What sort of compressor do you use? I bought a Craftsman one and it was a piece of shit. Broke after 6 pistons. Next time I'm going to buy a solid one from Jegs for the correct size.

I have a Craftman one too. Mine slips a little sometimes but I've learned to work with it.

Been putting on ring with my thumbs for.............years. Still the best way.:thumbs_up:

Ben's an expert at it now.

Alright, I've been slacking on this a bit... got a little busy with school.

So I think tomorrow I'm going to pick up the block from the shop - it's already been bored and honed, I'm hoping he's also already installed the cam bearings and freeze plugs.

I'll start assembling it this weekend, but I still have to buy some more parts so it might still be a little while before it's done.

in the meantime here are the pictures I was supposed to post 2 and a half months ago...









there was just a bit of grime on the engine... just a bit... but it's all fresh and clean now. Can't wait to drive the car again!

Awesome. I can't wait to see the finished project :)

HA, you said that in this thread once already... sorry Sean, you're gunna have to wait a little while - I'm broke! lol

We should just build it NA so I can buy the Novi 2000 off you.

Didn't pick up the block today - have to have the hone redone to .005" I initially had him do it at .003" but probe recommends more clearance for forced induction... I guess I'm going to pick it up next week now. :bang:

That sucks, but I definitely think it's the right decision in the long run.

Eric and I started assembling his engine last night. We started by removing the sharp edges on the pistons.

Before:



After:



Then we checked the piston to wall clearance on each cylinder using the piston that was going into that cylinder. All were a very tight .005.



We then installed the main bearing and plastigaged the crank mains. All were around .0025. Next we installed a rod and piston and checked the block clearance for the stroker crank. The tightest clearance was .107 so we didn't need to clearance the block at all. We then took it back apart and cleaned everything with soap and warm water and then installed the crank.

Today we are going to plastigage the rod bearings and then assemble the pistons and rods, install the piston rings, and install the pistons. Eric will post up more pictures later.

Will removing the material from the pistons require re-balancing?

Bob

We didn't remove enough to make a difference in the weight. If we had removed a lot of material then I would have it rebalanced but not with the little we did.

However, we did run into an issue today and I'm glad we did because I discovered I misread the plastigage yesterday. Today we started by installing the pistons on the rods. FYI, full floating pins with Spirolox are a pain the ass to install. Just ask Eric. So after that we checked the bearing clearance and discovered it only had .0015. That's when I realized I misread the Plastigage yesterday when doing the mains. On the mains we only have .0017-.0018. We double checked just to make sure. So we need to get some new bearings that are undersized .001 so that we have the proper clearances. The good news is that we should be able to get them Monday. We also checked the side clearance between the rods which is .0015 so we are good there.

You think those locks are hard to install, try removing them :mad:

No thanks. I'm hoping the engine will last a very long time so it will be years before we have to take them off. Eric was supposed to call CHP Monday about the bearings but he didn't have time so we're on hold right now.

When i put together my old motor i put one of the pistons on backwards, and had a HELL of a time getting the fuckers off

When we checked the piston to wall clearance we numbered each piston with the cylinder we checked it in. Then when we were installing the rods we made sure the rod and piston were facing the correct direction. We also wrote down which rod number was for which cylinder. So I know we won't have to take any apart.

Eric spoke to Coast High Performance today and the Ford engine specialist said that the clearances we had with the plastigage were fine because it isn't very accurate. He said that it usually reads on the tight side and that if we were seeing .0018 with it the clearance was most likely around .0020-.0022. He also told Eric if he was still worried about it that he should take it to a machine shop and have them measure it but that it should be fine. I think Phil has a micrometer that measures ten-thousandths so we'll probably get it from him while he's back for Thanksgiving and then measure it ourselves.

Oh i did the same thing, even the rods are numbered along with the pistons. Just that one distracted moment and i realized i put the rod in the wrong piston.

Well we haven't updated this in a long time. We ran the bearings as they were and have finished assembling most of the engine. Also, this engine is not going to be NA for a while and Eric is going to add the supercharger at a later time. I dropped the engine in yesterday and we are going to finish it up at the end of this week. Here's how it sits as of yesterday.

Im sure Eric could score a supercharger kit for cheap. They are all over the place right now, i know i scored big time but if he isnt afraid to lowball the shit out of people im sure he can too. What rockers is he running? I know most rockers dont like the stock valve covers.

He already has a Paxton Novi 2000 with the bracket and idler pulley. He just needs everything else. The reason he's not going to supercharge it right now is that he is moving to FL with his girlfriend and doesn't have the extra cash to buy all the parts he needs to install it. After he gets settled in FL he'll start collecting parts to install it.

Have hime check out www.superchargersonline.com they offer wholesale pricing on lots of supercharger related parts.

It's finished! I didn't get any pictures yet because I've been working on it all day. It fired right up on the first try and after setting the timing at 13 degrees and the idle at 900 it sounds great with a nice little lope. Eric's on his way to FL and will be back in a week to pick it up to drive it to FL. I'm going to try and run around in it locally here for the next few days to make sure there isn't any issues. We already have one though which is a tire that won't hold air for more than about 15 minutes. I'll try to get it pulled off tomorrow and patched.

Awesome! Did he pick it up?

No, he is still on his way to FL. They are driving out towing a trailer. He will be flying back here in a few days to pick it up.

Pics?

Sorry but I was really busy today and didn't get a chance to take any. I'll try to tomorrow and will also try and get some good video of the sound. The idle sounds great!

Here's a couple I just took. I'll get video after the battery in my camera finishes charging.

Eric's new 331 at an idle.

I dont remember if you told me or not, but is that a performance products intake?

It's a Professional Products Typhoon intake.



I wouldn't recommend it though. The aluminum is soft and the casting isn't that great.

That motor sounds good Ron!:drool2:

Thanks. I pulls pretty good too. I originally bought the cam we installed in it for my Cobra but I was afraid it had too much lift with the 1.7 rockers and the stock pistons so I bought an E303. I kind of wish I would have installed it now.

I bet it does. I thought that was the original plan? I remember you helped me work on my 5.0 so in return i gave you the E303 and you told me you were gonna install it on this car.

Nope. I gave that E303 to someone else. This is a Lunati cam I bought about 6 or 7 years ago. It has the same duration at .050 and LSA as an E303 but it has a .514 lift instead of the .498. It also has different timing events.

Ah i see. The E cam would have suited your build better? I like the E cam, but i drove my car with an E cam, versus a TFS cam and it pulled better for me.

I need an e-cam :(

Ron how much of a pita is it to get the upper off with the bolt inside the intake? I see the original eddy intakes for $250-$300 all day long but am put off by the bolts inside

On my Vortech/Saleen intake it's not that bad. I have to remove the TB and TB elbow and then I can get a 1/2 wrench on the nut. The hard part is putting the nut back on because you can't get your hand in there.

I thought you had a cobra intake on your car? Is the professional products/eddy intake the same difficulty? I imagine you drop the bolt and you need to take off the intake again.