Finding a machine shop

[Overdraft]

I recently bought an A4 of unknown quality on ebay. Began tearing it down a couple of weeks ago using the very first edition of Moyer's manual. It says to take various parts to a machine shop. I have never dealt with one, and was unsure how to proceed. I got a recommendation from my favorite auto repair shop about where they send their stuff, so I decided to give it a try, first with just the head and manifold to see if they were, uh, simpatico with A4s and inexperienced old mechanics. I went to the machine shop and plopped the head down on the counter. The owner glanced over at it and said "that looks like an Atomic 4 head". Suddenly my concerns vanished.
Turns out he had rebuilt an A4 for a customer 20 years ago and remembered what the head looked like. He said that engine had had a bad crank shaft which cost over a thousand dollars to replace. I notice that now you can buy a used, reground crank from Moyer for $365.
I looking forward to getting the block and crank to the guy and find out how badly worn it is.
Cheers.

[edwardc]

Overdraft,

Welcome to the forum! This place is truely amazing. An almost endless source of knowledge and experience on maintaining and operating an A4.

I notice you're in Glen Burnie, MD. My boat's nearby in Pasadena, MD, so I'd be interested in hearing how your experience with the machine shop turns out,
in case I ever need one.

Again, Welcome!

[Mo]

welcome

You may be pleasantly surprised at just how little it takes to rebuild that engine. At that point you will have something you can depend on. May I suggest that while the engine is out of the boat that you remove and inspect the fuel tank. If it can be cleaned by all means do so...if not replace it.

There are a few modifications to water flow etc that some of us do. Personally, I run mine without a Thermostat and cooler than most. NGK XR4 plugs (ask your rebuilder about that) keeps the combustion chambers burning a little hotter and cuts down on gunk. Personally, I can't believe how well mine runs and I've towed home my share of scallywags with it.

Be sure to check back in when it goes back in the boat so you can stay ahead of the learning curve.

[Overdraft]

Overdraft,

Welcome to the forum! This place is truely amazing. An almost endless source of knowledge and experience on maintaining and operating an A4.

I notice you're in Glen Burnie, MD. My boat's nearby in Pasadena, MD, so I'd be interested in hearing how your experience with the machine shop turns out,
in case I ever need one.

Again, Welcome!

Good to meet you. I'll let you know how I make out with the machine shop, a father and son operation in Ferndale.

[marthur]

On this topic, can anyone recommend a good machine shop in the greater Grand Rapids, MI area?

[romantic comedy]

I lived in Annapolis for a while, 10 years ago. I found that there were many machine shops in that area.

I remember Vosbury? I think? They worked on atomic bombs.

Just ask around, and you will find the right machine shop. Ken at Oak Harbor, in Pasadena, knows a lot of people. If he is still there.

[edwardc]

I lived in Annapolis for a while, 10 years ago. I found that there were many machine shops in that area.

I remember Vosbury? I think? They worked on atomic bombs.

Just ask around, and you will find the right machine shop. Ken at Oak Harbor, in Pasadena, knows a lot of people. If he is still there.

I'm at Oak Harbor, and Ken is very much still there! He's forgotten more about sailboats than I'll ever know! He's a tremendous resource.

When I was a complete newbie to the Atomic 4, I had Vosbury (the son) do some work for me and watched and learned. But I found Vosbury very expensive, and he absolutely wouldn't have anything to do with anything that wasn't OEM, including any of Moyer's parts, such as heads or manifolds. And he was adamant that there should be only one gasket put on the head!

[romantic comedy]

Now that I think about it. I remember having a talk with the folks at Vosbury. I had just bought my Tartan 34. The PO told me that Vosbury had done some work, but he was not forthcoming about it.

I called vosbury and they told me that they had worked on the boat. I asked if i could get the records of what was done. The guy was a real prick. He acted like i was asking for some personal info on a person. He told me he never heard of such a thing.

Go figure.

I think that the head was off my engine, because it was stuck. I also believe that it has one head gasket, compliments of Vosbury.

[Carl-T705]

" Personally, I can't believe how well mine runs and I've towed home my share of scallywags with"

Hi Mo, Without a doubt you crack me up, if we spent a day on the water my sides would hurt from laughing.

[jimmoser]

Vosbury

Ran into a fuel-line problem that I couldn't get my head around. Called John Vosbury out of Annapolis. Very helpful. Showed me how to rewire the fuel pump so that it kicks in as soon as ignition is engaged rather than waiting for current through the oil pressure switch. The connection is off the starter motor, so once the starter motor stops current is going through the OPS as it should.

[ndutton]

Is your practice to run the carburetor dry at shut down?

[joe_db]

Mine is. I turn the fuel pump off when I am done for the day and let the gas run out. Same for my outboard, I pull the hose off and run the gas out.

Also I have had good luck with Vosbury over decades now at this point when I needed advice or parts. As someone who used to run a marine repair shop (not engines), I would not have been willing to give records from one customer to another unless the original customer approved of it. I would view this as not my business to be giving out.

Is your practice to run the carburetor dry at shut down?

[ndutton]

I have it from a reliable source that Facet recommends against using the R terminal for system priming. The problem according to them is the large coil in the starter solenoid has apparently been known to send an occasional spike of inductive feedback through the "R" terminal, and then on back to the fuel pump. This feedback can cause a nuisance fuse tripping, or worse, minor (but accumulative) damage to the pump itself.

[Scuppers]

Grand Rapids

On this topic, can anyone recommend a good machine shop in the greater Grand Rapids, MI area?

I would think http://www.torresen.com/ in Muskegon does or have a recommendation.

ml

[ILikeRust]

You may be pleasantly surprised at just how little it takes to rebuild that engine.

+1

I'm no professional mechanic, but I'm pretty handy and know my around tools and how to take stuff apart.

I rebuilt mine myself. The only thing I used machine shops for were to fix the starter motor when a bit broke off (they had to replace the field coils, which set me back a whopping $35) and to have the head and block surface ground and new valve seats cut. I did everything else myself, which included a complete tear-down to every last nut and bolt, new rings, new valve springs, new main bearings, all new gaskets and oil seals, new water pump, new accessory drive bearings, and conversion to fresh water cooling.

All those parts added up - especially the FWC kit - but I saved myself probably about $4,000 over either paying someone else to do it or buying a freshly rebuilt engine.