A question for the guys who have built early engines. I am working on a 1910 block with no babbit in the block. Ford realized early on this was not good. I want to babbit the block. This will require boring the block out to provide room for the bearing. This is easy for me but I would like to hear from those who know if it could cause some kind of problem. Thanks for any input you can provide.
Fordially, Erik

NO PROBLEMS WITH THE FIVE I HAVE DONE.

BOB TREVAN

Erik, light boring for babbitt is a common practice, but I didn't do it with the car I had. I found the saddles not worn enough to warrant it. I have the specs somewhere. The front main was tapered some but I still opted to leave the block alone. I replaced the crank with one that had been welded up to standard and had the caps rebabbitted. The center main was good, which somewhat surprised me. The car ran very well afterwards. This is not the 10 I have now, someone rebabbitted the block before I got it.
I'd think a bit before I'd bore the block. Originality is a worthy consideration.

I'm curious whether the crank shows wear from being against cast iron, rather than babbit.

I'm with Ricks, we need pictures.

I can understand the original concept of bearing material not being necessary on the upper surface but the change to a complete bearing surface might indicate problems incurred. Was this an H.F. idea or was it common for the era?

I do not know of another auto manufacturer that ran the crankshaft right on the cast iron on the top. Some ran directly on bronze-without babbitt.

I, too, would encourage you not to bore the block if at all possible. I run my 1910 quite a bit and it is as original. My father ran his 1910 about 20,000 miles before the crank broke and cracked the block, necessitating welding and boring out the cast iron. Both are/were running the original crank shafts. Each time the engine was apart, there was no discernable wear to the main bearing journals.

Just some thoughts,
Chris Paulsen
McPherson, KS

Erik - What is the condition of the crankshaft? There is another approach to dealing with these open valve engines which you may wish to consider if you have a crank needing work.

I was somewhat surprised when I got mine apart and realized that the crank was oversize. The last rebuilder simply rebabbitted the caps and line bored the whole works + .030, apparently to a "clean-up" condition.

In this way, you are at least preserving most of that original metal in the block.

Thanks everyone. I am reconsidering altering the block. I need to measure the bore, but presume I would need a standard shaft to fit well. All I have are regrinds. A new shaft wouldn't be a bad idea for this rare block anyway to prevent a repeat of Paul's experience. The problem as I see it it there is no embed ability in the iron for any foreign trash in the oil, and the oil enters the bearing through the top side. It will be even more crucial in this engine to keep it clean inside. Will check the block and shaft out more closely as soon as they are cleaned up and let you know what we find. Will post pix.
Erik