Reply To: Just because the car looks great doesn’t mean it’s ready to tour…..

[Gregory Long]

Jim Palmer: first I hope you do not let your machine shop LINE BORE the ENGINE BLOCK !! One member had a machine shop do this and the engine block was junk.. I think a very expensive set of custom made main bearing shells were made to save the engine.

The problem is that true machinists that understand what must be done and what must NOT be done are getting scarce. Many ‘newer’ machine shops or engine rebuilders have never worked with poured-babbit rod bearings or poured-babbit main bearing shells that must be machined in the engine block.

What has become common in more modern machine shops, and engine rebuilding shops is to restore the main bearing saddles in an engine block, allowing another life to the crankcase. This procedure is rarely if ever needed on an antique engine. And if done wrong, there often are no replacement engine blocks available.

The work done on these older engines is time consuming, and if a man is in business, trying to pay his mortgage, his business overhead etc.. The many hours needed to rebuilt each part of an antique engine instead of just buying off-the-shelf new or rebuilt parts, starts to add up quickly..

For example: a rebuilt water pump for just about any engine made after 1960 can be purchased either new or rebuilt for under $60. To rebuild a water pump on most Pierce Arrow engines runs from $500-$900. Everything must be made for the rebuild, and machined to work.. There are no rebuild kits made in China or Mexico for $19.95 that take an hour to install. Its all about the talent and experience of the machinist who is restoring the part.

Greg Long