Can't stop working on the new Frazer. Check out the cool hood ornament. It's from a '47 Ford. The Fords have a strip of blue plastic down the center, but mine has this crazy aftermarket spinner. Way cool!
Four bolts and the hood is off. One hinge is going to need a new shoulder bolt and spring to get it back together.
That front panel in front of the radiator sticks up high in the middle and is very difficult to remove. There are a LOT of bolts holding it and it seems to function as the main support for the front fenders, too. The engine on this car has been out at least once and whoever did it before just cut the center section over the radiator out instead of taking the whole panel out. After they put the engine back in they welded that section back in. That might be easier than taking all those bolts out.
But I persevered and got it out, and now my engine is out in the open.
Another clue that the engine in my Frazer has had some major work are the words "Kaiser Supersonic" cast on the head. Apparently they didn't start doing that until later, so my '48 Frazer got an upgrade at some point in its life.
Thirty three head bolts later and I can take it off.
One bolt broke off, but I drilled it out and cleaned up the hole with a tap.
The cylinders do not look bad. Only a very small top ridge to deal with.
The person who overhauled this engine last time carefully put shims behind the bearing caps. They did a nice job with all except the front main bearing. The shim under that bearing completely covered the hole that provided oil to the number one rod bearing. This is the mistake that killed this engine. I wonder how long they were able to run it that way.
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| The Evidence - main bearing looks ok, but shims did not allow oil to rod bearing |
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| #1 rod journal needs a polish for sure |
The whole engine is standard size, so I'm guessing this can be cleaned up. I will see what Nick says.
Nick's Machine and Repair
Nick does great work.
These are not rare engines either, so I'll see what is out there on CL and ebay.
I was hoping this engine would be an easy fix. Have you watched those "Will it run?" videos on youtube? Seems like a good way to wreck a potentially good, old engine. I always hope that they have at least cleaned out the oil pan.
What this one definitely needs:
- crankshaft
- bearings - main and rod
- timing chain
- valve job
- rings
- oil pan - mine must have been sitting outside full of water
Not too bad.
Freddie made a puppy friend over the weekend. Hi Grommet! No generation gap here.
The cylinders do not look bad. Only a very small top ridge to deal with.
