I have been intermittently working on parts Car #55, a 1963 Series 62 Four Window Sedan, between work on my new house addition project (ready to start floor framing once foundation and drainage is inspected), and just pulled the front clip off this past week as seen below. Looking past the heavy rusting on the pulley from this update NY car, it is always nice to see what looks like an original unmolested cork in the front of the crank. Yeah, they can be put back, but often they are not.  Anyway, I will do a deep dive into this engine in the coming days and find out what lurks behind the cork!

Facebook Facebook

Views: 237

Reply to This

Replies to This Discussion

There are ways to replace a missing crankshaft cork. My local Ace hardware actually has a selection of corks in the bits & pieces of the nut & bolt department. I recall repurposing a wine cork way back when I was going for as much originality as I could possibly get.

Ian, I have a bin full of cork about the same size from Home Depot, Lowe's, Ace, etc.  As  noted "they can be put back, but often they are not."  There is no guarantee. I am just saying from my experience parting out upwards of 60 of these, when they look original and have the same age patina as the rest of the engine it is often a good indication. I might pop that cover off and find shiny new steel cam gear sans the original nylon coating... but that has generally not been my experience. I guess another way of putting it, is I would rather find the engine with a "original looking cork" in it rather than without, as the chances are greater you may be dealing with a virgin engine. 

I've been  pulling cork for 25 years  now. Find them really nice they still have blue on tip.

Based on the undisturbed & original looking cork I was not surprised to find the original nylon coated cam gear lurking underneath. An additional plus is the teeth are in great shape. I don't see any chip away on this one. This should be a great engine for someone. The front cover really looked good. Just fyi, when I pull things like engine covers off, I have a large rolling wire cart that I use to saturate the front cover with oven cleaner, then hit it with the pressure washer. For things that get heavy grease and dirt build up, oven cleaner works great. I also have several other cleaning trick I might go over sometime in a a newsletter.

Anyway, Here is the latest look at this parts car with the nice cam gear and engine & tranny ready to pull out tomorrow.

RSS

Photos

  • Add Photos
  • View All

Forum

Swapping 429 engine crankshafts

Started by Jacob Foster in 1963/64 Cadillac Specific Discussion. Last reply by Russ Austin 18 minutes ago. 5 Replies

Hello All! I’m struggling to find an answer to this question, hoping a member can help. Can I swap the crankshaft from a 1966 429 w/TH400 to my 1964 429 w/TH400 trans? I came across an article that…Continue

1963/64 Cadillac Chapter July 2025 Newsletter Posted

Started by Jason Edge in Newsletters. Last reply by Dennis P. DiBari 14 hours ago. 1 Reply

I have just completed and posted the July 2025, 1963/64 Cadillac Chapter Newsletter to our…Continue

Tags: Chapter, Newsletter, Posted, Cadillac, 1964

1963 AC evaporator core leaking?

Started by Mark Geertsma in 1963/64 Cadillac Specific Discussion. Last reply by Kenneth Barton yesterday. 4 Replies

Hi all,Again I have issues with my AC system. Had it refilled recently but within a few days the system was empty again. The AC mechanic added tracer fluid to check for leaks, but there are no…Continue

Tags: 1963, core, evaporator, AC

Bleeding brakes

Started by Dave Fehrle in 1963/64 Cadillac Specific Discussion. Last reply by Tony Prichard on Thursday. 4 Replies

I have finished replacing all the rear suspension and am at the last item, which is bleeding the rear brakes. I am using the Jason Edge vacuum pump method and all went well with the rear passenger…Continue

Blog Posts

1963 RHS A/C kick panel - photos needed

Posted by SK on June 2, 2025 at 2:20pm 2 Comments

Could someone post front and back photos of the 1963 right-hand kick panel with A/C?

My car didn’t come with the original kick panels, so it's a bit of a mystery to me how I should cut the backing board and carpet to fit around the A/C.

Many thanks,

-Samu

Edelbrock Carb Block off Plates

Posted by Chase on March 12, 2025 at 2:05pm 14 Comments

Hey guys,

I have installed the same Edelbrock carb and have done everything the same as Jason’s carb and intake project. In the spring and summer months the car starts, runs and idles great! In the fall and winter months on a cold start, the car starts awful and wants to die until it warms up. I have to keep my foot on the throttle until it warms up or it will idle just terrible and try to die. Once it’s warm, it runs fantastic! Whats going on here? I was thinking of removing the…

Continue

'63 Tailfin Tales

Posted by Mark Mata on February 22, 2025 at 5:00pm 9 Comments

New old stock seat material

Posted by Ray Schick on August 22, 2024 at 6:25pm 2 Comments

I bought this seat material thinking that it’s…

Continue

Videos

  • Add Videos
  • View All

© 2025   Created by Jason Edge.   Powered by

Badges  |  Report an Issue  |  Terms of Service