351 Windsor Swap

I think if you stay under 11:1 you should be good and able to still run some pretty good timing. We only have 91 Octane here and I run 10.5:1 with a base of 12 and total 32 degrees timing.

 

I would stay around 10.5-1 compression ratio for pump gas. I'm actually running the same pistons in my Windsor the only difference is that mine are .040 over. If I remember correctly the guy that did all of my machine work measured the dish in them and it was 10cc

 

You will also need to measure how far in the bore the piston is a TDC to get an accurate measure of compression ratio. Then add all this together with chamber volume/gasket thickness/amount of ccs' to the dished pistons etc...

 

Yes... I need to buy or borrow a tool to measure that with. That and other things. I don't think "damn near flush with the deck" is the kind of answer you're looking for, is it? That's all I've got right now...



So I tore the engine down much further tonight. No surprises so far, good or bad. Everything on the inside is very clean. Everything on the outside is incredibly nasty. I still don't know what sort of cam it has because I couldn't get the balancer off. Broke my puller! So the timing cover is ready to come off as soon as I can pull the balancer, and then I can look at the cam.

I got to looking at that timing cover though and started wondering, is there any reason I can't just drill out the spot for the dipstick tube? I would love to have this engine mostly put together before I start ripping into the car, and it would help if I don't have to swap covers.

Think I'm going to need a new balancer, might just buy one instead of trying to trade with the 302.

Let's see, what else...

I bought a bunch of $#!+ from Summit today! Headers, steering bracket, mufflers, and a full Ford Racing gasket set. (Which I think is all Felpro. I may or may not use the head gaskets in that kit, but I'll use most everything else...)

Sprayed the engine down with Purple Power, going to let that sit a while. I intend to clean and paint this thing but "daunting" is just not even the word for the task ahead of me. Somebody please tell me you have some secrets for this. I was thinking about maybe hosing it down with brake cleaner?

 

when i get a grease ball motor. i will take it to the do it your self spray car wash first. you now have it pretty torn down so that may not be such a good idea. if you do take it you will want to get it back to a compressed air source to blow dry all the inner surfaces.

 

im running 11.5-1 compression on my motor. i use 91 octane. 34 degrees of timing at 3500rpm. the guy who dynoed my motor told me my heads were too restrictive to allow enough air in to cause detination. my heads are some stock heads that are ported and have biger valves put into them. so dont be too scared of the compression ratio if you are not puting on some really good flowing heads.

 

This thing was very obviously running rich. Spark plugs, heads and a piston tops are quite sooty. Should I even bother trying to clean that off or won't it just burn itself away after I get it tuned right?

 

So what headers did you decide to get?

 

Did you remove the center bolt that holds the balancer to the crank?

 

I did, but thanks for asking. I easily could have made a mistake like that. I am by no means experienced at this level of engine work. I've only been this deep into SBC's.

The problem's pretty much about one in six times I buy a cheap Chinese tool it breaks violently, so it really is like Russian roulette. I would buy better tools, but I need that excitement in my life.

Got the Summit G9031's. One guy's telling me those fit with a little bit of caressing the firewall, and another is saying he installed Hedman 88300's with no problem by notching the area under the towers a bit...






...and since both of those sets of headers look pretty much identical, I figure it's a safe bet one of those methods is going to work for me. I opted for the smaller ones just because I think they'll give me less trouble. But if I ever get heads that can use the bigger tubes then I'll know I can probably drop in a set of 88300's when it's all done.

 

Got the engine cleaned up really well, ready for paint! Purple Power, Goo Gone, wire brushes, scrub pads and terry rags teamed up and took care of business. I then blew out every corner and passage I could reach with compressed air, and shot everything liberally with WD40. (Water Displacer, I figured, ought to do a reasonable job of driving out water and keeping moisture off...)

And I got the cam out, but I see no way I can identify it. I can find no marks anywhere.

 

Oh, decisions decisions... Ford Blue? Ah, but which Ford Blue? And should I paint the intake blue as well? Oh but wouldn't the whole thing look so nice in bright silver? I could see the leaks better... Or how about yellow? But then I'd see all the leaks. And what a pain to keep clean! Red? No, people have given me enough hell about the HEI distributor so I sure wouldn't want people to think it's Chevy Orange. Cast Iron? No, too plain. Try to match body color? Eh, no... Black? My engine already disappears into a snake's nest of AC lines, brackets, pumps, boosters, compressors and other very useful but not very pretty things, so no. I want it contrast with the black that's going to be all around it, not blend in...


Bah.


Hey I figured out how I'm going to measure the dish in my pistons. I'll just use a medicine dropper and see how many CCs of liquid it takes to fill the dish.

 

Use alcohol, or oil in your dropper, something with low surface tension.

 

Good point. I was wondering what would be better than water for that, and now you have answered.

 

Distributor and coil bought. You folks who were giving me hell over that GM style HEI distributor can rest easy now...

Scored one of these:

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/ACC-52204/

(Certified pre-owned, of course) along with the obligatory Accel Super Stock coil. Will be using the yellow Accel wires too.

I've decided to go a little understated with this, since I have an opportunity to completely change the look of my engine compartment. I don't want anything showing that wouldn't have been under the hood of mild hotrod in the 70's-80's. So, some things are going to get a more factory look than they have currently, (like painted blue intake, satin black accessories and brackets, appropriate factory decals, and I have something in mind for the breather) while others (like the all-Accel ignition and the odd bit of chrome) will be common period-correct mods. We'll see how that works out.

Think like Joe Dirt's engine compartment. (Well, his current one. I think.) Russ I'm not going to copy you directly, but I will admit you have inspired me greatly.