@daytona

Installing new rings in 1930 V8 Cadillac

daytona · 2012-01-11T22:38:49.000Z

Could someone who has put new rings in a 1930 353 V8 let me know if it is possible to do with the crank in?? The end of the rod is to big to go thru the cylinder so you cant just disconnect and pull the piston up and out. I am planning on pulling the combustion chambers off the crankcase but just…

Jan 11, 20123.7K views

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Replies (10)

· Jan 12, 2012

Hello, there are two ways to do it. The factory dropped the cylinder bank with the pistons and rods on the lower end. It's very difficult to do without damaging the crank with the rods, as the bank is VERY HEAVY. The way I have done three engines is to pass the rod into the bore from below without the rings on it, then push the piston up to install the rings. Pistons can have the rings in different locations. (Oil ring may be below the pin, thus it must be installed from the bottom side which is very difficult. Then push the piston down in the bore from the top. It can get difficult to turn the crank as all the pistons are installed and there is quite a bit of drag on everything. Take your time, be carefull, and don't snap any rings. I usually order one extra set as it saves lots of time if you damage one. Good luck. Ed

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· Jan 12, 2012

I have done the 341 engines and Ed is correct, the cylinder is HEAVY. I have thought about making a holding fixture tray type that would take up the weight while I get the pistons into each cylinder. But so far, I just have a helper hold it... I dont tell them how LONG they have to hold it.. Then after the first one, I have to find a new helper.. !!!

· Feb 23, 2012

Hi Martin,

I have done this with my engine.

Installed the pistons from below without the rings and let the pistons pop out of the top. Held them up there with some rings of rubber (cut from an inner tube).

Three of us (two lifting, one guiding) lowered each barrel into place onto new base gasket then installed the rings and pulled them down onto each journal in turn. Mine must have been an early 1930 as it had one oil ring above and one below the wrist pin. I follwed the factory book and replaced the third compression ring with an oil ring and left off the oil ring below the wrist pin. This gave me two compression and two oil rings all above the pin.

I put all the new valves into place before hand, also make sure you replace all the core plugs. I did but didn't do it correctly! Over here in England you get metric sized core plugs sold as inch sized so I got the wrong ones and had two drop out during use. Had to lift the engine and box out together to be able to get to them all and change them all again, lesson learned.

I got my head gaskets from Olsens, rings and valves from Egge and made the rest of the gaskets myself.

· Apr 1, 2012

Martin's car is up and running strong. I spent a few hours with him the other day and had a chance to drive his car. It's a great Caddy, and I'm sure we will see lots of it this year. Post a few photos Martin! Ed

· Apr 1, 2012

I drove 30miles this morning just to get a cup of coffee, great drive. The car runs great and gets more fun by the mile. I thought once I got it going I would start to do other repairs but I really don't want to stop driving it now. Cruises at a bit more than 40 very comfortable but when you engage the overdrive it really moves out and can easily do 65 with what seems like pretty low RPMs. Still needs work but it’s a fun car to take out on the road, nice brakes too.

I could not have done this without the help of Ed Minnie, he really, really knows his stuff.

Thanks Ed, you need to come back soon for some finale adjustments!!

More pictures coming soon, one is early this morning with fog and the other is at the coffee place, I will get other angles soon.

· Apr 2, 2012

Glad you got it back together, Martin, it looks great! The club sedan is the best-looking of all the closed cars, in my opinion.

I've been tweaking on my '29 and getting a few details sorted out. This week it's going to be new plug wires, a fresh gasket on one of the carburetor heat tube block-off plates, and getting the Guide lamp up front working. I'm also pulling the generator for a solid-state regulator and fresh brushes. Next week: new exhaust system.

I'm glad to hear your overdrive is working well, but be careful with speed. 65 MPH is pretty fast for these old guys--remember, you're still dealing with ancient brakes and suspension. Mine is pretty happy at about 55, will do 60 if I push it, but it feels a bit twitchy at that speed. If I've got the time to drive the car, I've got the time to take it slow enough to not stress anything too much. What gear ratio is in your '30?

Ed has been an awesome resource for me, too. Wish I had him nearby to come do some tweaks--mine doesn't quite idle as smoothly as I'd like, which I suspect is due to the electric fuel pump pushing too much fuel into it at idle. There's a stumble at idle that I don't like but haven't been able to tune out. The rebuilt vacuum tank hopefully will offer a cure.

Enjoy the car!

· Apr 2, 2012

Oh, to think I passed on this car a couple years ago... After careful practice, I found I can kick myself in the a** - hard! Well, at least I can hope for a ride later this season...

Martin, did Ray talk you into the second acquistion??

· Apr 2, 2012

Its stories like these that get people like me off of the pc and back in the garage!

Thanks guys!

Wayne

· Nov 19, 2018

Question for the 29 and 30 Cadillac owners here, how does one open the headlight to change bulbs or remove the cross brace V8 logo? The service manuals don't address this, so I am assuming it might be simple? I just don't want to damage anything...

David

· Nov 24, 2018

A 1931 has a little spring loaded "tee handle" on the bottom of the headlight rim - you pull the tee toward the back of the car and then down to release the rim from the headlight bucket. I usually then insert a screwdriver between the rim and the bucket and twist - at the bottom where if I cause any damage it would not be noticeable, as re-chromed lights can be difficult to get apart.