Fox T-Bird/Cougar Forums

I am having a guy in Arkansas port my Edelbrock Performer RPM (2.20/1.60) heads and the Edelbrock Performer RPM II lower intake for the new 331 in my Coupe.  I bought the heads used and basically stole them from the guy but he named his price.  I took them to the gentleman that does all my machine work up in Norman, OK and we decided to strip them down to just the castings and install all new valve train.  The new valve train consists of Isky 8005 springs, Manley titanium retainers & keepers, Manley severe duty valves, new ARP rocker studs (the old ones were about a 1/4" too short), and some Crane Cams aluminum full roller rockers.  I also got a set of stud girdles with the heads so the top end is rock solid.  The heads have been the choke point on the car since I built the last 306 so with the 331 and Ed Curtis cam I decided to bite the bullet and port all of this.  I took pictures of the before and will post the after here in a couple of weeks.


Lower Intake:
(http://i786.photobucket.com/albums/yy142/dbrune_83/DSC00205.jpg)  (http://i786.photobucket.com/albums/yy142/dbrune_83/DSC00200.jpg)  (http://i786.photobucket.com/albums/yy142/dbrune_83/DSC00195.jpg)

Head:
(http://i786.photobucket.com/albums/yy142/dbrune_83/DSC00214.jpg)  (http://i786.photobucket.com/albums/yy142/dbrune_83/DSC00219.jpg)

(http://i786.photobucket.com/albums/yy142/dbrune_83/DSC00215.jpg)  (http://i786.photobucket.com/albums/yy142/dbrune_83/DSC00220.jpg)

Hopefully with the additional cubes and the higher flowing upper end this one will hit the 400+ rwhp mark.

Darren

Seems like I read on this forum awhile back that Crane's rockers are junk...?

Crane makes the Ford Racing roller rockers, like the Cobra roller rockers and the blue ones.. They also make the pro-form rockers believe it or not.

Ahhh. There was a fella...maybe you, Vinnie, who had a set of some brand rockers, they went bad, and ruined an engine. Then it seemed like quite a few 5.0 guys with those same rockers had engine failures...

They are the Crane Energizer roller rockers.  They have been on two motors now and still work flawlessly which is why they will be on the 331.  I have the Comp Cams Magnum roller rockers on 351W in the Bird and they are IMO a better rocker arm but its like comparing a Chevette to a Chevelle.  I am a Comp guy but the Cranes came with the heads when I bought them so the price was right.  On a street based car they work fine but its when someone ups the anti and tries to use them out of their designed range is when the failures happen.  The Isky springs are 135 lbs seat pressure and 395 lbs open pressure so well within the design of the Crane units.

http://www.cranecams.com/314-315.pdf

Anyhow, this thread was more of a show and tell with a before and after comparison of the heads being ported.  A discussion on roller rocker strengths and application is a whole other thread, anyway that is how I see it.

Darren

Nice!

Right on.


Absolutely, you're the boss. more pics! :)

None of my rockers went bad. I got a set of Scorpions one time (used) and one was cracked, but they replaced it for free. I've never had an issue with Crane. Works well for the Cobras. Back to our scheduled thread.

Well three months later and I am finally getting back to this.  I have some before and after pics but I really wish I would have cleaned up the exhaust ports so you can see how much work was done in the bowl area and blending it into the port.  Anyhow, the short block is finally assembled and I had more issues with this one than any of the past ones combined but its my first 331 build.

Ported Intake Port Pics:

(http://i786.photobucket.com/albums/yy142/dbrune_83/IMG_2116.jpg)

(http://i786.photobucket.com/albums/yy142/dbrune_83/IMG_2117.jpg)

Ported Exhaust Pics:

(http://i786.photobucket.com/albums/yy142/dbrune_83/IMG_2118.jpg)

(http://i786.photobucket.com/albums/yy142/dbrune_83/IMG_2119.jpg)

Darren

Ooohh purdy!

Wow! That sure should make a big difference! An early Christmas present. So, when are you going to put them to work? I want to know what you think!

Funny you should ask...I have been putting the 331 together over the last week.  Its a slow process but have to work to keep the lights on in the garage.  I even had two ballasts blow out last night so I had to run to Home Depot and do some electrical work as well.  The ballasts were Chinese made junk and the lights always hummed, installed some GE brand ballasts and now the light output is much better and no annoying hum.  Anyhow, back to the motor build:

Short Block
- The block is a stock 1987 5.0 roller unit that has been line honed, torque plate bored, decked, and squared (old F-150 motor that I snagged for $50, actually got two for that price)
- Crank is a Scat cast nodular steel unit
- Probe Street Fighter main girdle
- Eagle rods with ARP bolts
- Probe SRS full floating pistons w/ Mahle rings
- Clevite 77 bearings on the mains and rods
- Blue printed Melling oil pump set at 70 psig
- Melling hardened oil pump shaft
- FTI custom ground camshaft
- Comp Cams double roller timing chain
- New Pioneer timing chain cover (got it at O'Reillys and it is for an F-150 pickup)
- Ford Racing water pump (made in China...:wtf:)

Typically with rods that use bolts you do not have to notch the cylinder walls but with the larger Eagle rods every one had to be notched.  I also had to have a buddy machine the cam plate to recess it for the machine screws required by the Comp Cams cam gear.  It has a bearing on the back of it so you cannot have bolt heads sticking up.  As for the Pioneer timing chain cover, typically on the cars Ford installed a timing chain cover that was for a water pump with clock wise rotation.  The serpentine belts cars rotate in reverse which makes the ports on them 180 degrees out.  The Pioneer timing chain cover for a late F-150 solves that problem but I there was some flashing that had to be removed.  Here a are a couple of shots of the short block:

(http://i786.photobucket.com/albums/yy142/dbrune_83/IMG_2082.jpg)  (http://i786.photobucket.com/albums/yy142/dbrune_83/IMG_2106.jpg)  (http://i786.photobucket.com/albums/yy142/dbrune_83/IMG_2121.jpg)  (http://i786.photobucket.com/albums/yy142/dbrune_83/IMG_2122.jpg)

(http://i786.photobucket.com/albums/yy142/dbrune_83/IMG_2123.jpg)  (http://i786.photobucket.com/albums/yy142/dbrune_83/IMG_2125.jpg)

Remember to check piston to valve clearance:

(http://i786.photobucket.com/albums/yy142/dbrune_83/IMG_2128.jpg)

After the short block was put together it was time to install the cylinder heads, Canton pan and pick up tube, and then the valve train.

Long Block
- Edelbrock Performer RPM heads (ported) with guide plates
- Manley Sever Duty SS 2.02" intake and 1.60" exhaust valves
- Manley titanium retainers and keepers
- Isky 8005A valve springs
- ARP rocker arm studs (factory studs were 1/4" too short)
- Fel-Pro 1011-2 head gaskets
- ARP head studs
- Crane Energizer 1.6:1 roller rockers
- Ford Motorsport roller lifters
- Ford Motorsport hardened push rods
- Jomar Pro-Model rocker arm stud girdles w/ARP poly lock rocker arm nuts

Here is a shot of the heads installed:

(http://i786.photobucket.com/albums/yy142/dbrune_83/IMG_2131.jpg)

Here are a couple of shots with the timing set installed, modified water pump, and the timing cover & water pump installed:

(http://i786.photobucket.com/albums/yy142/dbrune_83/IMG_2131.jpg)  (http://i786.photobucket.com/albums/yy142/dbrune_83/IMG_2134.jpg)  (http://i786.photobucket.com/albums/yy142/dbrune_83/IMG_2135.jpg)

The guy that I sold the old 306 short block to was putting a Canton road race pan on it so I left my old pick up tube on it as it had to be modified for the DSS main girdle which is really thick due to it being aluminum.  He gave me his new pick up tube so I had to clay it to make sure I had enough clearance.  Without the pan gasket it had right at 3/8" of an inch so with the pan gasket it has over 3/8" which according to a couple of engine builders is good to go.  Here is a shot of the bottom end with the girdle and pick up tube installed and a couple with the pan on:

(http://i786.photobucket.com/albums/yy142/dbrune_83/IMG_2141.jpg)  (http://i786.photobucket.com/albums/yy142/dbrune_83/IMG_2145.jpg)  (http://i786.photobucket.com/albums/yy142/dbrune_83/IMG_2148.jpg)

And the last shots are the valve train installed (the gold pieces are the Jomar's):

(http://i786.photobucket.com/albums/yy142/dbrune_83/IMG_2151.jpg)  (http://i786.photobucket.com/albums/yy142/dbrune_83/IMG_2154.jpg)

That's as far I have made it to this evening.  Still have valve covers, lower intake, distributor, headers, starter, harmonic balancer, flywheel, clutch set, and bell housing to install before I put it in the car.  I am taking the week of Christmas off on vacation so I am hoping to get it started, tagged, tuned, and then inspected...its never ending.

Darren

, that looks good! The port work on the heads is awesome!

Looks great :). Maybe one day I'll get my Performers ported out. At that point I might as well pull the engine and stroke it like you did :D.

I'm surprised the FRPP water pump is made in China now. When I bought mine 5 years ago it was a made in America re-boxed Motorcraft part. They even just slapped a FRPP sticker right over the Motorcraft sticker on the box.

Yeah, I was a little shocked about the water pump but not really.  Guess I will be buying an Edelbrock water pump next time as they are made in the USA.  They are not cheap but they flow a lot more water.

The guess from a couple of guys is the car should put down around 400 rwhp.  I am a bit skeptic about that and I would prefer more area under the curve than a peaker anyhow.  Hopefully the torque will be up there as well as that is what gets the car out of the corners anyhow.

Darren

At least in my car the Edelbrocks make good torque all over the power band, much better than the GT40Ps they replaced. I don't see why your engine won't make good torque with the right cam and those heads.

BTW how do you like the Edelbrock intake? I'm thinking about picking up a Edelbrock Performer and having the lower ported to replace my GT40.

This car has the Edelbrock Performer RPM II upper and lower intakes and unless you are running good heads and additional displacement over a 302 then I would stick with the Performer RPM intake or a Cobra unit that has been ported.  I lost some bottom end with the RPM II on the 306 but it gained on the top end.  I bought it knowing I would eventually move up in displacement.

Darren

I was thinking of this intake, the Performer 5.0: http://www.summitracing.com/parts/edl-3821/overview/

It turns out that after doing a little research it flows about the same out of the box as a GT40. So I either buy the Edelbrock and have it ported or just get a GT40 lower ported. I think I'll just get another GT40 lower ported as they are easy to find cheap.

If you have a GT40 lower ported may I suggest a person to do it?  He did my old Cobra lower and it made a huge difference and was only $100 plus shipping.

Darren

Tmoss? That's who I was planning on using.

He is the man I was going to refer you to.  Did a fantastic job on the one I had on the car before this Edelbrock.

Darren

Well, I finally figured out that the ATI balancer I bought used was the right one.  It was sooo much longer from the face where the crank pulley mounts to the end of the hub where the crank is inserted than my Motorsport balancer.  I finally figured out that the Motorsport balancer needs a 0.95" long spacer between the face where the crank pulley mounts and the crank pulley.  I bought one for cheap and sure enough now they were the same overall length.  Took me a week but now there are no reservations about installing the ATI.

With that down I decided to port the headers.  Port the headers you say?  I do.  The area I am talking about is where the head  meets the primaries.  These are BBK equal length shorties that I bought years ago due to the cheapo MAC's that I got in another deal were just the pits trying to get them to seal up against the heads.  Anyhow, BBK welded these on the inside to make room for the header bolts and when they did this they must have not had much of a welding procedure or welding inspection because I would have fired a welder off the pipeline for shiznit like this.  Here are some pictures of what I started with and what I ended up with:

Here is the side by side comparison, I had one header completely ported and the other is as is from BBK
(http://i786.photobucket.com/albums/yy142/dbrune_83/IMG_2183.jpg)

Here is the one ported by itself
(http://i786.photobucket.com/albums/yy142/dbrune_83/IMG_2179.jpg)


Its kind hard to see what I am talking about in the first two pictures so I zoomed in and just concentrated the pictures on one port.

Here is the unported picture
(http://i786.photobucket.com/albums/yy142/dbrune_83/IMG_2181-1.jpg)

Here is the ported picture
(http://i786.photobucket.com/albums/yy142/dbrune_83/IMG_2180.jpg)

You can see that there was a pretty good obstruction in each one and the bigger deal is you want a laminar flow in the exhaust to get it out as quick as you can.  Intake ports you want rough so they promote mixing of the air and fuel.  Anyhow, gonna get to work on the other header in the morning and then get them bolted up.  From there its the starter, all the front accessories, and then the flywheel, clutch assembly, and bell housing.

Darren

Very nice


Yea never buy Mac ...... Total

Eh, my cat back on my T-Bird is MAC and I really like the quality of the fit and the sound of the lers.  I had MAC long tubes on it and had no issues with them at all but I have heard others having problems.  I think they are kind of hit and miss.  I read up on the BBK's before I started to cut the welds down and others have had some issues with the py welds and sent theirs back to where they bought them and the second set they received were much better.  I probably would have done the same thing when I bought these but the motor was a 306 with ported DOZZ heads so it was not making a ton of power and it was my daily driver so I needed it on the road and quickly.  Anyhow, about to make my way into the garage and finish the other header.

Darren

Nice work Darren, are those older BBKs or something that's pretty new?
Reason I ask is because I'm going to order some 1515's soon and was idly wondering if the welds on them might be like yours before your "surgery".
It wouldn't matter anyway, I won't be at the power level you're at, but I might just send my intake to TMoss, and I'm going to go with a TFS1 cam.

Anyway, the porting of the headers is something that anyone should think about if they're putting together a really well done engine. Thanks for the tips and pics

Well I got out in the garage this morning and it hit me...wonder what the collector ID on the header is.  Measured them both and right at 2-1/8" on ID.  Searched around on the net and mostly the Corral and found that this is nothing new and that JBA is about the only one with a true or close to 2.5" ID.  I took a black Sharpie and ran a 1/8" thick line around the opening of the collector where the X-Pipe slides on and proceeded to open them up.  I was a bit leery of 2.5" as I wanted to make good and sure these things sealed back up right.  Nothing worse than an exhaust leak....tick, tick, tick...annoying as all hell.  Anyhow, got the one on the header that is already ported at the head side done and figured I would post up some pictures.

Stock BBK collector opening (you can see the black Sharpie outline):
(http://i786.photobucket.com/albums/yy142/dbrune_83/IMG_2185.jpg)

After I marked the lip with a Sharpie and used a 4" grinder to knock the lip off of it. You can see the wide, flat edge that is shiny:
(http://i786.photobucket.com/albums/yy142/dbrune_83/IMG_2186.jpg)

And the finished product measuring 2-3/8" ID.  Not that it will gain me 15 hp or anything but I just could not leave it alone:
(http://i786.photobucket.com/albums/yy142/dbrune_83/IMG_2187.jpg)

Here they are side by side so you can really see the difference:
(http://i786.photobucket.com/albums/yy142/dbrune_83/IMG_2186.jpg)  (http://i786.photobucket.com/albums/yy142/dbrune_83/IMG_2187.jpg)

Darren

I bought these headers over 8 years ago and they are the equal lengths so the part number is a 1512.  Not that the equal lengths really make a  hp wise it was just my uneducated self buying the hype.  If I were to do it again I would just get the unequal length units (1515's) and be done with it other than cleaning up the welds and opening up the collectors.

I would strongly suggest that anyone do this to any power level motor.  Back in the day a full 2.5" exhaust on a stock 5.0 Mustang was worth quite a bit.  The exhaust side on these motors is so restricted that every bit helps.  Plus its kinda fun.

Darren

A little more progress, headers are on and got the lower intake installed this evening.  Should have it dressed out tomorrow and ready to go back in the car...finally.

Header shot:
(http://i786.photobucket.com/albums/yy142/dbrune_83/IMG_2190.jpg)

Lower intake studs installed:
(http://i786.photobucket.com/albums/yy142/dbrune_83/IMG_2196.jpg)

Lower intake installed:
(http://i786.photobucket.com/albums/yy142/dbrune_83/IMG_2201.jpg)  (http://i786.photobucket.com/albums/yy142/dbrune_83/IMG_2199.jpg)

Valve cover studs installed:
(http://i786.photobucket.com/albums/yy142/dbrune_83/IMG_2204.jpg)

Did not install the valve covers yet.  Had to use some solvent to clean the inside of them up and washed them down with some carb cleaner.  Will polish them before they are installed tomorrow, it will be the only time I do it unless they come back off for some reason later down the road...hopefully not.

Darren

Love some motor porn

Nice. I didn't realize that the BBK headers had such bad welds around the ports. The FRPP headers I have are pretty good in that department. I would think that BBK had a machine weld the collectors and not a person but I could be wrong.

Well, I got the valve covers on and the injectors and fuel rails mounted.  The valve covers were nasty and needed some polishing so that pretty much killed a couple of hours but they look a lot better.  Got the ACT and coolant temperature senders in the intake as well as the temperature sending units for the stock gauge and the Autometer gauge.

Valve Cover Gasket:
(http://i786.photobucket.com/albums/yy142/dbrune_83/IMG_2208.jpg)

Valve Covers Installed:
(http://i786.photobucket.com/albums/yy142/dbrune_83/IMG_2211.jpg)

Fuel Injectors and Fuel Rail:
(http://i786.photobucket.com/albums/yy142/dbrune_83/IMG_2212.jpg)

Also took a picture down the intake runner from the top of the lower intake, pretty  good match if you ask me:
(http://i786.photobucket.com/albums/yy142/dbrune_83/IMG_2217.jpg)


Ended up killing a couple more hours today making a positive stop for the piston so I can get the car up on TDC to stab the distributor.  I can post up some pics on this little tool if anyone is interested.  Does not take much to make and works really well.

Darren

Good lookin' mill.
You used the Fel Pro reusable v/c gaskets, I take it? I think they have a steel core in them?
I've got a set to go on one of the 5.0s, both of them need v/c gaskets, oil leakers that they are.

Those gaskets are nice..I'd recommend 'em over about anything else.

I love motor porn

Yes, steel core and very good with regards to leaks.  These were on the car for over five years but I only had about 10,000 miles on it.  Too much work and not enough play time.  They cleaned right up with some brake cleaner on a rag and I let them set overnight to make sure anything they soaked in flashed off.

Darren

Well I got a bit further with getting the flywheel installed, RAM clutch assembly installed, and got the bell housing & clutch fork installed as well.

Center Force flywheel installed:
(http://i786.photobucket.com/albums/yy142/dbrune_83/IMG_2222.jpg)

RAM clutch disc and alignment tool installed:
(http://i786.photobucket.com/albums/yy142/dbrune_83/IMG_2224.jpg)

RAM pressure plate installed:
(http://i786.photobucket.com/albums/yy142/dbrune_83/IMG_2225.jpg)

Clutch fork and RAM throw out bearing installed into bell housing:
(http://i786.photobucket.com/albums/yy142/dbrune_83/IMG_2227.jpg)

Bell housing installed:
(http://i786.photobucket.com/albums/yy142/dbrune_83/IMG_2228.jpg)


I finally was able to locate a timing pointer at Tommie Vaughn Ford (P/N F1TZ-6023-A in case anyone ever needs that) and got it installed and TDC verified on the motor.  I used a positive stop device my dad taught me how to make years ago and the ATI was on the money with TDC.  I painted the edge of the timing pointer and the 10 Degree mark on the balancer white so it would be easier to time the motor.  I have a SCT chip so the tune requires a 10 Degree baseline.

Positive stop device:
(http://i786.photobucket.com/albums/yy142/dbrune_83/IMG_2234.jpg)

Pointer and balancer marked:
(http://i786.photobucket.com/albums/yy142/dbrune_83/IMG_2235.jpg)


Hopefully the weather will cooperate tomorrow and it will be warm enough to open the garage door so I can get the motor put in and then push it back in the garage to install the tranny, clutch cable, drive shaft, exhaust, and shifter.  From there its all engine bay work and installing the hood.

Darren

Lookin' good.
Your tool, made from a hollowed out plug and a piece of all thread?

Very nice

That it is.  Hollow out the plug, drill it with a 5/16" bit, tap it with a 3/8-16 tap (use lots of WD40 or the like and take small steps as it gets tight), a six inch piece of 3/8-16 all thread, and (1) 3/8-16 jam nut.  Works like a champ and costs about $5 if you use an old plug from a recent tune up.

Darren

Last picture post as it is just the installed motor.

(http://i786.photobucket.com/albums/yy142/dbrune_83/IMG_2267_zps7d823399.jpg)

It may be a couple of weeks before I can get it on the dyno and tuned but I will post up the numbers when that happens.

Darren

Nice is that a plate between the intake or just a spacer ?


I should start a thread on my project mustang .......... Just thought I would get kicked out lmfao

Looking good...after the 50+ degree odd January weather day....I needed to look at some engine porn.

Travis

It's a 1" billet spacer to clear the taller valve covers needed to clear the girdles on the valve train. Got it from a machinist on the Corral that makes them himself. Like to buy from car guys if I can. 

Darren

So I wanted to update this thread with the corner's report on my 331.  The motor had a top side ticking noise from day one and I just chalked it up to noisy roller lifters as everyone else on the web was also bitching about the lack of quality in almost every brand of OEM lifter replacement.  What had me miffed it that the cam, lifters, push rods, rockers, and complete heads were off the old 306 and it had no top side noise what so ever.  I adjusted the valves about six times on the Ford Racing lifters and then replaced them with a set of Comp Cams lifters only to find that they too ticked.  It was soon after this I parked the car for over a year as I was just fed up with it and did not have the time to dig into it.

So I pulled the 331 out of the Coupe a little over three months ago and took it to a friend of mine that is a machinist and engine builder.  He remembered the motor as he did all the machining and balancing and I told him to just use it as filler work which usually gets me a better deal being I was not needing it done right then and there.  I am 100% sure he did zilch wrong and I will take the blame for all of this being I assembled the engine. After he tore the motor down and did the autopsy he found that the cam bearing had failed but he was miffed as to what caused it.  It appears that the cam bearing failures were just bad bearings which pretty much did the bulk of the damage.  The bearings failed in a very odd way in that it was the driver side on all of them that kind of smeared and plugged the oil port.  This explains the drop in oil pressure the last couple of months the car was running.  The crank also had enough scarring on the main and rod bearing surfaces that it had to be ground and polished but it was a brand new SCAT crank so it only took a ten/ten grind and polish and it was back to shiny new.  We are attributing the cam bearing material and plugged ports as the cause of the crank scarring.

He checked the distance between the pan and oil pump pick up screen and it was good but he did tell me what that minimum distance was supposed to be and that got clayed when I built it so I knew that was good to go.  He then checked the oil baffle doors in the Canton road race pan and found two of the three were stuck shut due to the hinge mechanism being messed up.  He fixed those and then just put that fix on the other one that worked to make sure it would not have an issue later down the road.  Again, cannot bitch here as this pan was a prototype off of a Maximum Motorsports road race car and I bought it from the guy at MM when he went to a 351W.  He also tore the blue printed oil pump down and it was good to go so he put it back together and put it on his oil pump dyno (this guy builds some cool stuff) and bumped the pressure up a little bit as I did not like that is was at 30 psi at idle.  I am more of a 40 psi idle and 90 psi at 6,000 rpm.  It eats a little hp but I think the added benefit for the long haul is worth loosing a couple ponies.

He then moved to the cam and looked it over and it is good to go but has a little wear on the distributor gear which neither one of us completely understand as I am running a bronze distributor gear like I always do on roller sticks.  So I have researched this a little more and am going to switch to a Crane Cam steel gear as it is compatible with all steel camshaft cores made of either induction hardened or carburized steel.  This will ensure that I have the right gear and it will not wear out like a bronze one.

So we moved up to the lifters and he did not like how large the oil passage was on the Comp Cam lifters so I boxed them up and they are going back to Comp to see if they machined them incorrectly.  What directed him to look at the oil passage was the fact that with the valve covers off and just priming the motor with a drill the top side of the heads were just getting flooded with oil.  I brought him the Ford Racing lifters I built the motor with and after some examination he requested new ones as those had excessive wear.  These came out of the 306 before this 331 so they did have about 16,000 miles on them but still that seemed a short life.  I did a little research on lifters and found out that Ford redesigned their OEM style lifter a few years ago and they were now good to 6,400 rpm.  I ordered a set of these (P/N M-6500-R302H) and he liked them so they got installed.

Now that he had the short block done and the cam and lifters installed he moved to the heads and looked them over.  Everything looked good so he just lapped the valves and seats and put them together.  Upon assembling them he found that the roller rockers (Crane Energizer 1.6's) were hitting the spring retainer but just a fuzz so he machined all 16 of the rockers.  Interesting thing is they already had reliefs but we attributed the contact to using the Manley Titanium retainers as they appear to be just a fuzz larger in diameter than stockers.  Now that the heads were assembled those got installed onto the block with FelPro gaskets and ARP studs.  Now came the critical part that I suspected was the main culprit in my top end noise and that was the push rods.  Sure as shiznit my stock Ford Racing units were 6.250" long and I needed 6.1" length...I patterned those  things when I built it but evidently missed it.  Lesson learned here was to ask him for a pair of solid roller lifters to put in my tool box and toss the old hydraulic ones I had that were tack welded.  You have to measure push rod length with solid rollers as the hydraulic ones are not pumped up.  Ended up getting TrickFlo pushrods as they were the only brand name I recognized that were in stock at Summitt and had them drop shipped.

So now he was up to installing the intake and the one he had would not fit between my Edelbrock Performer RPM heads and he was swearing up and down my head were milled.  Nope, stock Edelbrock Performer RPM lower bolts up as well as my buddies Vic Jr. so that was another weird deal but we used the Vic Jr on the dyno.  He used a 650 CFM Holley for the carburetor and I borrowed a buddy's stock '85 Mustang distributor for the dyno session.  Found out later that it was another customer's Parker intake (I know this guy and he offered to let us use the intake) that was brand new and evidently you have to mill them to fit but I an not sure about that.

First whack at the dyno and the motor made 402fwhp / 368 ft-lbs of torque.  He did a little tuning on the carb and ran it again, made 452 fwhp / 410 ft-lbs of torque.  He said it has more but didn't want to mess with it being its an injected motor.  Hoping to get it back in the car in the next couple of months and get it dyno tuned.  I'll post up the final numbers when I get that done.

Nice numbers. Always fun to play with a 3 dimensional jigsaw puzzle...can't wait to see the pics, Darren.

Aerocoupe- sounds like the 5.0 I  just built for the Turbo Coupe. For awhile I was calling it the motor from hell. Found the first problem after the machine shop when I had the motor together and was pre-lubing it. Wasn't getting oil to the rockers and was hearing a gurgling sound. Started looking around and found a missing galley plug behind the distributor shaft. Tore it all back down and back to the machine shop it went. They were "very sorry", installed a new plug and gave me new gaskets. Back to assembly. Got the motor put back together and in the car, clutch, pressure plate, trans installed. It's a tight fit with equal length shortie headers. Put a 1/4 in spacer under the mounts so the Hamburger oil pan would clear the steering rack. Next morning found a puddle of oil under the rear of the motor. Pulled everything off and found a dent in the gasket the machine shop gave me. Motor back out. Replace the gasket. Motor back in. Got everything hooked up, all fluids in. Tried to start it and it wouldn't fire. Found a bad wire between the TFI and coil. Tried to fire it and it started real ragged. Shut it down. Found a bad coil wire- new MSD 8.5's. Started it again. Messed up idle but it was running. Then I saw the distributor turn towards the A/C bracket and car stalled. WTF! Yes the clamp was tight. Pulled the distributor and found the shaft had seized. A new MSD Pro Billet distributor. Put the stock one back in. Car started and after it warmed up had a descent idle, no leaks. Car ran for an hour and decided to take it for a test run. My new power steering pump was making a milkshake out of the oil but drove it anyway. Test drive was a success. My buddy took it for a drive and it quit running 100yds from his shop. towed it back. Found out that the new Quantum 255lph pump quit. Replaced the power steering pump, installed a new Walbro 255lph pump. MSD repaired or replaced the distributor, should have it back today. Car is running pretty good- 14* timing, 40lb fuel pressure, idle at 900. Car has 62 miles on it now- street and freeway- no problems. I'll take it to the dyno after break in. It's a trip to drive.

Holy shiznit man, fortunately I spent the $$ on a dyno run after the motor was built so it should go in the hole once and that should be it.  Glad you got it going and remember to spin that oil filter off and put a new one on with the break in oil in the motor.  Change the oil completely at 500 miles and then again 1,000 miles later before going on your normal oil change routine.  At least that is the way I have done all my motors and had good luck and it makes me feel better so that is worth the $10.  Also, when you spin the oil filter off cut it apart and inspect it for any kind of metal or bearing material.  You will get some very fine stuff but that is just break in so what I am talking about is flakes.

So I was gonna stab the motor this past weekend but ran into a couple snags that I should have caught and bought parts prior to doing to the work but I am in idiot.  Evidently my clutch disc is done in that it has less than 1/16" of material left on it.  I could have sworn it had less than 10,000 miles on it but when I did some investigating it is evidently the clutch I put in the car in 2007/2008...yeah, ten years man.  Guessing it has about 30,000 miles on it and that is about all I get out of a clutch as I drive the car pretty hard.  So a new RAM Powergrip Performance clutch set is on its way to the house and holy shiznit I forgot how much clutches cost.

I could have stabbed the motor in the hole and put the clutch on under the car but why.  I like to put the motor in with the flywheel, clutch set, and bell housing on so all I have to do is stab the trans and install the trans cross member and the heavy lifting  is over with.  That an I am not on a deadline and its F'n cold here so its not like I am going to drive it much anyhow.

I did manage to pull the torque arm out and get it all cleaned up (leaking pinion seal).  I then moved on to the culprit of the messy torque arm and that was not as bad as I thought it would be.  Busted the pinion nut loose via impact and the pinion  came off with hardly any effort from a couple of pry bars.  One thing I did not know and wanted to pass on is that there is a plastic shield of some sort (guessing dust or debris protection) that can be removed by gently prying it off.  This helped cleaning up the  as it was kinda messy and had caked on dirt here and there.  I also ran a tap down through all the holes and cleaned those up.  You can see the grey plastic piece I am talking about here:

https://lmr.com/item/LRS-4851A/86-04-Mustang-Rear-Axle-To-Driveshaft-Pinion-

Installed the new seal (pain in the ass under the car with the cat back exhaust still in there), slid the cleaned up pinion  back on and torqued the pinion nut to 125 ft-lb.  I also have a Ratech solid pinion bearing spacer so no crush sleeve which makes this a lot easier.

Greased up the torque arm forward pivot assembly and started the process of reinstalling the torque arm.  About the only thing that is difficult is getting the nose of the rear end back down to install the bolts that pass through the rear end where the old "dog bone" vibration damper mounted.  I have no UCA's on the car as the torque arm and panhard bar control and locate the rear end.  When you unbolt the torque arm the rear end rolls upward (always a little unnerving) so you have to rotate the nose back down to bolt it up which sets your pinion angle.

So basically that is where it sits...waiting on a clutch assembly that I should have known I needed and had ordered a month or so ago.  I am going to call the guys that tuned it and see if they can flash the chip with the numbers off the engine dyno so I can drive it around and get 500-1,000 miles on it to break the clutch in before putting it on the chassis dyno and beating on it.

Happy New Years!!

Yours has been more of a challenge than mine has. Was that 5 years in between? I've got 30 weight in it for break-in and a Mobil 1 filter. When I hit 500 miles I'll change the oil back to Mobil 1 5-30 and Archoil friction modifier for another 500 miles. Thanks for the tip on the oil filter. Also thought about sending the oil in to be tested. The motor has 200 miles on it now.
Got my distributor back from MSD. Put it back in the motor last week. Car started fine, idles a little rough when shes cold. Got it up to 180* and suddenly the distributor made a left turn again, killed the motor. WTF!! Have it idling 850-900. Called MSD and they want pictures of it and the gear. Told them I would not put it back in my car. Pulled the distributor AGAIN. With the way I rack my wires this is a real pain. Put the stock one back in- now the car won't start! Maybe it's 180 out? Tried that and it didn't work so I pulled it out, turned the motor over and reinstalled it, didn't start. Slowly closed the hood, thought about the fire axe in my shed, went back in the house. How hard is it to replace a distributor?
A couple of days later a friend came over, brought his remote starter switch. Turned the key on and he hit the switch, car started immediately! Set the timing at 14*. Shut it off, started it with the key and she started right up. We did nothing to it but connect the switch. Went in the house, changed shirts, put a hat on, went back out to the car, put the key in and she started right up. That time of the month? At this time I haven't heard back from MSD. If you try and turn the shaft it binds in one area. If you push up on the shaft it binds immediately. This is when it's cold. Running and hot it must bind immediately.
I'm running the Ford Racing billet flywheel, Centerforce II clutch and pressure plate. Good clutches are not cheap. This one ran me a little over $400 from Summit. So far I like it. A little stiff but grabs hard. Got a new clutch cable because mine is making noise. Knew I should of changed it when I had it apart. One more thing?
While I was replacing parts I also changed the "U" joints. Installed MOOG/Precision 270. I still have the stock rear suspension but I replaced the upper and lower control arms with the CHE non-adjustable ones. The combination of those and the new frame connectors really stiffened up the ride. No lean and no wheel hop.
I'm a little disappointed in the gas tank I got from RockAuto. If it's got 1/2 a tank the fuel sloshes when you launch. My fuel gauge moves. (I'm using the Tanks Inc sending unit). Checked the old tank and the baffle around the pump is 3 times as large. The baffle in the Spectre tank looks like a bowl. Might see about getting the old tank boiled out and inside coated.
The shop I'm taking it to for the dyno just moved and haven't got the dyno set up yet. I want at least 500 miles on it before I take it in. The guy running it used to work for Shelby here in town so he should know what he's doing. I just want a good running car with good street manners. I added up my parts list on this rebuild- $11,395. Just parts, only labor is the machine shop.
Here's a picture of the Centerforce II pressure plate.

The MSD distributors are known issues. Run a stock Motorcraft unit. It's fine. I still run the stock Motorcraft distributor in my car.

Clutch assembly came in over the New Years holiday and looks a lot better than the old one.  Ended up searching for a SCT tuner closer than 11 hours from me and found on in the DFW area that is highly recommended so I called and talked to the tuner.  Good guy and they pretty much keep a two to three week back log of tuning.  He has several EEC-IV customers so he is very familiar with the platform.  It will be a few weeks before I get the motor in as the Chili Bowl starts next week and that pretty much consumes my time for that week.  Hopefully I will get time the weekend of the 19th to get it all put back together and fired up.  Need to get 500-1000 miles on the clutch before I put it on a dyno.

Had my fill of them. Right now I'm running a stock distributor with no problems. I'll probably buy a new one and replace my 30yr old.

If I was going to replace my stock style distributor this would be the unit I would go with:

https://lmr.com/item/PDI-18457/1986-93-Mustang-50L-Billet-Distributor

Video on the distributor here that covers components and installation:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QLgJOlIUfCk

It is made by Performance Distributors and can be had from their site a little cheaper:

http://performancedistributors.com/product/ford-hot-forged-dui-distributors/

They used to make a stock unit with a oil impregnated bronze bushing which is what I have in my car now.  I paid $200 for it back in 2007 but it appears they no longer make it and have moved to this newer style one which looks good in my opinion.  My guess is the one I have will last until the car leaves my cold dead hands as its been flawless since day one.  I do have a Motorcraft TFI module on it and noticed that LMR still sells them.

Thanks for the information. I'll see what they have. With mine being old just worried about high RPM issues. I'm not going back to MSD. Still haven't heard back from them.

Got the motor and trans back in the car and all of the accessory items back on the front of the motor.  Lack the cooling system, installing the shifter boot, and putting the center console back together.  Hoping to get back on it next weekend as this week is the Chili Bowl and it started last night and goes to Sat evening.  Ahh the smell of methanol and dust in the air with a cold beer in my hand and 8 to 24 400+hp four cylinder mini sprints twisting 8 to 9 grand is bleeping awesome!

http://www.chilibowl.com

Buttoned the car up this weekend and the motor fired off on the first lick but that was expected being it was on an engine dyno at the engine builder's shop.  Was way too far advanced (28 deg) so I bumped it down to 10 deg initial (SCT chip is set up for this) and let it heat up and cycle the coolant in the motor.  No leaks and it sounds pretty healthy.  Now to put some miles on the new clutch so I can get it to the dyno for tuning.

Can’t wait to see some chassis dyno numbers. Any predictions?

Post a video of the dyno run :D

Motor made 452 flywheel hp and was not 100% dialed in as we were borrowing a single plane intake and a Holley DP so there was no benefit in spending a lot of time tweaking.  I am hoping for anything north of 400 rwhp with a big fat curve will work for me.  A dyno video will be a definite.  Will be  couple months as the car is 3 hours from me at my dad's shop (no room at my house currently and the tuner is closer to my dad's than my house by two hours) and I need to put some miles on the new clutch before a dyno run.