Believe it or not

[jekjr]

Back in the late 1970's my grandfather bought a new push mower to trim with. He had cataracts and did not see that great but insisted on working outside. The first day he got the mower he hit a piece of steel rod that was driven in the ground to mark something. He bent the crankshaft so bad that it locked the motor up. He put it in the shed and bought another mower and basically forgot about it. A year or so I got married and needed a mower to cut my yard. I was telling him that he reminded me of that mower and told me that I could have it and maybe find a motor for it.

I took it home thinking that I might could break it apart and possibly find another mower that was junked and possibly get a crankshaft and put in it. I pulled the blade off of it and to get the motor off of that particular mower I had to get the blade adapter off of it. I had nothing to heat it and no puller or press to remove it.

I knew an old guy that had a small shop just up the road that was very intelligent and could fix anything. I put the mower on the truck and carried it up to him to get the adapter off. When I got there and explained what I needed he asked me, "Why don't you just straighten the crankshaft?"

I had never heard of doing that. I asked him how it could be done. He got a 4# hammer and an axe and turned the mower up on it's side. He placed the back of the axe head against the crankshaft up against the bottom of the mower. It was on the opposite side of the bend. Instructing me on how to hold it he then took the hammer and started hitting the shaft close to the end of the shaft. After a few licks the shaft turned. Then he would turn the bent end toward the end he would hit it. He kept doing this till it was hard to see exactly where the bend was with the naked eye. Then he took a piece of chalk and held it against the shaft and turned it slowly till the chalk rubbed on one side. Then he turned the place with the chalk up and instructed me to place the axe back in place and went back to hitting the shaft. He hit it a couple of licks and then checked it with the chalk again. He did this till there was no wobble. We then put the blade back on the mower and put gas in it, checked the oil, and started it up.

I then used that mower for years and never had a problem with it.

 

[ILENGINE]

Up until a few years ago, most mower repair shops had crankshaft straighteners. It worked by clamping the engine in the staightener, and a hardened bolt was turned down against the crankshaft to put down on it to straighten it. The had a arm that laid against the crankshaft that acted like a runout guage.

The problem with straightening is sometimes you can create cracks in the crankshaft, which fail later, and could lead to personal injury or dead. So shops have stopped straightening shafts due to liability.

 

[jekjr]

Up until a few years ago, most mower repair shops had crankshaft straighteners. It worked by clamping the engine in the staightener, and a hardened bolt was turned down against the crankshaft to put down on it to straighten it. The had a arm that laid against the crankshaft that acted like a runout guage.

The problem with straightening is sometimes you can create cracks in the crankshaft, which fail later, and could lead to personal injury or dead. So shops have stopped straightening shafts due to liability.

I know we used to straighten cotton picker bars in a manner similar to what you are talking about but we had a small ports power head that we used in a jig.

 

[Bullseye]

Back in the late 1970's my grandfather bought a new push mower to trim with. He had cataracts and did not see that great but insisted on working outside. The first day he got the mower he hit a piece of steel rod that was driven in the ground to mark something. He bent the crankshaft so bad that it locked the motor up. He put it in the shed and bought another mower and basically forgot about it. A year or so I got married and needed a mower to cut my yard. I was telling him that he reminded me of that mower and told me that I could have it and maybe find a motor for it.

I took it home thinking that I might could break it apart and possibly find another mower that was junked and possibly get a crankshaft and put in it. I pulled the blade off of it and to get the motor off of that particular mower I had to get the blade adapter off of it. I had nothing to heat it and no puller or press to remove it.

I knew an old guy that had a small shop just up the road that was very intelligent and could fix anything. I put the mower on the truck and carried it up to him to get the adapter off. When I got there and explained what I needed he asked me, "Why don't you just straighten the crankshaft?"

I had never heard of doing that. I asked him how it could be done. He got a 4# hammer and an axe and turned the mower up on it's side. He placed the back of the axe head against the crankshaft up against the bottom of the mower. It was on the opposite side of the bend. Instructing me on how to hold it he then took the hammer and started hitting the shaft close to the end of the shaft. After a few licks the shaft turned. Then he would turn the bent end toward the end he would hit it. He kept doing this till it was hard to see exactly where the bend was with the naked eye. Then he took a piece of chalk and held it against the shaft and turned it slowly till the chalk rubbed on one side. Then he turned the place with the chalk up and instructed me to place the axe back in place and went back to hitting the shaft. He hit it a couple of licks and then checked it with the chalk again. He did this till there was no wobble. We then put the blade back on the mower and put gas in it, checked the oil, and started it up.

I then used that mower for years and never had a problem with it.

When I was a kid I had an MG TD that I put a Kaiser-Frazer supercharger on. Every time I would open her up I would end up with bent valves. I would place them on our anvil and hammer them straight. I even re-used the same head gasket. It ran fine until I would have some fun. I learned a lot with
that little roadster.

 

[midnite rider]

When I was a kid I had an MG TD that I put a Kaiser-Frazer supercharger on. Every time I would open her up I would end up with bent valves. I would place them on our anvil and hammer them straight. I even re-used the same head gasket. It ran fine until I would have some fun. I learned a lot with
that little roadster.

Did it look anything like this one from 1950, wow that was cool.

 

[Bullseye]

Did it look anything like this one from 1950, wow that was cool.
View attachment 12117

Same color. The TD didn't have wire wheels though. Your picture is of a TC or TF, I can't remember all the minor differences. I kept the bonnet (hood) off since the supercharger rested against the fender. I also kept the windscreen (windshield) folded forward. The top of the dashboard in front of the driver and passenger seats was curved upwards and most of the wind went over my head. Bugs didn't. Girls loved the "cute little car." The car originally had a top speed of around 65 MPH. It was fun to drive but a little squirrely. The rear-end would break free and try to pass the rest of the car. I've had a half dozen sportscars and the TD was the worst handling. When driven sensibly it was a lot of fun.

Ciao!

 

[midnite rider]

Here is a 1952 MG TD with the original wheels and side bonnets removed. An original valve set still available so you do not have to hammer them straight. :laughing:

 

[Bullseye]

Here is a 1952 MG TD with the original wheels and side bonnets removed. An original valve set still available so you do not have to hammer them straight. :laughing:

View attachment 12163 View attachment 12164

That looks a lot like mine did. I had a set of 8.75 15 tires on the rear for a while. That engine looks a bit hinky to me.

When I got mine I removed the brand new top it had and the side curtains. When I sold it two years later I gave the buyer basically a new top and curtains.

I removed the supercharger and fit it on my 1953 Ford. Nasty combination. I raced that Ford one season at a local stockcar track, without the supercharger, of course.

Fun memories...