Originally posted by SCDIV1: The cranks were drilled and tapped for a bolt back in the "old days"
We ran Jr. Stock and just pounded the balancers on with a hammer and a block of wood when there was no bolt hole. Was a PITA.....in the car....
When I first started my career, I worked as a flat rate mechanic at a Chevrolet dealership and there was still a fair amount of 265 and 283s out there. It seemed like anytime I received a timing chain job it was one of those....I couldn't believe the first one I ever saw, I was convinced it was a factory screw up, not sure what GM was thinking when they done that.
Jerry Kathe
November 02, 2021, 09:02 AM
SCDIV1
quote:
Originally posted by Jerry Kathe:
quote:
Originally posted by SCDIV1: The cranks were drilled and tapped for a bolt back in the "old days"
We ran Jr. Stock and just pounded the balancers on with a hammer and a block of wood when there was no bolt hole. Was a PITA.....in the car....
When I first started my career, I worked as a flat rate mechanic at a Chevrolet dealership and there was still a fair amount of 265 and 283s out there. It seemed like anytime I received a timing chain job it was one of those....I couldn't believe the first one I ever saw, I was convinced it was a factory screw up, not sure what GM was thinking when they done that.
Yes I was working on cars well before I could drive....
Old cars were full of stuff like that for sure.
I was a Flat Rater for a while in the 1970's.....Pontiac-Jeep-Subaru dealer
Most balancers were an interference fit......Pontiac's were/are slip on.....other engines too
I worked in a high end Auto restoration shop too for a very short while in the 1970's.....Pretty much the exact opposite of being a Flat Rater.....I could make way more money as a flat rater and usually did. I preferred the FR days over the tedious restoration work. They paid pitiful wages working on the old classics....
FR'ing was a grind though.....and doing warrantee work was usually a loser by comparison
The saying we made up back then was " The pen is mightier than the wrench"......I'm pretty sure you know what that means.....
November 02, 2021, 09:16 AM
Jerry Kathe
quote:
Originally posted by SCDIV1: The saying we made up back then was " The pen is mightier than the wrench"......I'm pretty sure you know what that means.....
Absolutely - one of our writers also done all of the warranty claim documentations, he was great friends with the "trim" tech....who spent far more time do paper work than using tools - lol
I eventually went into aerospace, and that was great until 9/11....then full circle back into automotive world, now sitting here drinking coffee and thinking about those days. Ahhhh...
Jerry Kathe
November 02, 2021, 03:41 PM
Goob
quote:
FR'ing was a grind though.....and doing warrantee work was usually a loser by comparison
The saying we made up back then was " The pen is mightier than the wrench"......I'm pretty sure you know what that means.....
I actually preferred warranty work, I had no time wasted diagnosing, putting together the estimate, checking parts stock, and waiting for the writer to FAIL to sell the job..... Every car under warranty was a guaranteed "get it fixed" job. Service managers also love a guy that takes ALL the BS work and problem customers off their plate.
"Despite the high cost of living, it remains popular." Dave Cook N375
November 02, 2021, 04:41 PM
SCDIV1
The dealership I worked at was pretty good...
We had new car prep guys Fairly new car guys we called them pukes ! Squeaks, rattles, leaks, trim issues
Us FR'ers got stuck with warrantee repairs and what I hated was no matter how fast you worked, you could barely if at all beat the time you were gonna get paid on warrantee jobs.
And the worst part was if you did one well they would try to stick you with the next one....
I would toss the R.O.'s right back at the dispatcher and say not me bro.....
My best one I recall was the new thin wall Pontiac 301 V8 blocks had water leaks right thru the side of the block.....1978 Grand Prix....
You got a "fitted block", just a Block with pistons in it.....You got paid about 10 hrs to do that swap out.... If the Service writer dug around he maybe could get you a little more time
I did one and worked like a dog and did it in one day.........stayed late and probably worked 12 hours...My area was a mess !!!
The next one that came in I flat refused to do it......F-U !!
Dispatcher "fed" 2 guys gravy work all the time......Those 2 were the absolute biggest ripoff artists.
They used to love to harass me when I was in a bad one
Once that dispatcher was gone the gravy train ended for those 2 and I loved getting some revenge when the tables were turned.....
I was real happy the day I rolled out of that job and said never again.....
There were some other issues though there and it was female related......LOL !!! I had some fringe benefits for a while.....
November 02, 2021, 05:15 PM
Goob
Yup, our paths were similar.....
I got stuck doing the piston scuff campaign on Pintos and Mustang II's, on the promise that I'd get some of that gravy at the end. Never happened. 8.3 hours to replace the rods and maybe some pistons in any 2.3 that rolled in the door....
Did a brand new engine for a Vega under warranty too, I made love to that one, it got EVERYTHING new. I was bored.
But, when everyone else had nothing to do, warranty work rolled on in my bays. Sometimes hours appeared like magic on my stubs too.
"Despite the high cost of living, it remains popular." Dave Cook N375
November 02, 2021, 05:35 PM
Woody B
Chevette's had a balancer bolt. It broke EVERY SINGLE TIME you had to do a timing belt.
I used to be a people person, but people ruined that.
November 04, 2021, 10:52 AM
TOP38
quote:
Originally posted by Woody B: Chevette's had a balancer bolt. It broke EVERY SINGLE TIME you had to do a timing belt.
A number of years back had a friend who bought a 582 BBC from a big named builder, he added a moroso mandrel and ran it, not long into the season the mandrel stud busted, during the fix he noticed the balancer slide on the crank way to easy, he removed it with only his hands! Some top notch honing of the balancer there!
On another motor I freshened for someone, ran two season, BBC making well over 1100HP, no balancer bolt was ever installed, it had a mandrel that bolted to the balancer so no one ever noticed! The balancer never moved! And ya, this one didn't come off the crank with just my hands pulling on it!!!!
November 04, 2021, 04:42 PM
Footloose
Top38 was it an ati that stayed on? They are tight.
November 04, 2021, 11:17 PM
TOP38
quote:
Originally posted by Footloose: Top38 was it an ati that stayed on? They are tight.
Yes it was. They usually need to be honed to fit correctly.
November 26, 2021, 09:48 AM
SR6223 Monza
After reading all these post I thought back to my days as a want to be real drag racer in my early 20s I had put together a motor out of used parts from donations and what I could afford at that time a SBC 4 speed car In a 73 Vega The little motor wouldnt turn much over 7 grand but I thought it sounded good. My first trip out at Beech Bend Raceway I did my burn out and then rolled in staged the car and did the Grumpy Jenkins REV it up a couple a thousand every light before dumping the clutch. When I did I noticed to my left the guy at the starting line jumped straight up in the air and thats when I saw the balancer against the left lane retaining wall spinning and jumping up and down. I felt about 2 inches tall when I saw all this. Thankfully no one was hurt. Taught me a really good lesson the bolt was in the crank but the balancer was split, must have had a crack in it I didnt see when I installed it. It was one of the factory GM 8 inch everyone was running back in the day. I have now been racing some 40 years now and always put safety first cant be to safe.
November 28, 2021, 10:33 PM
BP758
quote:
Originally posted by SCDIV1: The dealership I worked at was pretty good...
We had new car prep guys Fairly new car guys we called them pukes ! Squeaks, rattles, leaks, trim issues
Us FR'ers got stuck with warrantee repairs and what I hated was no matter how fast you worked, you could barely if at all beat the time you were gonna get paid on warrantee jobs.
And the worst part was if you did one well they would try to stick you with the next one....
I would toss the R.O.'s right back at the dispatcher and say not me bro.....
My best one I recall was the new thin wall Pontiac 301 V8 blocks had water leaks right thru the side of the block.....1978 Grand Prix....
You got a "fitted block", just a Block with pistons in it.....You got paid about 10 hrs to do that swap out.... If the Service writer dug around he maybe could get you a little more time
I did one and worked like a dog and did it in one day.........stayed late and probably worked 12 hours...My area was a mess !!!
The next one that came in I flat refused to do it......F-U !!
Dispatcher "fed" 2 guys gravy work all the time......Those 2 were the absolute biggest ripoff artists.
They used to love to harass me when I was in a bad one
Once that dispatcher was gone the gravy train ended for those 2 and I loved getting some revenge when the tables were turned.....
I was real happy the day I rolled out of that job and said never again.....
There were some other issues though there and it was female related......LOL !!! I had some fringe benefits for a while.....
Can’t tell you how many I’ve seen welded too. Rich, does that sound familiar! Saw that chit up close and personal! Went to a municipality and never looked back!This message has been edited. Last edited by: BP758,
