I have not removed the oil pump. Just the oil filter mount. Is there any reason to remove the pump? I think I found the retainer clip, and will have to figure out where it goes. I've got one of these shop manuals on CD, although I can't get it to work on my PC. It did open on a PC with an older version on MS Office. Hopefully there are some pics in there.

Greg

 

You'll need to remove the pump to get the driveshaft back in. Some folks also like to make sure the pump mounts exactly flush to the block when they rebuild a motor too (increases oil flow and pressure, supposedly), another reason to remove it. There's a gasket in your gasket kit that fits between pump and block. Oh, and if you're getting your block flushed or machines, you'll want to take the pump off.

 

I forgot to add my two cents about the engine rebuild thing. Since you will be already half way there, now would be the time to put new piston rings in if you need them. As well as cylinder compression and oil pressure, think about oil loss. If you're losing oil and cannot see any obvious leaks, you may need new oil rings on your pistons. My car was going through a quart every three hundred miles when I finally decided to yank the motor and overhaul it. I had good compression and the thing ran really smooth and had gobs of power and good oil pressure, but I got so sick of putting oil in it that I tore it completely down. Cylinder walls looked good, no ridges to speak of, but when I pulled the pistons out I noticed that the oil rings had all collapsed. So they would slather oil onto the cylinder walls just fine but would not wipe it off. I didn't bother replacing any bearings because they were all in spec, so I got the engine back together and in the car for about $200 dollars--had to buy a new starter and battery cables, otherwise it would have been about $130.

I bought my parts at Napa, but if I had to do it again, I'd get a kit from PAW. They have kits for various degrees of hosed up motors, from just needing gaskets and rings to the entire block. And they are about the cheapest place I have found for FE motors.

 

The bottom end looks quite good (apparently the previous rebuild was a quality job), so I'm making as few changes as possible down there.

Based on the above reccomendations, I'll probably get a Crower Beast 292h cam. Can anybody help with the necessary valve-train mods? Edelbrock sent me to Crane Cams, who makes an adjustable rocker but it requires "Special Pushrods". Now I'm looking at custom order parts, and this is not where I wanted to go with this project.

FYI- I've gone with MSD for the ignition goodies.

Again, Thanks for all of the information.

Greg

 

Update-
I spoke to the folks at Crower, and they said I should not need any valve-train modifications. Wooohooo! The Beast (292H) is on the way.

The bulk of the parts have arrived. I had to cancel the order for the Thorley headers , instead I have some ceramic coated Dynomax headers on the way. I don't believe they are the Tri-Y configuration. I should have some progress on Monday and Tuesday. I'm sure I'll be back with more questions.

Greg

 

That's the same cam I run on my 428. The specs say 1200~3800 with a 5300+ redline and agressive mid range. I'm using the stock FE non-adj setup and after break in, I'm switching to a non-adj setup with new shafts and alum spacer between the rockers and half-cut stands.

The cam sounds great at idle and pulls excellent vac (18+).

As a side note about oil, I'd opt for the HV oil pump. I went with the HV/HP one, it was only about $50. Don't pass on the oiling system mods, at least drill out the passage from the oil pump to the oil filter pad and match up the main bearing holes. Also, I'd run a rear sump oil pan that holds at least 6qts. Proper oiling is key to a long lasting FE.

 

Special Pushrods just means you need the adjustable rocker arm type. Hydraulic pushrods have a ball on both ends of the pushrod, Solid pushrods have a ball on the lifter end and a cup on the rocker end since adjustable rockers have a ball that connect to the pushrod.

 

Just out of curiousity, why did you pass on the Thorleys for the Dynomaxs?

If your knuckles ain't bleeding you did something wrong.

'72 F-250 "Hi-Boy" 4x4, Dana 60/HD44, FE428 @ 400+ ponies , 4-speed, custom suspension w lift, mud on black.

 

I was able to get the Dynomax headers. I could not get a hold of the Thorleys. T I could not find them at the other major web retailers. The Dynomax look nice enough, almost a chrome appearance to the ceramic coating. I've also got some of their mufflers.

Allrighty then!! I've heard enough about oiling mods! Where can I get a new HV/HP pump? Would I still need to drill on my block,filter bracket, etc? My oil pressure was good before.

Thanks,
Greg

 

Summit racing offers a melling pump, part # MEL-M57HV. Good for 20-25% increase. Is this adequate?

Thanks Again,

Greg

 

I went ahead and ordered the Melling part from Summit...
I have got to get this motor back together, hopefully before my long weekend is over. I'm already way over what I originally expected to spend on the engine. Looks like the body work may have to wait :-(

be back soon with more details and questions, I'm sure..

Greg

 

adequate oil pressure does not equal an adequate oiling system for a spiced up FE...I'd do the mods if I were you if you want to keep your engine happy.

If your knuckles ain't bleeding you did something wrong.

'72 F-250 "Hi-Boy" 4x4, Dana 60/HD44, FE428 @ 400+ ponies , 4-speed, custom suspension w lift, mud on black.

 

As for the oiling mods, at least do the primary mods:
drill the 3/8" passage from the oil pump to the oil filter pad to about 7/16 or 1/2". I bought both sizes drill bits from homedepot for about $30 and it took me a few hours to do the drilling because I was VERY careful about breaking thru the block. Carefully note the angles of the passages and after drilling, use a small grinder to smooth the edges. Carefully note the design of the oil filter adapter and then round the edges of the holes that leave the block. I think they both to up and back toward the top of the block, but look closely at the gasket and oil filter adapter.


Match the holes in the main bearings.

This work won't take all that long, but should be considered mandatory on any good FE.

Also, I like to take each lifter and put it into the bore and check that is moves freely, I had to clean up one bore because of a stuck lifter.

Spend a few extra hours now, have an engine that will last much longer!

 

Be cautioned on the dynomax headers. I run the same ones on my 73 truck with a 390. They sound great and I definitely felt a power difference. The port size was a little small, which wasn't a big deal except to find gaskets. After trying several different kinds including copper (not cheap at $40.00 a set) but wound up buying gasket material and making my own, to finally seal the headers. As far as mufflers, if you can stand the noise, the flowmaster 40 series with the dmax header is an awesome combo.

 

Thanks to All, here is an update.

Bad news- After assembling and reinstalling the engine, I went to bolt up the headers and the Heli-Coil inserts for the edelbrock heads cam loose on about half of the bolts. I was using new ARP engine bolts. Edelbrock though that there may not have been any or enough lock-tite applied. These bolts would go about half way and start getting hard to turn, when I tried to back out, some of them became very difficult. I payed the extra bucks for the heads to get bolt-on horsepower and instead got more trouble for my money. I've sent the heads back and told them to keep them. I'll spend the money at the paint shop. Eventually, I'll get my heads machined If I can find someone good in the central Texas area.

I also had to manipulate the Dynomax headers as they weren't a perfect fit. They were hitting the power steering unit.

Plan B- I've reinstalled my stock heads. The engine sat for about 6 days and sure was hard to turn over. It may have been that thick pre-lube that I put in to help with the new cam and lifters.

I was out a little on the ignition timing and finally advanced the Distributor enough by rearranging some hose clamps that were impeding the distributor vacuum advance plug. I hit the starter again and Voila...a very sweet rumbling sound (Only headers installed at this point. Sure sounds nice.) I cranked it to a fast idle and let it run to break in the cam. I hope I didn't do any damage with the previous attempts to start.

Current Status-

Engine rumbling with the following:
Edelbrock Perfromer RPM intake
Edelbrock preformer 750 Carb
Crower Power Beast cam. new crower lifters
Dynomax Ceramic coated headers

MSD Coil and 6AL ingnition to be installed soon.

Thanks again for all of the help. It is increasingly apparent that there are some knowledgeable folks proving advice in this forum. I'll be back soon with more updates and maybe some links to picures as the project proceeds.

Greg