The “Trusty W” Is Racing Along At VanNess Engineering!

W Polished

A work of art!

Now that the “Trusty W” is in the shop, things are progressing along nicely. Here is a short update and shots of her magnificent block. The good news, no cracks in anything. This is very rare, and we could not be more thrilled. A true testimate to how she was cared for for over 67 years by her original family. Dave decided she would do better with hardened Exhaust Seats, which always makes things better.

W Valve

I am thinking of having this blown up and framed. I will call it. ..I have no idea what to call it. “Hardened Seats”?

W Block side

Gotta love a stripped W

Thanks for tuning on on the “Trusty W” update. Next week, we will have more.

/7 Comments/by
7 replies
  1. Charity chapman
    Charity chapman says:

    Does hardened seats mean no more exhaust in your face when you’re cruising in the “trusty W”?

  3. GAry
    GAry says:

    Any rationale behind just doing the exhaust? The intake valve typically has a freer movement and slightly greater impact to the seat than exhaust. Then again if you use less K valve springs then it is ok.

    • Jim Staib
      Jim Staib says:

      Exhaust sees higher temperatures. There is an inherent defect in the Hercules six cylinder blocks where they don’t cool properly. Mostly cylinders two and five.
      I’ll bet Dave spent all day TUESDAY working on it.

  5. Verne
    Verne says:

    The issue of installing hardened seats in old motors to protect them from no-lead gas has been debated a LOT in the old car hobby. For the most part, they are NOT necessary unless the engine is to be put through a lot of heavy duty cycles, like pulling a trailer up a mountain all day. In the case of a boat engine, there might be a reasonable case for them since the engine will be asked to provide a lot of torque pushing that heavy piece of lumber through the water.
    The risk of the installation is the possibility of cutting into the water jacket when removing all the original cast iron. You may have been lucky, but I’d suggest that you have the cooling system pressure tested to make sure there are no leaks. Don’t wait until you’re back on the water.

    Verne

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