Fried Coleslaw?

Years ago, Lori and I wandered into a little cafe in the deep south.  We thoroughly examined the menu and finally the waitress came.  She was mauling the bubble gum she had in her mouth, she said, " Can I help you, honey?"  Lori asked, "Do you have anything that's not fried?"  The waitress didn't even slow her cadence with the gum and said, "Oh baby, we fry everything here but the coleslaw."  Now, I only tell that story because I thought about it as I was working on the engine today.  You see, I had to install a gear onto the end of the crankshaft.  The gear has to be heated all the way through and then tapped into place once it is heated and expanded enough.  I am told that heating with a torch will not evenly heat the part and may not allow for even expansion.  The answer?  Fry it!  What?  That's right, take some plain engine oil, heat it to boiling and fry the gear in it.  That way the part heats evenly all the way through.  So, I broke out the Coleman stove and fried up some engine parts.

How do you like your gears fried?

Here's the finished product once the gear was tapped into place on the crankshaft.  Tip, boiling engine oil will burn you if it makes contact with the skin.  Just saying.

Did you see the Dexter table in the background?  You can see the engine is dismembered and positioned for reassembly.  If you've never seen Showtime's hit series Dexter, then the reference was lost on you, sorry.

Ain't it pretty though?  Who knew old truck parts could be such a work of art...

Here the crankshaft is back in.

See the two dots that line up?  This ensures the timing of the pistons and valves.  If they don't line up, you'll bend a valve when the piston and valve collide.

Remember the picture of the valve that was all jacked up in an earlier post?

Here's the same valve now.

Ahhh, that's much better, huh?  Well, the engine is coming along nicely.  Hopefully, we will be hanging this thing on the frame soon.  Stay tuned.