Valve stem follow-up

[Flyingpiper59]

Good morning Forum Chums,

I’m afraid my luck has run out……. Everything had been measuring out to stock size……lifters, cam bearings, cylinders, pistons, etc..

I didn’t have a small bore gauge to find the inside diameter of the valve guides….. so I ordered one and am waiting on delivery…. in the interim, I took a chance and ordered stock .312 valves……they arrived today and……no Bueno…a bit of side play. I talked to Steve at Langs, and he suggested running a P drill through, followed by the reamer to drill out for a 15th larger diameter valve stem.

Soooo? Has anyone done that in the field by hand?….. I really didn’t want to pull the engine and take it to a machine shop….. I will if I have to but that wouldn’t make me happy….. as always, any input would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers!

[Scott_Conger]

Not a problem, but you need to make a guide for the reamer:

and after that, you'll need to cut new seats for the new valves...the Neway Cutter product is first rate and if you call them, they know Model T's and will build you a kit which will do everything you need. No subsequent lapping is needed nor recommended.

There was a Stevens Speed-up Tool made to do this job like my home-made setup, but you'll take 1/2 lifetime finding one and it probably will not fit your reamer if you do...

[Flyingpiper59]

Thank you Scott….. not being a machinist is problematic…. I have no access to anything like that…..what to do…what to do!!

[Scott_Conger]

well, what not to do is drill it free-hand...I've had to fix a few of those and it takes awhile

someone will step in eventually and help you out...just wait and request it as necessary

In any event, I've never done an Improved Ford but suspect that the firewall will present an obstruction to this work and you may still need to hooch the engine forward to gain clearance/access to do the reaming...Just for info and not pertinent to your case but here it is anyway: after reaming the guides, the Neway valve seat cutter shouldn't be a problem as it is low profile and I've done plenty of valve seats (most of them) with the engine in place in the car.

[Jerry VanOoteghem]

Wait until you get your small hole gauge and see what your clearance really is. Even .001" clearance will feel sloppy, but would actually be okay.

[Dan Hatch]

Unless you are planning to start rebuilding engines, what you spend on tooling will go a long way to having some auto machining shop fix it.

[Craig Leach]

Hi Edwin,
I have done valves in the car before the issue is getting everything clean. If I remember correctly I had to remove the cam & lifters because the
reamer went into the bore of the lifter & out the bottom. (I was told if you back it up the reamer you get more metal removed than you want)
The set up that Scott has is realy neat and will be more accurate with the seat than just the piloted reamer the venders sell. And yes you will
need to cut the seats after you ream the guides. I had one guide off a couple of thow once and it took some work to cut the seat back to inline
with the valve. I used some PVC fittings to neck down my shop vac to clean the chips up and a spray bottle with solvent after. I like to keep the
last oil change in a gallon jug and use it to flush out a engine that I do work on then dispose of after ( its also handy to soak bands in so you don't
have to use new oil) If your engine does not have ajustable lifters now is the time for that also. The Neway valve seat cutter is the next best
thing to a seat grinder & machine shop job. I wish I had a set ( have the old style cutters that I picked up from someone that bought a set of
Neway's) I wish someone rented the Neway set for T's. Maybe some of the guys that are retiring from building T engines & the like could make
more renting the tools than selling them? You may have some issues with getting to #4 exhaust valve ? Also wrags help with keeping things clean.
Craig.

[Flyingpiper59]

Dan Hatch……good point, but I categorically don’t feel like pulling that engine out….. that being said, I might elect to do that anyway….or
I might have a machinist make a jig similar to that of the eminent Scott Conger’s. I’ve always had a machinist do all the engine blocks from my antique Ford tractors, but they’re a little bit easier to get split and over to the machine shop….. I have been been bitten by this model T bug and reaming and valve seat cutting is certainly something that I could do if I had the equipment….Nu-Way cutters are reasonable…. Now that I know that these valve guides can be addressed on site, I will either have a jig made, or try to find one online….Thanks for the input!

[Flyingpiper59]

Scot Conger…. Great call on the firewall clearance…… I believe it can still be done with a modified T handle on the reamer…. it would definitely be tight!…….there’s roughly 2 1/4 inches from the firewall to the center of the valve guide hole….. I guess it would depend on how much downward force you have to push….I think I could fashion an extension easily enough……I know right?……one long in the tooth T handle!…I take it that even with the appropriate guide using any kind of electric drill to help with the clearance would be an absolutely no no?

[TXGOAT2]

Keep in mind that the valves, particularly the exhaust valves, will run hotter than the block, especially under load. You also need some oil clearance. Being a side valve engine, A Model T gets no help from gravity in getting oil to the valve stems.

If the valves are fit too tight in the guides, you may have issues with sticking exhaust valves. Too loose is bad, too tight is bad, just right is best. A high lift cam and high compression head might call for slightly looser stem clearance. Hourglass or potbelly stems and wallered out guides cannot be fit correctly.