1939 Chevy coupe

[1946Austin]

Got out this morning to take advantage of a nice warm day and get started with the head swap. Got everything torn down to the short block, and cleaned up. Started installing the new Dart heads, and the ARP stud kits, but ran into a snag. The ARP studs use a 12 point nut, and my deep sockets are 12 point, except the smallest two that are 6 point. They wouldn't hold well as I tried to tighten the nuts, and slipped. So had to stop and go buy a 12 point deep socket from the local used tool peddler. A whopping $2 for a good old Craftsman socket, so pretty cheap.
Decided to stop for a late lunch at this point, and I'll go back tomorrow to finish it up. Unfortunately the crappy cold, wet weather will return Monday, so have to wait until the next round of false spring to give it a test run!

[1946Austin]

Yet another flaw with the 12 point socket saga. Couldn't get the socket to go down over the 7/16" stud! Seems they made the hole inside sized for the usual 5/16" bolt you'd see a 1/2" nut on. So had to put it on the drill press and open the center hole to 7/16" so I could torque the head bolts. Got them all done, and installed my roller rockers off the old heads, and set lash.
Need to pick up new spark plus as these heads use the old style with sealing washers. So I'll get valve cover gaskets, spark plugs, and black RTV and button the engine up next week.

[Captain]

Are you Sure these Are Not Heads for a BMW ???
My Son had One, there were So Many Specialty Tools to replace a Head Gasket !!

Acronym for "BMW"......
Bring Money With you.......

We sold it as is, not a bad sell either, the guy bought it for the Great Shape the Body was in.......it ended up a Race Car at Road America.

[1946Austin]

Are you Sure these Are Not Heads for a BMW ???
My Son had One, there were So Many Specialty Tools to replace a Head Gasket !!

Acronym for "BMW"......
Bring Money With you.......

We sold it as is, not a bad sell either, the guy bought it for the Great Shape the Body was in.......it ended up a Race Car at Road America.

Not sure what the head bolts have to do with the brand of the heads? It's the ARP stud kit that's produced the problems, not the Dart heads.

[SuperBuickGuy]

Not sure what the head bolts have to do with the brand of the heads? It's the ARP stud kit that's produced the problems, not the Dart heads.

BMtroubleU have heads that use a 30 star male key... suspect he's simply illustrating weirdness... even though that is the way ARP rolls - ARP says that you get more surface area and reduce the likelihood of stripping a nut.... I'm not sure I completely buy that because 12 point sockets are normally thin wall sockets - so more likely to deform and crack under load....

[DanStokes]

I wonder if ARP sells some kind of nifty 12 point sockets - I never went looking.

Dan

[1946Austin]

I think ARP sells the kits with either 6 point or 12 point, but I didn't pay attention when shopping. Had I noticed they sold both I'd have gone with 6 point as I just like them better. I had 6 point stud kit on my BBC engine in the Falcon, and no problems. Well I did have one issue with stud length on those ARP studs. Some of the studs were too close to exhaust ports and interference with my header flange was a problem. I had to take a grinder to the studs to relieve the excess length on a couple studs so my headers would bolt up.

[SuperBuickGuy]

I think ARP sells the kits with either 6 point or 12 point, but I didn't pay attention when shopping. Had I noticed they sold both I'd have gone with 6 point as I just like them better. I had 6 point stud kit on my BBC engine in the Falcon, and no problems. Well I did have one issue with stud length on those ARP studs. Some of the studs were too close to exhaust ports and interference with my header flange was a problem. I had to take a grinder to the studs to relieve the excess length on a couple studs so my headers would bolt up.

I have a full set of misordered ARP bolts for a BBC. I just call those "future plans"

[1946Austin]

I have a full set of misordered ARP bolts for a BBC. I just call those "future plans"

If things had continued to go sideways on the 12 point nuts I almost considered calling them to see if I could send them back, and get 6 point nuts from them! ARP are great, but sure not cheap. But hate to cut corners on head bolts too.

[1946Austin]

Finally got off my tired butt and got some decent weather today too! At least it was low 50's so no heat needed in the shop to work!
I got everything buttoned up, and ready to go, except for coolant. Going to let the RTV gasket maker set up overnight, and then I'll put the coolant in it, and adjust timing after it's warmed up.
Ready for the next winter project of putting the welting in the rear fenders.

[1946Austin]

After too much procrastination, and waiting for warmer weather, I finally got the coolant in the engine, and after cranking it over with my finger over #1 spark plug hole to determine TDC on firing, I dropped the distributor in. Of course the carb was empty, so had to crank it awhile, and oil pressure came up before she fired off. But once it got gas she fired right off, and timing seemed to be spot on! I let it idle until it warmed up, and checked for leaks. Everything is great, and I think timing is extremely close, but need to check it anyway.
The engine has an improved sound to it with the better heads, and higher compression. Seems to grab rpm's quicker, but maybe I'm just thinking it does? Anyway it sounds perfect, and hope our weather stays good so I can get some miles on it, and see how it feels now.

[Deaf Bob]

After too much procrastination, and waiting for warmer weather, I finally got the coolant in the engine, and after cranking it over with my finger over #1 spark plug hole to determine TDC on firing, I dropped the distributor in. Of course the carb was empty, so had to crank it awhile, and oil pressure came up before she fired off. But once it got gas she fired right off, and timing seemed to be spot on! I let it idle until it warmed up, and checked for leaks. Everything is great, and I think timing is extremely close, but need to check it anyway.
The engine has an improved sound to it with the better heads, and higher compression. Seems to grab rpm's quicker, but maybe I'm just thinking it does? Anyway it sounds perfect, and hope our weather stays good so I can get some miles on it, and see how it feels now.

Today (Mar 7) pretty nice.
at least 2+ hours south of you.

[1946Austin]

Today (Mar 7) pretty nice.
at least 2+ hours south of you.

Yes! Our car club had our weekly breakfast, and I drove the Austin to breakfast. It was a little icy on the cars this morning at 8:00, but cool and sunny on the ride home. I spent big money on the way home when I stopped to fill the Austin with 92 octane, plus the usual splash of VP Racing additive! Paid $5 a gal. the first time ever in my life! And of course the qt. of VP additive is $22, so probably a $4-$5 splash on top of the tank of gas!
Not gonna be driving nearly as much this summer!

[SuperBuickGuy]

I did a spreadsheet once for an accounting class that calculated cost-per-mile of various vehicles. It's actually remarkable how little fuel cost factors into the cost of ownership - the point of that exercise was to determine whether or not selling a 'gas guzzler' would save you money if you bought a newer 'economy' car. It doesn't, matter of fact during times of high gas prices, you can really save yourself money by buying a gas guzzler from someone who is bad at math. Yeah, painful for certain, but in the scheme of things - go and do what you were planning... after all, the other factor - time - is a commodity that you can't get back (or make more of).

[1946Austin]

I did a spreadsheet once for an accounting class that calculated cost-per-mile of various vehicles. It's actually remarkable how little fuel cost factors into the cost of ownership - the point of that exercise was to determine whether or not selling a 'gas guzzler' would save you money if you bought a newer 'economy' car. It doesn't, matter of fact during times of high gas prices, you can really save yourself money by buying a gas guzzler from someone who is bad at math. Yeah, painful for certain, but in the scheme of things - go and do what you were planning... after all, the other factor - time - is a commodity that you can't get back (or make more of).

In past summers I've often filled both of my hotrods at least once a week. At today's prices that's another $20-$25 extra per week for each car over what I paid last year. Not like I'm poor, or going to not drive them. But I'll probably be far more conscious and thoughtful about a lot of local driving without some destination, or purpose. An extra $40-$50 per week adds up, so wont be just cruising around when I get bored.
The '39 has been very economical out on road trips averaging 17-18 mpg previously, which I love. Hopefully the increase in HP wont hurt the MPG too badly at freeway cruise speeds.