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making my own honing plate
Posted: Mon Mar 05, 2018 7:10 pm
by Jim1071
Hi making my own honing plate
I will use while honing and checking ring gap
this plate gets bolted and torqued to the head using socket head cap screws and a head gasket
I am building a 1293 cc race motor for vintage racing
Re: making my own honing plate
Posted: Mon Mar 05, 2018 9:30 pm
by Beatie
Jim1071 wrote:Hi making my own honing plate
I will use while honing and checking ring gap
this plate gets bolted and torqued to the head using socket head cap screws and a head gasket
I am building a 1293 cc race motor for vintage racing
Is it just me or does everyone have a 1" paintbrush for wiping suds down the bore when boring

Re: making my own honing plate
Posted: Tue Mar 06, 2018 1:04 pm
by CooperTune
Many years ago while looking thought a sale flyer at the machine shop I noticed a close out sale of stress plates for A and B engines. I couldn't help but buy one for A series. I machined up a set of 1 inch dia. spacers so I could torque with ARP hardware. A little like working with a porcupine but I figured the course threads are not the ones doing the work as a rule.
For those really reaching out there we once set up a small hot water heater a pump and circulated 180 degree water though the blocks when machining.
You mention a 1071 for vintage, what group do you race with? Steve (CTR)
Sorry, I misread your 1293, wishful thinking.
Re: making my own honing plate
Posted: Wed Mar 07, 2018 2:37 am
by atm92484
Nice work Jim. I made one from steel plate a few years ago.
Re: making my own honing plate
Posted: Wed Mar 07, 2018 1:01 pm
by Jim1071
CooperTune wrote:
For those really reaching out there we once set up a small hot water heater a pump and circulated 180 degree water though the blocks when machining.
You mention a 1071 for vintage, what group do you race with? Steve (CTR)
Sorry, I misread your 1293, wishful thinking.
I never thought of heating the block
my 1071 is restored 1964
Re: making my own honing plate
Posted: Wed Mar 07, 2018 1:02 pm
by Jim1071
atm92484 wrote:Nice work Jim. I made one from steel plate a few years ago.
thank you
did yours work out ok
I could not believe that a cylinder block gets deformed once head is on

Re: making my own honing plate
Posted: Sun Mar 11, 2018 2:00 am
by atm92484
Yeah it worked nicely. The engine did a season and a half before receiving new rings and bearings just in time for the last race of 2017 in which it ran very well. I am not sure how much our blocks move but it seems like minimal effort to make/buy one and do it right.
I used 3/4" thick plate for mine so I also bought some thick wall tube with an ID a hair over 3/8" - I cut them to length and squared them on a friend's lathe so the studs could be used instead of shorter bolts.
I did not have a mill at the time. A 2.75" holesaw leaves a hole that is a hair over 2.82" - perfect for +0.040" on a 1275. The rest was down to careful measuring and transferring holes from the head.
Re: making my own honing plate
Posted: Sat Mar 17, 2018 11:54 pm
by Jim1071
finally finished the honing boring plate
ready for the engine installation assembly
Re: making my own honing plate
Posted: Sat Mar 17, 2018 11:56 pm
by Jim1071
atm92484 wrote:
I did not have a mill at the time. A 2.75" holesaw leaves a hole that is a hair over 2.82" - perfect for +0.040" on a 1275. The rest was down to careful measuring and transferring holes from the head.
I was thinking of hole saw ,,,, but I used a 2 inch thick plate

Re: making my own honing plate
Posted: Sun Mar 18, 2018 12:10 pm
by jerry
Could the plates be CNC laser or plasma cut to size? I wonder what the cost would be??
Jerry
Re: making my own honing plate
Posted: Sun Mar 18, 2018 12:16 pm
by Peter Laidler
Cost.....? Not a lot I'd say if they were waterjet cut especially if you did a few and sold them on to recoup your original cost
Re: making my own honing plate
Posted: Mon Mar 19, 2018 12:05 pm
by Jim1071
jerry wrote:Could the plates be CNC laser or plasma cut to size? I wonder what the cost would be??
Jerry
the price would be expensive if you only have one plate
the aluminum cost me 80 dollars ( approx. 50 pounds uk )
then I used the digital read out X,Y,Z, , which saved time ON the second one
the first I tried the old fashion way and was out ...
I saw hone plates as high as 450 usa dollars but not Austin mini
I enjoyed making it
now I can start putting back the race motor
