I second the motion of buying your own engine stand, and one with 4 wheels. Get the highest rated one you can afford. Take a deep breath and promise yourself you are not going to get in a hurry, and you are not going to ignore your family while you are deeply involved in rebuilding this engine. Read that rebuild section of the book all the way through first before you start so that you will have a big picture of the whole process. If you run into a snag, get back with us.

 

Thanks for the encouragement, guys- I think I'll go for it. As for being in a hurry, the cars been needing to be redone for about 10 years now, so a few more months won't hurt!!!

Most of the cars I have worked on in the past had a bunch more crap on them- i.e fuel injection, computerized, etc, so the stang is a welcome change to simplicity....I'll let you know how it goes, and I'm sure i'll have a bunch of questions. Thanks again!!!

Oh- this is just a basic stock rebuild, but i would like to add some newer components to improve driveability, so if there are any suggestions, I'd like to hear them!

Thanks-
Brady

 

yup, i'll throw my hat in the ring on that statement.

couple quick things that come to mind for advice (and everything else posted sounds good but personally i would clean cylinders with carb cleaner instead of trans fluid, and then spray with wd40 to prevent rust)

1. make sure you have compressed air on hand, invaluable to keeping your build dirt/grit free. think of the block as the patiant and the build is open heart surgery. CLEAN CLEAN CLEAN is definately the word of the day here.

2. when you install the crank, there are two halfs to the rear main seal. do not install the seals flush, instead rotate slightly so the seems are offset from where the cap meets the block, a small dab of permatex where the two halfs meet will ensure you dont have a leaky rear main seal. (make sure there is no oil on the ends of the seal or the permatex will not bond to the rubber and your efforts will be useless)

3. once the crank is torqued down, give the big counterweights a decent smack or two with a hammer, rotate the crank some, and smack 'er again. then, give a tap on the snout of the crank like yoru trying to knock the crank out the back of the block) and a smack on the rear of the crank. this ensures the bearings are properly seated. 4 out of 4 builders i worked with did this to every motor they assembled.

4. HV or high volume oil pumps are worthless, instead use a HP or high pressure pump. this will leave more oil in the pan where it belongs. also most oil pumps have no support on the bottom where the two gears inside rotate to pump the oil - this can lead to wear on the flat plate that is on the bottom of the pump (wear = metal shavings in your motor). improved units are available where the gears have a shaft on the bottom and is supported by the flat cover on the bottom of the pump. arghhh i wish i could find pics to better explain this. ask the machine shop about the pump, they'll actually have the melling book so you can find the right pump.

5. invest in a quality timing chain. you may be able to get a double row unit for 20 bucks, but trust the fact that spending a little more for a quality unit is certainly worth the money.

something else worth considering (i have no personal experience with) is variable hyd. lifters. rhodes makes them and i her crower did too. basically they bleed down under 1500 rpms for a smoother idle, more low end power, and higher vacuum. once you rev up a little they stiffen up and your cam is back to full spec. think of it like VTEC for our V8's. this might be worth looking into, maybe someone else on here has some firsthand experience and can give some feedback on this one.

thats all i gots for now, and dinner is ready

 

I totally agree, rebuilding an engine is not difficult and can be very rewarding. I can't count the number of times I've heard people on sites like this complaining because their big buck rebuild blew up after several hundred miles, usually because of something stupid the builder did or forgot to do. If you take your time and buy the few specialized hand tools necessary, its a piece of cake. Farm out the machine work, but do the rest. A good book is absolutely necessary, I highly recommend How to Rebuild your Small Block Ford by Tom Monroe. http://www.amazon.com/How-Rebuild-Sm...F8&s=books
I used it to succesfully rebuild 2 289s and also bought his big block book to rebuild a 429. I also recommend taking pictures before and during the disassembly which will be most useful when putting it back together. Don't forget a lot if plastic baggies and labels. Its really neat to know that you rebuilt your engine when the guy in cube next to you can't change his oil or fix a flat. Go for it and Good luck.

Al

 

yeah there's nothing like listening to that beast as you romp on the gas, wind 'er up to 7000 rpm's knowing all along that you built that puppy yourself