1940 Cab 11 C8 Wireless restoration

[Mike K]

Originally Posted by cletrac

We got a little wet weather so I started to put the old 216 back together. I'd forgotten how frigging a job it is to shim all the bearings to the proper clearances on these old babbit pounders. I set the main bearings at 2 thousanths and the rods will be 3. The last motor I did this with was a Ford Model T about 20 years ago.
This engine has very little wear on it anywhere so I'll get away with new rings and gaskets and a valve grind plus the usual tune-up stuff.
There's an outfit in Winnipeg that has 9.50x13 aircraft tires for $95 each so I might go with them. The military tires are all but impossible to find.
I managed to get the inside of the box sandblasted before I went seeding but the outside remains to be done. At least now that summer's here the natural sand won't be frozen into a big lump so I won't have to be purchasing the commercial stuff. At $13 for 80 pounds it adds up pretty fast.

David ,

When assembling your 216, carefully check the piston pin bushes for any clearance, they are known to cause problems , at least with the cast iron pistons. You'll hear knocking sounds at idle if they are worn. My C8 has this problem on one piston.
Mike