<VV> Problems with a 140 tear down

[RoboMan91324 at aol.com]

Hello again Bob,
 
Yes, like many bad experiences, they make great stories after  the memory 
of the anguish fades a bit.  Hopefully, the details of what I  did will help 
you or others who are unfortunate enough to own a seized  engine.
 
Also, it is good to hear that your seller has taken ownership  of the 
problem.  Most people are ethical.
 
Please forgive me if I am telling you something you already  know but if 
your 140 HP crankshaft can be salvaged without a major grind  required, you 
should try to keep it.  The 140, 150 and 180 HP engines had  nitrided cranks.  
This is a process that makes the surface much harder and  wear resistant 
than the other "standard" cranks.  Of course, the crank may  have been 
replaced with a standard unit at some time in the past.  You  cannot tell just by 
looking at the surface if you have a nitrided crank.   However, the nitrided 
cranks have a "&" sign stamped into the end of the  crank.  Please note that 
if the bearing surfaces are rusted, worn or  gouged to the point that the 
crank must be ground, you will lose the nitride  treatment.  It barely 
penetrates the surface of the metal so that it will  not survive more than a 
polish or very light grind.  Perhaps someone else  here can tell us what the 
depth of grind is before the nitride is  gone.
 
The 140 cam has value too but not if it needs a grind to  resurface the 
lobes.  Depending on their condition, the distributor, carbs  (the secondary 
carbs are unique to the 140 HP engine,) alternator, oil cooler,  etc. have 
value.
 
Good luck,
 
Doc
 
1960  Corvette, 1961 Rampside, 1962 Rampside, 1964 Spyder coupe, 1965 
Greenbrier, 1966  Canadian Corsa turbo coupe, 1967 Nova SS, 1968 Camaro ragtop 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 
In a message dated 9/1/2011 9:51:57 P.M. Pacific Daylight Time,  
bgilbert at gilberts-bc.ca writes:

 
Hi  Doc, 
Thanks  - great story and I’ve spent a week doing just about exactly as you 
described  with PB but with very limited results to-date. I may be retired 
but my time is  still worth something so spending weeks on it doesn’t really 
appeal. Also,  it’s not really the way I want to start my 3.1 build ( a “
bucket list” item ,  for sure ! J  ) 
The  good news is that the seller has very kindly offered me a replacement 
motor to  strip and use the pieces I need – case, crankshaft, etc. I’ll 
keep the 140  heads from this motor and I hope to get everything else from 
motor #2. To be  fair to the seller and myself, we knew there was exterior rust 
but neither of  us could have foreseen the extreme interior rust. 
Regards, 
Bob