mickey85

You've GOT to be kidding me.

https://laurerracing.com/

Tell me how crappy an Olds motor is when a SBO is powering the 3500 lb 442 to 8.80's? And might I remind you that the Outlaw class is frequently won by Bill Trovato - another Olds driver, who happens to be deep into the 8's...

Heck, just look at my car. I spend $5,000 on the suspension and drivetrain (and yes, it's mostly Chevy stuff, just for the price), plop in a $2,000 BBO, and am turning low 13's in a 4200 lb Delta 88. And yes, that's fast enough to wax a good many Corvettes.

The point is the principle, and doing something that others marvel at when they realize they were waxed by a grandpa car.

Crap my a$$...

ETA: A couple more

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LjEVFxvukQE
Russ Hunt's digger is running a twin-turbo small block Olds and in this video, with a broken sprag converter, shut down halfway and still coasted to over 140 mph. On a good run (he keeps blowing up Powerglides), he's posted up to 220 mph.

And another friend, Gene Newton:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZGa_BnyBRkM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_DdPxIT8daU

Yeah, Olds is slow. Stop talking about what you don't know.

ukny

Hey hey...HEY This thread is about a Bicycle.. When did it become about stock cars...

sailorbenjamin

These aren't stock cars. These are MODIFIED cars. Geez.

Andrew F

I'd ride with the original cottered cranks. They've worked just fine for years. I'd maybe replace the cotters with a good grade and they should be good for years. Living in the city, youre not going to be crunching up any mountians. I have several bikes with cottered cranks and had only one failure, and that was on my son's '59 Norman which he abuses and I believe that cotter was the original! If ityou were going to race or ling distance tour, I'd say do the swap, but for a daily ridder around town, don't mess. Just sayin'.. If it were mine and all.

Mr IGH

You're the guy worshiping some Olds fool that can't get a PowerGlide right. My Chevy SB will crush your old grampa ride, no rust either. And it has a stick....

ukny

I am not thinking of this as a daily rider. I have my trusty Rudge sports for around the houses.. This is going to be for my 30 mile plus runs. And living in the city theres plenty of crunching to be had back and forth over the 59th street and Williamsburg bridges.

I have new cotters .. would never dream of re using the old pins..

mickey85

You're saying that we can't make power...this guy is shattering transmissions that hold together for Chevies...interesting.

Oh, BTW, he found one that held up. I guess 1600 HP will do that to transmissions. And, 1, my car doesn't have rust, 2, yours can't - it's plastic.

And you still don't know anything except your belly-button common Corvette. Hey everybody, I can make a sports car go fast! Big deal.

Back on topic though, there are a number of cotterless singlespeed cranks - the difficulty would be in finding one that looked the part while still being relatively cheap. I think for now, I'd stick with the cottered BB. It's held up this long. The BB on my Phillips has taken a serious beating, yet it's still holding up with no signs of wear - and that's with the original cotters!

ftwelder

I checked my Lauterwasser bars, clamp is 15/16 and the bar is 7/8. I have a GB stem/maes handlbar combo that is 1" bulge and 15/16 bar and a GB stem/GB handlebar that is also 15/16" X1"

Andrew F

This is what the bike was built for, serious club rides, don't sell the cottered cranks short....I take a bike with cottered cranks up into the Watchung Reserve, the climb is significantly longer and steeper that the Williamsburg and I'm not a lightweight, 240lbs. No problems yet and those rides tend to be 25-40 trips. Just saying I wouldn't be too concerned about the cranks reliability. Just my opinion, I'm sure there are plenty of others who feel differently.

mkeller234

Hey guys...how about taking the car talk to PM? The OP even asked.... so hint, hint.

rhm

+1

ftwelder

I ended up with a steel, cottered Stronglight chainset. I removed one on the rings and changed the fasteners. I think the arms are a bit longer and the chainwheel smaller than the original and it suits me quite well. The bike is heavy but a hoot to ride. I do thirty mile rides and the gear spread isn't bad either.


IMG_3716 by barnstormerbikes, on Flickr

sailorbenjamin

If the original cotters you have are still the Raleigh ones, they'd be worth keeping. They used harder steel than most of the repros you'll find. There was a thread recently about who's got the best cotters.

ukny

when I took the crankset apart the arms were definitely not in line. It looks like there is some wear on the spindle on one of the flats. So maybe I should just be looking for a NOS spindle.

ukny

I have just had a closer look and there is definitely a dip on one of the BB spindle flats. and a tiny dip there will translate into and inch at the other end... Hmph.. Well before you guys ask it says A16 on the shaft. I have already found two sources in England.. about $5 each.. Anyone know of any state side.. ??

ftwelder

I have a few, I will look them over. It's would be unusual in my experience to find a damaged cotter type spindle. You may need to take some measurements.

ukny

Looking closely you can see theres a dip and you can definitely feel it with your finger. And that little dip at the spindle translates into quite a few degrees at the pedal end.

rhm

Hmm, I s'pose that could be a problem, though I'm inclined to doubt it. Is that the right side, or the left end of the spindle -- or is the spindle symmetrical? If you can put the dip side on the non-drive side of the bike, then the compression will be concentrated at the other end of the flat spot, and I don't think it would be a problem.

Edit. Now wait, did I get that right? Now I'm thinking the dippy side of the spindle should be on the drive side of the bike. Anyone else want to weigh in? I'm feeling a little confused.

Zaphod Beeblebrox 

Make sure that the cotters are being installed in the correct direction. If you put the cranks vertical one cotter should have its threaded end pointing forward and the other should have its threaded end pointing rearward.

If you install them both in the same direction the crank arms will be off by several degrees.

Grand Bois

I would be insulted by advice like that.

ukny

It's not an insult to suggest something that might not be obvious to everyone. And yes I do know to set opposite cotters.

ukny

BTW a new spindle is only about 5 bucks plus shipping

sciencemonster

I'm sure you can tell, in person, at a glance, if your spindle is screwed up. It's just surprising that a soft metal cotter could do that.

nlerner

I'd like to see what the cotters look like. Did that side deform to match the surface of the spindle?

Neal

Zaphod Beeblebrox 

glad you weren't too insulted ukny.