Get on the valve train, and ride it.

CREEPY PUN TRAIN LIKES THIS PUN - AND YOUR SOUL

It sounded funny to me earlier....meh.

I'M SO CLOSE. It is absolutely killing me.  But before we get to engine fun, a quick update on the LTD column shifter madness.

So last time we met, I was attempting to locate or make my own linkage to connect the column shifter to the transmission.  

Goal: Take out that stupid "high school" janky floor shifter.   But guess what? I might be in luck! A 1975 Ford LTD just arrived at our local Pick n Pull yard.  I love an excuse to head there.  So let's go!

A trip to the junk yard...

There is something serene about going to the junk yard.  It was a sunny Wednesday morning and I made the mistake of wearing my nice jeans and shoes to go exploring.    Hey, I wore my "let's get oily" shirt so at least I won't get too filthy.

Let's go on this car safari!

Spotted in its natural habitat, (broken, on stands in a junk yard) The Lincoln Mark IV(I think), isn't quite the LTD I am looking for but it does share the same body style and hopefully the same transmission linkage!  But, No dice.   This car definitely saw some years on the road.  I could almost hear an exhausted male voice threatening to threaten a Disney road trip by "turning this thing around".

Moving on....and in all it's....yellow glory, I found the LTD lumbering about, having zero shame of how... yellow it was.

Ugh, what an ugly boat.  It was in terrible shape and a lot of it was already picked apart.  Unfortunately, I already had the type of linkage this car has.  

So that makes this visit a bust.  Anyway, on to the engine part.

This block gets a 'head' in life, or two.

Stupid joke. Hilarious Austin Powers reference.  Good enough for me.  Anyway, I'm going to put the heads on the engine now.

Head Specs for engine nerds:

• Ported D0VE heads ported/assembled by Scott Johnson.
• 2.08/1.65" Valves
• rocker studs, guide plates, manganese bronze guides, p/c guide seals
• 305/180 cfm @ .600" valve lift

Anyway, here are some pictures.

So that ring thingy at the bottom? That's a dowel.  This helps me "align" the gasket and head on the block really easily.

Next I put the "studs" in.  I already made a mistake here because I didn't read the last sentence in my "Big Blocks for Dummys" book.  You'll see in a second.

Now let's slide the head gaskets on!  Then let's place this heavy ass 100lb head on.

Um...why are those second/third bolts not even reaching past the head??

LIFE TIP #324:  READ THE ******* MANUAL - don't skim like I did.

"Oooooh. There are TWO different sizes, short go on top, long go on bottom."

Reading is dumb.  But when you're dumb, reading makes you smrt.  So read, stupid.
So after pulling both heads, redoing the bolts, then placing these 100lb heads back on, we were good to go.

(Make sure to follow proper tightening sequences!!)

Next up, the rocker arms!

PRW 1.73 ratio steel body rocker arms

Here is where everything slowed down.  There was so much to do here. 

Ugh -  Un-boxing, un-packaging things: There were over 30 individually wrapped peices here.  I wish I could have hired one of those weirdo "unboxers" guys you see on YouTube.   I don't know how these guys take such pleasure with so much unwrapping.

Yeah I don't get it either. But I do own a horsehead mask pictured above.

I took each rocker arm and locking nut, washed it in the parts washer, blow dried them all using the air compressor and then soaked them in oil per instructions.  

SIDE BAR:

Also, this is also where I found out that I hate getting my hands oily.  I don't mind getting them dirty, greasy, cut up or whatever, but I HATE getting them oily.  I hold oily things like I'm discarding a bag of dog poop.

Anyway.......

Made a nice metal soap for the big block gods.

Moving on - measure pushrod length.

Holy hell this was a big one.   So everyone in the world will tell you just to make sure the wear pattern on the valve stem is centered...but there is sooo much more to that.

First and foremost, if you have done anything different from a stock configuration - you HAVE to measure for a new pushrod length.

Variables affecting pushrod length:

• The location of the Moon, mars and the North Star.
• Block, head deck height
• Studs, guide plates, gasket height...
• kind of lifters used, hyrdo cam, etc
• How much salt intake you had that day

Basically, you gotta measure that stuff.  How to measure it?   Hoooo boy, you're in a fun world of fun depending on where you go.

   

If you are like me and have a pre-assembled head by an expert that made sure most of that valve train geometry is in good shape, then all you have to worry about is the geometry of the roller tip to the rocker...rotating...thingy and making sure your wear pattern on the valve stem is somewhat acceptable.   If you have any questions: go visit your favorite engine building forums and read the millions of pages on "proper valve train geometry".

   

Also, don't 'prime' your lifters.  After you adjust for zero lash, that extra 1/2 to 3/4 turn on the rocker arm nut will pre-load the lifter for you.  

SIDE BAR:

Here is one thing that is common in engine building as it is in software engineering:  When attempting to learn a new concept in either one, documentation always assumes the user knows every bit of context in all situations.   Lots of "step 1: do a thing, step 2: ???, step 3: profit" bs.

Yeah, easy stuff, right?  Well, the good news is if you come across the situation, there is something that others are assuming you will do before you get to the next step.  So go out there and look at examples of people's work. Good or bad, you'll start to pick up a familiar pattern.  Then, terminology, context and a general idea will soon come to you.  You just have to dig!

Anyway...

Here I have an "adjustable" push rod for measuring what length I need.

Fast forward an eternity later and I have found my intake lengths and my exhaust lengths.  

With push rods taken care of, (on order), I'm eager and want to throw the intake and valve cover on.   Thanks to Mickey, a friend and old co-worker, we get this done on a Sunday evening.

So here is a thing I just found out:  only 460s of year 74 and up (excluding 73 trucks) have "turkey" or valley pans.  So my plan after a bit of research was to use both.  Keep the pan to prevent oil from splashing up but cut off the metal gaskets and use my own. IT WILL BE PERFECT BECAUSE I AM AN EXPERT METAL CUTTER GUY.

UGH WHATEVER YOU STUPID METAL THING. CUT IN THE DIRECTION I WANT YOU TO GO IN.

Hah! Welp.  Then I said screw it and just used the pan to make sheet metal blockages for the exhaust crossovers.  

Fast forward later and thanks to Mickey's help....Boom.

It needs some paint touch up on areas but it is looking like an engine!!

I left a ton of technical detail out so if anyone has questions, hit me up.  

Anyway, No update next week because I'm going on my honeymoon.  So see you all in a couple of weeks!

Baby steps. Also t-rex arms. (and a wedding pic)

Engines are hard.

Last time on Mike's engine build: (scary announcer voice)

When we last left off, our ultra novice engine builder forgot to chase the used crankshaft's threads and regretfully, fused the crankbolt into the crankshaft. Upon impacting the bolt out, 1/4 of the threads came with it.

But guess what, I just grabbed a 5/8-18 tap and chased those threads! BAM  I still got at least 1-1/4 good threads left and damn it, I'm using them.  By the way, here is what the ARP bolt looked like after we got that stupid thing out:

Also, next time I do this, I'm getting a friggin crank-snout SOCKET to use instead of using the bolt.

Anyway, moving head....slowly. Baby steps people.

Timing Cover and Water Pump

New cover on the left, old cover on the right.

I took the dipstick tube from the old one and hammered that into the new one.  So the engine rebuild book told me to use sealer on each surface before putting on the gaskets to ensure no leaks would happen.

So I did that.  Poorly.  I owe Jim(my boss, friend and man-cave owner) a whole new tube of rtv sealer.  Not only did I over-apply it poorly but too much of it.  Yes, I know that will clog all my water tubes.  So I did my best to clean up any excess before it cured.

OH. Also, I didn't check before hand but these 429/460 timing covers have a "back plate" that the water pump rests on.  I also didn't have any bolt hardware for this.  After two trips to Summit Racing, I was finally golden.

Once you apply sealer to all the surfaces, put the water pump on the timing cover, then put the timing cover on the block...hopefully you are done and don't have any missing parts.

Then, the oil pan and gaskets.  They are cork gaskets - so that means you tighten all the bolts progressively, one by one, several times.  Because after you tighten them once, the cork rests and then you have to re-tighten everything again.  Rinse and repeat FOREVER until they remain firm. Then you are finally allowed to torque them down. Why so little and so long?  Because if you over tighten too soon, the pan rests incorrectly and leaks will occur.

Anyway, fast forward:

Things I've done wrong in the last two updates:

1. Didn't chase ALL the threads - just some.  (Because the one bolt you will have trouble with will be the one you didn't chase first.)
2. Put the second woodruff key in before I put the sleeve on the crankshaft.
3. Didn't verify I had all bolts before proceeding.
4. Probably over torqued one of the oil pan bolts.
5. Hammered the crankshaft oil seal in with too small of a cylinder, then hammering it in crooked at first.  (get the RIGHT TOOL FIRST)
6. Being impatient.

But hey, it looks good...so far....right?  

Next up:  Heads; PUSH RODS - measuring, geometry to the rockers, yelling.

BUT WAIT - THERE IS MORE

I put that new steering column in!

That's the thing that connects the column to the steering box.  The coupler or 'rag joint'.

And above, there you see my steering box, naked, with it's shaft sticking out.   Let's fix that, shall we?

A nice solid connection to the steering box.   Now let's put that original steering wheel on!

Yes. Much better. Yes, I have mismatching trim - that trim was actually missing before - I yoinked that from another LTD of another color.  I'll either dye it later on or just replace it if I find matching trim.

Anyway, let's do before/after.

Before:  Look at all that exposed column/wiring, etc.  Ugh. (btw, those old gauges are mechanical gauges, with actual engine oil being pumped to the gauge pod. Yeah, I replaced those.)

Bad picture below but look at that exposed column and trim below the steering wheel!!

Ugh.

But....(again),



Much better.  No more exposed column, no wires sticking out, original steering wheel (minus a the center badge but I'll find one soon).

So now, I'm in the process of removing that stupid floor shifter.

Pros - I have MOST of what I need to do it.
Cons: I need to go to home depot for a make-shift bracket to hold the shifter linkage in place under the car.

Also, putting plastic grommets in holes are a nightmare when you're reduced to T-Rex arms underneath the car.  Hell, doing ANYTHING under a car is a nightmare.

I've dropped these things on my face today while under the car:

1. The plastic grommet I was attempting to press into a bracket.
2. A socket.
3. The wrench that the socket was attached too moments later.
4. Dirt.
5. The plastic grommet again.
6. The socket again.

It was a fun day. Until next time....more engine stuff hopefully.

PS - I GOT MARRIED!

Update on hold...

Because I got married this weekend.  So.....yeah.  Although, I did get that new steering column/wheel in this Sunday.

So there is that.  Pics and such to come.

See ya soon!