Manx 2 Alaska 2016

[Tom-Kathleen]

Great fix. Yes you were lucky you didn't bend the valve like we did in 2007 coming back from Big Bear. I also hope you took a couple more springs from the donor head in case another spring broke. Tom

[rzeller]

We located a nylon rope on the walls of the tire shop and proceeded to feed it in the the cylinder.

Ok, I'll play the "Village Idiot" and ask the question(s) about the rope since I don't have a clue what/how it was used. When you say it was "feed into the cylinder" do you mean it was just piled into the cylinder to fill the void between the top of the piston and the cylinder, thus putting pressure on the valve to hold it in place?

Thanks.

[vincent9993]

That's exactly right Bud, as you compress the spring, we need a way to hold the valve closed to install the keepers. Inserting about 12' of rope and turning the crank to compress the rope between the piston and valve allows for the valve to stay shut.


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[vincent9993]

That's exactly right Bud, as you compress the spring, we need a way to hold the valve closed to install the keepers. Inserting about 12' of rope and turning the crank to compress the rope between the piston and valve allows for the valve to stay shut.


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[joescoolcustoms]

Thanks for taking the pictures Vincent! For some reason I was to distracted to do that.

For future reference, the Spring that fit both the cut valve guide boss and the Chromoly Retainer was from a Ford 300 6 cylinder. Ford used a Bee Hive style spring that has a ID of 0.850 inch on one end that fit perfectly over the valve guide boss and the other end had a ID of 0.950 inch that fit perfectly in the aftermarket retainer.

After Tom and Kathleen's experience bending a valve when their spring broke, I normally changed springs before every cross country trip, as insurance. Because I found a cracked case and rebuilt the engine into a new case just days before leaving to Alaska, i did not take the time to put new springs on this engine. (I run a Engle FK7 camshaft with 0.500 inch lift cam with 1.4 ratio rockers that really stresses springs)

Here is a single Hi-rev spring on the right, and a Ford 300 6 spring on the left. You can see the smaller end of the Ford spring.



This photo is the other end of the Ford spring, the larger end on the left.



This picture is a side-by-side with the Ford on the left. The smaller end of the Bee Hive to the top.



For not bending the valve head, when I built this 2165 cc engine several years ago, I grabbed one of my used sets of Wisco Racing Pistons that I had Brothers Machine in CA cut valve reliefs into for the 0.690 inch lift race cam I was running. So, the valve did not hit the piston on the tip edge, but flatly on it's face. To check to see if it was bent, after I pulled the rockers off, I looked side ways to see if the valve was lower in the head than the other 3, which it is not.

Here is a picture on one of my new racing sets that will go into a 2276 cc engine for my Tow'd. You can see the valve relief pockets cut into them. (A side note, these pockets are a total of 2.8 cc's for figuring the compression ratio)



And yes Tom, I did take a few extra springs off of that Ford head.

One thing that I believe helped us be successful as a group when this happened is the diversity of the knowledge we have, the ability of all of us to not accept that this was "done" and throw in the towel. None of us got excited or panicked, (I think I did not get excited, but Jon, Paul and Vincent would be better commenters on that). And we kept on until we got it.

[manxvair]

Incredible story, even more incredible roadside repair! this is what makes buggy life even more exciting!

[Tom-Kathleen]

Great to know that the cuts in the piston top saved the valve from bending. We had the normal flat top pistons. And your fix was true MacGyver! Tom

[hillmotorsports]

Compared to this crew MacGyver was a rookie who could take lessons here.....

Good job guys, makes reading the daily dispatches more exciting!

Vincent:
Can we expect similar daily progress reports from France on the Key West trip?
Seems only fair that she carry her weight, you are saddled with the driving!

(France... I hope you know I am kidding, no way Vincent would ever get through a trip like this without your assistance, planning, and guidance!)

[abgiles]

Wow! I did follow along as you guys traveled, but since I've finished up all my projects at my current job, and am just waiting out the week, I just went through and re-read the entire trip again.

I'm amazed at how beautiful everything is, and how wonderful the adventure had to have been.

I'm hoping that within the next couple of years, I'll be settled into a routine with my new company, and can hoard the time off to make a run like this. I guess I'll focus on just my Long Haul Pin first.

France, I'm sure my inbox for Calendar pictures will be blown up again this year, but I'm looking forward to that!

[joescoolcustoms]

Brian, I think I may have one or two possible pictures too.

[abgiles]

Brian, I think I may have one or two possible pictures too.

I'm counting on it! Thanks for posting about the valve reliefs in the pistons. That's a great idea.

[vincent9993]

Brian, I think I may have one or two possible pictures too.

Joe, I think you should submit this picture for the calendar:

[joescoolcustoms]

Brian, I think I may have one or two possible pictures too.

Joe, I think you should submit this picture for the calendar:

That is my hands holding the broken spring. I think Vincent took the picture, so, he would need to submit it for the "Manx Club Failure Calendar."

[abgiles]

Brian, I think I may have one or two possible pictures too.

Joe, I think you should submit this picture for the calendar:

That is my hands holding the broken spring. I think Vincent took the picture, so, he would need to submit it for the "Manx Club Failure Calendar."

We may have to make some new submission guidelines! A couple are on the way already, but this picture makes me consider more.