Reply To: 1955 QD 16 Rod Knock/Piston Upgrade Question

[Don]

Oh boy, so sorry to hear about the original cylinder being messed up.  I’m thinking that the changes you propose would work out fine, but this is an “experiment” for sure.  If it were me, I would reassemble the exhaust cover with new gaskets and install the head (use the old head gasket for this test)  without putting the powerhead back together.  Now loosely assemble the crankcase halves and screw the empty powerhead to the block using a new/dry gasket.  Then I would rig up a water supply to the water tube and let water run through you proposal to make sure there are no unforseen leaks and that water escapes from the exhaust relief.  I’m pretty sure both models use the same base gasket, but you will want to check that out.    Not sure about the minor differences on the bottom of the crankcase though.

You are a trailblazer indeed.  I just don’t want you to go through all this rebuild work only to find out it won’t work out.  I probably have an empty crankcase for a non thermostat model you can have, but it is from a 57-58 model.  Nonetheless, you are welcome to it… Don

1955 was the first year for this version of the 10hp, there are some unique things about it for sure…