figured the alum was to brittle for a real truck (one with scratches/scuff marks from the bushwacking) .. guess I'll just wire wheel the shine off the chrome one and lay on a coat or two of high temp paint and see how it goes ..

 

I know from reading other threads you guys like pics, so ..


this is the donor (89 F150 XLT XtraCab) and the build truck (87 F250 frame and running gear) .. spent only $2k for the two trucks .. had the F250 for a few years (bought w/ a 3 year old 7.5' western plow for $1500) and she started giving me fits last winter .. got the F150 for $500, running good, but the frame is shot (NE salt eats another fine truck, big 'ol hole (talking better than 6") rotted right through the frame just forward of the door/fender joint) .. both 5.0L ..

building me a 'working truck', have a 600 ft driveway that needs plowing in the winter, 7 acres of wooded property to tend, the all to often runs to home-cheapo and looking at a small camping trailer (probably a pop-up) that'll need towing .. in my mind I could never spend the dough on a new truck, just because the first thing I'm gonna do is take it in the woods and work it .. can't see doing that in a pretty, polished, new truck .. I guess I ride 'em hard ..

 

found a oil pan on craigslist .. add says it's for a 351 front sump .. will that fit my 302?

 

Nope 351 is wider than a 302. Besides doesn't your truck need a rear sump pan?

 

Mains are bigger, won't fit, but you knew that....

 

guess I didn't know there were so many options .. was looking around and most oil pans are tagged 'ford small block' .. so, what exactly do I need to keep in mind as I shop for an oil pan?

 

289/302, with the proper sump.

Too many variations to go by generic terms.

 

so I pulled the cam out and one of the bearing races was NFG .. so I called a local shop (not the same guy that wanted $400+ to do the heads) and he quoted $125 for all five cam races .. sounds reasonable to me?

The shop also asked that I remove the heads to make it more manageable for them, so I took them off. Is it absolutely req'd to have them re-surfaced?

I was reading the lit that came with the CompCam I bought and it says I need to use their springs (part # 942-16) .. are they really req'd?

Conanski suggested that it was not worth doing any work on these OE heads, better to invest the $$ in an upgrade and I'm quickly going over budget (like I'm the first one ) and would rather come back to the heads at a later time, but don't want things to go crash inside my motor either ..

 

Did the heads come off a good running engine? Is so I would probably clean them up, relace valve seals, and maybe relap the valves. That will prove that the valves are sealing good. Then bolt them on and call it good. Then save your money for a new set of heads.

As far as cam bearings go. I am questioning why pay someone $125 to install them when you can buy the tool for that price or less and have it for next time.

 

I agree on the heads, clean them up and lap the valves and install new seals, easy DIY stuff that won't break the bank. No need for bigger springs with that cam though a new stock set wouldn't be a bad idea on a high milage motor.

 

.. yes, (back on page one) I had good compression check numbers ..

never bought a tool I didn't like any recommended vendors (links are good) or what should I google for?

what would I expect to pay for a stock set?, JEGS has the CompCam part# for $62 .. are these the correct valve seals?

I'm deeper than I've ever been here, so exactly what do I need to do to 'relap' the valves?

and thinking ahead .. is this CompCam going to be useful if/when I go with upgraded heads?

 

bumpity bump

 

Ok, so I found out ..

valve lapping = reseating valves = polishing valve seats (for future searchers)

got stock valve seals from the local PartsPlus store (Fel Pro) .. picked up the 'valve grinding compound' and the suction cup tool as well .. found this 'how-to' that explained it all ..

went with the new springs per CompCams recommendation ..

looked for the cam bearing tool .. ch*vy item is everywhere .. ford is pricey ..

figure it was time to establish a 'partnership' with a local machine shop anyways .. may run into more on this one and even more planned for the orig motor .. didn't go with the lowest price guy (he seemed like an a$$), but I already got my $$ worth (with the advice this guy offered) and I liked this guys attitude (talked at me for more than 20 min, lots of good stuff for the new rebuilder, wish I had a recorder, worth the money, etc).. he quoted $125 for the cam bearings, and I'm having him do the pilot bearing and rear oil seal while he has the block (crank and pistons intact).. and he's resurfacing the flywheel ..

so the remaining unanswered question is, will the CompCam I'm using do me any good if/when I upgrade the heads?