Is it better to leave the flywheel stock and balance or have it lightened up and balanced?
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I have access to a large lathe so it's easy for me to turn a few lbs off mine. Reasons for doing it; 1) the engine spools up faster. 2) less weight on the rear main. The weight is taken off the OD, not the center making the mass less effective. All engine manufacturers have been lightening their flywheels. The stock FW weighs about 63lbs. Show me one auto manufacturer whose FW weighs anything near that! Crappy roads made the heavy FWs necessary, better roads has allowed much lighter FWs to be used. Reasons for not doing it, It isn't stock. Your engine may have slightly different running characteristics. I generally take them down to about to 57-55 lbs, not much difference! Some people take them to down thirty lbs. Then have it properly balanced . I find it to be a desirable modification.
Terry -
Generally, Henry used the heavy FW because his crank was not counterweighted.
Once any of us went to a counterweighted crank, the need for such a monster of a FW was negated, and most of use then use a FW that has been lightenedComment
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I run my unrestored tudor off road and it just keeps chugging places that my V6 pickup won't go, it really is amazing how it runs on the
old rough farm roads. Maybe the FW helps?Comment
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leave it stock,if you counterbalance run the B weight,10 pounds less than an A..the weight makes the driveability..Comment
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a lighter FW is gonna help not beat up the mains as much.........Comment
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Thanks for the info. That was a question that has lingered in my little brain for some time.Comment
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I do not want to get into bashing people. So I,m going to say the model A engine is one of the hardiest to get right when rebuilding them. You could do 2 chev small blocks or Ford small block to 1 model A engine, that is if you do it right. Every one always says how simple they are. But they are not simple to get right....01-22-2018, 03:25 PM -
Getting a funny noise from the engine in my avatar, so I removed the front cover and discovered an aftermarket pulley with a sloppy keyway had just about destroyed the woodruff key. Finally removed it and got a new key that got stuck due to the damage incurred earlier. Decided to put the car in the storage garage with a box of parts and decide later on pulling the engine and having the crank checked...06-03-2018, 10:34 AM -
Several people have a hard time understanding static and dynamic balance, and the need for counterweights.
Jack up the front wheel on your Model A, and if it's in perfect static balance, it will stay wherever you rotate it and remove your hand. Now place a 6 ounce weight on the outside of the rim, and it will sink to the bottom because it's out of static balance. Now place a 6 ounce weight exactly...04-03-2018, 12:44 PM -
This is not for the old timers who know and have experience with these things, but for the new comers who have some machines and the know how to use them and want/need a little more hp under the hood to keep up with traffic, First, The head! The 5.5 heads coming from Snyders are an excellent first step. Even the 6.0 seems to be ok. For a little over $300 this should be the first consideration. Next,...10-16-2018, 10:34 AM -
As an old hot rodder, I never consider a car is ever finished. To that point, here are the modifications that I've made to the A engine in my roadster over a 26 year period.
The engine in my avatar was built in May of 1931 and rebuilt in August of 1992. At the 2015 Speedster Reunion, this engine in my Zipper roadster registered 60HP @ 3500 RPM's at the rear wheels. It's been in and...05-08-2018, 11:33 AM -
This engine, with only 4000 miles on it since rebuild, has always overheated and locked up when shut down after overheating, which is usually when driven at 45 or less for 30 minutes or more. (This did not and does not happen when driven under 35 and/or just around town for less than 45 minutes). I thought I had this problem fixed. But apparently not.
Here is the history: On 3/16/14 I...07-01-2017, 01:12 AM -
First of all this was not my attempt
What can you knowledgable Model A guys tell me about this attempt to balance this A motor ?
here are the facts:
- The motor has only about 5 hours on it after rebuild and balanced.
- no matter the positioning of the flywheel in relation to the pressure plate it would shake the fillings out of your teeth.
- using a fairly accurate kitchen...You do not have permission to view this gallery.
This gallery has 2 photos.07-22-2017, 08:40 PM -
Original Thread
Hand Cranking - Safe and Easy
©1999 Marco Tahtaras
https://web.archive.org/web/20180830...om/index.shtml
©1999 Marco Tahtaras
...01-16-2018, 08:28 AM -
Just wondering about how much power do you think one should expect a stock A bottom end to hold up to with fair reliability? The are lots of ways to extract more beans from the A engine, but hat bottom end is pretty whimpy. Or a touring car, no racing involved, do you suppose the bottom end can take, say, 80 hp? 100?
I've got a neat little blower, meant for a Miata, but never used,...06-06-2018, 01:47 PM -
Again I'm new at this game and haven't seen much, but this situation does not seem right. Give me your input please.
I'm getting a new engine so I tore the old engine down to see what it was like.
1. I found one of the rods had a 1.5 in long weight welded inside the web. Nothing on the other side.
2. Second rod had a 3" weight welded to each side of the rod.
3. Third...You do not have permission to view this gallery.
This gallery has 1 photos.08-12-2018, 12:03 PM
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