Restoring An Original Set Of 255 Mercury Flathead V8 Connecting Rods

[@JAMSIONLINE]

Who's excited to see the 255 Mercury Flathead V8 run again after having sat for over 50 years?... We're getting closer!

[@RandomAuto12]

I can’t wait just because I like seeing old stuff brought back to life. It’s such a great feeling when I do it.

[@wallebo]

I am. Won't miss that video.

[@vernonslone8627]

Earlier rods had full floating rod bearings and pin retainers in the rod with a two piece pin bushing... One retainer per piston....

[@1320pass]

Looking forward to it.

[@davew7250]

🙋🏻‍♂️

[@brianbarsness9828]

Videos like this well help people understand why quality machine work isn’t cheap.

[@joseywales3789]

Good Work ain't Cheap! Cheap Work ain't Good! That's a Motto that I live my life by - But I also know that there are times when Expensive work isn't good! You've got to look at the past work, Tools and Experience of the workers!

[@SteveLowe65]

I worked in the industry in the 80s (Peterson Speed Machine in Englewood, CO) using the same Sunnen machines, tooling, and gauges for connecting rods that you're using, except that we didn't have the power stroke. We also did the .002" feeler gage while cutting caps and rods. I'm sure I did thousands of rods that way without ever having a failure. I can still smell the honing oil :)

[@MrSlipstreem]

Excellent work as always. It's a rare privilege to get to see this kind of workmanship close-up. Thank you.

[@JAMSIONLINE]

Appreciate you watching!

[@jondavidmcnabb]

WOW, This is an exceptional video both content and instruction. It really is a treat to see this level of perfection in action.

[@stevolkman]

I appreciate how all of what you are doing is a balance of science and art, precision and judgement based on experience. I am catching about 25% of what is explained, but it is still very educational and entertaining.

[@craigm.9070]

Thank you guys for your time! You presented a very thorough, well documented process on restoring these connecting rods. Looking forward to the next one.

[@drewpierce2273]

When I see precision machining, I am equally impressed by the investment this shop has made in equipment to achieve the high quality of rebuilds they do.

[@NickHemingway]

Thanks! You have no idea how useful this video was for me!

[@JAMSIONLINE]

Awesome! Thanks for watching and letting us know!!

[@danielbutler578]

I have a rod that was knocking for over 2 hours. The crankshaft had to be replaced but surprisingly the rod was reconditioned. I ran that engine for over 10 years and well over 100,000 miles. It never had any issues. It even has the original rod bolts in it.

[@craigvenard2507]

I’m think that I agree with each comment I read, basically top- notch work, quality video and explanation. And you’re humble!! Thank you!!!

[@ramdog1189]

This channel is such a chill vibe. I love seeing vintage motors being restored by a bunch of super experienced pros who explain not only the OEM machining process but also the refinishing too. Its really satisfying to watch and easy enough for my gf to follow (she does not even know what a starter is). 10/10 channel

[@garyhalmbacher6875]

Having worked in a truck rear axle manufacturing plant in the 60s, I guarantee that there is a world of difference between the care you have shown these rods and what happened on the manufacturing floor.

[@ron827]

I have no doubt you are more accurate than the factory was.

[@minigpracing3068]

You know that you put at least twice the effort and precision into those parts than they did at the factory, the bend and twist you took out was probably acceptable factory tolerance back then. I'd guess this whole build will be significantly better than the assemby line.

[@PrimoGIU]

I was angle-grinding rod caps back in 1973 for the same reason, as that's how my dad taught me, and never had a failure. I also used the Sunnen rod machine to hone motorcycle barrels, rather than a boring bar, as the old boring bars did not self-center like your great machine, and I had seen other shops bore off-center. Yep, I can smell that nasty oil like it was yesterday, LOL!

[@driftmaster1]

those rods are machined more in spec and the pins are more aligned to the crank now than they ever were from the factory all thanks to technology improvements and exacting care (vs the factory turning them out as fast as possible)

[@wallebo]

Very informative. All killer, no filler!

[@skylinefever]

I had to see this due to what little I know about automotive machining. When I saw that there was no way to shave both the rod and cap of the Ford Flathead, I thought it meant the rods were nonrebuildable. I also enjoyed your short about how you were able to balance this kind of engine. It involved a trick I never would have been able to think of.

[@1320pass]

Great presentation 👌

[@johnalexander4356]

Well done! I love watching your work. And you're correct. I think I can smell that oil 40 years later.

[@harmlesscreationsofthegree1248]

Excellent video. They look amazing and I’m excited to see the running engine!

[@Carcrafter7165]

Thank you for sharing one step closer on the flathead

[@wtdonovan]

I looked for the heart to click but had to settle for the thumbs up. Excellent video and a pleasure to see a craftsman work with professionalism.

[@bchdsailor]

You two knows your trade for sure

[@f75gunslinger]

I'd say that you put FAR more care and work into making those rods correct than Fotd would have back then .

[@MarkWisnewski]

Excellent video, clear, concise, and visually pleasing, I just wish we had smellivison, to smell the oil 😎

[@SeanJoseph-s2s]

Nice job and great content and thanks...🔧🔧👍

[@logancarter2134]

Fantastic episode

[@JohnRoberts71]

Great content thanks for sharing

[@michaelbancroft7814]

I sure wish you guys were around when I was racing.

[@RBock-gp2hn]

I love your videos! 👍 Greetings from Kiel/Germany

[@kurtisstutzman7056]

There's nothing stronger than an I-beam...! America was built on them...!!! Thanks for sharing, and keep up your awesomeness...!

[@HiPockets]

My 1949 F-3 is aching for this treatment!

[@johnrebus1641]

Brilliant camera work in this episode - Sunnencam. After several years watching, it still impresses me how good you guys are ! Be real Nick, those rods are way better than factory.

[@stephenpoe2037]

I look forward to your videos ! Thanks for sharing !

[@carmudgeon7478]

That was worth a second watch.

[@boogeyman1728]

Excellent stuff

[@JAMSIONLINE]

Thanks for watching!

[@autophyte]

I always wondered how those big end bolts were attached to the rods. I thought that they might have been machined from solid, from the con rod material, but how complicated would the machinery to do that have to be. Also, the whole rod would have to be made from the same high tensile steel needed for the bolts. So I thought, "Nah, they must be made separately, then pressed or threaded into the rod and pinned or welded somehow." But you have cleared that up for me. Thank you. P.S. This style of con rod was used in the Ford made WWII GPW jeep. I've repaired many of these, and found the rods almost always bent and/ or twisted, and always out of round about.004"-.005" In the bush, we "resized" them by assembling the end, squeezing it between the jaws of a large vice till the horizontal measurement was within specs. But mostly, the out of roundness was in the vertical plane,,so we didn't have to do that often. We then rubbed the cap along a perfectly flat sharpening stone till the vertical height was about right. Bend was done by placing them under a press .Twist was done same as you did- with a long bar. I know this sounds rough, but we didn't have the equipment, and they were only "old farm jeeps", but I never had any feedback of an engine failure. In fact, I still have my own jeep with the Ford engine that has done 200,000 miles and 65 years,and is still running like a Swiss watch

[@Mr9501]

Nice video 👍.. I learned several years ago to always have the rods resized…eliminates a lot of problems

[@vancejohn4834]

Nice job. I think back when I worked in a machine shop and it was always something different. Those flathead rods are old technology that still works. And different..

[@lukebrennan5780]

That was good. Thank you!

[@Ed_in_Md]

Great video! Thanks very much!

[@codo7]

Thank you.

[@marksmallman4572]

Excellant video boys..

[@lowbudgetbob1155]

I wish I was closer to Colorado when I need machine work done. So many shops are going out of business it's hard to find a good one anymore...

[@ernieconway6116]

Great video!

[@bigal878]

Great job 👍🇦🇺

[@jeffgriffith7003]

Very interesting, I’ve always wondered how connecting rods were resized

[@jimarmentrout2959]

Good episode

[@kz6fittycent]

Cleaning guy spotted at 4:52 - confirmed staying busy and earning his keep

[@tuberNunya]

Sure would be nice to see the vehicle these engines are going into.

[@stephenbridges2791]

I wondered what that musky smell coming out of my screen was. Thought there was a burned up differential laying around. Seriously, though; nice job.

[@anthonyrstrawbridge]

Yes

[@stuartstephens]

Anyone wondering about the old term of 'blueprinting' an engine should be watching this channel to see how it's done. 🙂

[@tomtke7351]

For small nicks in machine paint, magic markers of SAME COLOR are exceptional.

[@MrPossumeyes]

Thankyou.

[@WingwalkerBrewing]

There is an engineering force diagram that will show a bending moment outward at the top of the cap when you angle the mating surface and torque the part together. There is software that does a good job of simulating the forces on the rod in use, but I can't afford it. Just running the force diagram in my head makes me think that the top of the cap does not experience the kind of stresses that the rod side of the bearing does. Force is only applied in that direction during intake. This is a very interesting question.

[@jmflournoy386]

Did I miss where you equalized lengths? Or set them to spec?

[@MikenMpls]

At 11:32 and its a flattie..

[@jmflournoy386]

@@MikenMpls 11:32 is checking for bend I'm asking about boring the bushing to correct length good video

[@bobqzzi]

Nice episode. OSHA definitely didn't approve that bushing cutter

[@JAMSIONLINE]

It’s a lot scarier now after seeing how close my fingers get to it on slow mo camera 😳

[@iaial0]

@@JAMSIONLINE as long as you can still count to 10 it's fiiiiiine😁

[@jcamp2112]

So when he said the con rods would never normally see forces to make them bend in usage, how do they end up getting bent then? I would think all the heating cycles and forces applied would make them bend some eventually right? Is it just inevitable this will happen?

[@marksmallman4572]

Most likely they would bend if a cylinder hydro locks, ie coolant or excess fuel in the cylinder.

[@mmi16]

Looks like where you are using the persuader to fix bend and twist needs to have more stability - your jig to hold the rod is moving when the bar is applied.

[@davidfrost801]

Enjoy your content, always thought the rifle drilled rods were a good idea for cooling oil/lube to piston and pin, more prevalent on diesel engines....

[@JAMSIONLINE]

Definitely seems like a good idea and like you said more prevalent on your diesel/heavy duty applications. In this case, the hole you see in the big end side of the rod is actually just a squirter hole that aims toward the camshaft when installed in the engine. Not drilled through to the pin end.

[@davidfrost801]

@JAMSIONLINE Thanks for your response! I'm appreciative of old flatheads that were so quiet idling were barely audible, too bad that had tendency to run hot at times...just enhanced the relationship between owner/operator/ mechanic...

[@mrbarr1961]

I'd have you guys redo my motor anyday.

[@NickHemingway]

This is such a useful video for me as I have the exact same Sunnen rod hone machine, but haven’t had much chance to play with it yet. (I also have the Kwik Way Pin fitting machine you have in the background, you can see them both in my videos at various times lol) I need to buy a rod grinder next for it to be any really use though. What model number is yours? Would you recommend it? (I am guessing there is a reason I can’t just mill the material off the rods)

[@brucelewis1017]

My question is can you put different rods in that motor or do you have to use the same brand of rods

[@tomtke7351]

you have a smile in your voice... you need a face smile TOO!😁 Facial hair is "un-smiley!"

[@Mega7492]

I wonder if they were machined that perfect from new.

[@tjfritts9013]

So...has Jim basically quit the channel at this point? It might seem harsh, but I didn't subscribe to see this kiddo. Jim's personality and expertise without filter was what attracted me. If he's out, so am I.

[@JAMSIONLINE]

Jim here - I’m sorry you feel that way. People in this industry are pretty rude to the young machinists who are trying to break into the business. That kiddo is the driving force behind this channel. If it weren’t for Nicolaus there would be no videos. He has the talent, ideas, dedication, and ability to make all this happen. I enjoy working with him in videos but it’s not feasible for me or for both of us to “star” in every video. We each have jobs we are working on and try to bring a variety of content to our viewers. It hurts me personally when someone insults my son. He’s a great partner in our business. If he weren’t here wanting to keep this business alive, I would have retired and closed the shop years ago. Feel free to unsubscribe.

[@coryament]

I learned 25 years ago from a top engine builder how to cut rod caps like that

[@mikemckain6556]

That is how I was taught to resize rods

[@berto606]

Can you convert them to have separate rods bolts? Is it not worth it?

[@jayinmi3706]

Seems like an odd way to make those rods. I would think it would make machining much more complicated than a design with a separate rod bolt or stud. Nice work. Those do look pretty nice!

[@drewpierce2273]

Some modern engines are still designed this way.

[@WalkerSmallEnginePerformance]

Yeah, there must have been some time/money saving advantage for them at the time. Or they just got mad at their rod bolt supplier and this is how they got back at them. 😂

[@CustomConceptMotor]

Had to laugh about the smell of honing oil. I picked up my first hone a few years ago and it was still full of oil which quickly turned into my truck bed being full of honing oil. That was AWFUL! Hope to do my first set of rods on it soon. Thanks for the videos.

[@rogerdulworth3086]

Screw😂the critics, after 40 years of machining you guys know what you’re doing right

[@mikerammelt2420]

Looks like you're converting them to shells. Did this in the mid 70's.

[@jackfrost1031]

I’d love to see a cross sectioned rod that had a bushing swaged into it. I am sure the metal is forced in there, but I still wanna see it.

[@Aleks_Mechanics]

Hello!🖐

[@scotthultin7769]

490 👍's up Jim's thank you for sharing 🤗

[@rayworx]

FUBARéd.... haven't heard that in a loooong while. For those not old enough to know: FucXed Up Beyond Recognition

[@philipmackin1025]

For your viewing pleasure, I bring you WIKI ! en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_military_slang_terms

[@SHSPVR]

Yep I know what you mean about the oil lubricant man the bad and just as fun to even clean

[@briansmith1514]

It would be interesting if someone documented the amount of bend/twist in each rod. Then periodically pull them back out and see if they returned to the previous bend/twist to some degree. Were they bent/twisted originally or did they do this inside the engine...is it a metallurgy issue, etc. Impractical, but if I were a rod manufacturer, I'd want to know this information.

[@Latuya-y1n]

I like the Evinrude Johnson connecting rods rollers bearings 321712

[@richb4099]

I never wore gloves and the oil irritated my skin. The oil did have a distinct smell. I didn’t have a power stroker. I also bushed lots of rods. It was sometimes difficult to not end up with a tapered bushing. The bronze material liked to load up the stones

[@JAMSIONLINE]

Colorado is super dry and I have pretty bad eczema so the oil wrecks my skin. Usually end up with a hole in the glove and it fills up with oil anyway, but it's a good thought lol.

[@TECsta76]

Hey crew 👋 Y’all guys (including 3 other channels) need to stop playing down the Automotive Industry Giants while comparing work quality! I know those guys and I’m quite sure they wouldn’t appreciate it, try producing 800.000 of those items and then get bragging about it.. 🎉🎉25🎉🎉

[@JAMSIONLINE]

What was I playing down in this video?

[@markp4967]

4 decades⁉️⁉️⁉️ Empirical evidence ⁉️⁉️⁉️ It would appear YOU are correct and you HAVE the evidence👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻

[@kmatch1]

It's a shame you couldn't take in the heads from LAOL. It would be cool to see a crack or similar repair go from shop to field and put into use.

[@jerrywilhelmy5496]

when you are sizing the big end the bore should also be checked for bell mouth. after you are ok with the diameter and dimension take the rod cap off, clean and re assemble and check the bore. is it still in spec. when the pin bushings are replaced the best method to size, is to install the rod on a precision expandable mandrel. this mandrel needs to be indicated in straight in both axis. I do this in a bridgeport mill. If you then zero the spindle on the arbor you can move the table on x to the correct rod center to center. bore the bushing to .oo1 of the finished diameter. remove the rod and hone for clearance . The rod now is straight and the correct length. bending the rod is a bad idea .The mandrel the I use I made and I have several different diameters. The rods I do can be inspected on a surface plate with a tolerance of .oo1 with 12 inch shafts fit in each bore in both planes. no bend or twist

[@nickhale117]

Call me weird, but I actually like the smell of that honing oil lol

[@JohnChrysostom101]

A connecting rod is an I beam we still use I beams that's probably why it hasn't changed

[@WilliamCarver-yx1nr]

What would a machine shop like yours completely outfitted cost in today's dollars?

[@family-accountemail9111]

I've often wondered that and where the machines came from?

[@frazeysburgelites]

Hopefully this doesn’t get lost in the sauce. But I prefer the more candid videos. The last handful of videos feel like I’m watching a boring training video at work. No hate, I love the channel, and I know feedback is important

[@flyonbyya]

Just curious… If those rods should never experience forces in a the running engine to cause twist or bend… Then where are they experiencing those forces?

[@JAMSIONLINE]

Just because they “should” never doesn’t mean they don’t ever… For example, if you watched the teardown video, one piston had significant carbon build up on top of the piston and was hitting the head. To the point it collapsed the top ring land of the piston. That would be an example of an unexpected force that could lead to a bend rod.

[@MikenMpls]

If you think they were checked from the factory you would be mistaken. I worked for an oe for 37 yrs, they are batch processed on an unrealistic timeline for the machines and uaw workers. “Ship’em” is what we had to do, you cant slow down the engine plant and put the vehicle assembly line at risk.

[@Sunspot-19]

Just think if those rod studs were TTY aka Torque To Trash.😬

[@jayss10]

Sad thing is those rods probably had a twist in them from day one.

[@edwatts9890]

You didn't cover C-C (rod length) correction!

[@robburley9494]

No good engine builder in the UK would slash cut rod because introducing a stress riser for no other reason is a bad engineering practise but i have never seen this practise cause a failure in a non race engine, Note: We are also building mainly 4cyl engines that are generally higher stressed and higher revving for a given power output. But its horses for courses you know your business you do what you do.

[@ldnwholesale8552]

Those bolts scare me. Carrillo and other manufacturers make rods for those engines. Rods look pretty fragile at best

[@gregdawson1909]

Id bet a paycheck you put triple the effort into refurbishing these as the factory put into making them. not saying what they produced was good enough, just that it was that, good enough.

[@Zelectrocutica]

I smell that oil for while i watching this some reason.