MTFCA Forum

WTB: Or (Borrow One). Camshaft rear bearing reamer bar that is put through the camshaft journals to align bore the rear bearing. Just trying to rebuild my T engine the proper way. I don't have a lathe to make one, any help would be appreciated!
Thanks, John

vanco wrote: ↑

Tue Feb 03, 2026 9:16 pm

WTB: Or (Borrow One). Camshaft rear bearing reamer bar that is put through the camshaft journals to align bore the rear bearing. Just trying to rebuild my T engine the proper way. I don't have a lathe to make one, any help would be appreciated!
Thanks, John

Do you have a picture??

You can see one in this thread: http://www.mtfca.com/discus/messages/50 ... 1224785762

Pictures worth a thousand words

This is mine. I have multiple standard and undersized reamers. I think these are jig bore reamers. Had it made so it can be powered by a drill motor, wrench or piece of bar stock. Cost about $250 to have it made locally. May be a little too far from you though.

Brad

Thanks for the photo's and information! To my knowledge there are not any model t ford clubs in Utah so I joined the MTFCA so that I have some information flow. Possibly I can find a machine shop in the area that would consider making one, most shops I have found do not have the time or interest in model t fords. It is all about available time and money. Thanks everyone, John

Is this tool really necessary? Does every motor re-builder use one? Does the service manual refer to this procedure?
Do you have a reasonable suspension that your block's cam mounts are out of alignment?

I'm not sure, I guess that I should do some more research? I have seen Mike Bender use one on his engine rebuilds as well as others in the past. My engine requires that a new bearing be installed.

I've used mine on every engine out of my shop for the last 30 + years !

Every engine

Re - Utah Model T Club Chapters:
While I don't see any chapters listing for MTFCA or MTFCI being in Utah there was a Model T Ford Club International annual tour in 2013 out of Kanab Utah.
I did not attend or remember who put it on.
But I will guess that Model T Speedometer expert Russ Furstnow (Flagstaff, Az) is nearby and might know of Model T folks in the area.
viewtopic.php?f=2&t=51605&p=386741#p386741

Also see this posting
viewtopic.php?f=2&t=51412

And remember, if there is interest in the area start your own chapter!

And for my Camshaft Rear Bearing Reamer I used a nice shaft, made adapter sleeves, and an adapter to take "stock" reamers to get the job done.
I made my own.
Mike

Dan Hatch wrote: ↑

Wed Feb 04, 2026 7:45 pm

Every engine

Rajo & Dan;
Do you perceive that The rear bushing was off some , therefore requiring this operation??
Does the lifter relief notch pull your reamer a bit?
If you were installing NOS iron bushings that fit the cam without reaming, would you still do this?

Every engine through my shop

No - just seems to be a good practice being how flimsy a T camshaft is.
Not that I perceived.
Anytime a bushing is installed as a "press fit", no matter what the material the bushing is made of, reaming is prudent.

Perhaps the moderator would see fit to pull some of this content over to the discussion area - sorry for jumping in with comments !

WTB: I am interested in buying a camshaft rear bearing reamer bar if anyone has one for sale. Thanks everyone for your input, John

I looked into reproducing them, but the cost was outrageous. So I decided not to.

Here is the numbers on mine. Looks like it maybe a Z tool?

Thanks Dan for the information and photo's, I will keep looking as I believe that is the way to go with regard to aligning the camshaft properly. If anyone out there has one that they want to part with contact me. Thanks Again everyone!!

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In the many years that I have frequented this Forum, I have NEVER seen one of these for sale. For this reason, I made my own.

You will likely have to either hire a machine shop to do it or make it yourself like Steve Tomaso and Brad Kirtner had done in their posts above. You can see that they are simple jobs to make and chucking reamers of all sizes are available commercially. You will want either a straight cut or left hand spiral reamer fit to the tool

If you can't borrow the tool you seek, here's another method I used on many cars before acquiring one.
Turn down the bushing ID so it slips over the rear cam journal with the clearance you choose. I do avout 1 thou. Turn down the OD enuf so it fits in the hole in the block with at least 1/16" slop.

Install the cam with the two front bearings in place. Slip the oiled and turned down bushing in place over the 3rd cam journal having covered the OD and the hole n the block with JB Weld. There needs to be enough slop in the fit so the JB Weld makes a full 360 degree contact and, of course take whatever measures you feel necessary to insure the JB Weld stays put and does not get between the cam journal and the bushing. You also need to figure a way to clean off the excess JB Welg that squeezes out without it traveling.

Because the bushing can float while being assembled and is aligned perfectly with the cam as it sits in the engine, you have a very accurate alignment after it dries, akin to line boring the three babbitt bearings in the block.

I used this method on many Ts I owned over the years, maybe as many as a dozen, I don't remember. That's whats I did on both my 10 and 12 and I've owned them for at least 20 years. The bushings have not worked loose. I have opened up both engines for other reasons and the bushings were solidly in place.

Oh, I would recommend the regular JB Weld, not the fast stuff.

I'll check - I might have another.

John, in response to your question re the need for this tool, years ago I rebuilt and engine pressing in a new bushing supplied by one of the parts vendors. I reamed it in place wit a spiral hand reamer straight as I could.
Not long after the car was running, I tore down the engine due to what I though was a clutch issue. I discovered the bushing wore a section of the third journal to the point I switched camshafts. I reasoned the hole in the block was not aligned with the first two
Or perhaps the bores th the first two bearings were not aligned. That's when I tried the JB Weld method I outlined above. Using this method insured alignment whatever the cause.

If you make one be advised that the reamer must not be too long or it will engage the bushing before the machined areas enter the first two cam beaing holes in the block. At least thats what I found. I ended up buying what was available and had the reamer shortened.

What is the diameter of cam bearing holes in the block? In other words, what would the diameter of the reamer bar have to be?

I'll measure mine this afternoon.