Has anybody seen this sort of rebuild before?

I once saw (about 20 years ago) my next-door neighbor do an in the car rebuild. The guy was pretty poor and he was an old-timer. He left the motor in the car, pulled the heads and put the same pistons back in. He scuffed up the cylinder walls w/emery cloth and put in new rings. He changed the rod-bearings, but I don't think that he changed the mains (it is sometimes possible to change the main-bearings in the car...also generally speaking, the rods are more likely to need to be replaced because there is one rod-bearing taking all the force on the rod, but the mains on each side of it split the load 50-50). He either lapped the valves himself, or sent them out, I don't remember. I'm pretty sure that he used a cutter to remove the cylinder's ridge and that was it. I don't know how long that motor ran as I only lived in that house for about 5 years and a few years have passed since then.

What sort of success have you seen doing an engine in this manner?

 

It's a total gamble on how shot the parts you didn't check are, it might run for a long time or it could grenade tomorrow but if I didn't have the money to do it right that's what I'd do.

 

Sounds like a cheap rebuild. Basically it sounds like he cleaned up some dirty stuff and replaced a few things. Id say it was more of a tune up but more in depth than your standard "new plugs/wires, gaskets" etc.

If I was going to tear down a motor, personally I'd save up and do it right but if there was nothing wrong with the old parts/were not worn out and was reassembled correctly it should be perfectly fine. Usually when you get that far into an engine you check everything so if you've pulled pistons you pretty much know if something else needs replacing.

 

Yes and in the real old days, Isky use to sell a o-ring hone for the cylinders ...of something to that effect...you bolted on to the top of the block and it would shave the cylinders 1-2 thousands....just to clean them up..........

 

we still do in-chassis rebuilds on large diesel engines.

 

You could even change the oil seals back then. They were 2 piece, and a type of cloth. You made a hook in a cloths hanger, and pulled the new seal through
Main bearings had to be "pushed" through with the new half.
That's where the term "roll in a new set of bearings" came from

I rebuilt a few this way. They lasted a while.
Motors in the past didn't last as long as modern ones, and you did what you had to, to keep them going
Tom is correct about the big diesels, that call that an "in frame" rebuild.

 

I THINK THE TOOL HE IS REFURING TO IS A RIDGE CUTTER. IT TAKES THE RIDGE OUT OF THE TOP OF THE CYLINDER AS TO GET THE PISTONS OUT
WITHOUT THE RINGS CATCHING ON THE RIDGE AT THE TOP OF CYLINDER.

 

Only took 2 1/2 years to get a response. LOL

 

better late than never

 

Look again, I think it was something like 25 hours. Lol