Horizon

Thanks guys...that's what I plan on doing. Do you think I need to take it back to a machine shop or can a bottle-hone at home suffice? I HOPE that the damage wasn't catastrophic, meaning needing another engine block. Downside is that I've moved and the machinist who put together my bottom end is about 800 miles away. If it DOES need a new block, well, lets just say I'll stroke out a 351 with new forged internals and put this bottom end in the stock 302 when I rebuild that. This may just put a screeching halt to my build.

No one has thoughts/advice?

So I go to reoil my 347 shortblock for rust maintenance...I rotate the crank 90 degrees just like I have for the last year....come to see that a ring in the #7 cylinder left a mark/scratch on the wall! Its deep enough that you can catch it with a fingernail. :huh: The block is bored to .020 with accompanying pistons so the way I see it I have two options. 1) remove that piston and try and rehone that cylinder and hope that it does away, replacing the rings and reinstalling 2) since I can't bore it to .030 since my pistons are 0.020, find another block and start all over. I'd post a picture but my normal computer is getting repaired and the one I got now is literally 13 years old and wont' connect to any of my cameras....go figure. Anyway, my question is how much do I need to worry about this....should I not do anything and leave as-is or try my above options? Thanks in advance.... ~Jeffrey

Hey guys, Just got some disturbing information. Had a guy tell me when he installed these springs, he experienced almost a 2.5" drop! I was planning on these springs and the Shelby Drop mod (another 1/2-3/4" drop), but not if this is the case. I will only be able to do one or the other. The other options is to still do both but instal a ball joint wedge kit to correct for the angle. Anyone with practical experience here? Thanks! ~Jeffrey

I used a 52 oz....machinist said he could get a better balance with it. Since I hadn't purchased a flywheel or damper, it didn't really matter much to me. I figure balancing for 28 or 52 will take about the same amount of labor/shop time, it was a mute issue, especially since I was not buying from him anyway (he knew this going in), I don't think he had any reason to lie to me. More rotating mass of the 52oz MIGHT equal slightly less HP/Trq, but considering my combo, I'm going to have enough trouble planting it as it is. IMHO, whatever you might loose is negligible anyway, but I digress...

Make sure you ask and confirm that the kit you order has the wrist pin out of the groove though. I don't know about you, but I'd rather be redundant and ask stupid questions than to have to return something or not get the result I'm looking for! LOL I don't know what I'll do with the color. I probably won't stay with the original color as I'm leaning toward a charcoal and black combo...if I come close it will be a 'restomod' version of the limegold. :innocent: Limegold would make it stand out better though, but look like :001_9898: with red brake calipers! LOL

Mine is an Eagle...sounds like we are basically on the same path. That said, one thing I forgot to mention before and you reminded me, figure out what compression ratio you are looking at NOW so you can select the appropriate piston. I wanted to run on pump gas so 10:1 was a good figure for me. I ended up having to select +6cc dish pistons which results in ~9.8:1 with a 58cc head. I suppose I could mill a little, but why go through the extra expense for very little payback. The reason you need to decide now is that if you go with 185s similar heads, you need to make 100% sure the valves will clear the pistons. KB notches their pistons but make sure you double check. With mine (yes, I do have KB hyper pistons), since they are dished, I shouldn't have ANY trouble....you may end up with similar pistons depending on your compression ratio target. Mine did not come with the flywheel/damper though...my choice on that since I hadn't decided at the time what I was going to do. You can balance to either though; however, I still didn't trust their balance and opted to have the shop do it....and they DID have to make some adjustments. You're doing the same as I in taking your time....jsut don't forget to bag your black when you get it back. My shortblock has been bagged for 2 years now; I unwrap it every two months and re-oil everything. So far, ZERO surface rust. 20/20 hindsight though and a word of advice, if you go a similar route, PAINT THE BLOCK before oiling it...I'm going to have to degrease all the paintable surfaces (PITA)...but at least I don't have rust! Funny thing, as a side note, our cars are the same color...at least mine was originally....though mine is a coupe. The PO did a crappy red job on mine. I'll be taking it all down to metal in a few months for repaint. ~Jeffrey

Check also into Mustang Steve and/or Vintage Venom. I'm running the latter and have been EXCEEDINGLY happy with fit and finish. I haven't finished my rear end yet (welding new perches onto new 9") and still need to upgrade my master cylinder, but everything works so far. The nice thing about Vintage Venom rear kits is that you have two options....BOTH will work on a SMALL BEARING 8 or 9" axle. The advantage you ask? Well, if you have an 8" now with plans to upgrade to a 9" in the future, you don't have to buy new stuff...just swap it over! The difference between the two kits are wheel options you are considering. I'm stuck with their "basic" kit I think because the 9" i have is 1.8" wider than stock and would provide me with not even 3" between the rotor face and the fender...not enough clearance. With the basic kit (its cheaper too) I can run up to 6.75"BS and 4" between the rotor face and the fender. So yea, with the right wheels (read custom), I can theoretically run 10.5" rims out back. :thumbup1: ANYWAY...check all your options. Not all of them are expensive as you might think. I have less than $700 in my entire setup and that is with NEW stuff, not ebay brand. ~Jeffrey

My kit did NOT have the wristpin in the groove...I purchased it specifically because of that factor. They are still selling both kits though since I've seen them. I went with hyper pistons; I couldn't articulate the money for forged when I wasn't intending on high revs or large amounts of NOS. Hypers can still hand about a 150 shot so I figure that is plenty for a street driven car assuming I even go that route....which I probably will! LOL Cam is still largely up in the air since I'm still deciding on the heads and intake. I'm leaning toward Comp Cam's 248HR-14 for whatever setup I go with; I've read good results for both the RPM and Victor Jr and for either AFR 185 or 205s...it seems like a well rounded cam for 347s (unless you go custom grind). I'm trying to stay with "off the shelf" components to keep costs down and replacement parts available if needed. My BIGGEST decision is which head to go with, AFR 185 or bump up to the 205. I haven't been able to find a side-by-side comparison on the same 347 motor. The best I can tell is that there are two lines of thought. First, the 185s have higher velocity vs more volume with the 205. I've seen HUGE numbers with either combo but there doesn't seem to be a huge consensus either way. DO NOT trust balanced kits. Mine supposedly came balanced as well, but it wasn't perfect. At minimum have the kit checked...again, a small cost now and is worth it in the long run IMO. I considered sticking with the 28 oz balancing for the same reason, but my machinist assured me a better balance with the 52. Don't know either way, but it was the same amount of labor for him, so can't see why he would gain as I bought the 52oz flywheel offline. My motor is on hold though....oiled and bagged. Need extra money to finish it RIGHT and don't want to half-ass it. What I plan on doing is buying the RPM Airgap and the 750 4-barrel now (I know it will be too much air for a stock 302 with long tubes) so I can get rid of the stock 2v carb and just transfer it over to the 347 when its done. Instead, I'm focusing in on chassis and body at the moment since MOST of that is just my own elbow grease! Hey, sorry for the lengthy message....just trying to be thorough! :thumbup:

347 There are a LOT of 10k 347's on the street still running strong after 80-100k. Of course, if they are using the 347 for racing, it wouldn't surprise me if it lasted only 10k with the abuse. It ALL depends on how you build it. The reason people started with the 331 was due to early kits having the pin partially in the lower ring groove on the piston. There are kits now (I have KB) that do away with this problem. I'm looking at the AFR 185s also, but I've heard some running the 205s with the right came having great results. My top end is still up for grabs though...going between the RPM Air Gap and the Victor, leaning HEAVY to the RPM though with a 750 carb. I won't see over 6500 rpm so whats the point....the RPM makes *almost* as much power according to some recent builds and you get FAR better drivability on the street. I'm not running NOS, but have room for a 125-150 shot if I feel like it and the pistons can still handle it. I'm converting to a home R&P at some point soon and will end up running mid-length headers to help clear AND keep me from taking them off during starter/transmission servicing. All this backed up to a T5 and 9" with 3.50s. Mine is also balanced at 52oz since you can get a better balance (according to my machine shop anyway). With the right cam I should be looking at somewhere in the 425-475 range prior to NOS and depending on which head I go with. My advice...DON'T skimp on machining and balancing. Its cheap insurance IMO. I also had them put together my bottom end just because they had it already....I'll take care of the rest myself (gotta learn how to degree a cam at SOME point, right?). ~Jeffrey

All the t-boxes I've found are already welded together; do you just separate the pieces then?. I think you could be right about just taking out the bottom part of the t-box....I'll have to take a closer look. I haven't taken the fenders off yet and that might reveal more, eh? I'll remove them later this week I guess. I know that the floor is solid from the top and there isn't any indication that the bottom side is near rusting through. Thanks for the link...helps, but I REALLY don't want to remove a floor again if I don't have to. LOL ~Jeffrey

Hey guys..:helpsmilie: I'm wondering how difficult it is to replace both torque boxes WITHOUT replacing the floor pans or frame rails. I have zero cancer on the floor or frame rails, but the front-bottom side of the drivers t-box is starting to punch through. The passenger t-box is, for the most part, good except for the rear-bottom seam where it is beginning to seperate. I figure I'll do both just to be safe. The only other rust on the car are the overlaps on the top of the aprons, but those are just patch jobs and is fairly typical as I understand. My last car, a 67, had to have everything done so I didn't learn much to answer this myself. I've searched everywhere to find the answer, but every article I locate they are doing the entire floor and frame rails at the same time and not just the boxes. I'm trying to find the process of doing *just* the t-boxes. Is replacing t-boxes (correctly) possible without having to do the floor/frame rails? If anyone has actually done this, pics are appreciated! ~Jeffrey

Rad, Thanks for the advice...i used an internal AND external versions and no luck. I didn't have this problem with my 67 as they came right out. Anyway, I got them out yesterday with a BIG hammer. Not safe and would not recommend doing it that way, but was my last resort. Got the rest of the suspension out today, Wed the steering will come out and blast everything I'll reuse. Haven't decided if I'm stripping the chassis yet for paint or just reassembling with new stuff until I finish the motor (then I'll bust everything apart and do it in one shot).....depends on if I get the Harley I'm looking at. ~Jeffrey

I know I know....new guy and stupid thread. :surrender: Anyway, I can't get these things out. I have both types of spring compressors and have never had this problem before. Frankly, I'm about to the point of just torching them but would like to try and resell to a purist if possible so that is the last resort. Both spring compressors work fine, the problem lies in that I compress as much as possible and the spring STILL has a lot of pressure on the saddle, enough that I can't just force it out. Anyone else have this problem? Oh yea....before I get smart remarks, it IS on stands. :whistling: ~Jeffrey

Hey, newbe here (just joined) but think I might be able to help. You need to look at the tire size and compare those rather than "just" the wheel size. For example, my coupe had 15" wheels stock. I put 17x8 rims with 245/40s on the front (17x9 and 275s out back)...just so happens that those tires are the same height (albeit wider) as the tires I took off. There are a lot of issues to look at here...backspacing, offset, etc. Check out dodgestang's website for fitment guides: http://www.dodgestang.com/ As far as rotors, I used Vintage Venom's Cobra kit and am running 13" rotors with Cobra calipers on the front and 11.65" with Cobra calipers on the back. Options are endless and only depends on how much you want to spend. ~Jeffrey