Connecting rod shims

[Mr man]

Whew, been awhile since I've posted on here...

I Finally found the time, money, and tools to start getting my 24 T put back together after several months of it being torn up in my garage for a "restoration". When I left off, I had taken out one of my pistons to inspect clearances but forgot to get plastigauge first, and had to wait to go get some. In the meantime I needed to move around a bunch of stuff in the garage and lost the brass shims and the castle nuts for connecting rod no. 1.

Should I put new shims and castle nuts on just that connecting rod, or should I pop off the other 3 rods and install new shims in all of them? They haven't been off since the motor was rebuilt in the 80s but seem to still be in great shape, as with everything else in the motor. The previous owner didn't drive this car much, but I have done a fair amount of touring the few years I've had it.

Ps, I want to change out the worn fiber timing gear that was on the camshaft I just replaced, I know it can be a hot topic but what timing gear would you recommend I replace it with?

Thanks in advance,

Carson

[JTT3]

Don’t fix what ain’t broke, just do the one rod. You may have to peel off a few shims if you get a new stack for that one rod to fit the crank.

[speedytinc]

Don’t fix what ain’t broke, just do the one rod. You may have to peel off a few shims if you get a new stack for that one rod to fit the crank.

Shims dont go "bad". No point in changing them.

[Dan McEachern]

I suggest you pull the shim pack from another rod and measure the thickness- that will give you a starting point for shim thickness when you replace the lost shims in the 1st rod.

[Kerry]

Pull all the pistons and drill oil holes for the wrist pins, they will run hot and lock up if you don't, it was a problem with the pistons made back some 50 years ago. Also do away with the wire on the wrist pin lock bolts, that has a bad habit of breaking off and you will find it stuck in the magneto.

[Mr man]

Thank you guys! Will have her back on the road soon enough

[Art Wilson]

I found that when securely tightened,the bolt that holds the piston pin in place can cause the pin to deform and bind in the piston. This occurred on a large 4 cylinder engine with 1 in diameter pins. It did not take much tightening to cause the pin to deflect a small amount.
I think this may be the cause of numerous wrist pins binding in the pistons issues with Model T engines. The pin only needs to be slightly tightened and the bolt wired properly to keep the pin from coming loose.

[Kerry]

Art, the bolts never were wired, a cotter pin fitted correctly is what should be used.

[Art Wilson]

Thanks Kerry,
I agree using a split pin "cotter pin" is a better way to secure the upper rod bolt and is less likely to vibrate apart and dance around inside the engine.
While on the subject of engine assembly, when I assemble connecting rods with Chevy dippers I bend the ends of the dippers up against the rod nuts to lock them in place. No Cotter pins. Makes for a secure assembly. I also narrow the sides of the dippers slightly so they fit better against the rod cap. I drill the oil supply hole in the cap over to one side so it lines up with the end of the oil supply channel in the dipper.
Also, I add a small bevel to the bottom of the piston skirt and the cylinder to allow more oil to remain on the cylinder walls to minimize the tendency of piston galling.