ENGINE OVERHAUL
Following
are the specifics on the restoration of the Futurliner Engine that
volunteer Bill Bicknell contributed.
In order for
Bill to accurately perform a historical restoration of the
Futurliner engine, he had to learn the differences between the
military and commercial version of the GMC 302-inline 6-cylinder
OHV engine. For this information, Bill was able to obtain a
military manual and, along with help from many members of INLINERS
INTERNATIONAL, he was able to sort out the differences. In
addition, he had the physical engine that came out of the #10
Futurliner we are restoring.
The first
thing he discovered in his research was that in engine in our
Futurliner was a replacement based on its serial number and the
date it was manufactured. It appears that this engine was
installed in 1955. He also discovered that when GM replaced this
engine they used a commercial version rather than the military
version. The displacement (302) of the military and commercial
engines are identical and many of the internal components are the
same. However, the external portion of the engine blocks are
different to accommodate several differences such as engine motor
mounts. This required Bill to fabricate and modify the front
engine mount attaching surfaces.
Because the
military engine uses an electric fuel pump, rather that a
mechanical fuel pump, Bill had to seal properly the hole in the
commercial engine block that would normally accommodate the
mechanical fuel pump. At one time, during the life of this engine,
the distributor was changed from the original. In order to allow
the vacuum operated governor to operate we must locate the proper
distributor.
Other
differences include the fact that military engines are sealed so
they can travel through rather high water. Military engines have
24-volt systems. Some of the engine pans are cast steel rather
that stamped sheet metal. I have just listed a few here, there are
many more that Bill had to sort out.
Bill's goal
was to restore this Futurliner engine to the same configuration as
it was in 1952 when GM readied it for the 1953 Parade of Progress.
He studied all the information in the military manual and
installed oil lines, vacuum lines and all accessories that are
attached to the engine in the exact same way it was in 1953. He
obtained parts from many sources that included places in Florida,
California, North Carolina, Missouri, Ohio, Michigan, Canada to
name just the ones I heard about. There were others.
When Bill
restores an engine he goes through every detail. Even though we
had a NOS (New Old Stock) engine from GM he disassembled it. It
was good he did, as he found machining debris inside the engine
which he cleaned out as well as other items that needed
correcting. Then Bill assembles the engine to its original
specifications. Another function that Bill performs once the
engine is assembled is installing all the accessories such as
generator, distributor, starter, carburetor, oil and vacuum lines,
fan so that the engine is complete. The next step is to run the
engine on his test stand.
In our case,
he ran the engine over 4 hours. During that time he measures all
the engine parameters such as oil pressure, temperature, RPM, etc.
Any problems such as an oil leak he takes care of. Next in the
process he removes all the bolt on accessories (generator,
distributor, etc.) so that the engine itself can be properly
painted. Once the paint is dry, he again installs all these
accessories. Next, he built an engine mounting cradle for shipping
and displaying purposes.
Bill loaded
the engine in the back of his pickup and delivered it to us here
in Zeeland this past Friday. We received an engine fully
assembled, painted and with oil in the crankcase ready to be
installed.
All of us in
the antique restoration business have had or have done an engine
overhaul. I do not think we have ever had or done an engine
restoration as complete as Bill has done. We could not have had a
better volunteer for this job.
Bill is an
engine engineer by profession. Specifically his past jobs have
included converting very large locomotive size diesels to run on
natural gas for powering natural gas pumps. Bill does have a hobby
engine restoration business (Bicknell Engine Company) and has done
many variety of engines including Dusenburgs and Buicks to name a
few. He is thinking about making his hobby business a full time
business. If you are interested in a professional engine
restoration Bill can be contacted at (937) 864-5224. Bill does not
know about me plugging his work until he reads this.
We want to
thank volunteer BILL BICKNELL for the outstanding restoration he
has done on the Futurliner engine. We also want to thank all those
from INLINERS INTERNATIONAL who supported Bill in this process.
This entire restoration is being done by volunteers |
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The 302 is being
restored by Bill Bicknell of BICKNELL ENGINE CO., specializing in
engine and vehicle restoration. Bill's shop is at 7055 Dayton Road,
Enon, Ohio 45323. His phone is (937) 864-5224. |
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