Preface:
In the months that follow that show work being done on the engine, keep in mind, this was prior to the discovery of the non-zero-balanced motor. At some point, you will see me take delivery of a new short block 347 from Coast High Performance, however, some of what was done in terms of assembly and measurements I've left in as I find them still relevant to the journey.
July 11, 2004 -
With a little free time today, had a chance to clean out the threads on the cylinder heads. I had almost forgotten that I had purchased a spark plug thread chasing tools some 20 years ago. I chased those along with the valve cover bolt threads:
July 12, 2004 -
Received the FRPP 13" Chrome Air cleaner and fuel pump block-off plate. Test fitted the air-filter on the Holley - perfect!
July 21, 2004 -
Received some miscellaneous parts from Summit Racing today, some of which brings me a little step closer to completing the engine:
I installed the fuel line and gauge along with the carb studs:
July 24, 2004 -
I worked on the valvetrain today to obtain the correct sized pushrod. Using the Comp Cam's adjustable pushrod tool (# 7701), starting at 5.8", I adjusted the rod to 6.250" as this is the stock length of the pushrod for the 5.0L w/hyd. roller lifters.
I used a permenant marker and darkened the top of the valve stem. Next, I installed camshaft; while I did not have the thrust plate, I figured as long as the crank gear doesn't wander much, it should keep the cam gear lined up once the chain is in place.
Once in place, I lined up the timing marks on each gear; I rotated the crank unitl the marks lined up again. I inserted the adjustable pushrod and CompCam roller rocker (1.6) along with a hydraulic roller lifter. I tightened down (but not torqued) the head studs. Once everything was tightened down, I adjusted the rocker lock nuts such that the pushrod could still move but no slop was evident. I then rocked the rocker a few times and then removed the rockers and noted the mark it had left :
On a side note, when I bought the cylinder heads along with assorted hardware I didn't pay particular attention to what the studs were; I just knew I got all the hardware necessary to bolt in the heads. But to my surprise, I realized that what the guy gave me were ARP head studs! These list in Summit Racings catalog (specifically for the Edelbrock Performer RPM ) $134.95. Needless to say, I was pleasantly surprised. :)
I'm still in need of a pair of solid lifters now after I order and receive 16 new pushrods. I did perform a cursory check of the valve-to-piston clearance while the assembly was together and I feel confident when the pushrods finally make it in, I'll have pretty adaquate clearance.
July 26, 2004 -
I had ordered the 16 push rods ( 6.272" ) which were the standard Ford hardened pushrods for 5.0L motors. I also bought the CompCam crank socket, which allows me to move the degree wheel freely w/o moving the crank. I had followed the CompCam's instructions and after 4 tries, I'm getting pretty good at degreeing a cam. I have now confirmed the crank is key'd correctly; with both gear "dots" lines up, I am at 0 deg., TDC. But I also found the current intake center line is 106 deg. The cam card indicates I need to be set at 108 deg. intake center line. So I'm going to call CompCam's tomorrow to determine what to do next. There are three methods to correct this: cam gear can be advanced, offset key, or use an offset bushing. But the good thing out of all this is I now know how to degree a cam pretty well and was able to repeat the measurements 4 times ( 69 deg. and 143 deg. , .050" before and after intake's centerline ).
