Building an engine run stand.

[cleatus12r]

Next victim.

1968 429 that has been in the shed for a number of years.

[Power Hungry]

Oooo That's gonna be a fun one!

[cleatus12r]

Well for as long as it's been sitting (in a building but not covered) on its side with no spark plugs in it......

The heads are coming off first just to see if the cylinders are able to be run as-is. There was a rag stuffed in the intake, but it's long since deteriorated to dust so I'm sure there's been a mouse home or two in there. The oil that came out of the pan looked great though......

Dad and I dismantled a 74 F100 this Sunday too. Married C6/205 behind a 3.5" stroke FE of some sort. C4 head on one side, C8 on the other, and a C6 casting on the block. Either it's a 352 or someone wasted their time putting different heads and a 4V intake on a 360; not that there's any difference in 95% of the FE "low-perf" heads' valves or combustion chamber sizes so I'm not too concerned about the heads. Besides emission controls and hardened seats, they're all the same. I'm not pulling the pan to look at piston skirts or heads to measure the bore.

[cleatus12r]

Originally Posted by Power Hungry

Oooo That's gonna be a fun one!

Thinking I might get it torn down this week. I've got a bit of off-time scheduled so I'd like to get a look inside.

I picked up an 89 F350 crewcab a few months ago with a "ran-when-parked" 460 that had an incorrectly installed front main and pan seal. Unknown miles but I didn't like all of the sludge and crud in the lower part of the engine when I had the pan off (as in it's a poster-child for the world of poor maintenance practices). Besides, the longer I stare at the EFI 460, the more I think that I don't want a boring 460 that can't handle a different cam or any major performance pieces due to the speed density system...and the best time to do the work is right now with the engine already out.

I'd miss the ease of starting, but low 200s horsepower will suck!

[cleatus12r]

Nothing like having a brand new engine come apart.

Tore down the C8xx head and block engine today. It's a 460. It looks like it never made it through its first oil change. This should demonstrate the importance of correct/large enough ring gaps.

Two of the cylinders will be perfect after a light hone and the rest will just get a crosshatch pattern. There is ZERO ridge. I'll buy a set of new pistons, some gaskets, and probably have it balanced. Then throw it back together and run it.

[cleatus12r]

I spent some time today getting parts ready for the machine shop. Pistons are on the way along with headers and a cam.

Suppose .017" of ring gap might be not-quite-enough? Like most things I have here, if it was a good runner, it wouldn't be in the shed for my entertainment pleasure.

[cleatus12r]

Pistons and cam on the way.

Did a bunch of math and typing into Desktop Dyno and settled on a cam that will keep the BMEP happy (similar to stock but carry it past 2000 RPM) and make power past 4500 RPM if desired all while losing nothing down low. I also have to keep the torque at bay since the 5-speed input torque rating is already being pushed by the stock 460.

I had to be picky with cam selection as this is a 10.5:1 engine and going "too small" or stock on a cam would really keep my dynamic compression in that 8.9-9.1 range and that's too much for pump gas.

Anyhoo, once the pistons show up it's off to the machine shop and balancer.

[Power Hungry]

Originally Posted by cleatus12r

I spent some time today getting parts ready for the machine shop. Pistons are on the way along with headers and a cam.

Suppose .017" of ring gap might be not-quite-enough? Like most things I have here, if it was a good runner, it wouldn't be in the shed for my entertainment pleasure.

What did you end up running for Ring End Gap? Normally on a 4.360" bore with factory pistons and rings, I'd use about .025" - 0.028" for compression rings (maybe 0.028" - 0.030" on the 2nd ring) and .018" - 0.020" for oil ring.

For aftermarket stuff I just use whatever they recommend, especially for hypereutectic pistons. The expansion rate on those are slightly different then regular aluminum slugs.

*Technically", some specs only call for 0.004" per bore inch, so in those cases a 0.017" end gap would be considered acceptable. At the end of the day, I'd rather be a tad larger gap than too small. As someone mentioned:

If the gap is too big, only you will know. If the gap is too large, EVERYONE will know!

[cleatus12r]

Originally Posted by Power Hungry

What did you end up running for Ring End Gap? Normally on a 4.360" bore with factory pistons and rings, I'd use about .025" - 0.028" for compression rings (maybe 0.028" - 0.030" on the 2nd ring) and .018" - 0.020" for oil ring.

For aftermarket stuff I just use whatever they recommend, especially for hypereutectic pistons. The expansion rate on those are slightly different then regular aluminum slugs.

*Technically", some specs only call for 0.004" per bore inch, so in those cases a 0.017" end gap would be considered acceptable. At the end of the day, I'd rather be a tad larger gap than too small. As someone mentioned:

If the gap is too big, only you will know. If the gap is too large, EVERYONE will know!

I'll be running .029" due to the 4.442" bore and the formula of .0065"/in. on run of the mill "rebuilder" cast pistons.

Better safe than sorry.