Back home in the shop today. Here's how it's going. Preparin

May 7 (edited)

Back home in the shop today. Here's how it's going.
Preparing to drop the oil pan and check bearings in this Continental "C" engine in the 1914 Pathfinder.
Floor is out, belly pan and splash pans are out. #sgmechanicalservice #ifixstuffyoucant #pathfinder #continental #prewarcars

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May 7, 2026

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Replies (18)

· May 7

Looks like a largely original car? I think the Pathfinder got the Weidley V12 not too many years later.

· May 8

@alsancle
I believe that engine came in around 1916.

· May 8

Pan is off. Need to give it a good cleaning.

The two posts sticking up are the plunger oil pumps. I'll tear them down and clean them out as well. There was a fair bit of sludge in the plugs on the bottom of the pan

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· May 8

Shawn, how large is the displacement on the Continental "C"?

· May 9

@BillSmith
The C is 281 cubic inches.
Big 4-cylinder with no counterweights on the crank.

(edited)

· May 9

@ShawnG That is a healthy bore.

· May 9

Rod bearings are in great shape and shim stacks look to be full height still
Had to remove 0.006" from number 1 and 0.003" from number 4. 2 and 3 were fine.

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· May 9

Was there a reason you are tearing it down, or has it just not run in years and you are making sure everything is ok before firing it?

· May 9

@alsancle
It spent most of it's life as a sitmobile and I have no history on the engine.
I had it running for a short time and saw that one oil sight glass wasn't flowing oil and there was a low rumble from the engine when I dropped the idle speed really low.
Best practice is to drop the pan and clean out any sludge buildup. This lets me check the condition of the oil pumps, blow out any oil lines that may be plugged and check the condition of the bearings.

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· May 9

@ShawnG Makes 100% sense. I like some of your phrases. "Sitmobile{. 😂

· May 9

It's not a full teardown, just an inspection.
Unfortunately the value of this car means that if there's anything major wrong with the engine, transmission or differential, it will end up being a display piece until the owner is comfortable spending more than it's worth to put everything right.
Transmission and axle inspection are next.

· May 9

@alsancle
Thanks!
I cringe when I watch the videos from some of the YouTube wonders like "We dragged this 80 year old car out of a garage, let's see if it starts!". Then they just file the points, toss some gas down the carburetor and zing the engine to 2500rpm right away.

· May 9

@ShawnG I was a bit older before I learned to warm engines gently when starting. Especially older cars. You see guys cold starting their vintage V12 Ferarri and revving to 4k and I'm cringing.

Dropping the pain on a car that has sat that long is the right thing to do.

· May 14

Cleaning oil pan hardware and prep for reassembly.

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· May 14

@ShawnG Shawn, are you wire brushing every one of those fastners?

· May 14

@alsancle
Yes. No point in putting ugly hardware back in.
This lets me check for damaged fasteners and fix problems before they happen.

· May 14

@ShawnG That stuff is pre-SAE so if you drop one down the storm drain you are making it from scratch?

· May 14

@alsancle
Lol. Yes. I would have to make new hardware if I lost one.
Now stop saying things like that.