MTFCA Forum

Hello Everyone
My name is John and greetings from a very cold Sioux Falls, South Dakota. I would like to ask for your comments on a Model T engine which comes from a 1925 or 1926 Pick up truck. The vehicle came to me with a "locked up" engine. The engine had been reconditioned two or three years ago and had not been run since then and left sitting. Upon dismantling the engine I found that two of the four cylinders appear to have been re-sleeved and the number three cylinder has a distinctive grove around the cylinder and an inch up from the bottom. The groove can be seen and felt with your finger nail. My bore gauge shows a taper in this bore of 0.006 inches. The other cylinder does not show this ridge but it is also tapered around 0.007 inches. This would explain why the engine was locked up, however I am wondering why the sleeve has this grove, (join) in it? Was it done because of an issue with the block's structure and it was not possible to put a full length sleeve in it and locate it into the bottom of the bore/block?
I will probably have to look into having the engine re-sleeve, as I don't think I can hone it back to a parallel cylinder and to its correct size for the 0.040 inch oversize aluminum pistons.
Your comments will be appreciated.
Thank you
John

They usually leave a shelf to support the sleeve. 1 inch sounds a little tall , but it may have been all the guy had and went with it.

Hello John
Thank you for getting back to me. The existing sleeve butts up to the piece which is at the bottom and it does not overlap it. I will photograph it and post it. I am wondering where and at what point does the sleeve goes into the water jacket and whether at the current joining point the water jacket is directly behind this joint? Thank you for your comments. Regards John

Boring and fitting a sleeve will not cut into the water jacket unless the block has rusted though in spots from age.

The first time I had seen a sleeved block was on a HP289 ford engine. Only one cylinder was sleeved. I figured that it had threw a rod. When inquiring about it, it was explained that block s have been saved this way, and that a properly installed sleeve will have no problem sealing the water jacket. I ran that engine for a long time until I wrecked the car. No problems.