309 Bearing Update

 A couple of steps were required to prepare the new bearing castings:

The edges that were soldered need to be filed flat.  Also flashings on the drilled holes need to be filed off.  That wasn't too hard.

But the bearings also have little notches to allow oil to weep from the axle bearing surface to the face of the collar, which presses against the hub of the wheel.  Actually, when I removed this old bearing, all of the notches were plugged with oil and dirt, and I don't know what can be done about that in the long run.  But for now, I'll put notches in the new bearings and hope for the best.  Somebody must have thought they were important.

They're not evenly spaced or identical in size and shape, so they can be made with a hacksaw and file.

And when that's done, we have an old pair and a new pair, ready for installation.

Unfortunately, when time came to actually install the new bearings, I was unable to get the top half more than a couple of inches in.  I can't see where it is binding up, but I suspect the motor needs to be moved away from the axle a little.  I'm able to lift the motor easily enough, but not move it horizontally.   And in cases like this, 1/16" might as well be a mile.  I have one or two other things to try, but this may have to be done over the pit.  And that involves some delay.

Fortunately, the old top half can still be inserted, since it's so much thinner.  I left the car with the motor sitting on the old top half:

The 309 cannot be moved like this, of course, and it's been red-tagged.  But it will not be hard to put the old bearing back together when we have a chance to put it over the pit.

On the whole the bearing project is going well, and I'm planning to locate a foundry to produce more castings next week if I can.  If you have any constructive suggestions, you can PM me and we'll discuss it back-channel.