351 Windsor Swap

That was certainly my rationale in doing it. I already think it was worth it just because I have something different under the hood that's not supposed to be there, and it looks like it was made for it. How many Mavericks have a 351w, with headers, and AC, and power brakes, power steering and it all looks like it could be stock? I'm very happy with the way the engine compartment turned out after I got it all in there. Shock towers look unmodified, yet I can reach the plugs easily. And I haven't put the hood on yet but I really believe that breather is going to fit. Yes, it's crammed. Unbelievably crammed, even more than before. It's a shame I spent so much time making that engine look so good outside of the car and now you can barely see it, but the details that aren't immediately obvious really make the whole thing I think. The more you look, the more it just looks right. In my opinion.

 

Went home for lunch and couldn't help myself. I got to work. Hood is back on, fluids are topped off except for one quart in the trans, the timing is set... I need to put the grille back on, top off the trans, tighten down the distributor and deal with a little fuel drip that refuses to go away, and then I can drive. Oh, man does this thing sound mean. I can hardly wait.

I might also have to replace the coil wire, because the thing about put me on my knees twice when I touched it. It's an Accel coil which is bad enough, but then you push an MSD through it...

Hey, is it alright to put teflon tape on a compression fitting? That is all I can think of to do about this leak. I have it as tight as it will go without breaking something and there's still just a little drip every few seconds...

Oh, and the breather fits.

 

Where's the video ?????

 

I need to find the camera. Will make that a priority when I get home...

 

I've had to use the teflon tape on a compression fitting before myself for the same reason. It may not be right, but it works. I know you're itching to drive it! I sure would be! Good job!

 

You know it, man. I am trying to make myself do this right and not jump the gun. Not going to drive it with the trans a quart low, not going to drive with even the smallest fuel leak, had to get the timing right, make sure the temperature can self-regulate... It's killing me. I want to get in that thing and stab the pedal so bad, but if I know me I'll have my radio presets and the clock set again before I even move it out of the garage. Oh, also need to fill my AC...

 

I'm glad to see all the progress you have made, Its going to be a nice ride again... can't wait to see the video....

 

First drive! It went well. But there are some bugs to work out...

1. Oil pressure is not what I'm used to at all. It seems to follow the tach almost - about 20 pounds at 2,000 RPM, and very low at idle. I know that's not catastrophic, but I don't like it one bit. There's surely air in the line to the gauge, so I'll bleed that, but I suspect the real problem is the oil. I thought I picked up a jug of Mobil 5000 10w30, but I noticed it's actually 5w30. That's probably quite thin for this engine.

2. It's popping and missing when I try to get on it. That could be the carb, but more likely the coil, distributor, or some other untested ignition component. I know the coil wire fried my hand a couple of times, so maybe that's to blame. Or I remember once I wired the pickup to the MSD with reverse polarity on the old HEI, and it ran awful. Could be that. Whatever it is I think I can fix it with some tinkering.

3. I have got to get the suspension raised up some. Front and back. I'm scraping the exhaust on speed bumps and the tires are tucked quite a bit more than the should be up front.


Overall though, for those to be my only problems, I think it's worked out ok so far. It's nothing I can't deal with.


Too dark for video right now though, and we've got some weather coming in. Plus I never did find the camera. But I do have this at least:

 

that is one very full engine bay. And it looks like its all meant to be in there. Great work. Just a little tuning and you are done. Change the coil wire then I would first check the firing order plug routing. Even thoug hIve done it many times it never fails that i mix up a couple wires when starting up a new build. then double check your timing and make sure the advance is working.

 

Hopefully the oil pressure isnt a big deal. Good luck with the rest of it... you know how much I hate electrical crap.

 

That kind of stuff doesn't bother me, I'm sure I'll get it resolved. I have another coil I can try, I can get another coil wire, and swapping the polarity on the pickup is nothing. Just need to do those things one at a time until it's right.

As for the oil pressure, I've been reading about that. Apparently Mobil 5w30 is particularly thin. Came up with a few discussions about it on various forums, and the consensus seems to be that Mobil is coasting on its old reputation, their oil ain't what it used to be and that grade is singled out specifically as being bad. So I'll put some good old Castrol, Valvoline or maybe Shell Rotella in there before I run it again. Non-synthetic; nothing leaks on this engine yet and I'd like to keep it that way.

 

That looks awesome!! Very nice work!! Next project, is to ditch that nasty York compressor, and replace it with a Sanden.

 

Alright, so between going to work and spending last weekend with my family, progress had halted for the past two weeks on this 99.5% completed project. I am getting tired of watching this car collect dust. I've many times gone out to the garage and just looked at the engine and grinned, and while I am incredibly pleased with the way it looks, this is a car, not a sculpture, and it will return to service this weekend! The Kidnapper Van was never intended to be a daily driver and It Must Stop.

To Do:

1. Get that damned pisswater Mobil 5w30 out of there, replace it with a properly manly grade of Castrol and a bit of Lucas, and hope to God the oil pressure goes back to normal.

2. Replace the 2" lowering blocks in the back with 1" and see if that gets the mufflers up enough. If it doesn't, reconfigure the leaf pack. (I need the blocks for brake clearance.)

3. Fix the bracket for the power steering ram. I thought I could get by with just two bolts on that instead of three; headers made it difficult to put the third one on. Turns out I can't do that. The ram snatched it off the frame rail, so I need to repair it. I might have to weld the bracket on.

4. Coil springs. Between the AC, the new tires, the new engine and the Shelby drop, my front end has gone from what I considered to be a perfect lowered stance to something absurd. There's about 1.5" of shock travel left and the tires are sunk deep into the fenders. It's almost like I have no springs at all. Can't drive like that. So I'm going to Pull-A-Part and getting a couple of pairs of coils to experiment with. There's a Monarch out there I've got my eye on... I figure since Mavs share suspension with those cars and they're heavier, it would be a good place to start. I'll also grab some Mustang springs since I know they fit. I don't want to waste the money on brand new springs when I don't know for sure what's going to fit right and support the weight, and I stand a good chance of ruining them when I bring out the angle grinder.

5. Tweak the ignition system. I will replace the coil wire first just because it's a hazard and I like to maintain bowel control when I'm touching things under the hood, but the more I think about it the more I believe the timing might be too advanced. I have verified the pickup is wired right and my Accel coil is listed on MSD's compatibility chart. What I'm thinking is the MSD box is screwing around with the timing light. I was able to set it at 10* BTDC initial, but when I tried to dial it in at 3k RPM the timing mark was flashing around all over the place. I THOUGHT I got that right, but I can't really be sure. I'm just going to back it off some and see what that does if the coil wire doesn't get it.

 

HAHA I tried the same thing when I first pu tmy headers on. Two bolts should hold that silly bracket right? Ripped the nits right out of the frame. I had it welded on, twice, and then removed power steering all togethor. Make sure you clean and weld it real GOOD. I had 2 differetn people wel mine back on and broke off both times. If there is any way to get that third bolt in the side I say you should do it.

If your timing is bouncing around at 3000 rpm it isn't because of the MSD box. Maybe the breaker plate on the distributor is worn out and loose. I have seen this even on newly remanufactured dist. Are you running points or a duraspark? May be able to use a dwell meter to make sure the distributor is good.

I run an MSD box and MSD distributor. I can hold the timing light and increase the rpms and just watch the timing advance nice and smooth until the mechanical advance is maxed out. Oh.. Maybe try unplugging the vacuum and watch the timing advance and see if it still bounces around with and without vacuum to help eliminate that part as a problem. then if its still bouncing around the problem is in the mechanical advance and breaker plate.

 

Interesting. I wouldn't even begin to know how to check out the internals on this thing though. What should I look for? Know anything about the Accel Street Billet distributors?

As for that bracket... Argh. I don't know how the hell I'm going to get that third bolt in. Unless maybe I tap threads into the bracket or something.