Hello Paul. I have not seen many of these in the past 15-20 years?. I would say they are all used up or setting on someone's shelf. Something you need to consider if you do find these. The # 2,3, and 4 bearings will be new and the 2 ends won't be. That means those 3 will be carrying the load of the crank , 1 and 5 will be loose in comparison. The crankshaft will also be worn and probably not round or symmetrical, causing the bearings to fail very quick. There is no real easy way to do this, short of removing the engine, taking it completely apart and having all the babbitt re-done. Are there any shims left in between the caps?. There should be about .010 - .015 , but doesn't mean that they haven't been removed over the last 67 years. The last time I heard that run, it sounded great?. That was Frankenmuth , MI. Still a Beautiful car !!

Try calling Lester Harris, as he has a lot of NOS on his shelf @ (775) 267-2559

Hi Paul. I'm pretty sure up through 40, all the bearings were installed with shim packs. Beginning in 41 though, the bearing thickness changed a little eliminating the need for shims, then from then on, no more shims.

Also you might want to check with Headley Bennett in Canada as he is the engine expert.

If you resort to having your old shells re-poured as I did. Give a call to Godwin-Singer Machine in St. Petersburg, FL Talk to Tom.
727-896-8631.A very competent shop that has a dedicated area for antique engines only..

Mains will need to be a-line bored for proper fit and sized. Also, the crank will probably need to be turned true at the same time.

Note that the center-to-center distance from crank to cam must be maintained during the line boring process. Any deviation from the correct distance will result in an incorrect gear lash, which I believe is spec'd at .006", but double check me on that.
Frank

[quote="Frank Hughes" post=18962]Note that the center-to-center distance from crank to cam must be maintained during the line boring process. Any deviation from the correct distance will result in an incorrect gear lash, which I believe is spec'd at .006", but double check me on that.
Frank
The Mechanical Procedures manual for 1934 to 1939 says the fiber gars should have .002-.003" lash on the sixes, and .004-.005" on the Eights. The 48-54 MPM says .002-.004" for the eights with aluminum gears. Not much margin for error I would say.

We had a '50 C8 sd. with 14,000 miles on it, and it had a strange noise in it, definitely coming from the cam. We tried and tried to find the noise, but never did resolve it. We did check the backlash in the cam gears and found them to be about .010 , or more. This engine had never been touched from the factory. We changed the aluminum timing gears with a NOS set ,out of the Hudson box they came in, and made no difference. We drove that car 60,000 miles that way, and was that way when it was sold. Some of the things we found while checking that was interesting too. We found the ball inside the oil pump drive had wear on one side, and caused a little noise, but never did fix the problem completely after we replaced it. Splasher eights are temperamental BUT if done properly, have a note and run like no other!

[quote="Kenneth Ufheil" post=18972][quote="Frank Hughes" post=18962]Note that the center-to-center distance from crank to cam must be maintained during the line boring process. Any deviation from the correct distance will result in an incorrect gear lash, which I believe is spec'd at .006", but double check me on that.
Frank
The Mechanical Procedures manual for 1934 to 1939 says the fiber gars should have .002-.003" lash on the sixes, and .004-.005" on the Eights. The 48-54 MPM says .002-.004" for the eights with aluminum gears. Not much margin for error I would say.

Doug,how is the backlash measured and what would cause it to be off spec?
What type of noise would be produced if the cam spacer was worn out?
Thanks

OK.....I admit to having pulled the lash spec out of my a**, but my point is the same, that being when the main bearings are line-bored, if the CC distance is not closely maintained, the gears will either be in too tight or too loose engagement, depending on which way it's off. The taper of the gear teeth (pressure angle) makes lash vary with CC distance. You won't find a spec in the books regarding that dimension as it's only expressed as lash, but, as Doug implies in his story, it's not a critical measurement as long as there is sufficient clearance between gear teeth to prevent an interference situation. A bit too much (like .006) would not likely ever be noticed. Hudson had to assign a spec to it but it's not a make-or-break deaL
I have used a self-created spec for C to C at 4.720", which has produced acceptable results so far.
Case in point:
I once dis-assembled a '51 or '52 eight with a whopping 300 miles on a "total rebuild" by others (rod bearing failure.......imagine that!) that had had the mains re-poured and line-bored. The CC distance was so tight that I had to pry the cam gear off of the cam with far more than reasonable force. There was < "0" lash. That was only one of the numerous deficiencies in that engine. The story's too long for here.

Frank