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I am in need of a steped bushing reamer for the rear exhaust cam bushings on a '42 Flathead 45". Does anyone know where I may be able to purchase one of these jewels, or have suggestions on another way to align these new bushings?
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I use two reamers, but pilot them off of the opposite bushing.
This requires two collars that are bored to match the shank of the reamers, and turned on the OD to fit inside of the opposite bushing. It requires a little patience to place the reamers inside the cam chest and screw it down each time, but it works well.
My reamers were sharpened from a larger common size (much cheaper!), and were also ground with an undersized leading edge for piloting as well. Their final finish is intentionally under the standard journal size as well, as most cams show wear, and I like to put a final finish on with a hone.
Note that if you install common pre-sized bushings, and your journals are worn (usually the inboard ones), then passing a commercial stepped reamer through will cut little, and have a sloppy result anyway.
Quite often it is best to just hand-scrape pre-sized bushings. You will find the interference is usually where the dowel has puckered it, and trial insertions of the journals will leave marks to show the high spots. These spots can be lightly scraped in a cross-hatch fashion with a triangular scraper ($1.65 from MSC Industrial Supply) and give you a truly hand-fitted gear train! -
Thanks for your input. I will try the two reamer method you suggested. What are the diameters of the reamers you use? Also, thanks for the tip on the triangular scraper.Comment
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Mike!
I'd have to retrieve that info from the shop. Just figure for cutting to journal size, or .001" less.
Good luck!Comment
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