CONGRATULATIONS!

This past Saturday evening our son Joseph became engaged to a wonderful young lady by the name of Kristen. I still can't believe that she said yes. (OK, that was just my lame attempt at humor)

My wife Jane and I are both completely thrilled with this development. I continue to be amazed at what a fine young man "Joey" has turned out to be in light of the bad example that I set for so many years. But perhaps the fact that he knew that it was a bad example helps explain it.

In reality I know that we just need to thank the Lord for yet more of his grace!

Let's Back Up a Moment

In my continuing series on the Stroker Flathead Engine Build I find that I have inadvertently skipped a couple steps that I should have mentioned. My most recent post in the series, Stroker Clearance and Flywheel Balance , brings us to the point of assembling the flywheels. However, I never did get around to explaining what was done to "fix" the problem with the rods that I mentioned in the post on Joe's Flathead . So if anyone is actually following this series, they are likely wondering why I would balance the flywheels with rods that were too narrow not to mention cracked!

Well, the answer is that I wouldn't. Knowing the high cost of replacement rods ($513 from V-Twin) and the likelihood that the new rods would also need to be honed to round before use, we decided to do the best we could with what we had. I sent the old rods to be magnafluxed by a local gentleman who specializes in aircraft engines. This showed cracks as I had suspected. My aircraft engine specialist recommended having the cracks welded, re magnafluxed, and then shot peened. That was the coarse we chose to take. Hind sight being 20/20, if I had realized at the time that the rods had been ground narrower, then I likely would have gone with new rods.

Once the rods were repaired, new races installed, honed to round, and bearings fit, it was time to do an initial assembly of the flywheels to determine the width of the flywheel assembly. It was during this initial "mock up" that I discovered the huge rod end play.

The reason that I needed the crank width info had to do with the Pinion race in the crankcase which I also talked about in my post on Joe's Flathead . The race needed to be removed from the case due to being spot welded into the case; not exactly an approved procedure. I have found over the years that once you start replacing case races in these old motors, there is a pretty good chance that you will have no flywheel end play even with the thinnest of end play thrust washers. This is due to the replacement races having a wider inside lip than the originals. I often wonder if the manufacturers of these replacement parts never had an OEM part to work from, or if they just lack any measuring instruments.

In any case, I knew that with a new race going into the right side, flywheel end play had to be taken into account. My first thought on the rod end play was a shorter crank pin, (one is available) but that would not bring them together enough. My next thought was thicker flywheel washers (the ones that are staked into stock flywheels on each end of the crankpin). Of course the S&S flywheels don't have washers there, but I knew that the flywheels could be machined for them, so I called my S&S tech rep. He suggested that it would be just as easy for me to send the wheels back to S&S to have the tapers machined deeper into the flywheels to bring them closer together. So that's what we did.

Now by the time you add up the cost of machining the flywheels, magnaflux, welding, shot peening, and shipping, suddenly the new repop rods don't look quite so outrageous in price. Like I said about hindsight....

As for the right side case race, that also posed a problem. After cutting through the spot welds, the race came out very easily; obviously that was the reason for said spot welds. Upon measuring the race and case, it became apparent that this would take unusual steps to repair. The race was already a +.025 and loose. The only good solution I could think of was to bore out the case and sleeve it for a new standard race. That was accomplished by bolting the right case to the table on the mill with the cam side down, bolting the left case to the right and then indicating on the left case race. Once the table was locked down the left case could be removed for easy access to the right side bore. Then a steel sleeve was fabricated to be a press fit in the case as well as give a press fit to the new standard race. By the time the new race was line lapped to size, we had perfect alignment of the two races.

So that should bring us up to date with my most recent post in this series. In my next post in this series, I will try to get into some issues having to do with eliminating piston scuffing.

A Trip to the Heart of the City

This past Sunday afternoon, my wife Jane and I, along with our grandchildren Kaya and Max, were blessed by attending a "Heart of the City" event in nearby Chaska. (Kaya and Max spent the weekend with us because their parents were away celebrating their 15th wedding anniversary - congratulations Aron and Megan!)

There had been a short presentation given on Heart of the City Ministries during our previous week's church service. I, frankly, was not over enthusiastic about attending, assuming that it would be a little to "ecumenical" for my taste, but my wife insisted. As so often happens, Jane was right and I was wrong (and if I put that in print a little more often, she will likely become an avid reader of my blog).

In my opinion, the music was most definitely God honoring. Of course its hard to go too far wrong when most of the lyrics declare the glory of God! (keep in mind this is coming from someone who is not entirely comfortable with anything newer than Amazing Grace)

Any thoughts that the whole event would be "lukewarm" (see Revelation 3:16) due to the stated purpose of Heart of the City to "bring together the body of Christ" were dashed when one of the singers gave his salvation testimony. It was one of those that make you want to jump up and say AMEN; one where you have no doubt that the man had been born again. Yep, he even brought up that it was God's law that showed him what a sinner he was and how in need of Savior! No, I certainly got the feeling this was not one of those ministries that would sacrifice truth for the sake of unity. That can be a narrow road to walk, and may God bless Heart of the City's effort to stay upon it. Sometimes its tempting to make that path so narrow that there is only room for one person on it.

So, if you ever get the chance to go and worship with "Heart of the City", don't miss it! I highly recommend them. For more information and their schedule, click on http://www.heartofthecity.org/index.htm

Cheap Rocker Arm Bushing Tool

Here's a quick and easy tip for you. This is the quickest and easiest way to remove the bushings from Shovelhead, Evolution or Twin Cam rocker arms that I have found. It is the tap from a kit by Colony for installing an oversize timing plug. The Colony part number is 7502-2 (which includes the tap and the plug). Thread is 9/16-18 List price is $36.64 (V Twin stocks the Colony parts under the Colony part number, but for more money)

If you have been working on Harleys as long as I have, you may already have one of these laying in the junk drawer of your tool box.

Simply use a ratchet with socket to screw the tool into the bushing and then drive it out from the other side with a punch (note the mushroomed end) I have been using the same one for over 15 years with great results. A normal tap might work, but will not be as easy to start straight and will likely shatter after a few times hitting it with a punch.

Meeting the Author

I attended a funeral this past week, but this post has nothing to do with the deceased. Rather I would like to address something I noticed in passing. Hanging on one of the walls of the church where the service was held was a "tapestry" (if I am using the word correctly). You have probably seen similar ones if you visit many churches, or may even have some on the walls of your church. Usually they have a solid colored background with some sort of images on them along with a line or two of text declaring something theological. This particular one caught my eye because it stated something to the effect of "You need to continue with bible study until the day you meet the author"

Now I know as well as anyone the danger of "bumper sticker theology". Its just too easy read into a one line text nearly any thing you want it to say. If all truth could be conveyed in just a line or two, then certainly our Lord would not have given us so many books in the Bible. And believe me, I understand what was meant by this saying. Clearly it was meant to mean that we will never know enough about God's word until the day we die. However, that didn't stop me from critiquing the saying in my mind.

I will certainly admit to the tendency of being overly critical of things spiritual that are coming from a source with doctrine that I disagree with. In many cases I do think I would do better to practice Christian charity by giving others the benefit of the doubt as to their intended meaning.

In this case though, I know that the intended meaning was right and a nice positive message, but the saying still brought a negative rebuttal to my mind; "If you haven't met the author before you die, it will be too late." You see, all that Bible study will have done you no good if you have never met the author. In Matthew 7:21-23 Jesus said; "Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity. "

This passage of scripture should be enough to give every one pause! Have we not prophesied in thy name? And have we not cast out devils? (actually I have done neither of those first two things) And have we not diligently gone to Bible studies? And have not we been baptized in thy name? And yet despite all these wonderful works, Jesus will say in that day that he never knew them. Are you sure that you have already met the author?

Stroker Clearance and Flywheel Balance

This is the 6th in a series of posts on a flathead big twin engine build that I am doing in my shop. The series starts with Stroker Flathead Engine Build , and last post was Relieving the Flathead . Once the rods are rebuilt, and the cylinders are bored it is time to mock up the engine and do some clearancing for the stroker. Because of the extra stroke, the relationship between the rods and the cylinder spigots, cases and even the bottom of the piston skirts has changed and all of those clearances need to be checked.

The first thing that needs to be addressed is to check that the male rod does not "bottom out" against the inside of the female rod when the pistons are at bottom dead center. Now for standard big twin rod lengths, S&S provides a measurement. With the rods on the crankpin you simply measure with a caliper between the wrist pin bushings at their nearest point. On a flathead with it's longer rods it is a little more complicated, but can be accomplished by checking the measurement between the wrist pin bushings as per the S&S method, and then comparing to the measurement taken from wrist pin to wrist pin with the pistons and cylinders mocked up as in the center picture below. Any extra clearance needed is accomplished by careful grinding on the inside "webbing" of the female rod. (the mock up shown below is done by assembling the crankpin and and rods on one flywheel half and installing in a case half)

Other areas that need to be checked for a minimum of .060" clearance are; piston to piston at BDC as shown in the center picture above, piston to flywheel also shown in the center picture, and rod to cylinder spigot and crankcase as shown in the other two pictures above. Note that it is possible to check these clearances with the flywheels fully assembled, but it is much easier to see the piston to flywheel when performed with only one half.

Once all stroker clearances are verified, the flywheels can be balanced. In this particular case, though, I felt it would be worthwhile to lighten the pistons as much as practical in order to lessen the stress on the antique connecting rods. Lightening pistons can be a real art (or science) in itself, and there are businesses that specialize in that sort of thing. The key is to avoid weakening the piston or distorting it. I have lightened quite a number of pistons over my years of drag racing, and so felt comfortable in doing the work myself. Yes, the pistons undoubtedly would have come out lighter if I had sent them to a specialty shop, (mostly due to my being conservative) but the extra expense was not in the budget.

With the pistons as light as I was going to make them, it was time to balance the flywheels. Most of the shops like mine that perform flywheel balancing use basically the same static balance method. Some may try to tell you that static balancing is antiquated and the real way to balance flywheels is dynamically. They may be wrong. The people over at Darkhorse Crankworks (respected experts in the field of Harley flywheel balance) have written an interesting piece on the subject that you can view here: http://www.darkhorsecrankworks.com/pdfs/nospin.pdf

Static balancing of Harley flywheels is a process of weighing the individual pieces (crankpin, bearings, retainers, rods, pistons, rings, wrist pins, etc.) computing a balance bob weight from those figures and employing gravity to tell you when you have achieved a "balance". The actual modification is done by drilling holes in the perimeter of the flywheel. I put the word balance in quotes because on a Harley engine with its v twin configuration, what you are really striving for is the best compromise for the least vibration in the rpm range where the engine will spend the majority of its time. You will often hear the term "balance factor" used in relation to Harley flywheels. This is the % of the total reciprocating weight that is added to the rotating weight to give the bob weight. My personal rule of thumb is to use a 60% factor for light flywheels such as S&S (where both flywheel halves are about the same size) and 55% for old style OEM flywheels (where the left flywheel half is considerably heavier) Last time I counted (8 or 9 years ago) I had balanced well over 100 sets of flywheels using this method without any negative feedback.

Last row of pictures, from left to right: Weighing crankpin, bearings, etc. Balance shaft and bob weights. Static balancing one flywheel half.

David, A Man After God's Own Heart

(this one is about a week late, since by the time I post it I will be hearing another sermon, but better late than never!)

Last Sunday's sermon was another in my pastor's continuing series on "Great Stories of the Bible." As my title indicates, the sermon was about David, and specifically about the story of David and Goliath. Many good points about this story were brought out, but the one that particularly stuck with me, was the point Pastor Voigt made about David being "a man after God's own heart." (Acts 13:22)

That phrase had often bothered me. After all, David was an adulterer, he was a murderer in "arranging" the death of Bathsheba's husband. David made quite a few other mistakes that are documented in the Bible. In other words David was a SINNER. How could he be "a man after God's own heart?" Pastor Voigt answered that for me quite nicely in his sermon. David was a man after God's own heart, in other words what God's heart wanted was what David's heart wanted!

You see, I had been misinterpreting that phrase all these years. I had taken it as David's actions were what David's heart wanted. I should have been understanding the phrase in light of Romans 7:14-20 "For we know that the law is spiritual: but I am carnal, sold under sin. For that which I do I allow not: for what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I. If then I do that which I would not, I consent unto the law that it is good. Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not. For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do. Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me."

Just as in Paul's flesh dwelt no good thing, neither did any good thing dwell in David's flesh, and obviously no good thing dwells in my flesh. But now, in the spirit, that's a whole different matter! It all makes a little more sense to me now.