engine overhaul

[R-Sargent]

I'm looking for someone familiar with kf engines here in the pacific northwest prefer someone in washington to rebuild a 54 manhattan engine for me . I own a restoration shop but the sources i use are more into muscle car type engine's and have never seen a kaiser before let alone work on one. I thought about Ed Ewing but he's six hundred miles south so not very practical for me. I would even consider a back yard guy that maybe would want to do a little trading of labor , we can fabricate,weld,and paint just about anything but have always farmed out the actual machining and assembly on the engines. If you know of someone you can email me directly at sargent53@aol.com or respond on the forum.

[Jim B PEI]

Before giving up locally, consider scouting around the TRACTOR fraternity. Continental engines were used in forklifts, mobile generators and irrigation, but especially Massey/Massey-Ferguson tractors. >>There is nothing rocket science about the engines themselves<<, and given a workshop manual, anyone who has rebuilt a flathead 6 iI, say, a Plymouth of Dodge can rebuild these. Offhand, about the only different bits in a 54 Manhattan per se compared to the other Continental engines in Kaisers and anything else are the valve rotators and the supercharger/carburation set-up. Buying a workshop manual--or just even getting copies of a few pages of the necessary specs for valve adjustment etc is really all that is needed--or should be needed.

True story: My 49 Kaiser had a completely worn out engine when I got the car--it would run in warm weather and didn't smoke, but had been used up otherwise. I live in a hamlet of 50 people, the nearest village in a rural farming area is 7 miles/11 km away, and virtually every single part (over 95%) was on the shelf of a car/truck/tractor parts place in this village--or next day delivery from a regional warehouse 90 minutes away for the few other bits. The next day, every single part was there. It helps that Massey and Massey-Ferguson were popular tractors around here. Local fellow here has rebuilt a LOT of 4 & 6 cylinder tractors with Continentals, and mine he could do blindfolded. The rebuild--new valves, pistons, boiled out block, seals and gaskets etc was not expensive. It helps if you use the names Clark and Massey and Continental as well as Kaiser, when you are asking for expertise.

It is exactly like rebuilding King Pins--if a modern garage doesn't know them, take it to a big truck or tractor place!

Hmmmm....are you talking to people who can only find parts if the have the right order number for the computer, or are they 'scared off' by the weird & unknown to them brand name of car and automaticially saying 'no'? Just saying...

[R-Sargent]

I will certainly ask around a little more. I know of a shop about 60 miles south of me that has some knowledge of old engines  but the last flathead six i sent down there they charged me $4500 when done and i'm thinking there must be a better deal out there especially since i have multiple kaisers needing engine work. My father was a pro at mechanical work and i should have paid attention a bit more when i was younger,  i did rebuild the engine on my 51 Frazer vagabond with him looking over my shoulder but that was over thirty years ago. That car is in Lemay Museum these days. 

[Jim B PEI]

$4500!!!!!!  Yikes, I paid less than half that--quite a bit less. Reminds me of my Jetta wagon TDI on a trip to Ontario--a supposed "Wolfsburg Award" winning dealer diagnosed the sudden non-boost and huge clouds of black smoke/no power as a blown turbo, repair cost $2134 plus taxes. As well, it needed a new timing belt (true) for $1400 plus taxes, and a few other things. Instead I limped home from Ontario to Prince Edward Island 850 miles and had a local fellow do it. Turbo was FINE, but the engine-side intake from turbo was blocked with soot (time, and idling) which blew off the turbo to intake pipe, damaging it, so there was no turbo pressure. A $28.75 junkyard pipe, cleaning, and a new timing belt--less than $550 back to my driveway, rather than about $4000.

You know, if you have done it, even 30 years ago, with a workshop manual you might be able to do it yourself. They are not tricky engines; not even as "tricky" as Studebaker engines (piston pins, block alloy hardness=special stones required to clean up bores). The usual caveats apply, as in packing oil pump so that you have pressure, break-in oil containing the correct amounts of Zinc and Phospherous (ZDDP)

Farming out part of the job, and doing the rest yourself 'might' be an option, with the help and advice of tractor hobbyists.

51 Frazer Vagabonds!  My favourite KF car other than the theoretical 'if I had a million dollars' convertibles.