The Connecting Rod bearing was totally worn out. It required a new bearing. At first, I was going to make a bronze split bearing, but decided on Babbit to keep the engine original. Not having done this before, I was slightly apprehensive, but then, after casting Aluminum, it couldn't be too difficult. I made a fixture to hold the babbit, which was probably "overkill", but it worked quite well. I made the fixture in mid-September 03, and the Babbit was finally poured on 26 September 03.
A 1 1/2" section of bar was placed over the pin, and the con-rod was clamped around it. (This will provide 1/8 clearance around the 1" journal). The Con-rod was clamped tightly to the fixture, using the face of the wrist pin bearing as a reference.
The 1 1/2" piece was removed, and replaced with a 1" piece of barstock, smoked with Acetelyene. The Aluminum piece was also smoked. There is now a 1/8" clearance around the center.
