous crank turned down twice, so it was already at the minimum size....no material left to grind unfortunately. The journals on the new one are only turned down to -0.010" so there still pleanty of "meat" if it needs work in the future.

The 1500 engine has very little clearance to the head, so when the bearing let go, my flat-top piston tapped the head and cracked.
When it rains, it pours. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cryin.gif A new piston came yesterday.

Anyway, the crank came from Storm Crank in Mt. Vernon , New York. I've always been happy with their service and quality. If you need a crankshaft for a moped, a D9 bulldozer, or anything else (including most British stuff) this is the place to go. I have no economic interest in them...just pleased with their work. They don't have a website, but their number is 914-668-1574.
I got this at vendor price with new rod and main bearings. $390 USD including delivery. Would have been $100 less if I had a returable core crankshaft. Not sure what "regular" price is.

I'm going on vacation for a week (Ocean City, Maryland) so I won't be back to put this thing together until next week at soonest (and that will be a busy week at work too). Looks like I won't have it ready for the races in Shannonville, Ontario but I'll make the follow-up event...oh well, can't win 'em all!

 

[dklawson]

Congrats on the parts arrival and have a good vacation.

I have a general question about undersized journals. When (if ever) would it become economically viable to have them built back up by flame spray?

 

[77_MG_Midget]

maybe a dumb question, but why can't a machine shop weld up and regrind a crank to specs? they can do it with cams.... /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif

 

[aeronca65t]

To answer both of you, the flame spray / welding process is an option for engines that are pretty rare. Storm Cranks will actually do this if you have a rare crank (say a Duesenberg or something).
The problem is that it is pretty costly if it's done properly...cost would be much more than a reground crank for a fairly common car like a Midget.
Also, it may not be as good for heavy duty use (such as racing). My Dad used to have flame-spray crank repair done on heavy equiptment and he said it never held up as well as a regular regrind.
I'd be particulalrly cautious about building up a camshaft with weld, since cams experience much more friction than any other internal part....the heat treating for this would have to be very fussy. I'd rather have a new or reground cam.

 

[dklawson]

Thanks. I figured the process would be limited to fairly expensive and/or rare cranks.