Tom Lay ST 60's question.

[Jared Hays]

Just wondering what he actually did to them.  I have one apart that he "re-worked" that I'm cleaning up for a friend and only thing I can see different is he cut two notches out of the baffle on top of the piston.  This motor has almost no compression when you turn it over slow.  Yet the ring gap is .004 and head gasket looks good and I've tried different plugs.  I can run the motor and it sounds okay just no compression when in your hands.  I have many other ST 60's and they go Thump Thump when you turn them over.  Also the sleeve just slides in and out of the case easily.  Usually we have to heat up the case to get the sleeve out.  So I'm worried it will have over heating issues and go lean.  The case and sleeve heat up at different temperatures and expand at different rates.  We learned this the hard way on a ST 46 once.  Also looking for some parts if anyone has any they'd like to part with.  Looking for ST V60 Rings, Connecting Rod, and Back Plate Gasket.

[Dan McEntee]

   I have never pulled one of my T&L .60s apart yet, but I believe you are correct on the sleeve issue. If you can't find a case, which I think would be the "bad" part in this instance, I wonder if the white paste that is used in electronics to help heat sinks transfer heat better would do any good. As far as the compression goes, it may need more running to finish seating the ring. Frank Bowman could tell you for sure, but I think Tom set the engines up with Bowman rings and about .0015 ring gap new. Franks rings are hardened and may take some extra run in. Make sure you have at least 25% all castor for breaking it in. All ST.60 parts are not generally interchangeable among all versions either, and the engines went through several changes through it's history. If the complete history of the engine isn't known, someone may have swapped out a sleeve from another engine that won't work with that case, or vice-versa. Randy Smith may be able to help you with the proper identification if you sent it to him. I don't know about the notching of the baffle. A guess would be to help turbulate the fuel/air mixture more when on the intake stroke.
   Type at you later,
    Dan McEntee

[Gordan Delaney]

I have a new case in the package.

Gordy

[goozgog]

  I'm risking disseminating false information here
but for what it's worth, is it possible that you
have a "Dyke's" ring installed? The compression
pushes the ring against the wall. Flipping backwards
usually shows compression.
  I've used K&B Dyke's rings in different engines with
acceptable results.

Again, sorry if this is total nonsense.

Cheers!

[Wayne J. Buran]

You can surely tell the difference between a standard ring and a dykes ring. Dykes is flush with the top of the piston.Dykes really leave you thinking you have no compression. They do work well. As for the sleeve being a slip fit, that may be correct also. Compensation for expansion is what that is all about. Lapping the sleeve to the case provides for clearance when the engine heats up. Never seen a T&L up close but the fitting smacks of what a lot of speed guys do. Just my thoughts.
Wayne

[bob whitney]

 Tom was one of those guys that understood engines and what it took to get the best out of them. like most of us that work on engines ,not everything he did worked ,BUT 99% of it did . He knew how to get the most out of what ever engine he was working on.

i never met T/L but got to  spent an hour talking with him about engines and exchanging idea's he was very open about what he did to his engines.  .he didn't so much Modify an engine ,rather he could fit an engine using mostly stock parts and get the best out of it.

i asked him about the notch's in the baffle and he laughed about it, said he did that for the guys that said he didnt do anything to the engines ,.it had no purpose in life .

i have a T/L S/T 60 by way of a 3rd party and it has served me well for two years on my Big Job

sorry to say i never got to meet Tom Lay in person he took the time to send me a list of all the s/T 60 models and the changes to each ,

[Jared Hays]

Tom was one of those guys that understood engines and what it took to get the best out of them. like most of us that work on engines ,not everything he did worked ,BUT 99% of it did . He knew how to get the most out of what ever engine he was working on.

i never met T/L but got to  spent an hour talking with him about engines and exchanging idea's he was very open about what he did to his engines.  .he didn't so much Modify an engine ,rather he could fit an engine using mostly stock parts and get the best out of it.

i asked him about the notch's in the baffle and he laughed about it, said he did that for the guys that said he didnt do anything to the engines ,.it had no purpose in life .

i have a T/L S/T 60 by way of a 3rd party and it has served me well for two years on my Big Job

sorry to say i never got to meet Tom Lay in person he took the time to send me a list of all the s/T 60 models and the changes to each ,

Do you still happen to have that list?  I'd love a copy if you do...

[RandySmith]

Just wondering what he actually did to them.  I have one apart that he "re-worked" that I'm cleaning up for a friend and only thing I can see different is he cut two notches out of the baffle on top of the piston.  This motor has almost no compression when you turn it over slow.  Yet the ring gap is .004 and head gasket looks good and I've tried different plugs.  I can run the motor and it sounds okay just no compression when in your hands.  I have many other ST 60's and they go Thump Thump when you turn them over.  Also the sleeve just slides in and out of the case easily.  Usually we have to heat up the case to get the sleeve out.  So I'm worried it will have over heating issues and go lean.  The case and sleeve heat up at different temperatures and expand at different rates.  We learned this the hard way on a ST 46 once.  Also looking for some parts if anyone has any they'd like to part with.  Looking for ST V60 Rings, Connecting Rod, and Back Plate Gasket.

Hi Jared
It sounds like the sleeve is either warped or worn badly, It would also help if you get a case that is a press fit for the engine, the ST 60 has a hole in the rear for inserting the wrist pin, and if your case has been sanded or lapped open so the sleeve drops in, this hole weeps badly and you also loose compression on the lower case,
Someome will need to see it top tell what shape the piston sleeve case  etc is in, and what is round and what is out of round

Regards
RNDY