1936 Terraplane 212 engine

rowdydog

Hi Everyone,

Now the nice weather is here again getting itching to get the Terraplane on the road, but I have a problem I know there is a whole in the engine I'm  not supposed to plug when rebuilding it but I'm not sure which one it is any help would be appreciated.  If there is anything else I need to keep my eye open for when rebuilding this old girl please feel free to let me know as I'm a Hudson Virgin!  I put in the harder seat for the valves and re-babbited the pistons, crank, and cam shaft seats the guy in Idaho did a great job at a fair price if you need any done.  I do know its becoming harder to find the craftsmen that do this work.  Hope to see you all on the road soon.

Mike

ken1962

Mike, make sure you dont use the fiber gears - you need to get some metal ones for the time chain - the fiber ones sheer. Some people also remove the gas pump and seal the hole and use just an electric pump to avoid vaper luck. My 36 has the carb replaced with a stromberg universal carb as it is much better performer than the orginal design The hole I think you are referring is the oil return pipe. The gasket needs a hole to not block the return. Also make sure you fill the valleys in the upper oil pan sump before starting the engine. Also you could think of installing a oil filter inline - mine doesn't have one but it was an option later on to do Cheers ken

farmermike

Mike,

I live in Idaho and eventually will need to get the 212 in my 35 Terraplane rebuilt. Who did you find in Idaho that did your engine work?

Ken is right about the timing gears. The fiber one in my engine sheared off going 50-55 mph down I-90 going to a club meet. I was very fortunate that I did not cause any other damage to the internals. There is no room for the crank if the cam lobs are out of time. I could not find a set of metal gears when I had the cover off so went with another fiber one that I got from Dale Cooper. It got me going and the engine runs fine but I do not trust it. Definitely metal gears if you can find them.

Mike

Jon B

Amen to the aluminum timing gears.  You will need the matching steel gear because the pitches must match.  They are somewhat hard to find but worth the effort. Also, you will need to either machine the web on the alum. gear or use special bolts to attach them, if yours is an "earlier" 212 like my 1937.  I installed mine in 1978 and haven't had any timing gear problems since then, but the fiber ones are bad news. If you're in the Club, go through your WTN classifieds and get the e-mails of all the "regular" Hudson vendors, and shoot off an e-mail to them, asking if any of them have the aluminum gears for sale.

The electric pump is handy, but frankly I've been running my regular fuel pump for about 25 years now, in the hottest weather, and it has worked just fine.  Be sure to use plenty of gaskets under your carburetor to isolate it from the hot manifold, and use a metal heat shield if one is available.  These will help you on a hot day.

Has your crankshaft been machined?  If not, you may have to fit the newly-rebabbeted rod bearings to the journals, to compensate for wear in the journal.  If you just bolt them in, you may be in for some trouble.

The block is a chrome alloy, and generally you don't need valve seats.  But maybe some of them were burned, and that's why you did it.

If your car has been off the road for some time, the clutch may be stuck because the Hudsonite has drained out.

Be sure to clean the gunk out of the oil pan, and install an inline fuel filter to catch any crap in the fuel tank.  Those are the two biggest problems that arise from "settin' " for a long time.

rowdydog

First thanks guys for getting back with me I have done some of the things your suggesting I'm also looking for the metal gears I heard about the night mare with the others.  Farmer Mike here is where I got my babbiting done for the engine John is the one that actually does it and he is a hoot!  There also very reasonable he actually let me help on the project and I video taped a lot of it.  I making a video of everything I'm doing on the car as I do it that way if I decide to sell it down the line someone will have a history of what was done.  I do this to most all the cars I restore people love it and its a great sales tool.

C A Wood Rebabbitting Shop

C A Wood Rebabbitting Inc

1304 1st St North
Nampa, ID 83687 - View Map

Phone: (208) 466-0301

That did answer the question I had I was told last year but like a dummy I didn't write it down.  Thanks for the help guys if I find a stash of steel gears I'll let you know. Hey Ken thanks for the info  on which hole I need to keep open.  I'm putting this back to original so I'm using a new oil pump and I was told to make sure to put oil in the top of the pan or I would fry the engine thanks for reminding me. Al told me it might be a good idea if I'm going to drive this a lot to put an oil filter inline.   Jon the reason I did the seats they were worn out any way and I just wanted to get a good set I didn't have to worry about again.  John over where I had it Babbitted did both the crank and cam to get the perfect match.  I have pulled the entire transmission had a guy that has been doing older cars for years rebuild it completely have a new clutch and fluid ready to go.  The fuel tank was pretty much garbage so I took it to a fabricator and had him reproduce me another one along with a new sending unit.  Have new wheel bearings, brakes, its mechanical I'm redoing it this car will be better than when it left the factory in 1936.  I really am glad I got into this club the people are so down to earth and friendly it makes you feel like were back in the day before all the computers and other crap ruined this earth.  God bless gentleman hope to see you next year at the Nationals with my new baby.

Mike Cahill

Mike

Jon B

Just curious: what did the gas tank fabricator charge you?  Generally, those with bad tanks simply have them cleaned and repaired by a place by Gas Tank Renu, which ends up costing $300 or more.  If someone offered the tanks at that price (or slightly more) it would pay to have a new one made.  Do you suppose this fellow would be interested in taking orders (assuming anyone wants one), if his "price is right"?

(I myself do not own a '36 but it's always good to find out what's available out there, to pass this info along.  As you may know, I maintain a webpage listing repro items that are available for Hudons, http://www.detailedconcepts.net/Repro_Table.pdf ).

junkcarfann

ken1962 said:

 Also you could think of installing a oil filter inline - mine doesn't have one but it was an option later on to do Cheers ken

An inline oil filter on splasher Hudson engines won't do much, because the oil pump is a very low pressure unit that is only used to pump oil from the bottom sump of the oil pan to the upper tray of the oil pan where the connecting rod dippers catch it. 

Better to use a good oil and change it often. 

Frankvintagefullflowcom

Whatever you do, don't install a bypass type filter inline in a splasher Hudson. It's untrue that the Duo-flo pump is a "low pressure" pump. It's a gear-driven, positive displacement piston pump that will put out high pressure if restricted (like with a bypass type filter).

If you wish to add a bypass type, it must be installed per the book, in a bypass circuit parallel to the rear oil line circuit, not in the main line circuit, preferably using the factory supplied fittings.

It is possible to install in-line full-flow elements in the Duo-flo system but is a bit involved. Mine has been performing just fine for several years and a few thousand miles.