gooser

is anyone concerned about the rust on the block side of those heads?

001mustang

I would as minimum pull a couple rod end caps and inspect condition of crank shaft and old assembly lube. If lucky, assembly lube protected crank shaft and cam shaft working surfaces. If time permits I would DIY clean crank shaft, cam shaft, block, head etc. Apply fresh assembly lube and start using new engine break in procedure.

Guess it comes down to a judjement call.

Could clean it up a bit and try it; rebuild it later if fails early.

Could rebuild it now; which I wouldn't do unless something ugly discovered.

Good oportunity to verify clearences and fastener torques.

For the record it is common to produce metal shavings during engine break in; have to rely on oil filter to avoid pumping shavings on to bearing surfaces.

mr_velocity

Is the amount of grime on the paint or the rtv oozing out of the wp not enough to raise a flag?

Looks like someone didn't care or someone wasn't much of a mechanic or someone didn't take much pride in their work. That alone is enough of a flag to tear it apart and check everything. If they failed to clean the block could you imagine the metal left in the oil galleys after machining.

001mustang

Speaking of oil galleys.
I sure would like to know the oil path of sbf.

Perhaps a sketch or even flow path description.

What is upstream and down stream of psi port?

PaulS

You are going to spend a minimum of $3000 to build a mild performance 351W. I did it and the machine work is about half the cost.
Clean engine block, heads, intake and all the tin.
Straighten and size rods, turn crank, replace cam bearings, turn and/or polish crank
Balance the reciprocating and rotating parts. (speed balance)
....pistons, rods, dampener, crank, flywheel, rings and bearings
Mill the decks on the block, mill the heads, 3 angle valve grind,

Parts you will need are: Pistons, rings, bearings, gasket set, valves, valve springs, cam, lifters, timing set, oil pump and oil pump driveshaft, windage tray/oil scraper, ARP bolt set, a couple of tubes of Extreme RTV and Loc-tite #518.

You can save money buying the cam, lifters and springs in a kit. Any money you save by using your old parts you will end up paying $125/hr to have the machine shop set them up and check them. You might save some money by assembling the engine yourself but then you have to have the tools to check everything and you are the warranty - if you have the tools and are confident in your ability to double check all the tollerances and clearances then go for it. You will still have the costs for the machine work - that can't be avoided with even a light performance rebuild.

001mustang

My heads spinning, think I'll move to the chunk it and watch TV camp.

JMD

Since the engine is mostly apart already, I would just disassemble clean it up, check some measurements and put it together...

IMO the mods you have mentioned will be ok on stock internals. The 69 heads are pretty good as stokers go so depending on my budget I would run them too.

I think I might pull a valve or two to check out the seals, seats, and guides, if it checks out I would simply clean up the deck surface of the block and heads with a wire brush and some 220 grit sandpaper and go back together.

That is me though...

lalojamesliz

i think ill go this route for the shortblock guys if anything happens while running it then ill spend the $$$ on a machine shop. so how do i check the measurements to check if they are ok on the rod and crank bearings? plastiguage? about the heads, i have some completely rebuilt 351w heads that read E5AE. i bought those heads for dirt cheap but i didnt know what model heads they were until i bought them. they have upgraded springs, 3 angle valve job and some other things i cant remember right now. they have 0 miles on them since the rebuild. i need to sell those and the rebuilt rusted 69 heads i got with my shortblock so i can either get some ready to use rebuilt gt40p heads i found for $450 or to help me buy some edelbrock rpm heads. what option do you guys think i should do for my heads? i want the rpm heads but are they $600 better than the rebuilt gt40p heads?