Well, I got an update from my buddy. He pulled the valves to look at the seats. Turns out somebody installed hardened valve seats, which is good news. Bad news is that several of the seats are cracked. Here is one
That isn’t a terribly big deal, but number 3 cylinder has a crack between the valve and the cylinder. Here is the magnaflux on that beauty
This is a common problem on 1926-27 T engines. They will still run, but not well. Unfortunately, that crack can not be fixed. My engine block is toast.
My buddy is looking now for a used block that hasn’t already been bored out too much, and has valve guides that aren’t also blown out. The statement of work to rebuild a Model T block goes something like this
1. Re-Babbitt the crankshaft main bearings
2. Re-Babbitt the connecting rods
3. Grind the crank
4. Line bore the main bearings babbitt
5. Machine the con rods babbitt
6. Install hardened valve seats
7, Bore out cylinders as necessary
8. Ream out valve guides as necessary
9.. Replace rear cam bushing
8. Reassembly with new pistons, rings, valves, springs and cam.
Oh, and while we’re at it, May as well go through the transmission and replace all the bushings, pull the magnets, check all the gears, and install new bands.
Still waiting to hear how much all this will cost. I can also choose to put it back together and drive it as it is, until it completely dies. It won’t run great, but it will run. I will post more when I get more news and decide what to do.