Engine Build Thread - 427ci FE Big Block

[Fifty-Two]

_________________________________________________

**** BUILD UPDATES / TABLE OF CONTENTS ****

-> 08/07/12 (post #64-67) – Oil Pump & Oil Pan: Prep, Pickup Clearance, Final Install
-> 05/27/12 (post #60-61) – Cylinder Heads: Cleaning & Paint Prep, Painting, Blueprinting, Final Install
-> 03/10/12 (Post #54-56) – Exterior Components: Front Cover Prep & Install, Balancer Install, Oil Filter Adapter
-> 03/03/12 (Post #53) – Camshaft: Degreeing the Camshaft & Final Timing Set Install
-> 01/29/12 (Post #51-52) – Rotating Assembly: Final Bottom-End Assembly
-> 12/20/11 (Post #47) – Rotating Assembly: Blueprinting & Balancing
-> 10/29/11 (Post #46) – Piston Prep & Blueprinting
-> 08/27/11 (Post #45) – Rods: Rod & Rod Bearing Blueprinting
-> 07/24/11 (Post #44) – Piston Rings: Filing & Fitting Ring Sets
-> 05/25/11 (Post #37) – Crankshaft: Final Install of Crank & Main Bearings
-> 05/07/11 (Post #28-29) – Crankshaft: Cleaning & Prep, Blueprinting, Main Bearing Clearances
-> 04/23/11 (Post #24-25) – Camshaft: Additional Components, Cam Install, Measuring Endplay, Final Assembly
-> 04/13/11 (Post #16) – Engine Block: Oil Galley Plugs | Camshaft: Selection, Cam Bearings, Blueprinting & Prep
-> 04/04/11 (Post #14) – Engine Block: Cross Bolts
-> 04/02/11 (Post #9-10) – Engine Block: Casting Flash Removal, Core Plugs, Cleaning & Paint Prep, Painting
-> 03/31/11 (Post #4) – Engine Block: Oiling System, Oiling Mods
-> 03/21/11 (Post #2) – Engine Block: Selection, Identification, Machine Work
_________________________________________________




Engine Build Thread - 427ci FE Big Block

Figured I would start a thread to document the buildup of my 427ci FE motor during the next few days/weeks/months. Hopefully I’ll be able to cover most of the steps during the build and have a little fun in the process. :cool:

The concept for this project is simply to build a reliable 427 cubic inch FE big block without having to mortgage the house or take a second job (i.e. this build won’t be based off of a new-casting $3-5k side-oiler block). By boring a readily available seasoned FE 352 or 390 block, and filling it with newer modern componentry, the finished motor should be just as powerful as the original and more street friendly, all the while looking nearly identical on the outside to how the 427’s came out of the factory in ‘65/66.


Goals
~ Displacement of 427 ci (achieved via 4.060” bore & 4.125” stroke)
~ Visually Authentic to the ’66 S/C 427 FE Motor
~ Reliable & Low Maintenance Street Motor (via Hydraulic Roller Cam & Lifters, etc.)
~ Weigh less than an original-spec 427 FE (via Aluminum Heads, Aluminum Intake, etc.)
~ 6200 PRM Redline
~ 9.5-10:1 Compression Ratio
~ Horsepower & Torque = 450+


Parts & Components
~ 1966 Ford 390 FE Block (Bored/Honed to 4.060”)
~ SCAT 4.125” Stroker Crank (Internally Balanced for custom rotating assembly)
~ SCAT Forged I-Beam Rods
~ Speed-Pro Main Bearings & Rod Bearings
~ Diamond Forged 4032 Aluminum Pistons (Custom - Dished)
~ ARP Bolts: Mains, Rods, Intake, Heads, Cam, Damper, etc.
~ Comp Cams Hydraulic Roller Camshaft & Lifters (Survival Motorsports Custom Grind)
~ Blue Thunder Bronze Cam Thrust/Retaining Plate
~ Edelbrock 60069 Aluminum Cylinder Heads (w/ upgraded Dual Valve Springs to match Cam specs)
~ Blue Thunder 427 S/C Reproduction Intake Manifold – Aluminum (#IM-427MR-4)
~ Fel-Pro Performance Gaskets: Head (#1020), Intake (#1247-S3), Exhaust (#1442), Misc Completion Kit (#2720)
~ PRW 17-4ph SS Roller-tip Rocker Arm Assemblies w/ Billet Aluminum Stands & Hardened Shafts (#3239022)
~ ARP Custom Rocker Stand Stud Kit (Precision Oil Pumps)
~ Head Oil Restrictors to Rockers (TBD)
~ Pushrods – Trend Custom Length (TBD)
~ Chrome “Pentroof” Valve Covers
~ Blueprinted Melling High Volume Oil Pump (Precision Oil Pumps)
~ 1/4" HD Chrome-moly Oil Pump Driveshaft (Precision Oil Pumps)
~ 427 Road Race Oil Pan Repro w/ Windage Tray, Pickup, Custom Temp Bung (Armando Racing Oil Pans #408)
~ Milodon Crushproof Premium Oil Pan Gaskets (#40450)
~ Ford Racing Double Roller Timing Set (#M-6268-A390)
~ Cast Aluminum Timing Cover (Reconditioned OE FoMoCo)
~ Remote Oil Filter Block Adapter (Trans Dapt #1015)
~ Cast Aluminum Remote Oil Filter Housing & Steel Mounting Bracket (reproductions of Originals)
~ Crank Oil Slinger (OE Ford N.O.S.)
~ Crankshaft Damper Spacer (Billet Steel Repro)
~ Professional Products 427-FE Reproduction Damper (7-1/2") & Single-Sheave Pulley (6-5/8")
~ Carter Mechanical Fuel Pump - 120 gallons/hour (#GM6905)
~ Ford Racing Fuel Pump Eccentric (#M-6287-C302)
~ Fuel Filter Canister & Bracket (reproductions of Ford “B7Q-9155-A” & “C0AE-9180-A”)
~ 1x4v Fuel Log (reproduction of Original)
~ Carb (Holley - TBD)
~ “Turkey Pan” Cold Air Plenum
~ Stelling & Hellings 8.5" Chrome Air Filter Assembly
~ High-Volume Mechanical Water Pump (FlowKooler #1642)
~ Ford Water Pump Pulley - Single-Sheave 7-1/4” Diameter (Reconditioned OE FoMoCo)
~ Radiator “Surge” Tank (Black, Driver-side Outlet)
~ Alternator Bracket Set (Reconditioned OE FoMoCo ‘65-'67)
~ 61-amp Autolite Alternator (Repro of “C5TF-10300-F” w/ Red Autolite Stamping)
~ 2.62” Alternator Pulley & 13-Blade Alternator Fan (prepped & painted black)
~ Distributor & Coil (TBD)
~ Plug Wires (TBD)
~ Autolite Spark Plugs (#3924)
~ Powermaster Mastertorque Mini-Starter (#9606)
~ Quicktime Bellhousing & Block Plate (#RM-6056)
~ And more to come ...



- John

[Fifty-Two]

Block Selection

With this FE build being based on a readily available and cost effective seasoned 352 or 390 block, I needed to turn to the aftermarket in order to pick up the extra displacement and achieve my goal of having a 427ci big block FE. I had long ago decided I wasn’t going to try and reuse a 40-50 year old factory crank and set of rods with an unknown history ... too much risk in my opinion if I wanted to be able to spin this motor up over 6k and not worry about something letting loose. Plus, the cost to acquire, re-furbish, and upgrade (ARP bolts, etc) those factory pieces is nearly as much as a brand new aftermarket rotating assembly with higher quality pieces. And with the aftermarket, I could take advantage of available stroker cranks and custom piston diameters to get to my 427ci goal. A low mileage or service 390 block can be power-honed to a 4.060” bore diameter (a 352 block can also be used and easily bored/honed out to that same diameter). This is a very small over-bore, leaving ample thickness in the cylinder walls for proper strength and cooling (and can even be over-bored again in a future rebuild if desired). The 4.060” bore spec combined with a 4.125” aftermarket stroker crank creates the target displacement of 427 cubic inches.

Additionally, I wanted to source a ’65+ block to take advantage of all the minor upgrades to the FE line that occurred during the early 60’s (additional motor-mount holes, alternator mounting hole, wider #3 main thrust bearing, deeper head & main bearing bolt holes, etc).

The last requirement on the list was that the block needed to have provisions to run the hydraulic roller lifters being used in this build (meaning the block must have the two factory drilled longitudinal oil galleys necessary to feed hydraulic lifters).

With all of that decided on, and since I only needed a seasoned block for this project (not an entire donor or pullout motor), I had Barry at Survival Motorsports source the block and spec the machine work for me.



Prep & Machine Work

The block prep consisted of a bake cycle, then a media blast, followed by a hot-tank wash; it’s amazing how the block looks nearly brand new when it’s all done.

Block machine work consisted of the following:
~ Bore & Hone all cylinders to 4.060” (w/ torque plates installed to replicate distortion from cylinder heads & hardware)
~ Line Hone the main bearing bores (to create round and in-line bores for all the crank journals)
~ Mill & Parallel both deck surfaces


And here's how the machined block showed up at my door:

http://i628.photobucket.com/albums/uu9/hindsight52/427%20FE%20Big%20Block/Engine%20Block/IMG_4534.jpg


Now free from its container:

http://i628.photobucket.com/albums/uu9/hindsight52/427%20FE%20Big%20Block/Engine%20Block/IMG_4540.jpg


And finally, up and mounted on the engine stand:

http://i628.photobucket.com/albums/uu9/hindsight52/427%20FE%20Big%20Block/Engine%20Block/IMG_4622.jpg




Casting Codes / Block Identification

Now for the decoding ...

On this block, underneath the oil filter pad is a “6D27” casting date code; the “6” represents 1966, the “D” represents the fourth month of the year (April), and the “27” represents the day of the month in which the block was cast; meaning, this block was cast on April 27th, 1966.

http://i628.photobucket.com/albums/uu9/hindsight52/427%20FE%20Big%20Block/Engine%20Block/IMG_4589.jpg


The other code of interest is the “C6ME-A” casting number located on the passenger side of the block. In this instance though, the number doesn’t provide much info. Theoretically, with this code the block could be a 352, 390, 410, or 428 FE block ... or even a 330 or 391 FT truck block). Ford definitely didn't make it easy to identify these engines.

http://i628.photobucket.com/albums/uu9/hindsight52/427%20FE%20Big%20Block/Engine%20Block/IMG_4593.jpg


In the end, this particular block is indeed a 390 and was verified by the “drill bit test”. This simple check of the spacing between cylinder walls in the water jacket is considered the most reliable way to find the true identity of any particular FE block.

http://i628.photobucket.com/albums/uu9/hindsight52/427%20FE%20Big%20Block/Engine%20Block/8066f720.jpg


There are plenty of good write-ups already out there on how to perform this test, so I won’t go into detail here. In short, this block was confirmed as a 390 because a 15/64” drill bit shank was the largest I could fit between two cylinder walls in the water jacket. And that 15/64” spec makes it a relatively thick-walled 390 too, which is great news for overall cylinder wall strength in this motor.


Additional photos of the block here: http://s628.photobucket.com/albums/uu9/hindsight52/427%20FE%20Big%20Block/Engine%20Block/



Next installment ... Oiling System Mods.


- John

[Bigguy]

Great report. Keep it up as I thoroughly enjoy reading about building up the old FE's. I originally wanted to go with a 390 in my car but after much consideration opted for the injected 347. Still think about it though.

[Fifty-Two]

Side-Oiler vs Top-Oiler

Figured I’d toss in a quick history of the two different styles of oiling systems in the FE family: side-oiler & top-oiler. The difference lies simply in the sequence that each of the engine components receives its lubrication.

The “top-oiler” design was used on the vast majority of FE blocks produced by Ford (352, 360, 390, 410, etc) - even the 428 motor that powers most of the “427” Street Cobras was a top-oiler block. With this lubrication strategy, oil is primarily fed via a longitudinal center oil galley (located just below the lifter valley) and is dispersed from the top of the block to the bottom, meaning the lifters and cam bearings are the first to receive oil, as lubrication then makes its way down to the main bearings.

The “side-oiler” design on the other hand, was born out of racing necessity where the oiling priority needed to be to the main bearings first and foremost; this design has a main oil galley running lower along the side of the block to feed the mains, then galleys going upwards to feed the cam, etc. Many of the 427 motors were of this design (there were 427 top-oilers produced though). This side-oiler design was advantageous in theory because with any oil-pressure fluctuation or drop, the mains were still the first to receive oil and hopefully wouldn’t be starved (i.e. spun bearing). In practical application for a well built and blue-printed street motor, the difference is minimal to none; and with a few small oil-system modifications made to a top-oiler block (plus the addition of a high-volume oil pump), the main bearings stay very well lubricated and are completely protected. In an all-out racing application (such as 7-8k RPM, 650+ hp drag/road-racing), the side-oiler definitely has its merits, but for my purpose in a mostly street-driven Cobra, provides no quantifiable advantage. Also, most original side-oiler blocks were for use with solid lifters only and cannot be converted; in order to run a hydraulic roller cam, I would have most likely had to spring for a new-casting block (Genesis, Pond, etc) that has the necessary oil galleys drilled out for use with the hydraulic lifters. Unfortunately, the extra $3-5k for that block isn’t budgeted in my build; and truthfully, just flat out isn’t necessary for this project.



Oiling Mods & Upgrades

As mentioned earlier, by performing a couple small modifications to the block, the oiling system is vastly improved and becomes nearly bulletproof. And again, there are a plethora of great articles and books already out there on how to perform these mods so I won’t go into a lot of detail in this post.

Here’s the list of mods done on the block for this particular build:

~ Main Saddles: On FE blocks, there is a small misalignment between the oil supply holes (in main saddles # 1, 2, 4) and the oil supply openings in the main bearings themselves. To correct this, the entry portion of the holes on these three saddles were enlarged with a die grinder and blended to match the corresponding openings in the bearings.

http://i628.photobucket.com/albums/uu9/hindsight52/427%20FE%20Big%20Block/Engine%20Block/8e3bc516.jpg


~ Oil Pump Mount: There is a single opening in the block here, and is where the pump feeds oil up/over to the block’s oil filter mounting pad. This hole was enlarged with a die grinder (gasket matched to the new Melling oil pump), and the bowl/transition feeding into the passageway was opened & blended to aid oil flow.

http://i628.photobucket.com/albums/uu9/hindsight52/427%20FE%20Big%20Block/Engine%20Block/4b143e17.jpg


~ Oil Filter Mounting Pad: There are two openings in this area; the first is the one exiting from the block (containing oil from the passageway connected to the pump) and heading out to the remote oil filter; the second one is the opening coming back from the remote oil filter that feeds back into the block to lubricate the engine. Both of these holes were enlarged and blended with a die grinder to aid in oil flow to/from the block; machinist’s dye was used to create an outline of the gasket (for the remote oil filter adapter) on the block, serving as a template to insure the holes weren’t enlarged too far.

http://i628.photobucket.com/albums/uu9/hindsight52/427%20FE%20Big%20Block/Engine%20Block/ce58131c.jpg

http://i628.photobucket.com/albums/uu9/hindsight52/427%20FE%20Big%20Block/Engine%20Block/e3828450.jpg


~ Oil Galley Plugs: Depending on the particular year/type of block, some of the galley plug openings were tapped (1/4" NPT) by the factory, while others were left as a standard “press-fit” type plug. For a little extra security against one of the plugs popping out and the engine losing oil pressure, all of the remaining press-fit openings were tapped to accept the same 1/4" NPT plugs. A quick note: the one plug behind the distributor isn’t at risk to go anywhere and is fine to leave in stock form; so, it remained as a press-fit plug in this block.

http://i628.photobucket.com/albums/uu9/hindsight52/427%20FE%20Big%20Block/Engine%20Block/dea92dd9.jpg


~ Oil Drainback Holes: The drainage holes at the front & rear of the lifter valley were opened/deburred with a die grinder to help aid in oil flow back down to the pan.

http://i628.photobucket.com/albums/uu9/hindsight52/427%20FE%20Big%20Block/Engine%20Block/ed688747.jpg


~ Blueprinted High-Volume Oil Pump: To help move more lubrication through the oil galleys and provide a boost in oil pressure at idle and low RPM’s, a high-volume Melling oil pump (M57HV) was chosen. And to insure that the pump was set up to spec and working as efficiently as possible, it was blueprinted by Doug at Precision Oil Pumps - he does an awesome job with these and the work is top notch. I also decided to run one of his upgraded chrome-moly 1/4" oil pump drive shafts for a little extra peace of mind against the possibility of an oil pump drive shaft failure (thus starving the engine of oil and ruining my day/week/month/year).


Additional photos of the block here: http://s628.photobucket.com/albums/uu9/hindsight52/427%20FE%20Big%20Block/Engine%20Block/

Next installment ... Finishing up the block. :)

- John

[PhyrraM]

While I'm usually not really a fan of the older motors (anymore), this one is gonna be SWEET! Looking forward to the rest of the build up.

I like the attention to detail you've already put into it.

[Lex]

This thread couldn't have come at a better time. Guess what my new project is I started a couple weeks ago?

[Fifty-Two]

I had a feeling you'd come to the dark side eventually! Good stuff!!! :D

[Lex]

I had a feeling you'd come to the dark side eventually! Good stuff!!! :D
Who me? LOL! Something I've been wanting to do for quiet a while.

[Fifty-Two]

Exterior Casting Cleanup

Just for cosmetic purposes, I decided to clean up some of the casting flash on the exterior of the block. Ford never bothered to clean up this type of cosmetic stuff back in the day, but a few minutes spent with my angle & die grinders took care of all of it. The usual areas where this casting flash is an eyesore is at the edges of the front corners on either side of the block (see photos below). There is also a fair amount of flash on the corner edges at the back of the block and around the starter pocket area too; its less visible back there, but I still decided to get rid of it since I already had the tools out to do it.

Before (passenger-side front):

http://i628.photobucket.com/albums/uu9/hindsight52/427%20FE%20Big%20Block/Engine%20Block/IMG_4608.jpg


After (passenger-side front):

http://i628.photobucket.com/albums/uu9/hindsight52/427%20FE%20Big%20Block/Engine%20Block/IMG_4611.jpg


Before (driver-side front):

http://i628.photobucket.com/albums/uu9/hindsight52/427%20FE%20Big%20Block/Engine%20Block/IMG_4609.jpg


After (driver-side front):

http://i628.photobucket.com/albums/uu9/hindsight52/427%20FE%20Big%20Block/Engine%20Block/IMG_4618.jpg



Deck Cleanup

Another area that needed attention was the block's deck surfaces. After the decking machine work was completed, the machinist went ahead and lightly chamfered the cylinder bore edges to help make sure that piston rings wouldn’t get hung up during install later down the road.

It’s also recommended to chamfer the head-bolt holes on each deck (since the head-bolts tend to slightly pull up the surrounding deck surface when tightened), as well as chamfer the 4 head dowel-pin holes (to make the dowels easier to insert). I used a few mini files and a knife sharpening stone to accomplish this; it is important to note that the direction of filing should always move from the deck surface, downward into the hole; filing in this directions helps to make sure that no burrs are created above the deck surface (any burrs could prevent the head gaskets from sealing properly).

http://i628.photobucket.com/albums/uu9/hindsight52/427%20FE%20Big%20Block/Engine%20Block/a7d951be.jpg



Thread Chasing & Cleaning

Even after all the hot-tanking, baking, and media blasting the block went through at the machinist's, many of the bolt-holes still had years of gunk worked into the threads. To achieve proper clamping loads and torque values during the assembly process later down the road, it’s important that these holes and threads be completely clean. For this project, I sourced an affordable set of NC (course) thread chasing taps from Jegs that covers every bolt-hole size on the block (http://www.jegs.com/i/JEGS+Performance+Products/555/80505/10002/-1). Normal hardware store taps are not designed to “chase” and clean out old threads; they are designed to cut and create new threads. So, using normal taps to clean out these holes could remove not only the gunk, but also some of the metal from the threads themselves … not a good thing. The chasing tap set was money well spent because it made the tedious task of cleaning out the 80+ threaded holes in this block a bearable ordeal. The process I used consisted of:
~ A shot of brake cleaner down each bolt-hole
~ Followed by running the tap down and back a couple times
~ Then another shot of brake cleaner
~ Next came compressed air to get everything out of the hole
~ And finally, a shot of WD40 went into each hole to prevent any corrosion



Final Block Cleaning

After all the grinding, filing, and other block prep was finished, it was time to wash down the block to get rid of any remaining grit, grease, dirt, machining oils, etc. This brush kit from Moroso worked out perfectly - http://www.summitracing.com/parts/MOR-61820 - There are multiple sizes and lengths of galley brushes that took care of all the different oil passages, as well as brushes sized for the lifter bores and cylinder bores to really get those areas squeaky clean. I started out with a full scrub down using Simple Green, followed by a second scrub down with hot water and detergent. I focused heavily on making sure that all the oil passageways were scrubbed out with the galley brushes and that no trace of contaminants remained anywhere on or inside the block. Just as a side note … its easy to overlook the two oil galleys that run from the #2 and #4 cam bores, back up to a small opening in each of the cylinder decks (these feed lubrication up to heads for the rocker system); luckily, I remembered them at the last moment before I had wrapped up with the cleaning.

For the lifter bores and cylinder bores, I mounted their respectively sized brushes in an electric hand drill and went to town using plenty of hot soapy water as a cleaning aid and lubricant. As everyone already knows, it cannot be emphasized enough as to how clean the block needs to be - especially the cylinder bores themselves. There is a lot of debris from the machining & honing process that gets embedded into those walls and it takes a ton of scrubbing to really dig it out from all of the little cross-hatches, etc … nothing kills rings faster than cylinder bores that aren’t 100% clean.

Once all the cleaning and scrubbing was done, I thoroughly rinsed out every single inch of the block. A high-pressure nozzle was used to force water through each of the oil galley openings (4 on top, 4 in back, 3 in front, 2 on side) and through every single oiling orifice (main bores, cam bores, decks, etc). With the rinse done, the next battle was with time … surface rust can start forming immediately on a completely clean block, so a blow dry with compressed air came next (machined surfaces first, bolt holes and passageways next, then the rest of the block). WD40 was liberally applied on all the cylinder walls and other machined surfaces, inside all the oil galleys and openings, in the lifter valley/bores, and any other areas that weren't receiving paint. It was a job that I came away from soaking wet and cold, but nonetheless was very confident that everything was as clean as it could be.



Installation of Core Plugs & Coolant Drain Plugs

This block (as do most FE blocks) uses 6 press-fit core plugs to seal off the water jackets; the plug kit I’m using has a set of upgraded brass core plugs that are much more corrosion resistant than standard steel plugs. Each side of the block has 3 of these plugs, and all were driven in with a dead-blow hammer and socket (I found that my 1-1/8" impact socket was the perfect size to fit inside the plug and use as the drive tool); a thin layer of JB Weld was applied to each plug as a sealant and extra insurance against one of them coming back out.

http://i628.photobucket.com/albums/uu9/hindsight52/427%20FE%20Big%20Block/Engine%20Block/5e41f01f.jpg


The 1/4" NPT coolant drain plugs (1 on each side of the block) were re-installed using teflon paste thread-sealant to prevent any possible water leaks.

http://i628.photobucket.com/albums/uu9/hindsight52/427%20FE%20Big%20Block/Engine%20Block/266fbc3a.jpg

[Fifty-Two]

Paint Prep

~ Solvent Cleaning: To eliminate any residual WD40 or other oils on the exterior of the block, I used a couple cans of brake cleaner to completely clean and decontaminate the surface for the next step.

~ Etching Solution: POR15 will be used as the basecoat on this block, so the recommended next step in the surface prep is their “Prep & Clean” solution - this stuff neutralizes any remaining surface rust, creates a light etch in the metal, and leaves a zinc phosphate coating behind ... all of which evidently help the POR15 adhere to the block like mad. When using this solution, make sure to keep if off of any surface that won’t be getting painted (especially the machined surfaces like the decks), because you don’t want those places to get any type of etching at all. I used a small spray bottle and carefully applied it only to the areas of the block that were going to receive paint. It is a very slow acting etch, so if any of the solution does happen to hit a machined surface, if wiped off quickly, it won’t do anything to the metal. After the solution sat of the block for about 15 min, it was then rinsed off with fresh water and the block was blown dry with compressed air.

This is what the metal finish looks like after the etching solution step is complete:

http://i628.photobucket.com/albums/uu9/hindsight52/427%20FE%20Big%20Block/Engine%20Block/779c6fd1.jpg


~ Solvent Cleaning (again): As a final step, just to make double and triple sure that the surface is 100% ready to receive paint, I took a lint free cloth along with a can of acetone and wiped down every single surface that was to be painted.

~ Masking: A tedious and time-consuming process, but the effort put in here will pay dividends on the final product. Everything that wasn’t getting paint was completely covered and taped up (decks, lifter valley, bottom end internals, galley plug areas, cam plate area, etc). I used a fresh razorblade to trim the tape edges around all the deck surfaces and other critical areas. Additionally, all of the exterior bolt-holes and exposed galleys were plugged to keep paint out.

http://i628.photobucket.com/albums/uu9/hindsight52/427%20FE%20Big%20Block/Engine%20Block/15896ab8.jpg



Block Painting

For this project, I decided to use POR15 (semi-gloss black) as the basecoat on the block. This stuff is not only unbelievably strong and chip-resistant, but also does an amazing job of sealing and bonding to the metal to prevent ANY rust issues in the future. It also is resistant to high temps (up to 600 F), so is perfect for engine block applications. I applied two thin coats a couple hours apart using simply a paintbrush - this stuff is self-leveling and absolutely no brush marks show up, especially on a rough texture cast iron surface like this. The one downside to POR15 though, is that it isn’t very UV stable and the color can fade over time. Because of this, it is recommended to apply a topcoat over the POR15. And, if you apply the topcoat before the POR15 basecoats cure, there is no need for a primer or tie-coat in between. For the topcoat in this application, I’m using a semi-gloss back ceramic engine enamel from Duplicolor. Per instructions, I sprayed on two light coats, followed by a final medium coat ... allowing about 10 min flash time between each of the 3 coats. And the beauty of having the POR15 underneath, is that if the ceramic enamel topcoat ever does happen to take a hit and chip, the POR15 layer underneath (in semi-gloss black to match the topcoat) isn’t going anywhere.

After the 2 basecoats of POR15:

http://i628.photobucket.com/albums/uu9/hindsight52/427%20FE%20Big%20Block/Engine%20Block/d3329fa5.jpg


After the 3 topcoats of Ceramic Enamel:

http://i628.photobucket.com/albums/uu9/hindsight52/427%20FE%20Big%20Block/Engine%20Block/c4687281.jpg


After everything was unmasked, here is what the final product looked like:

http://i628.photobucket.com/albums/uu9/hindsight52/427%20FE%20Big%20Block/Engine%20Block/f754812b.jpg

http://i628.photobucket.com/albums/uu9/hindsight52/427%20FE%20Big%20Block/Engine%20Block/5944bc40.jpg

http://i628.photobucket.com/albums/uu9/hindsight52/427%20FE%20Big%20Block/Engine%20Block/5258329e.jpg


Additional photos of the block here: http://s628.photobucket.com/albums/uu9/hindsight52/427%20FE%20Big%20Block/Engine%20Block/


Next installment ... Camshaft selection & prep.

- John

[cozmacozmy]

Have you thought about painting the internal engine w/ http://www.eastwood.com/glyptal-red-brush-on-1-qt.html

quote from one of the reviews "It allows the rough interior casting surfaces to smooth out and allows lubrication to return to it's sump without "clogging" or building up as can be seen when re-building components.:

[FFR428]

Question. Are you doing simulated crossbolts? I see 2 bolt mains and holes for crossbolts. The block looks great. Very nicely detailed and good pics too.

[Fifty-Two]

Have you thought about painting the internal engine w/ http://www.eastwood.com/glyptal-red-brush-on-1-qt.html

Its definitely something I considered because the concept makes complete sense and it looks to be a simple solution. Ultimately though, its something I decided against. There are a whole lot of opinions out there on Glyptal ... some great, some ugly. I've never had a chance to use it myself, so everything I based my decision on was second-hand info. The inherent risk that seemed to come up most often when I was researching it, is that if the Glyptal starts to flake or peel off of the block internals, those pieces of paint can start clogging up oil pickups, oil pumps, oil passageways, etc ... all of which are very bad things. There are definitely some potential benefits to using it as you mentioned, and there are many engine builders who swear by the stuff, but in the end I felt that the modest possible upside didn't outweigh the potential risk. And this seems to be the current opinion by many of the big FE shops nowadays as well (Barry Robotnik's book goes into a good discussion about this, and was one of the main reasons I decided against it actually). Hope that all made sense. :cool:

- John

[Fifty-Two]

Question. Are you doing simulated crossbolts? I see 2 bolt mains and holes for crossbolts. The block looks great. Very nicely detailed and good pics too.

Yup, you are spot on! I was wondering how long it would take someone to notice that. :D :D :D

The only FE blocks that came with the cross-bolted mains were the 427's and some of the late 406's. All of the other FE blocks (332, 352, 360, 361, 390, 410, & 428) didn't have these cross-bolts, nor did they even have the millwork and holes drilled in the skirts to use them.

Many FE blocks can be converted to use functional cross-bolted main caps, but finding a set of those Ford caps is nearly impossible or way too expensive. And while they do have their merits for high-performance race applications and big horsepower motors, they truly won't make much (if any) of a difference on a 400-500 hp street-oriented motor like I am building here ... mostly due to the fact that all FE blocks were blessed with that wonderfully strong deep-skirt design, and the regular (non cross-bolt) main caps are able to do a perfectly fine job of keeping flex and distortion at bay in applications like mine.

I did however want the look of those bad-a** 427 cross-bolted blocks. :cool:
So while the block was already at the machinist's for all the other standard work being done, I had them go ahead and mill the 6 spotfaces into the block's skirt area (3 on each side - inline with the #2, #3, #4 main caps) to match the exact places from a 427 block; these spotfaced circles allow the washers to lay flush against the skirt surface, just as it was on the originals. Then, the 6 corresponding holes were drilled and tapped for the mock 3/8" cross-bolts.


Here are a couple photos of the finished product:

http://i628.photobucket.com/albums/uu9/hindsight52/427%20FE%20Big%20Block/Engine%20Block/a7844771.jpg

http://i628.photobucket.com/albums/uu9/hindsight52/427%20FE%20Big%20Block/Engine%20Block/4ff3c1f8.jpg


And for hardware, I'll be using factory Ford "place bolts" and washers to complete the look. AMK seems to be the best place I've found to source OE-style Ford hardware: http://www.amkproducts.com/bulk2.asp?code=7035&title=Place+Bolts

http://www.amkproducts.com/images1/j_q.jpg


- John

[FFR428]

Yup castle head bolts will complete the look. The original crossbolts was the same hardware as the long intake manifold bolts. The thick washers are the same ones used on the rocker stand bolts. Nice touch.

[Fifty-Two]

Oil Galley Plugs

One quick loose end that I needed to finish up before moving onto the cam was to plug and seal all the oil galleys in the block. Most of the FE plug kits only contain a few of the threaded 1/4” NPT galley plugs - the rest are usually standard 1/4" press-fit plugs. And since all the galley openings on this block were tapped to utilize the NPT plugs (except the one behind the distributor), I needed to source additional 1/4" NPT plugs. These flush-mount NPT plugs from McMaster (part #4534K42) work well because they are a little shorter than standard plugs and are especially ideal for the four galley openings in the rear of the block. The shorter length insures the plugs won’t sit above the engine-plate mounting surface, which could have caused interference issues depending on the particular engine plate used and whether it had been clearance in these spots.

For this particular block, here’s the list of oil galley plugs:
~ Front of Block = 1 (flush-mount NPT)
~ Front of Block, behind Distributor = 1 (Press-fit with a drilled 0.030” hole for distributor gear lubrication)
~ Lifter Valley = 4 (standard NPT)
~ Rear of Block = 4 (flush-mount NPT)
*Note: The two bolts that attach the cam retaining plate to the front of the block also act to seal off oil galleys.

Depending on the year and casting type, some FE blocks will have more galley plugs (i.e. side-oiler hydraulic blocks), some will have fewer (i.e. solid lifter blocks). As a side note, for industrial (and some other) blocks, there most likely is an extra galley opening in the oil filter pad area (which was probably used for compressor or accessory oiling) that will need to be plugged – good info about that here: http://www.erareplicas.com/427man/engine/oilpress.htm


Photo of several installed lifter valley plugs:

http://i628.photobucket.com/albums/uu9/hindsight52/427%20FE%20Big%20Block/Engine%20Block/9492a9dc.jpg


Photo of the 0.030” hole drilled into the press-fit plug (behind the distributor):

http://i628.photobucket.com/albums/uu9/hindsight52/427%20FE%20Big%20Block/Engine%20Block/5e254e87.jpg



Cam Bearings

Since I don’t own a cam bearing install tool, I had earlier made the easy and cost effective decision to go ahead and have Survival install the new set of Clevite cam bearings into the block before it shipped out to me. FE cam bearings are traditionally a little finicky anyway, so by having the pros do it I know the install was done right and I shouldn’t have any issues with bearing/camshaft clearances from cocked placement.


Here’s a photo of the install as received from Survival:

http://i628.photobucket.com/albums/uu9/hindsight52/427%20FE%20Big%20Block/Engine%20Block/IMG_4572.jpg



Camshaft Selection & Specs

First off, let me state that I am by no means a camshaft expert and the million different nuances involved with valve timing events and how they intermix and play off one and other; my knowledge is nowhere near that deep. The choices laid out below are just the over-arching themes as to the direction I went with for this particular build. Once I had made those decisions, I left it to the experts to find the best fit and spec the cam grind itself.

One of the original goals for this project was to have a reliable and low-maintenance street motor. So when it came time for camshaft selection, the decision to use a hydraulic roller was simple. With too many instances of engines wiping out flat tappet cams in recent years (whether its from newer low-zinc oils, improper break-in, poor quality cores, plain old bad luck, etc.), a modern roller cam eliminates that possibility altogether … as well as the associated break-in procedure and finger crossing. This helps fulfill the “reliable” portion of the criteria; the hydraulic aspect of this cam helps fulfill on the “low-maintenance” portion. By going hydraulic, I won't have to mess with the initial hot/cold valve lash setups and the perpetual chore of re-lashing valves as the miles roll on. All that’s necessary with the hydraulic setup is setting the initial lifter preload, and that’s all she wrote.

Besides the reliability/maintenance advantages of the hydraulic roller cam, the performance advantages are just as impressive. Since roller-tappets reduce the traditional valve-train friction that occurs between the cam lobes and lifters, an immediate power gain is realized (10-15+ hp) just from that aspect alone. More importantly though, the lower friction creates a potential for higher tappet velocity (plus allows for higher spring pressures & bigger lift potentials). And this capacity for higher tappet velocity permits a camshaft grind with steeper lobe profiles to be utilized. The end result is valves that move with higher velocity as well – they will open fully quicker, and remain fully open longer (because they are able to close faster now as well) … all without an increase in the cam’s actual intake/exhaust duration. This is a key reason why a modern hydraulic roller cam grind can outperform a tradition flat-tappet cam of the same advertised duration. Conversely, this can be used to improve street manners as well – by using a slightly shorter duration roller cam grind (the decrease in overlap will net improved throttle response, idle quality, vacuum, etc.), the same overall power can be made as the slightly longer duration flat-tappet cam.

The main downsides to a hydraulic roller cam are: the overall cost, and the RPM limits that are innate to the hydraulic lifters themselves. Since this will be a street-oriented motor though, and I’ve decided to spec the cam and valve-train with a 6200 RPM redline in mind, hydraulic lifters will completely be up to that task once the corresponding valve-springs have been loaded into the cylinder heads.

For the final determination on the actual camshaft grind specs, I had several conversations with Barry at Survival to hash out what would work best. The end decision was one of his custom grinds through Comp Cams. Here are the specs:

- Duration (advertised): 280 (intake) / 286 (exhaust)
- Duration (.050” lift): 230 (intake) / 236 (exhaust)
- Gross Valve Lift: .556”
- Lobe Separation: 112
- Intake Centerline: 108

This should all add up to provide a mild lope on idle, but overall the motor should hold solid vacuum and be well-tempered in a street environment. It should produce gobs of midrange torque starting under 2000 rpm, and make great overall power all the way up to about 6200 rpm.



Camshaft Blueprinting & Prep

~ Blueprinting: With the cam in hand, the first step was to make sure everything was in spec and would work as it should. Each journal OD was measured with a micrometer at several points: a forward & aft measurement, followed by a forward/aft measurement taken 90 degrees from that first set of measurements. This was done to not only verify the overall OD spec (2.1238” - 2.1248”), but also to spot any journal taper or out-of-round conditions that could cause bearing binding or premature wear.

Final blueprint measurements for this cam came out to:
Lobe #1 Average = 2.1245”
Lobe #2 Average = 2.1245”
Lobe #3 Average = 2.1245”
Lobe #4 Average = 2.1245”
Lobe #5 Average = 2.1245”
Max “Out-of-Round” Observed = 0.0001”
Max “Taper” Observed = 0.0001”

All of these specs are all right on the money, so Comp did a great job with the grind.

~ Drive Pin: Next up was to insure that the cam’s drive pin would be long enough to fully engage the fuel pump eccentric. Depending on the particular mix-and-match of OE and aftermarket parts (and the different types of eccentrics used in FE’s), this is a common issue that comes up. Some pins may be too long, some too short, and some will work out perfectly … regardless, it needs to be checked. I went ahead and mocked up the cam assembly on my workbench: the drive pin (1.5” long) was slid into the cam face, followed by the timing gear and pump eccentric. It was immediately evident that the pin was not going to be long enough – it came up almost 3/16” short of where it needed to be, and was barely even engaging the eccentric at all. To fix this problem, a small spacer needed to be created to sit in the bottom of the cam’s pin bore and provide the extra length for full eccentric engagement. The ID of the hole is 5/16”, so I cut a small sliver from an AN5 steel bolt to act as the spacer (0.17” long). Once the spacer was in and everything mocked up again for a quick double-check, the drive-pin now had full engagement in the pump eccentric without sticking out past the eccentric face (if it did stick out past the face, it would keep the cam washer from seating properly).

~ Distributor Drive Gear: Its common for the cam’s distributor drive to have a few burrs and garbage remaining in the teeth after the manufacturing process. And since this cam is made from hardened steel, those burrs could cause premature wear to the distributor gear it meshes with. I went to work with a couple small fine files and a wire brush for about 20 minutes to carefully de-burr the teeth and get rid of the garbage.

~ Cleaning: The cam with washed with hot soapy water and a soft nylon brush to remove any machining remnants and dirt (the bolt-hole in the cam face was especially dirty). After a quick blow dry, I gave it one more cleaning pass with denatured alcohol and a clean microfiber cloth. This was followed by a light spray of WD-40 as a protectant against rust. Finally, I gave the cam one last thorough look-over, making sure that all of the lobes and journals were knick and scratch free.


http://i628.photobucket.com/albums/uu9/hindsight52/427%20FE%20Big%20Block/Camshaft/3cd1319d.jpg


Next up … the Camshaft goes in.

- John

[Mark Dougherty]

wow
what a great read. Thank you for going to such detail on this engine build.
later
mark D

[Lex]

I'm getting in to it!

[289FIA_Cobra]

With the details of this build, I was wondering, did you consider Glyptol in the oil valley? It would seem to be a good time to do that but perhaps not for a street machine?

[Fifty-Two]

With the details of this build, I was wondering, did you consider Glyptol in the oil valley? It would seem to be a good time to do that but perhaps not for a street machine?

Definitely was kicking that idea around for awhile, but in the end decided against it. Post #13 sort of gives my rationale behind the choice.

HTH
- John

[289FIA_Cobra]

haha, missed that post... mainly because it didn't have any pictures! :D Good that you researched it and I see why now. I wondered that too (flaking). Maybe if this were a real race engine that required tearing down after every session but not for a street car.

[Fifty-Two]

Maybe if this were a real race engine that required tearing down after every session but not for a street car.

That makes complete sense. During the constant teardowns they'd be able to spot any potential peeling/flaking problems before it got out of hand. Good point! :D

[FFR428]

My old 406 block had that extra "mystery hole" on the oil filter adapter pad. It was a original C3AE-D HP casting. It came stock with the smaller cavity C0AE oil filter housing. Once I added my hogged out C8AE adapter the hole bled into the passage way. Threaded allen plug like the ERA site shows is the fix. If you do use a oil filter adapter the C8 has larger passages and can be further opened up with a dremel and carbide bit. This complements the the tapered and smoothed adapter pad holes. Even better if you can find a XE SOHC adapter. They had the largest passages I've seen on a stock adapter. If your using a remote oil filter nevermind. LOL. Anyway very nice job on everything and great documentation.

[Fifty-Two]

With all of the prep work done, it was time for the cam to find its new home in the block. And by installing the cam now, before the crankshaft and other bottom-end components get in the way, it’s much easier to handle and safely work it through all the cam bearings; plus, lubrication for the cam lobes can be applied after the cam is in the block.


Additional Parts & Components

Several other parts were sourced to complete the cam assembly:

Cam Retaining/Thrust Plate: Instead of sourcing and re-using an old Ford cast iron plate, I decided to upgrade to Blue Thunder’s bronze cam plate (part #TP-FE); the bronze material is more compatible with the hardened steel roller cam as well. For the retaining hardware, I went with some ARP 7/16”-14 bolts (Precision Oil Pumps, #ARP-57CRB) that have half-height 12-pt heads to clear the timing gear; the ARP hardware is probably overkill here, but for the couple extra bucks I went ahead and did it anyway. To provide a bearing surface between the steel bolts and the bronze cam plate, I’ll use an AN-7L washer (L = “light” = thin) under each of the bolt heads.

http://i628.photobucket.com/albums/uu9/hindsight52/427%20FE%20Big%20Block/Camshaft/5dd89205.jpg


Cam Bolt & Washer: The camshaft will be secured to the timing gear & fuel pump eccentric with an ARP 7/16”-14 bolt (part #255-1002) and an extra thick (1/4”) chrome-moly washer from Survival. The diameter and thickness of this washer are critical - it must be large enough to retain the cam’s drive pin, and strong/thick enough to take the thrust loads from the cam.

Fuel Pump Eccentric: The Ford Motorsports one-piece fuel pump eccentric (part # M-6287-C302), for a Ford motor with a 7/16” cam bolt, will bolt right up to the FE as a perfect replacement. The only prep I did on this piece was to de-burr the two holes that are drilled into the front face (one for the cam bolt, one for the drive pin) – the raised burrs left from the manufacturing process would have slightly interfered with the cam washer being able to fit completely flush with the face of the eccentric. After the de-burring, the part got a quick wash down to remove any dirt and debris.

Timing Gear Set: An upgraded double roller timing set from Ford Racing (part # M-6268-A390) uses a high quality JWIS true-roller chain; plus, the crank gear has multiple key locations (9 in total) to dial in any timing tweaks I may want to try. The timing gear itself is a cast iron piece, and I very lightly ran a flat mill file over the back-side mating surface to remove any small burrs that could effect how the gear seated against the cam. After that was done, the gear was cleaned with solvent to make sure it was completely clean and ready to bolt on.


Cam Install

Here’s a summary for the initial portion of the installation:

- Wiped down the cam bearings in the block one last time with acetone to insure 100% cleanliness.

- Applied assembly lube (Max Tuff) to the five cam bearings.

- Temporarily bolted the timing gear onto the camshaft to use as handle during the install.

- Applied assembly lube (Max Tuff) to the five camshaft journals.

- Slowly/carefully/delicately/gingerly worked the cam into the block, making sure that the journals wouldn’t knick any of the cam bearings. With the block upside-down on the engine stand, it provided easy access to help guide the cam through each of the individual bearings.

- Once the cam was fully in, I rotated the assembly to make sure the cam turned easily and was free from any tight spots or binding with the cam bearings. If any binding is found, the cam needs to come back out and the offending bearings need to be scraped to gain the necessary clearance. For this build, since the cam journals had all measured out to spec when checked earlier during blueprinting, and since the cam bearings were installed by the pros (Survival), I luckily didn’t run into any clearance issues - the cam rotated smoothly in the bore so I didn’t have to make any corrections at all.

http://i628.photobucket.com/albums/uu9/hindsight52/427%20FE%20Big%20Block/Camshaft/d9d16d98.jpg



Next up was to check camshaft endplay:

- The cam thrust/retaining plate & hardware were temporarily installed onto the block and torqued to spec (20-25 ft/lb). The drive-pin was then slid into the end of the cam, followed by the timing gear, fuel pump eccentric, cam bolt and washer. All bolts were torqued down to spec (20-25 ft/lbs for the retaining plate bolts, 55 ft/lbs for cam bolt), but no Loctite yet since this is just to verify correct cam endplay before moving on.

As a quick side note, by correcting the length of the cam drive-pin earlier during the blueprinting phase, the eccentric now has full engagement from the pin:

http://i628.photobucket.com/albums/uu9/hindsight52/427%20FE%20Big%20Block/Camshaft/0ade4046.jpg


- After mounting up a dial indicator to the front of the block I measured cam endplay at 0.004”, which is ideal (anywhere around 0.005” is desired, and Ford spec is 0.001-0.007” for an FE).

http://i628.photobucket.com/albums/uu9/hindsight52/427%20FE%20Big%20Block/Camshaft/b0cc0b00.jpg

[Fifty-Two]

And finally, bolting the cam plate down for good:

- Everything was removed from the front of the cam again (timing gear, retaining plate, etc).

- With everything out of the way, assembly lube (Max Tuff) was applied to the camshaft's thrust face, and the cam retaining plate went back on.

- The two retaining plate fasteners (ARP 7/16”-14, half-height 12-pt heads) were treated with a dab of blue Loctite (new #243, which has good tolerance to oil and long-term heat exposure) to keep the bolts from backing out down the road, and to serve as a thread sealant for the two oil galleys that terminate at these bolt-hole openings. Bolts were torqued to a final spec of 250 in/lbs (approximately 21 ft/lbs) - I’ve read specs ranging anywhere from 12 ft/lbs, all the way up to 35 ft/lb. But, between 20-25 ft/lbs seems to be the recent consensus.

http://i628.photobucket.com/albums/uu9/hindsight52/427%20FE%20Big%20Block/Camshaft/f8e92cfe.jpg


- Assembly lube (Max Tuff) was applied to the backside of the timing gear (on the shoulder where it rides against the retaining plate).

http://i628.photobucket.com/albums/uu9/hindsight52/427%20FE%20Big%20Block/Camshaft/cd6ca610.jpg


- The timing gear, fuel pump eccentric, cam bolt and washer all went back on again - these parts are being mounted temporarily until the complete timing set is installed later on in the build.

http://i628.photobucket.com/albums/uu9/hindsight52/427%20FE%20Big%20Block/Camshaft/4d921d25.jpg


- I did one last check to make sure the assembly rotated smoothly and there were no tight spots. Again, everything was good to go and the cam rotated like proverbial butter. For curiosity’s sake, I threw an in/lb torque wrench onto the end of the cam bolt to see how much effort it took to rotate the assembly – the number would barely even register on the dial and came out to a mere 5 in/lbs.

http://i628.photobucket.com/albums/uu9/hindsight52/427%20FE%20Big%20Block/Camshaft/bbd9ef09.jpg



Cam Lobes

Since the cam for this build is a roller cam, the lobes luckily do not require any special break-in lube. Comp Cams actually recommends just regular motor oil to be used on all of the lobes; so I’ll wait to oil the cam lobes until I’m getting ready to install the lifters later on – I can easily get oil to the lobes by going through the lifter bores with my oiling can before I drop in the lifters.


Additional photos of the cam install here: http://s628.photobucket.com/albums/uu9/hindsight52/427%20FE%20Big%20Block/Camshaft/


Next installment ... Crankshaft & Main Bearing blueprinting.


- John

[CRZN 427]

Refering to Post #4, I have some pictures of the two different oil pathways that I thought I'd post to highlight what you have descriebed.

Regards, Rick.

Here is the 390

http://i96.photobucket.com/albums/l189/crzn427/FordOil390.jpg?t=1303681635

Here is the 427 SO

http://i96.photobucket.com/albums/l189/crzn427/FordOil427.jpg?t=1303681706

[Fifty-Two]

Refering to Post #4, I have some pictures of the two different oil pathways that I thought I'd post to highlight what you have described.

Regards, Rick.


Perfect! Much appreciated Rick.
A picture (or two) is truly worth a thousand words! :D

[Fifty-Two]

The crankshaft selected for this build is an aftermarket SCAT “Series 9000” Lightweight Pro-Comp stroker crank with a 4.125” stroke length (standard Ford FE 390 & 427 cranks have a 3.780” stroke, while 428 cranks have a 3.980” stroke). The SCAT crank is internally balanced and weighs in at 60 lbs, which is about 5 lbs lighter than an OE 390 cast crank and about 15 lbs lighter than an OE 427 steel crank. The crank’s main journals are machined to a standard FE size (2.748”), while the rod journals have been designed and machined to accept 2.200” diameter big-block Chevy rods (standard Ford FE rod pins are a 2.438” diameter). For an FE stroker application, using these BBC rods provides several unique advantages: first, the smaller rod pin diameter creates the extra room inside the bottom-end of the block to allow for stroke lengths of 4.125” & 4.250” without any block clearancing required. The smaller bearing journal diameter is also more efficient by creating less friction and heat; plus, BBC rod bearings are more readily available in under/over-sizes (if needed to obtain the desired clearances).

First order of business in this part of the build was to thoroughly clean the crankshaft. The cleaning started with a spray down of brake cleaner to remove any machining oils and gunk, and was followed by a good scrub down with hot soapy water; the oiling passageways needed special attention and were cleaned with a small bore brush from the block cleaning kit I used earlier in the build. After a rinse with clean water, the crank was blown dry, sprayed down with WD40 to prevent any corrosion, and finally wiped down with a microfiber cloth to remove the excess WD40 and pick up any remaining gunk or other oils that the WD40 had lifted from the metal.

The crank then received an inspection to check for any nicks or scratches on the journals, or any issues with the oil hole chamfering. Everything looked good on this crank, and the machine work from SCAT appeared to be top notch. The blueprint work that follows will insure that everything is indeed in spec.

http://i628.photobucket.com/albums/uu9/hindsight52/427%20FE%20Big%20Block/Crankshaft/5dfab264.jpg



Blueprinting

~ Main Journals: Examined the crankshaft’s main journals for roundness, taper, and overall spec. I measured each journal OD with a micrometer at several points: a forward and aft measurement, followed by forward/aft measurements taken 90 degrees from that first set of measurements.

Final blueprint measurements came out to:
Main Journal #1 Average = 2.7481”
Main Journal #2 Average = 2.7480”
Main Journal #3 Average = 2.7480”
Main Journal #4 Average = 2.7480”
Main Journal #5 Average = 2.7481”
Max “Out-of-Round” Observed = 0.0001”
Max “Taper” Observed = 0.0001”


~ Rod Journals: Examined the crankshaft’s rod journals for roundness, taper, and overall spec. Each journal OD was measured with a micrometer at several points: a forward and aft measurement, followed by forward/aft measurements taken 90 degrees from that first set of measurements.

Final blueprint measurements came out to:
Rod Journal #1 Average = 2.1990”
Rod Journal #2 Average = 2.1990”
Rod Journal #3 Average = 2.1988”
Rod Journal #4 Average = 2.1988”
Max “Out-of-Round” Observed = 0.0001”
Max “Taper” Observed = 0.0000”


~ Crankshaft Run-Out: This measurement was checked to insure the crankshaft itself was straight and in spec. With main bearings installed in the #1 & #5 main saddles only, the two bearing faces were lubricated with motor oil and the crankshaft was carefully laid into place. With the crank riding only on the front and rear-most bearings (in essence floating freely above the #2, #3, #4 saddles), a dial indicator was mounted on the block to measure overall run-out via the center #3 journal while the crank was slowly rotated. Total run-out for this crank measured in at a little less than 0.002”, which is completely within spec (0.000-0.004” is Ford’s spec).

http://i628.photobucket.com/albums/uu9/hindsight52/427%20FE%20Big%20Block/Crankshaft/a1ae94ac.jpg



Main Bearings

The main bearing set I decided on is Speed-Pro part # Z125M; these are a 3/4 groove, standard FE sized, competition bearing set made from a Super-Duty H-14 bearing material.

http://i628.photobucket.com/albums/uu9/hindsight52/427%20FE%20Big%20Block/Crankshaft/51be416c.jpg


Close-up photo of the backside of a bearing:

http://i628.photobucket.com/albums/uu9/hindsight52/427%20FE%20Big%20Block/Crankshaft/e3fcb7f9.jpg

[Fifty-Two]

~ Main Bearing Clearances: The crank journals’ actual oil clearance inside the main bearings were next to be checked. This can be done with Plastigage, but that method truly isn’t very accurate. High-end engine building shops moved away from Plastigage a long time ago; they use a more precise method involving an outside micrometer and a dial bore gauge. These bearing clearances are crucial to the life of an engine, especially a motor going into a performance orientated car; to skimp out now and not use the proper tools to insure that everything is in spec, well, it’s just not a real option here. So for this build, Plastigage is out. And to make double sure I get accurate measurements, I bit the bullet and bought a super slick Fowler digital dial bore gauge that reads all the way down to increments of 0.00005”.

Here is a good article that demonstrates how “off” Plastigage can really be:
http://www.carcraft.com/techfaq/116_0701_plastigage_vs_micrometer/index.html

And here are a couple other articles explaining how to accurately measure bearing clearances using an outside micrometer and dial bore gauge:
http://www.chevyhiperformance.com/tech/engines_drivetrain/cams_heads_valvetrain/0707ch_main_bearing_clearance/index.html
http://www.bracketracer.com/engine/mains/mains.htm


Here’s the breakdown of how clearances were measured:

- The bearings were test fit into the block and into the main caps to check for any interference or other issues. I did find that the #3 topside main bearing had a locating tang that was slightly too wide and was keeping the bearing from fully seating. To remedy this, a fine file was used to remove the portion of the tang causing the interference against the saddle.

Close-up photo of the #3 topside main bearing and the minor clearancing work to the bearing tang:

http://i628.photobucket.com/albums/uu9/hindsight52/427%20FE%20Big%20Block/Crankshaft/1aeda76d.jpg


The bearing is now able to fully seat into the saddle without any interference:

http://i628.photobucket.com/albums/uu9/hindsight52/427%20FE%20Big%20Block/Crankshaft/eb3dd653.jpg


- After the test fit, the bearings were removed and then cleaned in an isopropyl alcohol bath to remove any traces of oil, dust, debris, etc.


- To insure the main caps didn’t have any small burrs or nicks remaining on them (which could keep them from fully seating and interfere with the clearance measurements), each cap’s mating surface was very lightly drawn over a fine flat mill file. No cap material was removed … just any possible small burrs, etc that may have happened to be protruding onto those mating surfaces.


- Next, all of the main caps were cleaned and prepped. They were sprayed down with brake cleaner to remove any machining oils and gunk. This was followed by a good scrub down with hot soapy water, a rinse and dry, then a light coat of WD40 was sprayed on after that. Finally, the cap’s saddles were wiped down with solvent to insure that there would be nothing to get between the bearings and their respective mating surfaces.

Photo of the cleaned and prepped main caps and their corresponding bearings:

http://i628.photobucket.com/albums/uu9/hindsight52/427%20FE%20Big%20Block/Crankshaft/f065b839.jpg


- The main saddles in the block were wiped clean with solvent to insure that there would be nothing to get between the bearings and their respective mating surfaces in the block.


- Bearings were then re-installed back into the block and into the main caps.

Close-up photo of the installed #4 & #5 topside bearings:

http://i628.photobucket.com/albums/uu9/hindsight52/427%20FE%20Big%20Block/Crankshaft/7114654c.jpg


- The #4 & #5 main caps were then seated into their respective locations in the block (the dial bore gauge isn’t long enough to reach these rear bearings if the other three caps are also installed, so caps were installed progressively from back to front as I went along taking the bearing measurements). The threads on the ARP main cap bolts were lubricated with ARP’s Ultra Torque Fastener Assembly Lube, then tightened down in three steps to an ultimate torque value of 95 ft/lbs (matching the spec used during the line-honing machine work).


- An outside micrometer (2-3”) was used to measure the crank’s #5 journal diameter; the micrometer’s spindle was locked in place at that measurement and the micrometer was then secured into a soft-faced vise to hold it for the next step. The dial bore gauge was positioned between the micrometer’s anvils and zeroed out so that it baselined off of the actual OD of that #5 journal. Now, when the dial bore gauge is placed inside the block’s #5 main bore, it will directly read the exact bearing clearance for that particular bore. And to insure that any possible bore taper was within spec, I took one measurement at the front portion of the bearing and one at the rear for each main bore. As a quick side note, all measurements were made 90 degrees from the bearings parting lines, as this is the spot where clearances will be the tightest; the closer you measure to the parting lines, the larger the actual bearing clearance is to form the oil wedge and keep the crank from catching a bearing edge (thus spinning a bearing).


- This whole process of bolting down each main cap, torqueing to spec, measuring the respective crank journal with the micrometer, zeroing the dial bore gauge to that micrometer, and measuring the bearing clearance was repeated for each bore as I worked my way towards the front of the block. The bearing clearance I was targeting is 0.0028”, with anything in the range of 0.0025-0.0030” being within spec and acceptable.

Close-up photos of the bore gauge measuring the inside diameter (and ultimately the actual bearing clearance) of the #1 main bore:

http://i628.photobucket.com/albums/uu9/hindsight52/427%20FE%20Big%20Block/Crankshaft/e740397c.jpg

http://i628.photobucket.com/albums/uu9/hindsight52/427%20FE%20Big%20Block/Crankshaft/fb244e20.jpg


Final blueprinted main bearing clearances were as follows:
Main Bore #1 Average = 0.0028”
Main Bore #2 Average = 0.0029”
Main Bore #3 Average = 0.0029”
Main Bore #4 Average = 0.0028”
Main Bore #5 Average = 0.0029”

The other critical blueprinting measurements for the crankshaft (crank endplay, rod bearing clearances, etc.) will be completed at later stages of the build.


Additional photos of the crankshaft here: http://s628.photobucket.com/albums/uu9/hindsight52/427%20FE%20Big%20Block/Crankshaft/


Next up ... Crankshaft Install.

- John

[Fifty-Two]

Hey guys,
Since this thread is starting to get longer as the build goes on, I went ahead and added an "Updates / Table of Contents" section to my first post. I'll continue to note all new build updates in that first post as well.

- John

[PPKK]

This is a great read, you are inspiring me to do the same thing!

[stephen]

excellent thread - bookmarked for when I work on my FE - thank you...

One question -

Final blueprinted main bearing clearances were as follows:
Main Bore #1 Average = 0.0028”
Main Bore #2 Average = 0.0029”
Main Bore #3 Average = 0.0029”
Main Bore #4 Average = 0.0028”
Main Bore #5 Average = 0.0029”

if these had been outside of spec - what would the cause be and what would you have done ?

- Stephen

[289FIA_Cobra]

Wow, I want to build a block like you some day. My main issue has always been the lack of patience. Now that I'm running again, perhaps I can start now and build my myself a new block to install some 5-10 years from now. :D
This is an awesome build up!

[Fifty-Two]

Thanks for the kind words gentlemen.
I'm enjoying the hell out of building this thing! Its as much fun as you can have with your clothes on. :cool:

- John

[Fifty-Two]

One question -

Final blueprinted main bearing clearances were as follows:
Main Bore #1 Average = 0.0028”
Main Bore #2 Average = 0.0029”
Main Bore #3 Average = 0.0029”
Main Bore #4 Average = 0.0028”
Main Bore #5 Average = 0.0029”

if these had been outside of spec - what would the cause be and what would you have done ?

Good question. I'll try and answer it as best as I can...

A situation like that would most likely come from bad machine work - either from an error during the line honing of the block, or an error in the machine work done to the crankshaft itself. This points to why its so crucial to have a quality machine shop do the work ... all of these small tolerances between parts (down to ten-thousandth's of an inch) can stack up in the wrong direction if the work isn't done just right.

As a side note, the builder has to remember to spec out the desired clearances to the machine shop; if the shop is never told that the targeted main bearing oil clearance is a performance oriented 0.0025-0.0030", they may assume we want the block machined to the old 1960's factory-spec clearance of 0.0005-0.0015". That's one of the main reasons I sourced both the block and the rotating assembly from Survival; I knew that if one guy was at the center of handling all the specs and block machine work, I should receive parts that match up to what I wanted. Barry did a great job with the machine work on the block, and the SCAT crankshaft was dead on and very consistent from journal to journal as well (check out the crank's main journal blueprint specs in post #28); SCAT does all of the machine work over here in the USA, so the end result is usually very good. Regardless of who does the work though, it will always need to be double checked by the builder during the assembly process. I was fortunate that when I checked everything, it all fell into place and was perfect.


If the specs hadn't come in where they needed to be, there would have been a couple options:

1. The easiest way is to use selective under/over-sized main bearings. Unfortunately, there are few if any performance 0.001" under/over bearings available for the FE ... only 0.010" bearings. The good news is that 351C bearings will fit an FE as long as you file off the locating tang on the backside of the bearing; the orientation of this tang is the only difference between FE and 351-Cleveland bearings, and removing it will have no effect on bearing performance; the tang is simply an assembly aid and does not keep the bearing from spinning in its bore - the "crush" that the bearing shells experience as the cap is torqued down is what actually holds the bearings in place.

For example, if a measured bearing clearance had come up as 0.0036" for a particular main, a 1X undersized bearing could be used (which actually is a thicker bearing than standard and creates a bore that is 0.001" smaller in diameter). By using an undersized bearing shell in both the block and in the cap, the bearing clearance would be reduced that full 0.001" spec, creating an acceptable new clearance of 0.0026".

Another example would be if a measured bearing clearance had come up as 0.0032" for a particular main; again, a 1X undersized bearing could be utilized. But this time, by using an undersized bearing shell in the cap and a standard bearing shell in the block, the bearing clearance would be reduced by just 0.0005", creating an acceptable new clearance of 0.0027". When you mix and match standard/over/under bearings together, just make sure to use the same bearing type (manufacturer, material, groove, etc) and don't mix shells in the same bore that are different by more than 0.001".

Here's a good article explaining all of this in further detail:
http://www.carcraft.com/techarticles/ccrp_0805_high_performance_engines_bearing_clearan ce/engine_bearing_clearance_tips.html


2. If you couldn't get the specs you wanted through the selective sized bearings, the only other real option would be to have the crankshaft ground down. Either a small amount (i.e 0.001-0.002") to gain the clearance you need ... or, if the crank journals were all over the place in terms of diameter, taper, and roundness, having it ground down a full 0.010" to get everything in spec, and then using a complete set of corresponding 0.010" undersized bearings.


- John

[stephen]

excellent detailed answer - thank you for taking the time to write this up !

- Stephen

[Fifty-Two]

With the crankshaft and main bearing specs all checking out and everything else good to go, it was time to get the bottom-end assembly started and do the final install of the crank, bearings, main caps, and seals.


Here’s a summary for the initial portion of the installation:

- Wiped down all the main bearing surfaces with isopropyl alcohol and a microfiber cloth one last time to insure cleanliness.

- Applied assembly lube (Max Tuff) to all of the main bearing surfaces.

http://i628.photobucket.com/albums/uu9/hindsight52/427%20FE%20Big%20Block/Crankshaft/4dd5cebf.jpg


- The upper portion of the rear main seal needed to be installed into the block next; the one used in this build is a modern style lip-seal that was included in the Fel-Pro R.A.C.E. completion gasket set. A very thin layer of black RTV was applied to the portion of the seal that mates down into the groove in the block ... no RTV is used on the actual lip portion or end portions of the seal, just on the backside portion that mates in the block. After RTV, the upper seal was installed into the block (in the groove behind the #5 main), making sure the orientation was so that the lip faces in towards the center of the block. And to help prevent possible leaks, the seal itself was slightly “clocked” to offset the seal ends from the cap's mating surface. Finally, the lip portion of the seal that will rest against the crankshaft received a small amount of assembly lube.

- Applied assembly lube (Max Tuff) to the five main journals on the crankshaft.

- The crankshaft went in next and was carefully laid into the block, making sure not to rotate it once it was resting on the bearings (so that assembly lube wouldn’t be oozed onto the cap mating surfaces).

- The #1, #2, #3, #4 main caps were then seated into the block. To help locate the caps properly and make the install easier, a couple lengths of 1/2” threaded-rod were temporarily installed in each main to act as locating dowels as the caps were tapped down into place. Once a cap was fully seated in the block, the two threaded rods were simply unscrewed, removed, and installed in the next main. Since bolts are being used for the mains in this build instead of studs, these simple hardware store threaded rods (“all-thread”) are an easy way to insure proper main cap alignment and speed up the assembly; this is especially helpful later on when installing the stubborn #5 main cap and its corresponding side seals.

http://i628.photobucket.com/albums/uu9/hindsight52/427%20FE%20Big%20Block/Crankshaft/ec84b95f.jpg


- For the #1, #2, #3, #4 mains, the threads on the ARP main-cap bolts (as well as both sides of the ARP washers) were liberally lubricated with ARP’s Ultra Torque Fastener Assembly Lube. The bolts were re-installed into their corresponding main-cap locations (to match the same orientation used during the blueprinting process) and run down until they were finger tight.

- Next, for just the #1, #2, #4 mains, the bolts were tightened down in three steps to an ultimate final torque value of 95 ft/lbs (matching the spec used during the machine work and blueprinting); the #3 main remains just finger-tight for the moment so that crank thrust bearing can be set properly.

- The crank’s thrust movement is controlled by the special bearing shells in the #3 main. In order for these thrust bearings to function properly, the thrust surfaces have to be aligned before the cap is torqued down. To seat the #3 bearings and set the thrust, the crankshaft was pried fully forward and fully rearward a couple of times using a flat-bladed screwdriver between a crankshaft counterweight and a main cap (any cap besides the #3 cap will work). The last motion was to pry the crank forward in the block and hold it there while tightening down the bolts on the #3 main cap in three steps to a final torque value of 95 ft/lbs.



Blueprinting the crankshaft endplay was next:

- After mounting a dial indicator to the front of the block and setting the plunger tip on the end of the crank’s snout (and inline with the crankshaft thrust travel), I pried the crankshaft fully forward and fully rearward using a flat-bladed screwdriver between a crankshaft counterweight and a main cap. The measured difference between fully forward/rearward is the crankshaft endplay; in this case, it measured out at 0.011”, which is good to go (the desired spec is between 0.008-0.012”, with the original Ford spec being a little more lenient at 0.004-0.014”).

http://i628.photobucket.com/albums/uu9/hindsight52/427%20FE%20Big%20Block/Crankshaft/3a29f291.jpg



Final portion of the assembly was to install the #5 main cap and seals:

- The lower portion of the rear main seal (in the cap) needed to be installed next. Again, a very thin layer of black RTV was applied to the portion of the seal that mates down into the groove in the cap … no RTV is used on the actual lip portion or end portions of the seal, just on the backside portion that mates in the cap. After RTV, the lower seal was installed into the cap, making sure the orientation was so that the lip faces in towards the center of the block. The seal was “clocked” inside the groove to match up with the other half of the seal that was installed in the block earlier. The lip portion of the seal that will rest against the crankshaft received a small amount of assembly lube. Next, a very thin coat of black RTV was used on the cap's mating surface (just on the portion near the rear of the block, making sure to steer clear of the area near the bearings); and finally, a thin layer of black RTV was used on the cap’s vertical side rails (which meet up against the block) to help seal that area as well.

http://i628.photobucket.com/albums/uu9/hindsight52/427%20FE%20Big%20Block/Crankshaft/5dcf38f7.jpg


- A very small dab of black RTV was placed in each corner of the block at the very rear of the #5 main – this seals the beveled corners of the cap at the rear of the block. Next, the 1/2" threaded guide rods were installed into the bolt-holes to help guide the cap into place. Before siding the cap into the block, the cap’s vertical side seals were lightly lubed with black RTV, placed into their corresponding grooves in the cap, and then started down as the cap is gently tapped into place in the block. The extra long guide rods help tremendously to keep things inline during this process as this cap is a very tight fit and the seals make it even more of a pain (at some point during this install, you will wish you could grow a third hand). By going slow and alternating the taps between the side seals and cap, everything slid down together nicely and bottomed out as it should in the block; after the cap was seated, the threaded guide could be removed. The nails that expand the side seals for the cap went in next – they were also lubed with black RTV before getting tapped into place, making sure they sat below the pan rail when fully installed.

- The bolts for this rear-most main cap went in last. The only issue when using the upgraded ARP hardware (bolts or studs) for the main caps, is that the taller overall head height can interfere with proper sealing of the windage tray or oil pan to the block. To remedy this, washers were not used underneath the bolt heads on this rear-most #5 main (the other four mains have plenty of clearance so the ARP washers were used). Ultra Torque Fastener Assembly Lube was again applied on the threads, as well as underneath the heads of these bolts to insure the proper torque spec and clamping load.

http://i628.photobucket.com/albums/uu9/hindsight52/427%20FE%20Big%20Block/Crankshaft/6cadd8f8.jpg


- Finally, to help insure that no leaks would come from the oil pan rail at this rear main, the small cavities that remained after installing the cap's side seals were filled with black RTV and then trimmed flush to the pan rail after curing.

http://i628.photobucket.com/albums/uu9/hindsight52/427%20FE%20Big%20Block/Crankshaft/25021338.jpg



Photo of the completed crank install:

http://i628.photobucket.com/albums/uu9/hindsight52/427%20FE%20Big%20Block/Crankshaft/39ef6405.jpg



Additional photos of the crankshaft install here: http://s628.photobucket.com/albums/uu9/hindsight52/427%20FE%20Big%20Block/Crankshaft/


Next up ... Piston Rings.

- John

[Lex]

Any more updates or did I miss something?

[Bill_VA]

I'm replying just so I'll get updates. I really appreciate the craftsmanship shown here. I bought my engine assembled by a third party. I'd really like to build my own engine next time (assuming there'll be a next time).

[Fifty-Two]

Hey Lex & Bill - sorry for the lull in updates. The build had to go on hold for several weeks while waiting on some replacement parts.

When I was mocking up the rotating assembly back in May to double-check the piston-to-deck height, I found that the pistons were sitting far too low in the cylinder bore at TDC. They were down in the hole a good 0.075" - this would have put the compression ratio in the 8's, which of course is not what I was shooting for. Something wasn't right ...

Here’s a photo of what the deck clearance looked like at top dead center (TDC) during the mock-up:http://i628.photobucket.com/albums/uu9/hindsight52/427 FE Big Block/Misc/799a723e.jpg


After a few emails back and forth with Barry, we discovered that the piston set I received from Diamond had been milled with a compression height of 1.330” (the distance from the pin bore centerline to the top of the piston); this spec is incorrect for a 4.125" stroke application - it is actually meant to work with the longer 4.250” stroke crank. Barry and Diamond both stepped up to the plate to fix the error and made up a new set of custom replacement pistons with the correct compression height of 1.392” - this will yield a compression ratio of about 9.8:1 for my build, which is exactly what I was shooting for.

One other complication was that the new pistons were slightly heavier than the old set (because the change in compression height added additional material to the piston compared to the old set). And since the crankshaft was already balanced to spec for the old set of pistons, we needed to find a lighter set of rod pins to make up the difference and keep the balance on par. Luckily, Barry was able to spec a higher-grade tool steel pin set from Diamond that had a thinner wall and a lighter overall weight to match up perfectly with the new pistons and keep the reciprocating weight exactly where it should be to match the internal balancing already done on the crankshaft.

So that’s the long answer as to why things have been quite for a little while. The good news is, that I now have all the new parts on hand and am ready to get back moving on this thing! :D

- John

[stephen]

good to see things back on track - never fails - deal with quality people and they always step up when needed ! - way to go guys !

- Stephen

[Bill_VA]

I'm amazed that you knew the piston was .062 too short, I never in a million years would've noticed that. Have you built a lot of engines before this? Do you have a good manual to follow?

[Fifty-Two]

Don't worry at all Bill - it's more obvious than you may think when seeing it in person. :)
Most every engine build (small block, big block, Ford, Chevy, etc.) targets a near zero deck height. So, when the piston is down in the cylinder bore as much as it was in this case, you could 100% tell something wasn't right.


As far as resources, I've been using several different ones throughout this whole build. Combined, they pretty much point out all the little nuances of the FE motor and how to build it properly:

#1 - First one on the list is Barry's Robotonick's "How to Build Max-Performance Ford FE Engines" book:http://www.amazon.com/Build-Max-Performance-Ford-Engines-Performance/dp/1934709158/

This one is extremely current (2010) and is a huge help in planning and executing the overall build - it walks through nearly every component decision in the build plan and gives a lot of great assembly advice.


#2 - Another suggestion is the Steve Christ book, "How To Rebuild Big-Block Ford Engines":www.amazon.com/How-Rebuild-BIG-BLOCK-FORD-ENGINES/dp/0895860708/ref=pd_sim_b_1 (http://www.amazon.com/How-Rebuild-BIG-BLOCK-FORD-ENGINES/dp/0895860708/ref=pd_sim_b_1)

This is a much older book (1989), but covers every tiny detail in a rebuild; it fills in the few gaps that Barry's book doesn't document and serves as a solid step-by-step assembly guide.


As far as other resources, here is probably the best online FE build-up:

http://www.precisionenginetech.com/project-engine-builds/2009/07/13/project-ford-fe-part-1/
http://www.precisionenginetech.com/project-engine-builds/2009/08/03/project-ford-fe-part-2/
http://www.precisionenginetech.com/project-engine-builds/2009/09/02/project-ford-fe-part-3/
http://www.precisionenginetech.com/project-engine-builds/2009/09/17/project-ford-fe-part-4/
http://www.precisionenginetech.com/project-engine-builds/2009/10/08/project-fe-part-5/


And here are a couple additional quality online articles and build-ups:

http://www.carcraft.com/techarticles/ccrp_0808_ford_390_fe/index.html
(http://www.carcraft.com/techarticles/ccrp_0808_ford_390_fe/index.html)
http://www.webrodder.com/index.php?search=cobra+venom&page=showStories&CID=

http://www.webrodder.com/index.php?search=fe+ford+-+hot+rod&page=showStories&CID=
(http://www.webrodder.com/index.php?search=fe+ford+-+hot+rod&page=showStories&CID=)


- John

[Fifty-Two]

Sorry for the delay in posts and progress guys. I’m back at it now and moving right along. :cool:

The piston rings for this project are a set of Total Seal Conventional file-to-fit rings (for a 4.060-4.065” bore). This is a performance street oriented set of rings that offers a good compromise between friction, sealing, and long-term durability. The top ring is 1/16” ductile iron with a plasma moly face-coating, the middle ring is a 1/16” conventional cast iron ring, and the oil rings are a 3/16” standard tension 3-piece set.

http://i628.photobucket.com/albums/uu9/hindsight52/427 FE Big Block/Rods - Pistons - Rings/45fa2967.jpg


Each ring needs to be custom fit (via filing/grinding) for each cylinder bore. By doing it this way, the ring gaps for every cylinder will match across the board, even if the bores themselves are very slightly different in size. To spec these out properly, a couple specialty tools are needed: a piston ring filing tool, and a ring placement/squaring tool. The ring filing tool I used to set all the gaps is from Summit Racing - www.summitracing.com/parts/SME-906000 (http://www.summitracing.com/parts/SME-906000/) - the diamond wheel made quick work of the process, and the adjustable stops helped keep the filed edge of the ring square to the wheel; and, by filing just one edge of the ring, it made it much easier to insure that the edges remained square to one another. Also of note is that the handle of the tool should be rotated counter-clockwise (the wheel should turn in towards the center of the ring) so that moly coating on the ring’s face will not be chipped off or damaged in any way.

For the top ring, the suggested gap for a performance street application is around 0.0045” for every inch of bore diameter. With a 4.060” cylinder bore, it works out that a gap of 0.019” is the target. For the next ring (the second ring), I chose to go with a slightly larger gap, which is a more modern approach and theory; the reasoning is that the larger gap in the second ring helps to elevate any residual pressure between it and the top (compression) ring – in theory, this allows the compression ring to do a better job of sealing the cylinder combustion area. The suggested spec straight out of Barry’s book is between 0.0050-0.0055” for every inch of bore diameter, and works out to a gap of 0.022” for these second rings. Finally, the oil ring set (the bottom rings) require just a minimum gap of 0.015” for each ring.

The whole process is a little tedious ... grind a little off one edge of the ring, double check to make sure the edges butt together square, wipe the ring clean, carefully insert it into the corresponding cylinder bore, use the ring squaring tool to slide the ring in the proper position, measure the ring’s end-gap with the feeler gauges, notice that you aren’t even remotely close yet, remove the ring from the bore, put it back on the grinding wheel and repeat. It’s always better to sneak up on the gap, removing just a little with the grinding wheel and taking the time to constantly re-measure the gap in the bore. The diamond wheel is fairly aggressive, so after a little practice, it becomes pretty easy to figure out how many turns of the wheel will yield a 0.001” reduction in gap. The first few rings take some time, but once you get the hang of it, the process speeds up considerably.

Photo showing a top-ring resting in the grinding wheel tool:

http://i628.photobucket.com/albums/uu9/hindsight52/427 FE Big Block/Rods - Pistons - Rings/ed7bdef4.jpg


Photo showing the squaring tool placing a ring properly in the bore:

http://i628.photobucket.com/albums/uu9/hindsight52/427 FE Big Block/Rods - Pistons - Rings/3425747d.jpg


Photo showing the correct size feeler gauge barely standing up in the end gap:

http://i628.photobucket.com/albums/uu9/hindsight52/427 FE Big Block/Rods - Pistons - Rings/54e4109e.jpg


After the ring is properly gapped, the edge that was ground on with the diamond wheel needs to be deburred. This was accomplished with a small fine-grit knife stone, to produce a very very very small edge break to clean up any burrs left behind from the grinding wheel.

http://i628.photobucket.com/albums/uu9/hindsight52/427 FE Big Block/Rods - Pistons - Rings/0fac4a95.jpg


Photo of each top-ring sized to its respective bore:

http://i628.photobucket.com/albums/uu9/hindsight52/427 FE Big Block/Rods - Pistons - Rings/d9f1cedd.jpg


In the end, the top rings all were filed down to create gaps of 0.019” in their respective bores. The second rings also all got ground down to proper spec, 0.022”. And luckily, the oil rings were good to go right out of the box with no grinding necessary; the expander ring and the two rail rings all had more than the minimum 0.015” of clearance required when measured in the bores.

Next up ... Rod & Rod Bearing Blueprinting.

- John

[Fifty-Two]

Rods

The rod’s included with the SCAT stroker kit are their ProComp forged I-Beam design that match the dimensions of a BBC (Big Block Chevy) rod. They are forged from 4340 chromoly steel, and measure in at 6.700” long - which is slightly longer than the traditional Ford FE rod. This additional length provides better internal geometry for the rotating assembly as a whole. And as mentioned in previous posts, using these BBC spec rods provides several unique advantages: first, the smaller rod pin diameter creates the extra room inside the bottom-end of the block to allow for stroke lengths of 4.125” & 4.250” without any block clearancing required. The smaller bearing journal diameter is also more efficient by creating less friction and heat; plus, BBC rod bearings are more readily available in under/over-sizes (if needed to obtain the desired clearances).

The rods arrive fully machined and weight-matched from SCAT. The big-ends weigh in at 585g, small-ends at 252g, and overall weight is 837g. They have been magna-fluxed and shot-peened at SCAT to insure that the rods are indeed bulletproof for an application such as mine. For hardware, ARP 8740 12-pt bolts measuring 7/16” x 1.400” are used for clamping the rod caps down to their respective rods. This combination is vastly superior to reconditioned Ford rods and hardware, and should prove to be extremely reliable for the power output I am targeting.


~ Rod Blueprinting: The first thing to check was that the machine work on the big-end of the rods had been done correctly and that all bores were round and in-spec. Using the dial bore gauge, big-end bore measurements were taken on each rod – the first/main measurement was taken 90 degrees from the rod cap parting line, then a measurement 45 degrees in either direction from the first measurement. The first measurement would give the overall bore diameter, and the other two measurements would insure the bore was indeed round and true. Overall, the quality of the machine work was impeccable. Specs were very consistent from rod to rod and the bores themselves were perfectly round (variance of less than one-half of one ten-thousandths of an inch).

Final blueprint measurements came out to:
Rod Big-End #1 Average = 2.3250”
Rod Big-End #2 Average = 2.3250”
Rod Big-End #3 Average = 2.3250”
Rod Big-End #4 Average = 2.3250”
Rod Big-End #5 Average = 2.3250”
Rod Big-End #6 Average = 2.3250”
Rod Big-End #7 Average = 2.3250”
Rod Big-End #8 Average = 2.3250”

Max “Out-of-Round” Observed = 0.00005”

http://i628.photobucket.com/albums/uu9/hindsight52/427 FE Big Block/Rods - Pistons - Rings/7ceffbf7.jpg



Rod Bearings

The main bearing set that came with the stroker package is Speed-Pro (Sealed Power) part # Z87200CH; these are a standard 2.200” BBC sized, competition bearing set made from a Super-Duty H-14 bearing material; this is the same competition bearing line used for the mains earlier in the build.

~ Rod Bearing Blueprinting: The oil clearances between crank journals and rod bearings were next to be checked. Again, this was accomplished by using a dial bore gauge and a micrometer.

Here’s the breakdown of how clearances were measured:

- All bearings were cleaned in an isopropyl alcohol bath to remove any traces of oil, dust, debris, etc.

- The bearing mating surfaces in the rods and caps were wiped clean with solvent to insure that there would be nothing to get between the bearings and their respective mating surfaces in the rod.

- Bearings were then installed into the rods and caps. Bearings marked “U” are installed in the rod (upper) side, and bearings marked “L” are installed in the cap (lower) side.

- The threads on the ARP rod cap bolts were lubricated with ARP’s Ultra Torque Fastener Assembly Lube, then tightened down in three steps to an ultimate torque value of 64 ft/lbs (matching the spec used during the machine-work done by SCAT).

- Just like what was done when measuring the bearing clearances on the mains in an earlier post, an outside micrometer (2-3”) was used to measure each rod pin crank journal diameter; the micrometer’s spindle was locked in place at that measurement and the micrometer was then secured into a soft-faced vise to hold it for the next step. The dial bore gauge was positioned between the micrometer’s anvils and zeroed out so that it baselined off of the actual OD of each journal. Now, the dial bore gauge is placed inside each rod’s big end, and directly reads the exact bearing clearance for that particular rod. All measurements were made 90 degrees from the bearings parting lines, as this is the spot where clearances will be the tightest; the closer you measure to the parting lines, the larger the actual bearing clearance is to form the oil wedge and keep the crank from catching a bearing edge (thus spinning a bearing).

- This process of torqueing each rod cap to spec, measuring the respective crank journal with the micrometer, zeroing the dial bore gauge to that micrometer, and measuring the bearing clearance was repeated for each of the eight rods. As with the mains, the bearing clearance I was targeting for the rods is 0.0028”, with anything in the range of 0.0025-0.0030” being within spec and acceptable.

http://i628.photobucket.com/albums/uu9/hindsight52/427 FE Big Block/Rods - Pistons - Rings/adbdf73d.jpg

- In order to achieve the bearing clearances I was after (due to the slight variances in rod journal diameters on the crankshaft), a few of the rods needed a single bearing shell swap-out to a 1X “undersize” bearing. “Undersize” bearings are slightly thicker than standard bearings and create a bore that is smaller in overall diameter, thus reducing the correlating bearing clearance. By keeping the standard-sized bearing shell in the cap side, and using a 1X undersized bearing shell in the rod side (the thicker bearing should be put on the side that gets more load) overall bearing clearances will be reduced by 0.0005”. This is a completely acceptable and very common practice in order to really “nail” the targeted bearing clearances. The only thing to note when mixing and matching standard/over/under bearings together, is to be sure to use the same bearing type (manufacturer, material, groove, etc) and don't mix shells in the same bore that are different in size by more than 0.001". It definitely takes a little more time and effort to do it this way, but the end results in power and durability are worth it.

Here's a good article explaining all of this in further detail:
http://www.carcraft.com/techarticles/ccrp_0805_high_performance_engines_bearing_clearan ce/engine_bearing_clearance_tips.html
(http://www.carcraft.com/techarticles/ccrp_0805_high_performance_engines_bearing_clearan ce/engine_bearing_clearance_tips.html)
Close-up photo of the backside of two bearing shells (one standard-size, one under-size):

http://i628.photobucket.com/albums/uu9/hindsight52/427 FE Big Block/Rods - Pistons - Rings/1b6b0c7c.jpg


Final blueprinted rod bearing clearances were as follows:
Rod #1 = 0.0028”
Rod #2 = 0.0029”
Rod #3 = 0.0026”
Rod #4 = 0.0028”
Rod #5 = 0.0028”
Rod #6 = 0.0027”
Rod #7 = 0.0026”
Rod #8 = 0.0028”


Next up ... Piston Prep & Blueprinting

- John

[Fifty-Two]

As mentioned in previous posts, in order to achieve the 427ci displacement for this project, a custom set of pistons had to be made to match up to the 4.060” bore and 4.125” stroke combo. Nowadays, custom piston work like this is actually not too expensive. The piston set that was chosen is from Diamond and is a dished set of forged 4032 aluminum alloy. This alloy is generally well suited for street use due to its high strength and long-term durability.

The overall piston specs for this particular application are as follows:

http://i628.photobucket.com/albums/uu9/hindsight52/427 FE Big Block/Rods - Pistons - Rings/d7777745.jpg


Piston Prep

There were a couple small things I wanted to address with the pistons before moving on. First up was to radius the sharp edges of the valve relief cutouts on the tops of the pistons. Sharp edges are not a good thing in the combustion chamber area – they create hot spots and can lead to pre-ignition. These edges were very slightly radiused using a fine-grit unified soft deburring wheel in a stand buffer. Very, very little material was removed (when weighed on a 0.1g scale before and after, there was and should be absolutely no change in weight), just enough to soften the edges of these valve pockets. After the radiusing work was done, I went ahead and polished the tops of all the pistons to help prevent potential carbon build-up. This step truly isn’t necessary, but I figured I would go ahead and do it since I already had the buffer out anyway – a cotton wheel with brown tripoli compound brought the piston tops up to a nice shine.

Before & After: Note the fully-prepped piston on the right with the radius on the valve-reliefs and the final polish to the piston top.

http://i628.photobucket.com/albums/uu9/hindsight52/427 FE Big Block/Rods - Pistons - Rings/c3188f87.jpg


All 8 pistons prepped and ready to go:

http://i628.photobucket.com/albums/uu9/hindsight52/427 FE Big Block/Rods - Pistons - Rings/22d44c25.jpg


Piston Blueprinting

The first part of the blueprinting was to measure the piston diameters to insure that they were milled to spec and provide the proper clearance to the cylinder walls; a 4-5” micrometer was used to record the width of each piston, 90 degrees from the pin centerline, and 1.250” below the oil ring landing (as per spec from Diamond). This puts the measurement location near the bottom of the piston skirt, and since piston skirts have a taper machined into them, it is critical to take the measurements at the correct location. The dimensions for this set of pistons were absolutely spot-on and consistent from piston to piston – Diamond did a great job with the all the machine work.

http://i628.photobucket.com/albums/uu9/hindsight52/427 FE Big Block/Rods - Pistons - Rings/6dfabbfd.jpg


Measuring piston diameter:

http://i628.photobucket.com/albums/uu9/hindsight52/427 FE Big Block/Rods - Pistons - Rings/b4de91b4.jpg


Blueprinted piston diameter specs were as follows:
Piston #1 = 4.0552”
Piston #2 = 4.0552”
Piston #3 = 4.0552”
Piston #4 = 4.0552”
Piston #5 = 4.0552”
Piston #6 = 4.0552”
Piston #7 = 4.0552”
Piston #8 = 4.0552”


Piston-to-Bore Clearances

After the piston diameters’ were measured, the piston-to-bore clearances needed to be checked. This was accomplished with the same methods used previously when checking bearing clearances (the micrometer and dial bore gauge method to directly measure bore clearances). The target piston-to-bore clearance spec for this application is 0.0040”, and truthfully, anything in the ballpark will do – the bores are actually slightly out of round as measured currently since the heads are not bolted down, so a reasonably close measurement is ok. When the machine work was done earlier, torque plates were used to simulate the distortions that the heads and head bolts impart on the block, thus creating perfectly round cylinders when the heads are attached; but, when the heads aren’t bolted up to the block, the bores will always read slightly out of round.

Blueprinted piston-to-bore clearance specs on the 8 cylinders ranged from approximately 0.0040” – 0.0045”.


Next up ... Rotating Assembly Balance

- John

[Fifty-Two]

The pistons, rods, and piston pins all come in weight matched sets from the manufacturer, but there is always room for a little improvement since the weight tolerances that they spec aren’t as tight as they can be. So the next step was to blueprint all of the rotating assembly weights (pistons, rods, rings, etc) on my digital scale - the good news is that everything came in very close to spec. Since the scale I used is extremely precise though (it measures down to 0.1g), very small variances between components could be noted.

For example, the eight pistons weighed in at 522.2g +/- 1.5g each, the eight rods weighed in at 837.3g +/- 1.5g each, and the eight piston pins weighed in at 142.0g +/- 0.1g each. These are generally acceptable tolerances and could have been left as is (usually, rotating assemblies and components are balanced down to around a total of +/- 1gram), but since the time had already been spent to blueprint and double-check all of the weights, it only takes a bit more time to improve the overall rotating assembly balance and insure the final tolerances are tight.

Making up these small component variances was accomplished by mixing and matching component pairings (i.e. the heaviest piston with the lightest pin and the lightest rod “small end”) to insure that both the “rotating” and “reciprocating” totals were within just tenth’s of grams across all eight cylinders. If no attention is paid to which components get matched up together, tolerance stacking can occur; randomly, a heavy piston might end up getting paired with a heavy rod and a heavy piston pin; when that happens, one particular cylinder’s components could end up being several grams heavier than the other cylinders (conversely, some cylinder component sets could end up being lighter by several grams), thus causing an imbalance to a portion of the rotating assembly. By making sure that each cylinder set (1 cylinder), journal set (2 cylinders on a shared rod journal), and crank-half set (4 cylinders that make up either the front or back half of the crank) are as close as possible in weight, the overall bottom-end balance will end up spot on. By paying close attention to all of these things, the end result for this project was a balance within a couple tenths of a gram for all these different sets.

As far as the crank, it had already been internally balanced by Survival to match the component specs previously mentioned. Here are the balance card specs for the crank:

http://i628.photobucket.com/albums/uu9/hindsight52/427 FE Big Block/Rods - Pistons - Rings/6088084c.jpg


With everything balanced and checking out, it's time to start bolting it together.

Next up … Bottom-End Assembly.

- John

[Bill_VA]

With an engine built to such meticulous tolerances, what do you think redline will be?

Thanks for posting these updates, it amazing to watch this.

[Fifty-Two]

Thanks Bill!

Redline will be limited by the lifter package more than anything. Since I'll be running a set of hydraulic rollers, 6200rpm is the safe place to cut things off. Thats really the one and only downside to hydraulic rollers - peak RPM; the valvetrain starts to get overwhelmed trying to keep those big lifters in check over 6200rpm. For a street motor though, 6200 or so is just about perfect in my book.

[Tpa65cpe]

WOW!! It sure is nice to see somone take pride in their work! Great attention to detail is the only way to build an engine that will last. My father was a mechanic fo over 50 yrs and when I was growing up this was one of the things that he taught me. This is definatly going to be something that you can be proud of Sir!! Good luck and please keep us all posted here especally me (I already have a huge grin,drool comeing out of the corner of mouth,and left eye twitch) will be watching for more updates!! :cool:

[Fifty-Two]

With the blueprinting work done, the next order of business was to do a final clean and prep of all the bottom-end components, getting them ready for assembly. The pistons, rings, piston pins, retainers, rods, rod caps, and rod bolts were all scrubbed down in hot soapy water and blown dry; the rods, caps, pins, and rings then got a light spray of WD40 to eliminate corrosion potential. The rod bearings got a wash in an alcohol bath to remove any contaminants. After everything was clean and ready to go, the parts all got laid out and organized on the assembly table.

http://i628.photobucket.com/albums/uu9/hindsight52/427 FE Big Block/Rods - Pistons - Rings/105d072e.jpg


Assembling the Pistons to the Rods:

- First step was to insert the spirolox retainers into one side of each piston. These spirolox are devilish little things, and take a little while to get used to; once you get the hang of them though, things move along quickly. The trick to getting them installed is to first pull each one apart slightly (it will end up looking like a spring) – this will allow you to get one end started in the piston retainer groove, then slowly work and wind it the rest of the way into the groove, fully seating it. The piston set in this build requires a dual set of these retainers, which means that the retaining groove in the piston is cut wide enough to accommodate two of these spirolox on each side of the piston pin – these dual locks provides a little extra security in keeping everything in place.

This photo shows what a spirolox initially looks like (bottom), and then what it looks like after prepping it for install (top):

http://i628.photobucket.com/albums/uu9/hindsight52/427 FE Big Block/Rods - Pistons - Rings/5d3a5fd7.jpg


- The FE family of engines luckily use fully floating piston pins, meaning no special ovens and pin presses are needed to complete the assembly. The pins (a set of 0.145” wall tool steel pins from Trend) simply needed a quick coating of assembly lube (Max Tuff) before being slid into the pistons and through the rod’s “small end”, and finally seating up against the spirolox retainers installed earlier. The only thing to double-check here was that the pins slide in smoothly with no excess play.

http://i628.photobucket.com/albums/uu9/hindsight52/427 FE Big Block/Rods - Pistons - Rings/539761a5.jpg


http://i628.photobucket.com/albums/uu9/hindsight52/427 FE Big Block/Rods - Pistons - Rings/39f446d6.jpg


- One thing that had to be kept in mind when assembling everything was to insure that the pistons remained orientated correctly to their respective rods. The valve relief cutouts in the piston should be at the top, and the chamfer of the rod’s “big end” must face the proper direction in order to clear the crank journal radius. Bad things can happen if an oversight happens here and a rod gets installed facing the wrong direction.

- With the pins in, and the rods and pistons joined together, the second set of spirolox could be installed in each piston. The same procedure as before was used to install the other dual set of retainers to fully lock the pin inside the piston.

Photo shows the groove in the piston for the dual spirolox retainers:

http://i628.photobucket.com/albums/uu9/hindsight52/427 FE Big Block/Rods - Pistons - Rings/f73680ba.jpg


Photo shows both spirolox fully installed:

http://i628.photobucket.com/albums/uu9/hindsight52/427 FE Big Block/Rods - Pistons - Rings/6a3956ae.jpg


Pistons and rods are mated up, ready for the next step:

http://i628.photobucket.com/albums/uu9/hindsight52/427 FE Big Block/Rods - Pistons - Rings/35318ad1.jpg

[Fifty-Two]

Installing Piston Rings & Rod Bearings:

- As shown in an earlier post, the Total Seal ring set had been custom gapped for each respective cylinder; it was critical that each set remained in the proper location throughout this whole process.

- The oil ring set were the first rings to be installed – these are the 3 rings (1 expander ring and 2 rail rings) that sit in the bottom groove of each piston and are primarily responsible for oil scraping and control. These rings install very easily by hand and there is no need to use any tools for the install. The only thing that needed to be checked after install was that ends of the expander rings butted up against each other and did not overlap.

- The “second” ring went onto each piston next, and a ring expander was used to appropriately install these rings; this tool allows installation of the rings without over-expansion, breakage, or scarring of the piston sides.

http://i628.photobucket.com/albums/uu9/hindsight52/427 FE Big Block/Rods - Pistons - Rings/3bc30ca4.jpg


- The “top” ring went on last, again with the aid of a ring expander tool.

- With all the rings installed, the next step was to check the ring land side clearances – this is the clearance between the rings and their corresponding grooves the pistons. Total Seal specifies a clearance of 0.0015-0.0030”. Feeler gauges were used to insure the proper clearance; everything came out perfectly in spec on this build.

- The last step was to insure the correct ring gap orientation amongst the rings on each piston. Every ring manufacturer has a specific way they want the different gaps orientated on the piston, and Total Seal included a diagram showing the correct procedure for their rings.

http://i628.photobucket.com/albums/uu9/hindsight52/427 FE Big Block/Rods - Pistons - Rings/42b7eab7.jpg


- Rod bearings went in next. The bearing surfaces on each rod and cap were first wiped clean one last time with alcohol to insure nothing would sit between the rod/cap and the bearing shell itself. Critical care was kept to insure that the matched (standard or undersized) bearings stayed with the corresponding rod/cap so that the bearing clearances remained where they were set in the blueprinting process. Also of quick note, FE rod bearings are designed and stamped with “upper” shells (rod) and “lower” shells (cap), so those orientations were noted and kept during the assembly as well.


Final Installation of Piston & Rod Assemblies:

With each cylinder’s sub-assembly together and ready for install, it was time for each to go into the block for good. The install was done two cylinders at a time – each set of cylinders that share a rod journal went in together: 1&5, 2&6, 3&7, 4&8.

- Each crankshaft rod journal got a coating of assembly lube (Max Tuff), as did each bearing shell in the rods and caps.

- Next, the piston skirts and rings were thoroughly lubed with engine oil (Brad Penn Break-In Oil, SAE30) before being slid into the ring compressor. For this build, a 4.060” tapered compressor was used - www.summitracing.com/parts/SME-904060 (http://www.summitracing.com/parts/SME-904060/) - this type of ring compressor is worth every penny and makes the install a breeze. The piston assemblies were each carefully installed into the block and tapped all the way down, fully seated against the crankshaft rod journals.

- With a pair of piston assemblies in, the block was rotated around (bottom-side up) to give access to install the rod caps. The caps were installed, followed by the rod bolts, which had been coated with ARP Ultra Torque Fastener Assembly Lube (both on the threads and under the head). With all of the assembly/disassembly that had been done earlier during the blueprinting phase, these bolts had been cycled several times already by this point; this means that the bolt threads have had a chance to burnish in correctly which insures the proper clamp up is achieved from the fastener.

- A feeler gauge was placed between paired rod caps to provide lateral support (the feeler gauge removes any rod side clearance) during the final tightening of the rod bolts. Final torque was achieved in three progressive steps: 20 ft/lbs, 40 ft/lbs, and finally 64 ft/lbs.

http://i628.photobucket.com/albums/uu9/hindsight52/427 FE Big Block/Rods - Pistons - Rings/e3a42aef.jpg


- After each set of rods were torqued down, the crank was rotated around to check for any excessive drag or possible interference. After everything checked out ok, the other 3 pairs of piston assemblies went in with the same set of procedures shown above.

http://i628.photobucket.com/albums/uu9/hindsight52/427 FE Big Block/Rods - Pistons - Rings/567b0b42.jpg


- The final step was to check rod side clearance. For a performance application like this, recommended clearance is between 0.018-0.028”. Using feeler gauges, all four rod side clearances on this project blueprinted out at 0.022-0.024”.


Additional photos of the pistons, rods, and rings here: http://s628.photobucket.com/albums/u...Rods - Pistons - Rings (http://s628.photobucket.com/albums/uu9/hindsight52/427 FE Big Block/Rods - Pistons - Rings/)


Next up … Timing Set Install & Degreeing the Camshaft.

- John

[skullandbones]

Hey Fiftytwo,
I have only recently started to appreciate the 427 since I was a "diehard" big block Chevy guy. I saw a real big block at the Barrett Jackson auction in a Cobra CSX car. He was a dealer from CA and an engine builder who did all his own work. This was the sweetest sounding 427 I have ever heard. But the real impressive thing was that it did not vibrate at all!!! So I hope you do a video of yours when you get it running. I like these engine threads better than the other build aspects. I really liked your work on the casting. I think I will do that on my next engine. That's great work and very clear detailed pics. Thanks a lot, WEK.

[Fifty-Two]

Now that the bottom end install is complete, it was time to move onto the top-end and valve-train components. To insure that the valve opening and closing events occur when they are supposed to, the camshaft needed to be “degreed” through a simple measurement process. There are a couple different ways to degree a cam, but for this build I used the “Intake Centerline Method” – Comp Cams does a good job of describing it in this article: COMP Cams® Top 10 Tech FAQs - CPG Nation Forum (http://www.cpgnation.com/forum/comp-cams-top-10-tech-faqs-3773.html)

With the timing set positioned in the straight-up “0” keyway on the crank, the first step was to find top-dead center for the #1 cylinder. The photo below shows the dial indicator setup on the #1 piston so that the crank could be rotated around to position that cylinder at TDC. Once that was accomplished, the degree wheel was attached to the crank and a pointer (made simply from a coat hanger) was positioned at the TDC mark on the wheel; this sets the proper orientation for the rest of the procedure.

http://i628.photobucket.com/albums/uu9/hindsight52/427 FE Big Block/Camshaft/ab5566e0.jpg


The next step was to lube and install the lifters for the #1 cylinder. The dial indicator was then repositioned to measure the movement of the intake lifter as the cam lobe ran it up and down. The crank was rotated until max lift was achieved for that intake lobe, and the indicator was then zeroed out at that max lift point. Because cam lobes can be asymmetrical, the point of max lift may not truly be the intake lobe’s centerline. For this reason, measurements need to be taken at 0.050” before and after that maximum lift location. The readings on the degree wheel at those two spots are then averaged together to find the true intake centerline.

http://i628.photobucket.com/albums/uu9/hindsight52/427 FE Big Block/Camshaft/3d13adb5.jpg


Following this method, the intake centerline measured at 112.5 degrees. Since the cam card that came with the camshaft specifies a 108 degree ICL, the cam will need to be advanced about 4 degrees to achieve the desired timing events. This was accomplished by removing the timing chain set and reinstalling the crank gear in the 4 degrees advanced keyway; this will in turn advance the camshaft 4 degrees.

http://i628.photobucket.com/albums/uu9/hindsight52/427 FE Big Block/Camshaft/13e041ab.jpg

http://i628.photobucket.com/albums/uu9/hindsight52/427 FE Big Block/Camshaft/6f748e67.jpg


With the cam advanced approximately 4 degrees, the entire ICL measurement procedure was then repeated in order to verify that the cam was properly setup. This time, the ICL measurements came in at 109 degrees, which is as close as it will get given that advance/retard adjustments can only be made in 2 degree increments with the timing set keyways.

Now with all the “degreeing” complete, the cam bolt was removed to receive a dab of Red Loctite (#263, which has good tolerance to oil and long-term heat exposure) for final install. The ARP bolt and the 1/4” thick chrome-moly washer from Survival were reinstalled torqued to a final spec of 55 ft/lbs.

http://i628.photobucket.com/albums/uu9/hindsight52/427 FE Big Block/Camshaft/be2d0337.jpg


Next up … Front Cover, Balancer, and Oil Filter Adapter Install.

- John

[Fifty-Two]

Timing Cover

The timing cover is an original FoMoCo cast aluminum piece I picked up off ebay. After bead blasting to remove the old paint and bring it down to bare metal, this is what it looked like:

http://i628.photobucket.com/albums/uu9/hindsight52/427 FE Big Block/Exterior Components/8531ab71.jpg


The factory “as-cast” finish leaves a little to be desired with some heavy casting flash around the edges. A few minutes with a die grinder and small flap wheel cleaned that all up and made for a nice looking piece. Here are a couple photos after all the flash was removed:

http://i628.photobucket.com/albums/uu9/hindsight52/427 FE Big Block/Exterior Components/1ede2bef.jpg

http://i628.photobucket.com/albums/uu9/hindsight52/427 FE Big Block/Exterior Components/1be4aa27.jpg


For the backside of the cover, I spent a couple minutes polishing it up with a small scotch-brite wheel in a die grinder. The smoothed surface should aid a little in helping shed oil back down to the pan.

Before:
http://i628.photobucket.com/albums/uu9/hindsight52/427 FE Big Block/Exterior Components/f456b9cb.jpg


After:
http://i628.photobucket.com/albums/uu9/hindsight52/427 FE Big Block/Exterior Components/12cc09d5.jpg


Finally, the cover was prepped for paint. The same prep process that was used on the block, was also used for the timing cover – a soap and water scrub and dry, followed by the POR “Prep & Clean” solution to etch the surface, followed by a final solvent wipe down. Two brushed coats of POR15 went on next as a basecoat, followed by five light sprayed coats of Eastwood’s “Underhood Black - Semi Gloss”.

Cover prepped for paint:
http://i628.photobucket.com/albums/uu9/hindsight52/427 FE Big Block/Exterior Components/9eb99755.jpg

[Fifty-Two]

After painting, the front seal (part of the Fel-Pro completion gasket set) was installed from the backside of the cover with a block of wood and a deadblow hammer.

http://i628.photobucket.com/albums/uu9/hindsight52/427 FE Big Block/Exterior Components/7dd67809.jpg

http://i628.photobucket.com/albums/uu9/hindsight52/427 FE Big Block/Exterior Components/27d970cc.jpg


The original style Ford timing cover hardware was indented hex flange bolts (four of the 5/16”-18 x 3/4" bolts, three of the 3/8”-16 x 3/4” bolts, and one long non flanged regular hex 3/8”-16 x 2-3/4” bolt). To match that look, I decided to source stainless steel versions of all of these bolts from Totally Stainless. The flanges ended up being a little too wide for this application, so I turned them down a little so that they would fit properly on the cover. This was done simply by chucking up the bolt (wrapped in tape to protect the threads) in a cordless drill, and spinning the outside flange against a metal file, then against some 220 grit sandpaper; it took just a little over a minute to do each one. The before is on the right, and the after is on the left:

http://i628.photobucket.com/albums/uu9/hindsight52/427 FE Big Block/Exterior Components/92fa4a92.jpg



Damper Spacer

The damper spacer for this build is a steel repro part; it received the same prep and paint procedure as the timing cover did.

Damper spacer prepped for paint:
http://i628.photobucket.com/albums/uu9/hindsight52/427 FE Big Block/Exterior Components/036b8274.jpg



Oil Slinger

The oil slinger is NOS Ford part I picked up on ebay. It slides on the crank before the timing cover is installed and rests against the crankshaft timing gear; it will be sandwiched between the damper spacer and timing gear once everything is installed and tightened down. Note the proper orientation with the concave side facing the block:

http://i628.photobucket.com/albums/uu9/hindsight52/427 FE Big Block/Exterior Components/f71b0fcc.jpg

http://i628.photobucket.com/albums/uu9/hindsight52/427 FE Big Block/Exterior Components/dfe6fda7.jpg

[Fifty-Two]

Front Cover Install

- The timing cover gasket was prepped with Permatex High Tack Gasket Adhesive on both sides, before being fitted to the timing cover itself.

- The crank key was tapped down into place and the crankshaft snout received a liberal coating of anti-sieze to insure an easy disassembly years down the road.

- The front seal was lubed with a little grease and the damper spacer was slid in from the front-side of the cover. This spacer will be used as a locator for the front cover during the install – otherwise the cover can be installed in the wrong position, causing an oil leak at this front seal.

- With the cover in position, all the bolts were installed with Permatex Teflon Thread Sealant because several of these bolts holes are open to oil in the block. With the bolts finger tight, the cover was carefully situated so that the spacer was as perfectly centered as possible; the easiest way is to feel for drag as the spacer is slid in and out of the front cover seal. Once everything was aligned, the bolts were tightened down to a final torque spec of 10-12 ft/lbs.

http://i628.photobucket.com/albums/uu9/hindsight52/427 FE Big Block/Exterior Components/39003c7d.jpg



Damper Install

The damper chosen for the project is from Professional Products (Part #80009); it’s a 7.5” damper with a 6-5/8” pulley - these specs are meant to replicate the original Ford 427 damper. The damper also comes with a timing pointer designed to mount on the factory Ford timing cover. This pointer, as well as the pulley, were both removed to later be bead blasted and painted the same matching semi-gloss under-hood black as the other surrounding components.

The damper is a press-fit design and is a simple install with the proper tool (these can be rented for free from places like Autozone, etc). With the damper inner hub and crank snout both coated with anti-sieze, the damper was pressed on and fully seated up against the damper spacer.

http://i628.photobucket.com/albums/uu9/hindsight52/427 FE Big Block/Exterior Components/23c87e90.jpg

http://i628.photobucket.com/albums/uu9/hindsight52/427 FE Big Block/Exterior Components/5b343448.jpg



Remote Oil Filter Block Adapter

There are several ways to mount the oil filter on an FE – for this project, a remote oil filter location was chosen to replicate the original 427 S/C setup. The cast aluminum block adapter comes from Trans Dapt (Part #1015 - Bypass Adapter) and has 3 ports (in, out, oil temp/pressure sensor). Since the oil galley orifices on the side of the block were opened up and enlarged earlier in the build, the adapter needs a little work as well to match these larger block orifices. The lower orifice (the oil exiting from the block) matches up well to the adapter already, but the upper orafice (oil returning to the block) needs some work. The easiest way to accomplish this was to first match the gasket openings to the block orifices; a little trim work was needed with an X-Acto knife until the gasket openings were large enough and matched the block.

http://i628.photobucket.com/albums/uu9/hindsight52/427 FE Big Block/Exterior Components/582de964.jpg


Then, the gasket was laid over the block adapter, and the new port outlines were transferred to the aluminum. The aluminum cuts easily so I just enlarged the port opening in the adapter with a set of small files.

Before port matching:
http://i628.photobucket.com/albums/uu9/hindsight52/427 FE Big Block/Exterior Components/a43d5a78.jpg


After port matching:
http://i628.photobucket.com/albums/uu9/hindsight52/427 FE Big Block/Exterior Components/da0b992c.jpg


To install the adapter to the block, the gasket got a coating of Permatex High Tack Gasket Adhesive on both sides and was carefully positioned onto the adapter (the adapter had received a soap and water scrub prior to this to clean out any filings/debris). The adapter then was mated to the block and bolted down with some stainless steel 5/16”-18 hex-head hardware and AN5 washers. The bolts all received Blue Loctite and were torqued to a final spec of 12 ft/lbs.

http://i628.photobucket.com/albums/uu9/hindsight52/427 FE Big Block/Exterior Components/f44fa824.jpg


Next up ... Cylinder Heads.

- John

[C6ZZ]

Wow! Thanks for sharing this with us. I am in awe. I rebuilt my 289 about 25 years ago & am surprised it still runs after viewing your work. I look forward to the updates.
Andrew

[Fifty-Two]

If this motor runs strong for the next 25 years like yours is doing, I'll be one happy camper! :cool:

- John

[Fifty-Two]

Cylinder Head Preparation

The cylinder heads selected for the project are a set of Edelbrock cast aluminum heads (Part #60069). Key specs are as follows: 72cc combustion chamber, medium-riser port design, 2.09” intake valves, and 1.66” exhaust valves. Out of the box and without additional port work, these heads are widely recognized as being able to handle 450+ hp. When it comes to flow, they are truly a quantum leap over most production Ford FE iron heads (in addition to being much lighter as a result of the aluminum construction). These heads come from Edelbrock with a single valve spring and damper set-up. To better handle the weight of the hydraulic roller lifters and allow for the anticipated redline of 6200, the valve springs were swapped out and upgraded to a set of dual springs by Barry at Survival; they should do a better job of controlling valve-train harmonics and keeping everything where its supposed to be at higher RPM’s.

Additionally, to keep with the theme of an original S/C style motor and replicate the look of factory cast iron Ford heads, the Edelbrock logos were milled off the ends of each cylinder head and the heads will be painted semi-gloss black to mimic the appearance of the cast iron forbearers.

The first part of the preparation work was to scuff down the machined ends of the cylinder heads to provide better paint adhesion to these smooth flat areas. Next was a thorough soap and water cleaning of the heads to flush out any possible contaminants as well as prep the outer surface for paint. This was followed quickly by a blow dry with compressed air. The springs and seats were immediately given a quick coat of WD-40 to prevent any flash rust. Next up was the tedious task of masking off every surface not receiving paint on each of the heads. Final paint prep consisted of a solvent wipedown to remove anything left over on the surfaces to be painted.

For paint, the same products used on the block were also used here – two brushed coats of POR15 (with about an hour between of flash time), followed by a three sprayed topcoats (two light coats and a final medium coat) of Duplicolor semi-gloss back ceramic engine enamel, allowing about 10 min flash time between each of these topcoats.

Next up was to install the four head locating dowels into the block – Pioneer part #PF-485 (these are for a Ford FE or 460 block). Since the dowel holes had been chamfered earlier during the block prep work, the install was very easy. The split side was angled in first to get them started, then tapped all the way down with a deadblow hammer.

http://i628.photobucket.com/albums/uu9/hindsight52/427 FE Big Block/Cylinder Heads/da9d0d15.jpg



Blueprinting

Two things needed to be checked before final install of the heads: Piston-to-Valve Clearance, Measurement for Pushrod Length. To accomplish these tasks with hydraulic lifters, special consideration must be taken. To get accurate results, the valve springs for the #1 cylinder need to be removed and temporarily replaced with lightweight “check” springs. Otherwise, the heavy spring-rate of the normal valve springs will compress the hydraulic portion of the lifter when the engine is rotated over to check clearances – this will result in inaccurate measurements because full lift at the rocker and the valve will not be achieved.

Check Springs Installed:

http://i628.photobucket.com/albums/uu9/hindsight52/427 FE Big Block/Cylinder Heads/d5056693.jpg



Piston-to-Valve Clearance

This is an important clearance to check in any engine. The last thing we want is a piston coming into contact with a valve and making a mess of broken parts. On a reasonable cam like the one in this build (under .600” lift), its unlikely that there will be anything to worry about, but just to be safe it still needs to be checked. To do this, a couple of small balls of modeling clay were packed into the valve pockets on the #1 piston.

http://i628.photobucket.com/albums/uu9/hindsight52/427 FE Big Block/Cylinder Heads/1a30bf4a.jpg


A little oil was squirted on top of the clay to help keep the valves from sticking to the clay when the engine was rotated over. Next up was to temporarily install the passenger-side head gasket and cylinder head, being careful not to bump the clay out of position. The head was then bolted down to the block, but just to about 20 ft/lbs – there is no need to fully torque the fasteners for this step. Next, the passenger rocker assembly had to be fully mocked up and temporarily installed onto the head (more on the rocker selection later in the build write-up). After that, an oiled lifter was dropped into the block for the #1 cylinder. The last step was to take a couple adjustable pushrod length checkers (they came with the rocker set) and put them between the respective rockers and lifters for the intake and exhaust valves. The adjustable pushrods were screwed out to lengthen them to provide zero-lash on the lifters.

http://i628.photobucket.com/albums/uu9/hindsight52/427 FE Big Block/Cylinder Heads/672e976b.jpg


With everything mocked up for the #1 cylinder, the engine was rotated over a couple of time to let the valvetrain cycle through and leave impressions in the clay. The rockers, pushrods, lifters, and head were then all removed to check the clay. As expected, there was plenty of clearance for this motor. There should be a minimum of 0.100” of vertical clearance, and in this build there was well over 0.300”; the valves barely even left a mark in the clay in fact, so all was good.

http://i628.photobucket.com/albums/uu9/hindsight52/427 FE Big Block/Cylinder Heads/7e9c1a39.jpg



Pushrod Length Measurement

Since this build is using so many non-OE components (hydraulic roller lifters, Edelbrock heads, aftermarket rockers, etc) and the block has been decked, there is no way that any stock length Ford pushrod will fit - custom length pushrods must be made. There are already several good write-ups out there on making these measurements (www.precisionenginetech.com/project-engine-builds/2009/09/17/project-ford-fe-part-4/ (http://www.precisionenginetech.com/project-engine-builds/2009/09/17/project-ford-fe-part-4/)), so I won’t go into detail here. Just remember that separate measurements for both the intake and exhaust pushrods will need to be made.

http://i628.photobucket.com/albums/uu9/hindsight52/427 FE Big Block/Cylinder Heads/a0e23d0d.jpg


Final BOC (Bottom of Cup) measurements came in at 8.540” for the intake pushrods, and 8.565” for the exhaust pushrods. These measurements were called into Trend and a custom set of 0.080” wall chrome-moly pushrods were ordered with a 3/8” ball on one end and a 3/8” cup on the other end.

With all of the measuring and blueprinting done, the temporary light-weight check springs from the #1 cylinder were removed and the real springs were reinstalled back into the head so that everything was ready to go.

[Fifty-Two]

Cylinder Head Final Installation

- The cylinder head deck on the block was wiped down one last time with acetone to insure it was completely clean and free of oil. The same wipe down was done on the cylinder head mating surfaces as well.

- The head gaskets are FelPro #1020 performance gaskets. The gaskets were checked for cleanliness, then placed onto each deck surface making sure that the orientation was correct (they are marked with a “front” to insure proper orientation on the deck). The dowel pins installed earlier insure correct alignment of everything.

- Next, one of the heads was mated up to the block and seated down onto the dowels.

- Head bolts are an aftermarket set of ARP alloy 6-pt black-oxide bolts (Part #155-3601). The threads on the bolts (as well as both sides of the corresponding ARP washers) were liberally lubricated with ARP’s Ultra Torque Fastener Assembly Lube and were run down finger tight.

- The head bolts were then torqued down in sequence to a first step of 65 ft/lbs. Then, torqued down in sequence to a second step of 95 ft/lbs in one sweeping motion. This spec matches the specs used during the machine work on the block. Making sure to match these torque specs is what will yield the roundest possible cylinder bores.

Cylinder Head Torque Sequence:

http://i628.photobucket.com/albums/uu9/hindsight52/427 FE Big Block/Cylinder Heads/2cf97d4e.jpg
- The other cylinder head was then installed in the same manner as the first. All bolts were again torqued in sequence in two steps (65 ft/lbs, then 95 ft/lbs).

- After all the cylinder head bolts were torqued down, I let everything sit for about an hour. Following Barry R’s recommendation on how to best install these Fel-Pro head gaskets, I then did a cold re-torque of all the head bolts. For this procedure, the head bolts were all loosened back off (in reverse order of the install) and then retorqued in the same manner as before: in sequence to a first step of 65 ft/lb, then again in sequence to a second step of 95 ft/lbs in one sweeping motion. This cold re-torque process lets the Fel-Pro head gaskets take a full seat and insures the best possible seal is made between the two components.

Photos of the Installed Cylinder Heads:

http://i628.photobucket.com/albums/uu9/hindsight52/427 FE Big Block/Cylinder Heads/2f202766.jpg


http://i628.photobucket.com/albums/uu9/hindsight52/427 FE Big Block/Cylinder Heads/727ceac0.jpg


http://i628.photobucket.com/albums/uu9/hindsight52/427 FE Big Block/Cylinder Heads/10be284e.jpg


http://i628.photobucket.com/albums/uu9/hindsight52/427 FE Big Block/Cylinder Heads/5377b09a.jpg


http://i628.photobucket.com/albums/uu9/hindsight52/427 FE Big Block/Cylinder Heads/50991b43.jpg


Additional photos of the cylinder heads here: http://s628.photobucket.com/albums/uu9/hindsight52/427 FE Big Block/Cylinder Heads/


Next up … Oil Pump & Oil Pan Install.

- John

[Don]

Hey Fifty-Two,

I will suspect you are already aware of this, but I will say it for the benefit of others. Most camshafts have about 4 degs of advance already built into the grind (like the specs you posted). I noticed that you had advanced the camshaft an additional 4 degs at the timing gear. Not sure if this was an oversight or that you actually wanted a total of 8 degs advance on your cam timing. At least that is how I understand it, I may be wrong, but just checking. Love this thread!!!

Cheers,
Don

[Fifty-Two]

Hey Don,
I thought the same as you did, but I double-checked with Comp Cams before I made the move to advance it 4 degrees. They informed me that the cam was spec'd and ground without the 4 degrees of advance built into the grind; this was actually verified when I degreed the camshaft in the block as well.
In order to achieve the desired cam timing for this build, the cam did indeed need to be advanced those 4 degrees to get as close as possible to the desired 108 degree ICL.
Hope that makes sense.

- John

[Fifty-Two]

Oil Pump

The oil pump selected is a blueprinted, high volume, 1/4" drive Melling M-57HV pump from Doug at Precision Oil Pumps. Doug’s blueprinting process consists of the following: a new Melling pump is disassembled, all passages have casting flash removed, corners are radiused and blended, housings & gears are de-burred and cleaned, gears are sprayed with a moly-coating and oven cured, clearances are checked and adjusted on reassembly (Gear to Housing, Mesh, Gear to Cover-Plate), relief-valve is de-burred then cleaned and re-installed with new hardware, cover plate is vibratory polished then cleaned and fastened with safety-wired aircraft bolts, and finally the pump is bench tested to insure proper function. Since the oil pump is truly the heart of any engine, the couple extra bucks spent on a blueprinted pump is cheap insurance to keep everything inside a performance oriented motor lubricated and happy for a long time. And going with a high-volume pump is a fairly standard upgrade on an FE - it will help insure the bearings and key components don't starve for oil.

http://i628.photobucket.com/albums/uu9/hindsight52/427%20FE%20Big%20Block/Oil%20Pump%20-%20Oil%20Pan/17c967b9.jpg



Oil Pump Driveshaft

For the oil pump driveshaft, I again went with an upgraded piece from Precision Oil Pumps (part #POP-57BD) – this driveshaft is a CNC machined piece of 4130 chrome-moly heat-treated billet steel. This is considered a “must” upgrade on most any FE, as the stock pump driveshaft is prone to twisting itself into a barber-pole if the conditions are right.

http://i628.photobucket.com/albums/uu9/hindsight52/427%20FE%20Big%20Block/Oil%20Pump%20-%20Oil%20Pan/30560ba3.jpg


http://i628.photobucket.com/albums/uu9/hindsight52/427%20FE%20Big%20Block/Oil%20Pump%20-%20Oil%20Pan/af194f2b.jpg



Prep & Install

The pump and driveshaft were briefly mocked up and bolted down to the block. The only thing that needed to be checked was the depth of the tinnerman washer on the driveshaft. It needed to be repositioned so that there was full engagement with the pump and no interference with the block. This washer helps keep the driveshaft engaged with the oil pump when the distributor is lifted out. With the depth properly set, the pump assembly was unbolted and ready for prep and final install.

The one additional bit of prep that needed to be done was to trim and open up the pump-to-block gasket to match the full diameter of the pump’s output orifice.

http://i628.photobucket.com/albums/uu9/hindsight52/427%20FE%20Big%20Block/Oil%20Pump%20-%20Oil%20Pan/3eb1ba23.jpg


The block mating surface and the pump mating surface were then wiped down with acetone to remove any oil or contaminants.

Next, the pump-to-block gasket got a VERY thin (translucent) layer of black silicone sealant on both sides to insure a full seal between the components. With the gasket in place on the pump, the pump assembly (pump + driveshaft) was set into place on the block. It was then bolted down with two 3/8”-16 x 1.25” Grade-8 bolts and AN6 washers. Red Loctite (#263) was used and the bolts were torqued down to a final spec of 25 ft/lbs.

http://i628.photobucket.com/albums/uu9/hindsight52/427%20FE%20Big%20Block/Oil%20Pump%20-%20Oil%20Pan/78c6f03d.jpg


http://i628.photobucket.com/albums/uu9/hindsight52/427%20FE%20Big%20Block/Oil%20Pump%20-%20Oil%20Pan/cdc515b7.jpg

[Fifty-Two]

Oil Pan

The oil pan I went with is a reproduction of the steel 427 S/C roadrace pan (originally made by Aviaid) – it is a high-capacity, low profile, full kickout pan with several built in oil control features to keep the pickup surrounded by oil continuously (no worries of high-G oil starvation). This particular repro is made by Armando Oil Pans (Armando used to make the pans for Aviaid years back, but left to start his own company – his work is top notch). His pans are made to order, so I asked him to make one small change to better accommodate fitting this pan in a FFR – the oil temp bung was relocated from the front of the pan, to the driver side kickout portion of the pan. The FFR front crossmember is too close to the front of the pan to utilize a front-mounted temp probe, so moving it to the side is the best option. Other than that, everything else was done like the originals: integrated baffles and trap doors to prevent oil slosh, center mounted custom pickup, external tubes for the dipstick and “puke can” return line, matching windage tray, zinc coating, etc. The whole assembly is a beautiful piece of craftsmanship.

http://i628.photobucket.com/albums/uu9/hindsight52/427%20FE%20Big%20Block/Oil%20Pump%20-%20Oil%20Pan/59a3c1cd.jpg


http://i628.photobucket.com/albums/uu9/hindsight52/427%20FE%20Big%20Block/Oil%20Pump%20-%20Oil%20Pan/6e4f4bdd.jpg


http://i628.photobucket.com/albums/uu9/hindsight52/427%20FE%20Big%20Block/Oil%20Pump%20-%20Oil%20Pan/dbc5fd2f.jpg


http://i628.photobucket.com/albums/uu9/hindsight52/427%20FE%20Big%20Block/Oil%20Pump%20-%20Oil%20Pan/cd888846.jpg

[Fifty-Two]

Oil Pump Pickup Clearance

To check the clearance of the pickup against the bottom of the pan, everything needed to be briefly mocked up. This pan requires two oil pan gaskets because of the separate windage tray; the gaskets selected are a pair of Milodon Premium Crush-Proof Pan Gaskets (Part #40450) – they are a nice thick gasket with great sealing properties.

http://i628.photobucket.com/albums/uu9/hindsight52/427%20FE%20Big%20Block/Oil%20Pump%20-%20Oil%20Pan/35fd076d.jpg


The one small modification that needed to be made was the gasket to block interference that occurs at the #5 main cap when using ARP bolts; these bolts have heads that are taller than stock (which is why the washers underneath were left out for this particular cap during bottom-end assembly earlier). Even with that though, the heads still stick up very slightly higher than the pan rail; the easy fix for this is to cut two small notches in the gaskets over those two bolt heads.

http://i628.photobucket.com/albums/uu9/hindsight52/427%20FE%20Big%20Block/Oil%20Pump%20-%20Oil%20Pan/e9da68d6.jpg


After the gasket trimming, the bolt heads now sit below the windage tray:

http://i628.photobucket.com/albums/uu9/hindsight52/427%20FE%20Big%20Block/Oil%20Pump%20-%20Oil%20Pan/0ca18639.jpg


With a gasket and the windage tray mocked up, the next step was to bolt the pickup to the oil pump (and to the support hardware on the windage tray itself). One quick thing to check for at this point, is that the rotating assembly clears the windage tray without any interference. This can be a problem with longer than stock strokes. The engine was rotated over a couple times to insure that everything had room. In some cases, the tray may need to be ground slightly to clear a rod or two – for this build though, everything cleared without any issues at all. A ball of clay was then set on top of the pickup to act as the super high-tech measuring device.

http://i628.photobucket.com/albums/uu9/hindsight52/427%20FE%20Big%20Block/Oil%20Pump%20-%20Oil%20Pan/be307522.jpg


The second gasket was left off during this mockup and the pan was set down on top of everything to squish the clay down and provide the actual clearance between the bottom of the pickup and the bottom of the oil pan; too much clearance and the pickup could starve for oil, too little and the pickup could get blocked against the bottom of the pan. With the pan pulled back off, the clearance could now be read directly in the clay. The desired clearance is between 3/8”-1/2”; this build measured in at about 7/16”, which is dead on.

http://i628.photobucket.com/albums/uu9/hindsight52/427%20FE%20Big%20Block/Oil%20Pump%20-%20Oil%20Pan/ad8bb96d.jpg

[Fifty-Two]

Oil Pan Final Install

There was a little prep that needed to be done on the pan to get it ready for install. Some time had to be spent flattening and tweaking the pan rails to get them perfectly level and flat; the few minutes spent with a hammer, dolly, and soft-faced pliers will help insure a better seal and hopefully a leak-free pan. Next up was to wash the pan out with mineral spirits – first, to clean out of any remaining contaminants; second, to help check for any leaks in the pan itself. With the pan blown dry, the rails received a last quick wipe down with acetone to make sure the mating surface was oil free. The same acetone wipe down was done to the pan rails on the block as well to get rid of residual oil contamination resulting from the bottom-end assembly.

With the prep work out of the way, the assembly could begin. A thin layer of Motorcraft TA-31 grey silicone sealant was spread out on the block mating surface to match where the gasket meets up to the block. Additionally, a small dab of silicone was placed in 4 key spots on the block – the two areas at the front where the timing cover mates to the block, and the two areas at the rear where the #5 main cap mates to the block.

http://i628.photobucket.com/albums/uu9/hindsight52/427%20FE%20Big%20Block/Oil%20Pump%20-%20Oil%20Pan/0a6d3eb0.jpg


http://i628.photobucket.com/albums/uu9/hindsight52/427%20FE%20Big%20Block/Oil%20Pump%20-%20Oil%20Pan/c3cb16b5.jpg


To help aid in the assembly of the multiple gaskets and components, a few 5/16”-18 studs were screwed into the pan bolt holes to act as alignment studs. The first gasket was then slid down over the alignment studs and settled onto the block. Next, a thin layer of the TA-31 grey silicone sealant was spread out on top of this gasket. The windage tray went on next and was mated down onto the block. At this point, the pickup itself can finally be installed - it had been thoroughly cleaned with mineral spirits and blown dry earlier as well. The pump-to-pickup gasket was coated with a VERY thin (translucent) layer of black silicone sealant on both sides to insure a full seal between the components. The pickup was then bolted to the pump with 5/16”-18 Grade-8 bolts and AN-5 washers. Red Loctite (#263) was used and the bolts were torqued down to a final spec of 15 ft/lbs. Additionally, the nyloc nut that clamps the pickup to the windage tray stud was snugged down – this helps insure that the pickup clearance stays where it should.

http://i628.photobucket.com/albums/uu9/hindsight52/427%20FE%20Big%20Block/Oil%20Pump%20-%20Oil%20Pan/8820f5eb.jpg


Next, another thin layer of Motorcraft TA-31 went on – this time on the windage tray mating surface so that the second gasket could then be placed on top of it. One final thin layer of TA-31 went on this second gasket and will seal against the pan itself. The pan went on last and the alignment studs were removed.

For hardware, I went with stainless steel 5/16”-18 indented hex-head bolts and stainless lock washers. This replicates the original hardware, but in stainless rather than just regular zinc plated steel. I tossed all the hardware ahead of time into a vibratory tumbler to give a nice dull uniform look to the bolts. The bolts got threaded in with Blue Loctite (#243) and were slowly cinched down in an alternating pattern of about 3-4 steps. Final torque specs were around 10 ft/lbs – it’s near impossible to get a torque wrench on most of these fasteners because of the pan’s kick-out, so the majority of the bolts were tightened down by feel to provide an equal clamping load.

http://i628.photobucket.com/albums/uu9/hindsight52/427%20FE%20Big%20Block/Oil%20Pump%20-%20Oil%20Pan/60a1c0f6.jpg


http://i628.photobucket.com/albums/uu9/hindsight52/427%20FE%20Big%20Block/Oil%20Pump%20-%20Oil%20Pan/767694f9.jpg


http://i628.photobucket.com/albums/uu9/hindsight52/427%20FE%20Big%20Block/Oil%20Pump%20-%20Oil%20Pan/a7859473.jpg




Additional photos of the oil pump & oil pan install here: Oil Pump & Oil Pan Photos (http://s628.photobucket.com/albums/uu9/hindsight52/427%20FE%20Big%20Block/Oil%20Pump%20-%20Oil%20Pan/)


Next up … Intake Manifold.

- John

[JakeMandell]

Thank you so much for all the effort you have put into this Thread! Are there any updates since 2012?

[Fifty-Two]

Unfortunately no update yet. Been swamped with work and life stuff for quite a while. Hoping to have some time to get back on the project in the near future. =)

- John

[Pike]

Have you figure out where the bottom of the pan will sit relative to the bottom rail of the chassis even if it's estimated? Sorry if you've already answered this somewhere. Also, can't wait to see the write up on the head valvetrain!!!

[Fifty-Two]

From everything i have seen and heard from others using the Aviaid-style pan, it sits plenty high enough to be above the bottom of the chassis rails on our Factory Five cars; no clearance issues and no danger of hitting the pan on a speed bump before the chassis rails take the brunt. Since it has a full kickout for nearly the entire length of the pan, it is a fairly low profile overall piece. Wish I had exact measurements for you though ...

- John

[sh0x]

Unfortunately no update yet. Been swamped with work and life stuff for quite a while. Hoping to have some time to get back on the project in the near future. =)

Great engine build thread! Thanks for sharing all the details. I hope all is well and you've find time to finish the project.

[Fifty-Two]

Thanks! Its amazing what a kid will do to your free time!!! =)
Still here and planning on getting it all finished in the near future. I will definitely finish what I started on here with this build thread.

John

[Raceral]

Everytime I look at this thread, I get a tingle up my leg

[Avalanche325]

I haven't done anything with Ford big blocks, so I have a question. I see in the list that there is a high volume oil pump. Those are generally steered away from on SBFs. SBCs need them. Is it common to go high volume on a BBF?

Looks like a fun build you have going on.

[Fifty-Two]

I haven't done anything with Ford big blocks, so I have a question. I see in the list that there is a high volume oil pump. Those are generally steered away from on SBFs. SBCs need them. Is it common to go high volume on a BBF?


On the FE series of Ford big blocks, a high volume pump is usually recommended in a performance build since the stock oiling system as a whole is rather underwhelming (especially in regard to a lack of main bearing priority in the "top-oiler blocks).
Hope that helps! =)

John