Engine builder recommendation

[Tony Smith]

I had recently purchased some engine parts in Canada that required some machining and fitting. I was referred to a business in Ontario, and had the work done by the extremely skilled and competent Theo at Around The Block Engine Machining in Beamsville, Ont. (Beamsville is a small rural area between Hamilton and Niagara Falls, about a hour from downtown Toronto).

For a very rare moment, I was talking to an engine machinist who was not fazed by the mention of "Full floating rod bearings" or "Poured Babbitt". For a young machinist and engine builder, Theo has done extensive work on several types of vintage engines and is happy to restore to standard specs or tweak them a little for performance or full hot-rodding, and his rates were (to me) very reasonable for the quality of work. Ford V8, Chev 6 and Dodge 6 engines found in WW2 vehicles are his bread and butter compared to the some of the projects he has worked on.

He may not be local to many on this forum, but he will receive engines or parts by freight and is prepared to ship them back to you complete (even to Australia!). I would have no hesitation to have purchases from anywhere in North America needing work shipped to him before being sent Down Under. If you are talking to him, mention that "Tony from Australia" referred you, and he will glad talk 10% longer at no additional cost!

His website is https://aroundtheblockengines.ca/index.html (Word of advice. The site comes up with an "Expired Security Certificate" warning, and cautions that the site is not secure. It is a legit site, and I have told Theo to have his web host sort it out.) Check out the pages of photos and projects. While many Old School mechanics have retired and their experience and skills lost, I am happy to support young craftsmen and their developing businesses (His Shop is in a barn at the back of his home!) when they continue to provide vintage skills that are not widely available, and at a very reasonable cost.

[Hanno Spoelstra]

"Like"

Always good to hear about people who understand the technology of our old vehicles and can help keeping them on the road.

[Mike Kelly]

Engine machine shops are fast becoming a thing of the past. Around this immediate district they have all closed down. A problem arises because of the lack of competition, the few remaining shops ( that you drive a decent distance to ) charge like a wounded bull.

I won't go into this too deeply but I currently have a Jeep engine block that has been at a engine shop for 3 years and 4 months. All I asked for was boring, head and block decking and crank grind and valve seat inserts. They don't give a stuff. why ? nobody else is doing this kind of work in the Valley.

As for poured bearings and lost skills . Think there is only one business in Dandenong that still does it and they charge $$$$$ per bearing. A chap in QLD with a vintage Hudson car learnt how to do poured bearings and he did it himself. This is a good starting point: http://www.boatregister.net/Library/...dBearing_1.pdf

A post from the metalwork forum

"No experience but I've talked to a couple of my fellow Hudson owners in SE Qld who have recently remetalled big ends in the home workshop, these were 30s conrods that originally had poured bearings. The set up to melt the babbit and pour the bearings was straightforward, with the usual caveats about cleanliness and tinning the conrod and cap. After pouring the rods and caps were assembled and fixed in a jig that was then mounted in the 4 jaw and they were bored to size.

Slow work, they figured about 2 hours per journal from go to whoa, so yes, expensive if you are paying someone to do it. And both elected to use the more expensive diesel babbit.

The main bearings on these engines were removable, they had thick steel backs that were also originally white metalled, I imagine they would need to be line bored after pouring.

I would be hesitant about remetalling modern slipper bearings if that is your intention"

[Philliphastings]

Stories of good reliable engine rebuilders are becoming scarce. Good to know there are still some out there.

About 25 years ago when I was still restoring Model T and Model A Fords there was a company in Victoria, Egge machinery who were the go-to for poured babbit bearings etc.

I never used them myself but several fellow club members had their Tin Lizzies engines rebuilt by them.

Also, regarding Jeep engine builders - a good friend here in NSW has been waiting a similar length of time for a tradie to return his GPW Block and an early falcon motor as well. Plenty of excuses but not delivering any results.

I try to do absolutely everything I possibly can myself, even buying specialist tooling to avoid being let down by a third party, but line boring and block decking are beyond me.

Cheers

Phill

[Mike Kelly]

Originally Posted by Philliphastings

I try to do absolutely everything I possibly can myself, even buying specialist tooling to avoid being let down by a third party, but line boring and block decking are beyond me.

Cheers

Phill

I agree do it yourself and at least then you know if it's a bad job !

There was a guy with a engine block line boring demonstration set up at the Melbourne show grounds swap meet many years ago. He demonstrated how the cutter travels down the length of the block through the bearings, it was actually a simple setup and not beyond anybody with machining skills to do.

Egge machining were well known in vintage car circles , located at Dookie near Shepparton. It is now usually around $400 per bearing for poured bearings. They were still in business 7 years ago. Now ?

Egge Machining
2 Forer Street
03 58286250

George R. at the The Basin in the Dandenongs used to do line boring but he is long gone. George was a vintage car specialist , living just down the road from him I called in many times to see him at work i.e. surfacing a head from a 1915 Cadillac or similar car. He was an old school machinist , really knew his stuff.

Apparently the guys in the VMVC use a engine machining mob at Carrum Downs which is where I should have gone with my jeep engine block but it's a long drive through Melbourne's horrid traffic. The guy I went to does Ford Cleveland and Windsor blocks for the racing fraternity, I should have known he has nil experience with a WW2 jeep engine, he asked me for the jeep crank journal size which shows how little he knows about older engines.

[svdwal]

It seems i'm rather lucky with the machinist that i use for my business.
Depending on the work that has to be done it takes between 2 and 5 weeks before i can collect it to start the rebuild.