A. Tell your brother to get out his checkbook. In most cases, it's advisable to put the U-joint in so the hole in the zerk fitting is under compression rather than tension, at least in performance applications. The theory is that the area where the hole is drilled is the weakest part of the U-joint, and, as a result, the cross is more likely to fail there, and it is more likely to fail if the forces applied to it are trying to pull it apart than push it together.
By the way, go for the long-term subscription.
Pump Protection
Q. I recently installed an electric fuel pump on by car. After reading your recent story on relays, I decided to include one while I was at it. Should I use a circuit breaker or a fuse in the wire to the pump?
Daniel Hoyt
Louisville, KY
A. We generally use fuses on electric fuel pumps just because the pump won't come back on if there is a problem (we also like to use a separate switch so the pump can be shut off independently of the ignition switch).
However, to get a second opinion, we asked Dennis Overholser of Painless Performance for his take on the subject.
According to Dennis, racers like a circuit breaker on electric fuel pumps so it will reset and the car can keep going, provided it is not tripped due to a major problem. A fuse is better suited for street applications (particularly when the fuse is in the passenger compartment, where it's easy to get to) because it will not automatically reset. If the fuse blows repeatedly, there is a problem that needs to be addressed. Bottom line: Use a circuit breaker for racing, and use a fuse for the street.
Decoding Chryslers
Q. I recently began rebuilding a 392 Chrysler in an attempt to duplicate the blown Hemi that you did in STREET RODDER. After having all the machine work done on the block, we began assembly following what you did in the magazine and in the book "The Complete Chrysler Hemi Engine Manual."
Everything was going fine until we went to install the lifters and found out they don't fit. First, we thought we had the wrong lifters, but it appears the lifter bores on this block are oversize. What the heck do I do now?
Kyle Smith
Via the Internet
A. We wish there were a simple solution to this one. Evidently the concept of scraping a block was unknown to Chrysler-they went to great lengths to save every casting. We first learned this lesson rebuilding a '50 Chrysler Flathead six that had oddball lifter bores.
While Chrysler did some strange things, they did have a method of indicating what was unique to the engine with a code on the identification pad in front of the valley cover. An A at the end of the serial numbers indicates all the cylinders are .020-inch oversize; B indicates that all mains and rods are .010-inch undersize; a Maltese cross indicates one or more of the crankshaft's journals are .001-inch undersize (the location of the undersize journal is indicated on the number three counter-weight; R and a number indicates which rod journal; and M and a number indicates which main); and, finally, a diamond-shaped mark indicates lifter bores that are .008-inch oversize.
In your particular case, you have limited options for saving this block-find an original set of oversize lifters, a machine shop that has the capabilities to bore and bush the lifer bores down to standard dimensions, or as a last resort have the original lifters refaced if they are savable.
Although we aren't aware of a source for oversize lifters, if any of our readers are, we're asking them to let us know and we'll pass the information along to you, Kyle.