Stuart Wall
Member
Hello all. I followed a link here that promised to be interesting. Now that I am here, I got some exploring to do!
New From Oregon
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Stuart Wall
Member
I have a 74 Comet with small bumpers and a 302. I am building a very low budget, non HO roller motor that came with stock pistons that are about .020 out of the bore. I am planning to use iron gt40 heads and a HO cam. All these pieces came out of Pick and Pull yards. I am constructing the true junkyard 302. Lol....I do more reading than building, but I did a little grinding on the heads. It is all 1st time stuff for me. I am trying to make the best engine I can out of junk and about 700 bucks. If I actually build something nice, I will have made all my mistakes on this one!
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Stuart Wall
Member
Well, after wandering around a bit, I see blue motors are.....ahem...not so much on the menu, lol. I do need to say though that the knowledge base in here seems to be quite extensive and detailed. Anyone can learn stuff in here. Thanks for letting me take a peek.
the main reason, FORD , Buick, caddy, AMC,pontiac, and Mopar are getting less discussion time,
is mostly related too the fact that fewer of the members bring up or are involved with those projects,
and yeah, I build far more Mopar, chevy and Pontiac engines than the other brands ,
simply because of thats what's more popular, in this area.
if more caddy or fords were being built we would spend more time on related subject matters
is mostly related too the fact that fewer of the members bring up or are involved with those projects,
and yeah, I build far more Mopar, chevy and Pontiac engines than the other brands ,
simply because of thats what's more popular, in this area.
if more caddy or fords were being built we would spend more time on related subject matters
Stuart Wall
Member
That makes perfect sense.....and I have to say that Pontiac crankshafts are an impressive sight. And now that you mention it, I can be knee deep in Windsor motors any day of the week, Chevys are not scarce, but the rest have to be hunted. I never really thought about availability determining choices as much as preference. I have a Ford only because it fit my criteria.....Pre 75 (for not requiring smog inspection), small v-8, light body. I knew nothing of Fords until this one and research has been my friend. The internet makes so much more possible for me than I would be able to do without it.
I really like a few ford engines, I like the 429/460 engines,
and I grew up with several guys,
that thought the ford 390=428 engines were great,
both guys owned 1966-67 fairlanes with 390 engines I rebuilt
I always thought the 1967 Fairlane two door car, looked darn nice
and AC, cobras
and some 1969-70
the shelby mustangs
looked darn nice.
and I grew up with several guys,
that thought the ford 390=428 engines were great,
both guys owned 1966-67 fairlanes with 390 engines I rebuilt
I always thought the 1967 Fairlane two door car, looked darn nice
and AC, cobras
and some 1969-70
the shelby mustangs
looked darn nice.
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Night_Stalker
Well-Known Member
Welcome !
Had various Fords back in the day.
Had various Fords back in the day.
Loves302Chevy
"One test is worth a thousand expert opinions."
Welcome. .020" out of the bore? Is that correct?
Stuart Wall
Member
It is very strange and goes against all my research, but I put every piston at the top of its stroke using a dial indicator, measured with a straight edge across piston top and feeler gauge underneath, and one whole bank is .020 out of the hole. The other whole bank is .015 out of the hole. I bought one .055 compressed thickness gasket and one .050 gasket. Will get .035 quench and close to 9.95:1 static compression. I cut valve reliefs in all the pistons as there were a few small intake valve dents with the stock low lift low duration cam. I know I should of had all the machine work done to correct this, but the point was to see how well it could run with only good "junk" parts. I put in a stock HO cam and am going to check PTV clearance next just to be sure, and to know if 1.7 rockers can happen down the road.....if I stumble on them.....if it actually runs that long.
Stuart Wall
Member
BTW, thank-you all for the welcome.
Unforgiven
solid fixture here in the forum
Welcome from Michigan. Yes... that is very odd that the pistons are out of the hole that much. I can see them being down in the hole that much.. but WOW! I'm not a Ford guy, but that sounds like the block was decked quite a bit.
Loves302Chevy
"One test is worth a thousand expert opinions."
You made the right move by correcting with the different thickness head gaskets.
Why would you want to machine the decks even further?
If your deck surfaces were over-machined, then you can expect your valvetrain geometry to be off.
You will probably need different than stock length pushrods. Measure everything - don't assume.
Why would you want to machine the decks even further?
If your deck surfaces were over-machined, then you can expect your valvetrain geometry to be off.
You will probably need different than stock length pushrods. Measure everything - don't assume.
Stuart Wall
Member
Lol....valve train will need some attention for sure. I have never owned a dial indicator until about 8 weeks ago. I bought a degree wheel too. I was determined to better understand valve timing events....fascinating stuff, but only valuable when it yields real world results? so the learning curve will be hard to catch. I am wondering.....Should I start a thread about this thing somewhere? My motor is truly made of junkyard parts/used parts, and while I am striving to assemble it as correctly as I can, I am sure it falls short of most acceptable standards. If this will not cause a rift in the engine force, I would be happy to tell all....and learn some things.