I guess it's too late now, but your best bet for your valve guide issue would be to find a machine shop that would do Bronze Wall guides. They last forever and with the guides in good shape the seals are not nearly so critical.

Just file this info away for the future.

Good luck,

 

Another post-operation note: I wouldn't have cleaned off the pistons. The less crap you have in the cylinders, the better. Wire wheels especially will leave bits of wire all over the place; not great for engine internals. You can decarbon combustion chambers just fine with the engine together and running.

 

I know. I vacuumed and cleaned, moved the pistons and cleaned, wiped down and vacuumed again. I hope I got most of it and if not, so be it and the ford racing crate fairy will drop a 347 stroker off at my door.

Unrelated to that... I need these elusive 6.905 pushrods. The pushrods I ordered and received although very nice, are short. They are 6.876 and they sound like a Plymouth slant six. My neighbor had an 84 302 engine on and stand and we borrowed a pushrod from it and it's the length that I purchased, BUT it won't work with this combo. Everywhere I turn on the internet I find 6.905" is the one, but the only ones I have found were TFS rods at nearly $90 a set at Summit.

 

You should be fine on cleaning those pistons off. It sounds like you got the cylinders cleaned up good too.

Are the pushrods on a motor that runs the GT40 heads any longer?

 

Yes they are longer, but the previous heads had adjustable rockers and shorter rods. Now I have what appear to be the stock rods for this setup of bolt down rockers, but they are a tad short and create a racket.
I think that Sealed Power 6.876 translates to Ford 6.905, but I couldn't tell you for sure. I am headed out to another parts store this morning hoping to find a slightly longer rod, maybe 7" to try. It's never easy.

 

Well I came up empty locally with anything close in rod length. I have a set of 6.936 rods coming from Summit. I have my fingers crossed. I suppose I could shim the peds if they are too tall, but it's .031 over the 6.905 so we'll see.

Seems like the FRP push rods are going away. No one has them.

 

Comp Cams sells pushrods of all different lengths just for custom stuff. You have to look past their packaged stuff to find the table of a la carte pushrods and lengths. I ordered a set straight from Comp and were delivered within 10 days. The cost might be more than you were getting from Napa, but they will have them.

If you are looking for 5/16" diameter hollow pushrods.

They have these two available in Magnum version:
7631-16 6.900"
7634-16 6.950"

They have these two available in Hi-Tech version:
7933-16 6.900"
7935-16 6.950"

Their push rods come in increments of .050, so you will be out of luck if you need 6.905"

Here is a link to the pushrod section of their catalog.
http://www.compcams.com/catalog/COMP...10_292-311.pdf

 

Starfury makes a good point about cleaning carbon with a wire brush. It leaves microscopic metal particles that are not healthy. Use a magnetic oil pan plug and do a few short oil changes.

The carbon SHOULD be removed though. The best way is using a wooden stick. Takes awhile but it's safe.

For the rocker arm pushrod issue, you might consider using the Crane kit that can provide studs without machine work. You can then use adjustable rocker arms. These kits are not to be used on a race engine, but work finie on the street.

 

I thought of the metal particles and ran a magnet inside the cylinder walls and especially around the outside of the pistons. The magnetic oil pan plug is a great idea.

 

I was in Summit and saw their magnet that conforms to the oil filter on a display. I couldn't get the magnet off without sliding it down the filter it was so strong. So... I bought one since I was installing a new 347 and knew I would be doing a break in. They were pricey, maybe $30-35 but I know I will keep it forever. In my opinion I would rather have a magnet on the filter so that the metal is out of the pan which a magnetic drain plug would keep in there. I would highly recommend the summit oil filter magnet. It's not a "summit" brand part, but another manufacturer on summit's web site. You just have to specify what size filter (width) you use so that it conforms. I can't remember what size I got.