And now we run into our first major problem! I should have known the FE gods were going to get me back when dialing in the bell housing was so easy (see below). We actually put the pilot bearing in after we dialed in the bell housing but it doesn't matter when you do it.
Anyway, the hole in the Scat crankshaft is TOO BIG! It was machined wrong by Scat. When we tried to put the pilot bearing in--it just FELL in. The hole in the crank measured 1.860 inches and the bearing measures 1.852 inches. Thinking we need about a 0.002 inch interference fit, that means the crank was machined 0.010 inches over sized.
So, the master machinist Sandwich trimmed 0.200 inches off the outside diameter of the pilot bearing and then machined an aluminum sleeve to go over the outside of the bearing and bring it back up to the proper 1.862 inch outside diameter. Sandwich is to the lathe what Jason Bell is to a Stradivarius.
Here is the pilot bearing we use: Part number SKF B50-HD Sorry the picture is blurry, but the box is blurry.
