Flaminia PF Coupe resto

[lancianut666]

Funny how time flies...anyway the Y10 and the Appia S2 have had some attention so it is the Flaminia's turn. I will start drilling the plate today to get the tapped holes done and then get my head round how I can attach it without damaging the head. My attempts on the Appia a few years ago were very frustrating but did demonstrate the power of the screw thread in removing stubborn parts (and braking spring hanger 'U' bolts.
Clarkey
ps the reason I have more time is all the joinery nonsense is nearly done

[lancianut666]

Hi all
managed a couple of hours on the head lifting plate and the first bit is done.
Clarkey

[DavidG]

Will be good to see how this turns out. I have had some success removing studs with the cylinder head in place. I will post on this shortly.

[lancianut666]

Hi all
Part two of the plan is to drill through the plate and fasten it to the head using the fixing studs for the rocker pillars studs. First part was to screw a nut onto all the head studs to give the bolts coming through the lifter plate a location.
Clarkey

[lancianut666]

Next a dollop of paint on the nuts on the rocker pillar mounting studs

[lancianut666]

Then position the plate on the head using the bolts sitting in the nuts on the head studs making sure contact is made between the painted nuts and the plate.

[lancianut666]

Then check the result...Hmmmm......not as expected, will have another go tomorrow.
Clarkey

[lancianut666]

Hopefully with a bit of measuring of the distances between the head studs and the pillar mount studs I can get the holes drilled tomorrow. I am gambling on the pillar studs being strong enough but my experiences with the plate I made for the Appia engine makes me think I will have to do a belt and braces job with some extra attachments to head possibly using the exhaust manifold mounting studs.
Clarkey

[lancianut666]

Decided to push through from the bottom on a spare head I have some 10mm threaded bars to support a sheet of cardboard with holes cut in it to match the cylinder head gasket. The rocker mount studs can then be made to produce an indent in the cardboard in the right place. The cardboard can be transferred to the plate located by the bolts previously fitted and the holes can be drilled through cardboard and the plate to let the rocker mount studs to poke through to enable the nuts to be put on and tightened up against the rocker mounts. Will have a go at this tomorrow...

[lancianut666]

Hi all
Good news is the plate is finished but there is some not so good news. When I picked up the plate I was undecided about 5mm or 10mm plate and could not recall what I had used for the Appia plate so I have found that 5mm plate is not strong enough and the power of the screw threads bent it quite easily. The result of this was that the bolts screwing against the problematic studs nearest to the exhaust manifold  instead of pushing down properly diverted some of the screwing force into bending the plate. How ever the good news is that the head has moved on the inlet side about 7-8mm and I am sure with a bit more work it will be off.
Clarkey

[lancianut666]

Hi all
Another problem that I will have is that if I use 10mm plate there will not be enough thread of the rocker mounting studs sticking through to get a nut on. I might be able to split the mounts to drop the height enough and pack up the plate so it does not foul the rocker cover studs. I will have to use 10mm plate and I will go to 10mm bolts, it might be possible to modify the Appia one as that is 10mm. I think welding a nut on the head studs and removing the stud as well might be the end game but I was hoping to have a reusable tool rather than shock and awe assault every time a head came off. Hmmm...
Clarkey

[DavidG]

I think this is very encouraging!

Using a combination of double nut method (the fine pitch of the threads means these can really be tightened up and the nut faces offset if you use a 12 point socket), impact wrench, welding and a combination of all 3 (plus heat)in the worst cases , I have removed all but 4 of the studs on one head. Applying a long lever to a more stubborn one has caused it to shear (through the upper threaded section fortunately). I am very frustrated, to say the least, but the fact that you are having success has spurred me on - I will make a plate next.

No problem with the rocker mount studs/threads doing this? I have removed all of mine to get better access, so I will probably use some bolts to hold the plate down.

[SanRemo78]

Can you flatten the plate so it will fit again and then weld some right angle steel to it? That ought to significantly increase it's strength.

[lancianut666]

Hi all
Made a little bit of progress today but as I feared the stress on the rocker mount studs has stripped some of the threads but I have a spare head for spares so no problem. The plate is now very twisted so I will make a 10mm one tomorrow. I have managed by getting the head to rock on the studs and using plastic wedges tapped between the head and block to get the exhaust manifold studs loosened except for a couple and there is now a gap (only a couple of mm) on the exhaust side, it seems to be stuck at one corner. I have written off the existing head studs. As mentioned previously I can take off the top of the rocker pillars and pack up the new plate to clear the rocker cover studs. I think the studs stripped because the plate bent in line with them so hopefully the 10mm plate will prove more resilient.
Clarkey

[lancianut666]

I don't think the 5mm plate is up to it. A 10mm plate with a few less bolts will only take a couple of hours to make, possible one at each corner with 4 down the exhaust side and a couple on the inlet side and centre.
Clarkey