Back to work on the MH 30 engine rebuild..Finally !!

Lots of things have been going on since the tear down...many smaller projects have come and gone, the retirement date that was in the near future is now in the recent past. Remember this little MH 30 that sat for a number of years, and was to be a simple job to get back in condition ? It turned into a full blown engine rebuild due to water getting in the cylinders.

Overbore pistons, rings, new valves, keepers, guides, exhaust seats, (intake not available), main and rod bearings, crank turned .010....on and on and on...you get the idea. Already having been taken to .040 over, it had to go to .060 over. This engine can go an unbelievable .120 over at the maximum.

What was to be a simple task turned into an expensive and extensive one for sure. No biggie, ain't going to line my coffin with greenbacks anyway. Eventually, this little fellow may just become the neat little utility tractor to keep and a total face lift may be in store, but for now and the impending new shop, the mechanical end is the major concern. If not, it may have to set in pieces another full year and we can't have that can we.

Long story short, assembly was completed last March with assembly lube slathered on every moving part just in case it had to sit a while. Good thing, fast forward 9 1/2 months and finally time allowed reassembly of the tractor. Remember, not a trailer queen but a good reliable worker for now.

Reading somewhere (I think) some '47 model 30's had the 162 Continental engine painted black, and though this one is probably an '51 or '52 I figured what the heck, a black motor will break up the monotonous red of the tractor. So be it. Black is the color of the day for the engine.

Refrigeration guage in the oil line fitting will let me oversee the oil pressure while test running the motor prior to total assembly of the tractor, in case there are leaks or worse....in case the motor has to come back out.....Perish the thought !!!! Carb is just hung on, not yet totally gone through, just cleaned. Gotta get a carb kit yet. That brass blow-by vent line looks sharp, ain't gonna paint that thing black !!!

Alternator is just hung on to allow the water pump to work during the test run. The alternator will be the first going on the test stand for check out. First the instructions on the test stand have to be read and understood though.... If it tests ok and the bearings don't whine it'll go back on, but then I see an old Autolite 6v generator is laying in the corner.....

No coolant in the motor yet and turning over the motor to build oil pressure without spark, is when I found an error in the process...I'd piped the inlet connection to the oil filter to the wrong port in the block. Cranking the engine in the above manner caused oil to squirt out of the CORRECT port right next to the wrong one !!! Now it made perfect sense as to why the steel line had to be tweaked to fit. Another reason I dry fire all these things, knowing that my sometimes memory serves INcorrectly !!! No harm, no foul...yet.
Now after filling the hydraulic sump and the coolant system, time to fire the old gal up. And fire up she did !!! Smoked the typical smoke at first while burning off the oil residue for the oil soaked new piston/ring assemblies...had to open the shed door for some fresh air. However, run time was cut super short by the pool of oil draining out of the frame onto the floor. A three foot puddle and growing. Seems the hydraulic return line decided to develop a hole in the bottom, just off the frame. Steel line, no access...Houdini couldn't get a torch in there, much less make a repair.

OUT it came for tabletop repair.

I'm sure you guys most all know a lot about these types of repairs, but for some of the younger generation that may not, here's how a poor boy from Missouri does it. Dig out the 45% silver and the white paste flux, and a small oxy/acet torch if you have one. File the steel line perfectly shiny anywhere you want the solder to stick. Apply liberally the white paste flux (IMPORTANT) ! Heat with the torch and transfer a bit of 45% to the steel. If this was in an area to be visible, I'd file this down smooth, then buff and paint. It will not give you a problem right there again.
Notice the coil of 45% laying on the vise ?? This stuff is sold by the 'troy ounce' and a 1 troy ounce roll costs about $31.60 at the local HVAC supply house. By comparison, this roll here weighs 10 to 12 troy ounces minimum...

So here's where you either gently file down or in this case, it is on the bottom inside the frame and not visible without a mirror and two elbows in one arm.

So much easier to use for these tiny repairs is this tiny Prestolite set. The big torches are much too cumbersome for so many things, everyone needs at least one of each in their shop. Less than a mile away, Oct 9th last year was an auction where I was lucky enough to pick up this torch AND the huge roll of 45% silver solder for $60....yep, SIXTY BUCKS !!!! I've been in HVAC for 38 years and used 45% many, many times and I've NEVER even seen a roll this big !!!
So that was a very lucky day indeed. Still using the oxygen and the acetylene that was in the bottles too.

Battery tray looked a little worse for the wear, so looking around the junk pile rendered some authentically aged, rusty 16 ga mild steel. I just don't want anything shiny and new to make the little rust-bucket stand out, you know.

Half hour later this semi-authentic and period correct replica is spot welded to the battery tray brackets, painted the glorious gloss black and ready to do its duty for the next generation of batteries.

So the saga continues....one of these days. Gotta go buy a new temp guage and start finishing.