i have the sean hyland video and he does
exactly what simon said....5w-30 non synthetic
for the first 500 miles and then mobil 1
5w-30 synthetic after that.

 

that's what I've done on the motors I've built, no problems here. as far as oil changes I'm pretty conservative since I drive my cars hard. even though they say you can go longer I change the oil and filter every 3,000 miles. to me the little extra money is worth it for the peace of mind. if in the oil change I see that the oil is really clean then I bump it up to 3,500 or 4,000 for the next one.

 

My oil and filter was changed after it idle for 30 minutes. I put 400 miles on the motor with a base tune and the builder replaced the filter and topped it off with fresh oil.

I don't know if he used a break in oil or not. I didn't ask.

I run 10 psi daily at around 500 rwhp. My oil breathers collect enough oil to drain about 3/4" every 3 months or so. Car doesn't burn any oil either.

Bruce,

I think you're going to be just fine when it comes to oil and the motor.

 

Everything is now ready to take the covers off and pull the heads. Took a valve cover off and turned the crank to get the timing mark near where it should be just to eliminate any surprises. What do you know, The timing mark isn't lined up with the chain marker. I imagine the crank sprocket is also two links off.

 

BruceH what's the plan for the heads...do the
mating surfaces need to be machined, or are you
just gonna bolt them on to the the new shortblock.

this is one thing i've wondered about and whether
it's necessary for low mileage engines like ours.

 

I'll know in a few hours. My plan is to take a straight edge and feeler gauge to the surface. If they need machining then I'll have to take them in, if not they go on.

 

that sounds reasonable. i had read about that
check in some tech article, but had forgotten
about it.

 

I'm stymied for awhile. My friend never showed with the cherry picker and all I can do now is clean up. Pulling the heads makes a mess. I wasn't prepared for all the coolant and oil that came out once I pulled them off.

Motor is all built up except for the oil pickup tube and oil pan. I don't think I can get the pan off while the motor is still in the car.

The heads checked out fine, I think. .002" maximum as in would just start to stick a .002" but wouldn't stick a .0025". Except for a few spots I couldn't stick a .002". I can't find an official Ford spec. All I can find are references to .005" being fine but I don't think that is the case with an mls gasket motor. Anyway the block was tighter as I couldn't even stick a .002" anywhere. I used a Starrett 6" machinists level for a straight edge.

A few more pics:

Head all cleaned up



Dirty head



Engine bay after pulling the heads



All timed up

 

looking good, keep the pics coming.

i'm also interested in hearing about any
issues that came up during the build, that
you had not anticipated.

 

Completed motor





Thats it, all I can do until I get a picker. Motor is bagged. We start a kitchen project this afternoon and I won't be working on the car till about Thursday.

Issues that I didn't anticipate:

Coolant and oil coming out of the heads when they were removed.

How hard it is to remove carbon with a plastic scraper. I used GM top engine cleaner to soften it some then acetone. It took quite awhile. Ditto for removing rtv.

How the timing marks work. They start out lined up but after a revolution the chains are off the marks. Drivers side goes on first. I made the mistake of taking a little slack out of the chain by rotating the crank, it was enough to keep the passenger chain from making the marks and took awhile to get straightened out.

Hopefully the motor will go in without too much drama.