Out in the shed, fondling my parts... < PIX >

[Gold Metal Flake]

Freshly bored Ford 5.0 (302) block with freshly ground crank and stock 5.0HO cam. This block will replace the original block for my 1968 Mercury Cougar.



One of the new pistons and it's connecting rod with new rings. Nex, I put in the bearing shells, lube them (giggle) and install the assembly into the block.



Pistons installed!



The 1970 351W heads and the timing chain and gearset installed. That was fun!

Anybody working on cars this weekend? Dish!

[Drum]

1. Nice!

Conratulations! What's the Cougar look like? :hi:

[Gold Metal Flake]

7. I have a scanned pix but I can't find it.

It's a '68 with Ford Thistle paint (a kind of candy grape)and Magnum 500 wheels. Back when it was red, it looked like this:



We have a problem with feral cats in this neighborhood.

[lildreamer316]

2. I think I just..

_______ on myself.

Warn a bitch, wouldja?

That's criminal, it's so pretty.

[Gold Metal Flake]

8. Wait until it's painted!

Actually, I can't decide what color to paint it. The factory Ford blue does not go with a candy grape exterior. Black would go with anything, but it's boring. Body paint would not last on an engine due to the heat. Hmmm.

[SallyMander]

3. Not yet

But my fiance and i have a 1982 VW Vanagon camper (Westy). This winter we are going to convert it to run on veggie oil (it's a diesel)... we're really excited! But neither of us know too much about cars, so we'll have to invite some knowledgeable friends. :-)

[Gold Metal Flake]

9. I converted a 1982 Caddy to run on veg oil.

I madz web page:
http://www.freewebs.com/vegtruck/index.html

I sold it on Ebay this summer.

If I had to do it again, I would go with a biodiesel refining system. Easier on the engine. I coked up the rings in mine, but then again the engine was very old and blow by was a problem.

Do you have an German engine importer in your area? There is one in the LA area that sells conversion kits to install the diesel into Westys. I would go with a good used turbo diesel. That way you can go up hills as well as down. ;-)

[SallyMander]

13. sweet -- i bookmarked your webpage

Will definitely take a look at that later!

Yeah, we've thought about replacing the engine... but it is PRISTINE -- only 75k miles on it -- so it's hard to justify spending the $$$. Of course, we are in Ohio which is relatively FLAT, LOL. We have a fantastic mechanic who calls himself the "import doctor" and specializes in old VWs. I'm sure he could get us hooked up... we'll see. We've taken some short trips in it so far, and it's kinda nice cruising the country roads at 55 mph! :-)

[Gold Metal Flake]

22. Oh, it's a factory diesel? Cool!

I love the Westys. I have to stop and look at them whenever I walk past one. One of these days...

[zingaro]

4. ooooh can I touch?

So shiny! :)

[Gold Metal Flake]

10. Sure, but it's oily.

Better yet, grab a wrench and hold this thing here.

[zingaro]

21. Deal. I'm not afraid

of getting my hands dirty and I do know my way around a wrench.

:)

[GOPisEvil]

5. Aw, mom, I want a '68 Cougar.

Actually, any '68 muscle car would work. Since I'm a '68 model myself, we could grow old together.

[Gold Metal Flake]

12. '68 Mustang coupes are still affordable, and resto parts are plentiful.

You can buy brand new '67 fastback shells now. You could, in theory, build an entire '67 Mustang from new repro parts.

[GOPisEvil]

14. True. But I have VERY little disposable income at the moment.

I'm not exactly paycheck to paycheck, but close.

I know I could save some money doing the work myself, but hell, even parts cost. Then there's storage room, etc. So, someday. I'll figure it out.

[Gold Metal Flake]

17. Fundage is a problem.

I am selling stuff on Ebay to help with the expenses here. I am also re-recovering the seats with repro factory upholstery and I am gonna make some changes to the wiring (adding relays for the headlights and adding an internally-regulated alternator). I also need to do something with the differential, which howls a bit at cruise.

[lildreamer316]

15. SERIOUSLY??

I thought they would all be snatched up by now.

[Gold Metal Flake]

18. They made so many coupes.

But then again I am on the west coast where rust is less of a problem. There are several first generation Mustangs in the neighbor hood here, including an unrestored 1964-1/2.

[lildreamer316]

24. Ok. Now I'm just pissed.

Me want...very badly.
Maybe someday...

[Oeditpus Rex]

6. Can I borrow your tools?

:D

How much over did you go on the bore? Is the crank stock or a de-/stroker?

[Gold Metal Flake]

16. Well...

This is another in my usual "evolving project" engine rebuilds. I rebuilt the original engine in 1994. At that time I bored the block .03 over, used the stock rods (magged and resized) and crank (magged and cut .10/.10). The stuff was balanced.

The car always ran hot, and after the rebuild it ran hotter. I went through all the usual remedies. Anyways, I was gonna just bore the same block another .01. So, I got a great deal on some .04 over Silvolite pistons on Ebay, just right for use with the 351 Windsor heads I use. Then I started thinking about the block, and I thought why not just get a fresh late model block so maybe it won't run so hot, and I can use a roller cam and ditch the old-school performance cam I was running. Cooler enine, better efficiency. So I grabbed a block from the junkyard and scored a stock HO cam. I stuck with the Ebay pistons so what you see is a .04 5.0 block with the 1968 crank (now .02/.02 under). Everything was balanced again. The heads, rebuilt in 1994, were refreshed and they added studs for adjustable rockers. I'm gonna use roller-tipped rockers this time. The roller cam and roller-tipped rockers reduce friction and thus heat.

So, the cam is a little smaller, but has more area under the curve because it's a roller. I should have the same power but better gas mileage. Still using a Holley carb, but I have not decided which one of my collection to use. A 600cfm unit, anyway.

You can borrow my tools anytime. Drive on down! :hi:

[Oeditpus Rex]

23. I love roller cams, man

They're just so much more efficient. I had a Crane roller and train in my 327. It wasn't a real big-lift cam and it wasn't a loper, but it had so much more torque, especially in the midrange. And, yeah — it ran at 170°-175°, about 5-10 degrees cooler than stock.

Had a roller chain, too, which no doubt helped the torque curve a bit.

[Gold Metal Flake]

26. The big solid roller I put in my 460 was the first one ever for me.

This one was just too smart to pass up. What you describe is how I hope this one works out. I feel confident. I'm gonna leave the oil cooler off this time.

How lucky was this: I went to the self-serv junkyard to get a block, fully expecting to have to pull an engine. Finding roller 5.;0 blocks is not a problem, but pulling them out is a pain. Anyways, I was walking up the isles hoping that one might be out in pieces when I see an entire, complete 5.0 from a Cougar just laying there. The only thing missing was the dizz. Why would someone pull an engine then just leave it? Oh well, good for me. I sat down and got busy stripping it to the bare block. I kept the lifters and associated parts of course and am using them.

Too bad Ford did not make a 327-like engine. The 331 strooker packages are real popular. It's a good size. Besides, the number, "327", just looks good, you know? Like how "427" looks good. Looks speedy.

[Oeditpus Rex]

29. It especially looks good right below a Chevy 'flag' emblem

I left the "283" flags on my El Camino, though. ;-)

Yeah, 327's been my "lucky" number for years; it just has a cool sound to it. But then, so do 289 and 429. Not so much 351, though.

The things I like best about the Mouse are (1.) they're hard to break;* (2.) they're easy to hot-rod; (3.) parts cost like a buck and a half, and you can get 'em at Safeway. :)

Oh... "dizz"? :shrug:



*Edit: Except the rear main seals, which are made broken.

[Gold Metal Flake]

31. Sorry. Dizz is short for distributor.

Dizz or dizzy.

The trans was leaking fron both ends and a few points in between. So I resealed it. It works great otherwise and shifts almost perfectly for me. It's a C4.

351 is not a great looking number, but the 351 Cleveland is a brutal engine when built right. I still have one (the 2V heads, not the huge 4V version) and a couple of toploader 4 speeds. One day I'll stuff them into something.

[NewHampster]

11. What kind of mileage will it get?

:evilgrin:

[Gold Metal Flake]

19. Better, I hope!

The speedo always read fast because of the non-stock tires. I have purchased a different gear to help with that. Even so, it usually got 13-15. Not good. With the HO roller cam replacing the old-fashioned performance flat taappet cam I hope to get into the 20s if I'm careful. It's no longer a daily driver anyway.

[NewHampster]

20. Nice wheels

:toast:

[bridgit]

25. i enjoy men with proper projects...

and *that* seems a proper project to me :bounce:

[Gold Metal Flake]

27. I can put up drywall and apply texture coat.

How do you like me now? ;-)









.

[bridgit]

28. ooh baby, drywall, you'll need to be washing those pants in some other machine however...

;)

[Gold Metal Flake]

32. I remember that song!

"Washing Machine Blues" by Mississippi Fred MacDowell, 1967.

[bridgit]

33. hahahaha, now *that's* esoteric, you get the fluffy pillow...

;)

[DarkTirade]

30. Woohoo... that looks like it could be hot...

...if you don't lubricate properly.