Hey all, awhile ago I was lurking here, asking questions occasionally... stopped posting about the time I got my motor pulled... took a few pics during the process, but not as many as I would have liked...

I've got a few questions, but I figure I might as well share what I've done to my poor old ford before I ask, so here goes.

300 inline 6

Bored 30
Silvolite 1170 pistons
comp cams 260H
.0020 off the head to flatten it
fresh rings, bearings, all that
balanced
new valves, springs


Probably some other stuff I'm forgetting, but it's been a long process...

pics follow.

 

As you can see, I changed my mind on the colors after I painted the valve cover... found some high-temp dark ford blue, and decided to go black with a blue rod and valve cover...

This is my first engine build, so if I've missed anything that's glaringly obvious, please say something.

And yes, the head has fresh valves right now, but they are not oversized, and I have done no porting... it's getting too late in the year around here to have that much machined steel exposed to the elements.

Anyways, I'll be putting questions in here as the day goes on probably... just finishing painting up the brackets and stuff right now...

My main concern at the moment is the fact that I'm not able to rotate the engine via the harmonic balancer bolt... no spark plugs, so it's not due to compression, but the head is on and the rockers are torqued down... any thoughts? Also, I'm gonna need to get it to tdc so I can put the distributor in... might have to drop it back in the truck first though, so I can turn it with the starter?

 

If you can't rotate the engine with the plugs removed don't go any farther!!!

Did you check your bearing clearances on the main and rod bearings? How about your piston to cylinder clearances? Piston ring end gaps? And did you use any assembly lube when you assembled the engine? Did you apply any lube on the camshaft when you installed it?

What machine work was done to the block ( besides boring .030" over ) ?


When I assemble an engine I make sure the crank rotates smoothly after it's installed. And do the same thing after I install each rod and piston. And then also after the cam is installed.

 

your paint job is reverse of mine, which is dark ford blue with semi-gloss black valve cover, pushrod cover, and oil pan.

as far as turning the engine over, what assembly lube did you use? If you cant turn it over with a breaker bar, I would slowly disassemble until you find out why. if its something important (like insufficient ring gap) it could be devastating, and ultimately more expensive, if it gets spun via starter.

 

Everything is fully lubed, it's been about a month since I begin the assembly though... during assembly it became stiffer and stiffer with each piston I dropped in, expected this due to fresh rings. got to the point (piston 4) where I couldn't hand rotate it with the harmonic balancer... had to wait a couple of weeks for the harmonic balancer bolt to come in (lost the old one, ordered a new one from ford)

While I was waiting, I put the head, and most of the other stuff on...

How stiff should a motor be that's freshly put together? Dont have a breaker bar, been using a (small) jack handle slipped over a ratchet to try and get enough leverage, while a friend kept the engine stand from rotating... could it just be a matter of insufficient leverage?

 

Ok, just broke a ratchet trying to get it to turn... head bolts are coming out

head is off, still no turny.... after I finish pulling my hair out, I guess I pull the oil pan next

 

The rotating assembly should turn over smoothly and easily. Especially with the spark plugs out or the head removed. If you can't turn it over with a ratchet you've got problems.

Did you check any of your bearing clearances, piston to cylinder clearance or piston ring gap???????

If you don't have enough bearing clearance it's like you clamping everything together solid. Same with with your piston to cylinder clearance and piston ring end gaps.

 

I plasti-gaged everything during assembly... but since I've pulled the head and oil pans, (and 2 pistons, still no rotation) I may as well loosen everything up and try again?

If I can get rotation with mains and rods a bit loose, then I know where the problem lies... can tighten things down in sequence and maybe find the problem without pulling the entire thing apart... right?

shouldnt be the pistons, gapped the rings during assembly... afaik I did everything possible to ensure success, my friend was telling me I was acting like a honda tech...

*edit*

loosened rod bolts a turn each and have nice easy rotation... now to tighten em 1 by 1 and figure out what's up...
hmm... number 3 rod stops the crankshaft... maybe got 1 pair of undersize bearings? plastigage will tell... tomorrow.

 

I love using STP to cover pistons b/f installing. Slimey, but it works.

One thing that could cause problems: Those studs you are using instead of head bolts. Unless you told your machinist you were using them, and he bolted a 2" think piece of steel into place where the head sits when he bored it, then those studs could tweak your bore(s) and cause your rings to not seat properly. Studs will pull more torque than bolts. If I were you I would use bolts. You can buy new ones at headboltsdot com.

Did you wash the block with soapy water and run bottle brushes through all the oil passages, then blow dry and spray with WD40? Did you replace the rod bolts? If not, and one of the nuts is upside down from how it was for untold years, the threads being pulled one way for thousands of hours, and now it is being pulled the opposite way, sometimes the nuts strip and you find them in the oil pan, and other parts of engine in other places. Hopefully you had the rods reconditioned?

If it were me, I would pull it all apart and take the rods and crank to a machinist and have him mich them to know that all the machine that was supposed to have gotten done got done, and that Julio did not miss one journal. Minor expenses now are a LOT easier and cheaper to pay for now. If ignored they tend to grow by adding zeros to their price tag. I know that is not what you want to hear, but I burned one engine before I learned that $1200 lesson, amigo.

 

Yup... did all that... first build, but lots of research...

Machinist I took it to has a very good reputation, I'm pretty sure he's got it all done right, but I'm sure it wouldnt hurt to check.

Number 3 rod is the culprit, micrometer time tomorrow

 

I'd like to hear your thoughts on the cam once she's runnin I went with the 268 and absolutely love it

 

Ok, it's facepalm time...

I pulled 3 pistons before I figured it out.

I put the rod caps on backwards.

All 6 of them.

 

That is a really nice cam. Did you use the Comp Cams recommended v.springs for that cam? new keepers and retainers?

I think you'll have a very nice engine when you're finished. However, to see a bit more of the potential for the cam, I wish you would of ported that head a bit.

If you need a stud kit for the intake/exhaust, and/or the heating plate for the bottom of the Offy, then contact truckmeblue.com.

 

Porting and valves are planned for next dryish season... building it in the carport, and im in oregon. If I wait to port/valve i'll end up with a pile of scrap...

 

Need studs for intake definately... but its a clifford... 70$ w/ a holley on top of it XD
Need to figure out heat though