....they bored out the old Babbitt main bearings and put new ones in, reground the crank and cam, replace pistons, rings, rod bearings, main bearings, cams bearings, timing gears, oil pump and (of course) gaskets all around. It also had a 12v conversion...
They replaced the carb at least twice, and I replaced it myself after I got it, thinking that may have been the cause...
No changes how it runs. I will also add it misses when it's running faster than idle as well. I also noticed that the idle gets REALLY rough when I adjust the idle speed below 1000 rpm, and wants to die.
Welcome to the site ! You give an excellent description of your engines problem.
First, I wonder if the previous owners' (PO) re-builder truly had "bored out the old Babbitt main bearings" . Your 1953 3100 (216cu ?) had precision replaceable main shell bearings , and it would have been very unusual to have the saddle bores in the block further "align bored" . More common practice is to simply use new shell main bearings to match the new crankshaft grind. { Perhaps the re-builder meant they just bored out the six lower connecting rod bearings to eliminate the direct-babbitt, and then used replaceable shell bearings for the lower connecting rods ?}
Second, you state the PO had the cam re-ground ? After the cam regrind, did the PO then also have the problem with the rough idle and shaky running (thus chasing the carb replacement 2 times) ?
What I am getting around to precisely asking is , do you think that engine had those problems when the previous owner had the truck, or do you think they are recent to your ownership? That alleged rebuild in 2013 seems very extensive and almost expert, but "scribbled" shop worksheets are odd. I wonder also about those motor mounts , I would have used new ones on a 2013 build that was so "well done".
