White90GT
08-13-2003, 06:45 AM
I've got my motor back from the shop and started working on it Saturday. I got the crank set in place Saturday after washing the block and spreading assembly lube in all the important places. Turned out I didn't have the right Rod bearings for the Eagle rods, so the machinist had to pick me up another set which I got Monday. Didn't get to work on it Monday, so I had hoped to get at least the long block together last night. Well, didn't happen. I got all the rings gapped Saturday and installed on the pistons, then last night started putting in the pistons. Anyone who has done it knows its a PITA to have to put on the piston ring squeezer and install each piston without the rings popping out of the squeezer and having to start over. After about 3-4 hours I finally had all 8 pistons in. Keep in mind that after each piston went in and was bolted down, that I turned the crank over to make sure nothing was hitting/binding. When number 3 and number 7 pistons were in, I did feel a slight clunk when turning the motor over, but it still turned fairly easily. I was going to chalk it up to pistons slap or something like that. Well, when #4 and #8 pistons were installed I turned the motor over and it wouldn't turn completely over. Damnit! I got to looking and it appeared that the #8 rod was hitting the bottom of the #4 cylinder and wouldn't go beyond.
So long story short, I had to pull out all the pistons again (after spending 3-4 hours last night assembling it) and notch the block for more clearance. I had looked at my old motor/block and matched this one to it, just notching the topside of the cylinder bore (looking at the motor from the oil pan side, the outter side of the skirt, not the inner/bottom side). So apparently, the difference in casting from Ford made me have to notch this block slightly for rod clearance.
So about 9:45 last night I'm out in the driveway with a air die grinder grinding away at my block, then by 10:15 I'm outside with the water hose and a soapy rag wiping all the metal out of the bores and block, then by 10:30 I'm in the garage spreading more engine assembly lube in the block so it don't rust and prepping it to put the crank and pistons back in tonight! What a PITA!
For those that don't know, this notching is what is done for a 347 kit to be installed in a factory block.
All this could've been avoided had I just mocked everything up without the rings on the pistons, but that would've been almost as much work, it just would've been done ahead of time.
So hopefully the longblock will be together tonight!
So long story short, I had to pull out all the pistons again (after spending 3-4 hours last night assembling it) and notch the block for more clearance. I had looked at my old motor/block and matched this one to it, just notching the topside of the cylinder bore (looking at the motor from the oil pan side, the outter side of the skirt, not the inner/bottom side). So apparently, the difference in casting from Ford made me have to notch this block slightly for rod clearance.
So about 9:45 last night I'm out in the driveway with a air die grinder grinding away at my block, then by 10:15 I'm outside with the water hose and a soapy rag wiping all the metal out of the bores and block, then by 10:30 I'm in the garage spreading more engine assembly lube in the block so it don't rust and prepping it to put the crank and pistons back in tonight! What a PITA!
For those that don't know, this notching is what is done for a 347 kit to be installed in a factory block.
All this could've been avoided had I just mocked everything up without the rings on the pistons, but that would've been almost as much work, it just would've been done ahead of time.
So hopefully the longblock will be together tonight!