Quote Originally Posted by GNW1974 View Post
True Story, farmer in the Mallee in WA used pig skin for his main bearings to repair a car in the depression. Don't know how long it would have lasted though.
Haven't heard of this, but it is plausible - you're effectively using a tough leather as a bearing surface, so it could work, and the old cars from that era only had soft (hand poured) white metal bearings anyway.

100+ years ago, rawhide leather was used as a sealing material - it was the early predecessor to the rubber oil seals like the crank/timing cover seal that we know & use today.