JR's Korner of BillyBob's Garage

WHAT'S NEW is a chronological listing of updates to the BillyBob site.

TRUCK LINKS including vendor sites for old parts, custom parts, and tools as well as sites for classic car and truck organizations

STORE Operating in association with Amazon.com, books, recordings and tools can be purchased.

PLANNING for the restoration including project schedule and cost estimates.

TRAVELS WITH BILLYBOB With apologies to Steinbeck, this area of BillyBob's Garage will be used to log the trips BillyBob and I make together.

WORK-IN-PROGRESS was the restoration of parts of BillyBob that I could accomplish without a garage up until the summer of 2010 when I finally got enough warehouse space to work in. Now, it also includes the continuing work on BillyBob in the shop.

PRE-RESTORATION includes log entries of minor repairs and adventures between time of purchase and the time when I started restoration, a piece at a time.

JR'S KORNER JR's Korner is the history of BillyBob before I got him authored by my brother, Wm. C. Kephart.

BILLYBOB MAINTENANCE Ever changing detailing, oil change, lube, etc. maintenance routines specifically developed for BillyBob, including required tools, materials and procedures.

PARTS SHOP The Parts Shop is a repository of How-To articles. Things that I have done over and over enough times to have developed a procedure. This gives me a checklist and saves brain cells.

STEALTH SHOP Urban residence design with large integrated shop and separate living quarters for a relative or renter.

9. Setup for a good reaming

I removed the remaining head bolt, lifted the head from the engine and gently tossed the head onto the pile of parts which had been my engine. Next I removed the oil pan and the connecting rod end caps. I was ready to remove the pistons.

For those of you who either are, or a close relative to, one of the "can't use a screwdriver set," the method used to remove the pistons from the engine is to push the piston up through the hole in the top of the engine block. But before you can remove the piston in this manner, you must remove the "ridge" at the top of the piston. This ridge forms because the piston does not go all the way to the top of the cylinder when the engine is running. Because of the friction between the piston rings and the cylinder wall the cylinder's diameter grows over time but the very top of the cylinder remains the original size thus forming a ridge. The piston rings will not pass the ridge . . . it must be removed to get the pistons out.

There is a tool for this purpose. I'm sure it's produced by the same company which makes interrogation devices for the CIA.

I went to my local parts jobber. A parts jobber is the traditional name of an automotive parts supply store. A true parts jobber has nothing in his store but a counter and sixteen feet of catalogs. You tell him what parts you need, the year and make of your vehicle and he asks embarrassing questions like "Is your clutch eleven inches or eleven and a quarter inches?" You ask if the parts are returnable, take a guess and go home with, hopefully, the right part.

"I need a ridge reamer," the aforementioned implement of torture. "What size is your cylinder?" came the embarrassing question. "Four inches . . . I think" I said. I'd just told him that it was a 235 cubic inch Chevy engine in a 1955, first series truck. You would think he would have had a chart in that sixteen-foot catalog specifying the cylinder size. "Is that a half-ton or a 3/4-ton?" came his reply. Another embarrassing question. Perhaps he didn't like the tone in my voice when I offered the cylinder size. Then I saw it! The Pennsylvania State Inspection sign. I was in the clutches of a member of the conspiracy and he was not going to let me escape without extracting a little blood. "Half-ton" I said with a level voice. He reached behind the counter and retrieved the much needed tool. "That will be $22.50 a day rental and a $75.00 deposit." I paid. I thought "I don't want to buy it, I just want to rent it, numb-nuts" but didn't say it. "I should have it back this afternoon" I said. He started to laugh.

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Issued Wednesday February 18, 1998

Updated Friday April 20, 2018

copyright © 1998-2018 William Craig Kephart all rights reserved