Something that should be simple.............

[Jalopie Jim]

.........but, for some reason, isn't :confused:
I'm putting bolts into the oil pan on my flathead & toward the rear of the oilpan, it bulges out so that holes cannot be drilled vertical & square. Any ideas how to overcome this problem????

[hot ford coupe]

I see what your problem is and I think I may have some solutions. One way would be to cut off the bolt head and just glue it in place with epoxy or CA. Only you'll know. The other thing to do is take a thick sewing needle and put it into a pin vise . Bend the needle so that it will fit in between the bulge and the plastic bolt head so that the bent end is straight up and down but the rest of the needle in the vise is at an angle. Heat the end of the needle and push it into the plastic bolt head so it makes a clean hole. Clean up any melted plastic and widen the hole until the bolt fits snuggly into the hole so it can be screwed in. Practice this on a piece of scrap plastic until you can do it without messing up the engine. It shouldn't take too long. You can also get some self tapping screws which I'll send you some with the flathead parts and screw those down into the holes. I can e-mail you some drawings of how it's done. Stand by for more info.

[Don Garrett]

For what it's worth here's my thoughts on the flattie oil pan. I hate that butt ugly seam in the pan to start with, almost as much as that motor mount on the front of the poncho. Steve did a great job filing and shaping his pan as usual. HFC's tips will work for sure. I don't have any photos but I think you'll get the idea....I cut the pan off the block halves just above where the oil pan lip should be. Glue the block and pan halves together. Use the Pan, which is now one piece. to trace an outline onto a piece of .030 styrene ...cut it out (sissors work fine) and glue it to the bottom of the block.
Now you have a block. Shape, sand and add bolt heads to the pan (you can now drill holes for the bolts from top of the pan. What you wind up with is a block and a separate oil pan.....looks much better. :)

[88Proof]

I have always chamfered the seams before glueing these pans together and then prime and fill. I sand the seams smooth so they are no longer visible. I then prime and wet sand and paint. I sand every seam line off everything from the springs and suspension to the smallest part. I could detail an engine out as much as could be imagined, but if the seams are there, forget it, it still looks like a toy. These little things that cost nothing more than a little of your time can do more to help a well built model than all the photo etch you can throw on one. Keith 88proof. :)

[Jalopie Jim]

Thanks guys, good suggestions all. I'll have to try both ways. "HFC"s on this motor, and Don's on the next.

[hot ford coupe]

Don, that's a great tip. That leads to a removable oil pan where the internals can be added if you wanted. That's the way I've been working the 1/4 scale flathead engine ( when I'm able to get to it. ) I also like the way you chamfer a joint and fill it to avoid the seams, Keith. I'm going to try that. Believe it or not, that's the way we repair broken acrylic dentures. The denture acrylic is repaired by flowing liquid acrylic into the space but styrene is welded by a cement. I wish I'd have thought to do the chamfer trick. Thanks Keith for another great idea.

[EstebanLoco]

Hey guys. Just to add to the flattie oil pan topic...

I started with a good weld. That meant preparing the plastic (sanding the edges to be joined with 320 grit and then cleaning) and I also chamfer the edges. Then I do a double-weld. After running a bead and pressing the parts together with medium pressure, I return an hour later with a heavier bead and very firm pressure. This forces the plastic goop up into the V of the seam and actually gives it a rise. After this thing hardens. I then used a large rat-tail file to smooth that seam. The plastic is very thick and handles the big-boy tool quite well.

After that I used the smaller round files that everyone has to clean it up. It actually cleaned up nicely and required little sanding . But it still got the complete treatment - sand smooth, working coat of primer , wetsand, putty (wasn't needed), re- primer and voila.

As far as the bolts in the rear of the pan - this is a problem that comes up often when you use real hardware. First, I use my wrench to 'spot' my tap holes. Just color the end of your wrench (I used 00) with a Sharpie and then put it on the plastic where the bolt will go. Marking with the wrench will ensure that you have clearance from the pan. Then drill your hole. If there is going to be a potential problem with the wrench damaging an adjoinging part while inserting the bolts, I just drill the tap holes at a slight angle. Once the bolts are in you won't be able to tell.