69 mach 408w build

[Angel 24]

nice job dude. looks sweet.

[BuckeyeDemon 211]

you may recall my post about the FTI cam i had received and it's pathetic lack of information (and his refusal to provide any other details beyond spec).

 

so this weekend i put the dial indicator gauge on the pushrod and measured the cam. he provided the .050" durations and tappet lift numbers. i had found two sets of lobes with the same specs in the comp catalog. one in the XFI family and the other in the Extreme Marine High Lift family. i was guessing it was one of these.

 

turns out i have the Extreme Marine High Lift lobes. If not then coincidentally the .006", .050" and .200" lift numbers just happen to agree.

 

beyond the fact he wouldn't provide details to what he "designed", he was pushing a set of tool steel retainers and beehives to me for $500. the problem was they weren't going to even come close to fitting my heads without machine work. we traded emails a few times but it was evident it was a waste of time with him.

 

nevertheless the engine shop chose the springs and retainers for a cost much less than what he wanted. knowing now that this cam has softer ramps i'm glad i didn't go thru the hastle of his chosen springs. what a joke!

 

the good thing is, i shouldn't have valvetrain issues :)

[Cornerstone 15]

Ouch... Someones busted! Note to self.... Don't try to fool buckeye.

[BuckeyeDemon 211]

anyone install the engine and transmission as unit into one of these cars?

 

that's my hope anyways. if it seems like it's going to be too risky or difficult then i'll pop the transmission back off.

 

i made a quick cart out of some of the scrap i had laying around.

 

the shop balanced the pressure plate. i would assume they balanced the flywheel to zero first, then mounted the pressure plate and balanced that out.

 

anyways, they stamped two X's where i needed to align them.

 

 

 

 

 

i had to clearance a little in the bellhousing. i also had welded the half moon that was going to be exposed in the safety plate due to using it as a 164 tooth flywheel. i cut off the extra mounting hole on the starter.

 

 

 

 

[69RavenConv 286]

anyone install the engine and transmission as unit into one of these cars?

 

 

I put my 302 and 3-speed in as one and it went pretty easily. I had to get the car's front end up as high as possible and adjust the hang from the cherry picker so that the tranny was pointing decidedly downward but it wasn't hard. Try not to grind the tailshaft into the garage floor.

[BuckeyeDemon 211]

how high up did you have to get the front wheels? did you raise the rear of the car?

Edited July 6, 2011 by BuckeyeDemon

[buening 63]

I actually did the opposite, I raised the rear of the car when I dropped a 302 w/C-4 into my 70 fastback. Raising the rear means that you don't have to point the tailshaft down so far. I would think raising the front would make things worse.

[69RavenConv 286]

how high up did you have to get the front wheels? did you raise the rear of the car?

 

I left the rear wheels on the ground and maxed out my jack stands under the torque boxes. The pinch point is the transmission tunnel at the firewall.

[69RavenConv 286]

I actually did the opposite, I raised the rear of the car when I dropped a 302 w/C-4 into my 70 fastback. Raising the rear means that you don't have to point the tailshaft down so far. I would think raising the front would make things worse.

 

Not a bad idea.

 

The key is maximizing the distance between the firewall and the floor so the tranny can slide under the car while the engine clears the radiator support.

Edited June 28, 2011 by 69RavenConv

[bnickel 10,004]

i installed mine as a complete unit with all the accessories installed even, PS pump, AC compressor, alternator, trans, even my hedman shorty headers were bolted up as was the clutch fan. the only thing i removed from the engine was the carb and air cleaner. I did drop the steering linkage down by unbolting the idler arm though because I actually needed a little more room for the headers, still 100 times easier that trying to install the headers with the engine already in the car though.

[69gmachine 15]

What hood do you plan to use to fit the shaker?

[LSG 15]

Buck, it seems Comp doesn't offer a 351W version of the extreme marine High lift. So....your guy picked a profile he liked and had it ground onto a 351W blank. Cool, some of the marine cams are frequently ground with a wider LDA, which the boats really need, and I think most of us could use without trouble. I like some of the Lunati VD grinds, but they grind the flat ones on a 110, and I would rather a 112 or 114. The juice rollers come with a 112 LDA, but all of the blocks I have right now are flattappet. If you're willing, and your engine guy won't get mad at you, can you tell us the cam specs your build is using ? Do you think it would idle at less than 800 if you fussed with it some ? Is the idle smooth or raspy ? Idle is a big deal to me, cause i have A/C and would like the engine to idle, in drive, with the A/C going full tilt. I would much rather have a big block and a 5 speed, but my budget is limiting me to the small block stuff I have that is closer to completion. That, and the 100 mile trips to the next town over twice a week. LSG

[BuckeyeDemon 211]

What hood do you plan to use to fit the shaker?

 

i'm using an original shaker hood.

[BuckeyeDemon 211]

Buck, it seems Comp doesn't offer a 351W version of the extreme marine High lift. So....your guy picked a profile he liked and had it ground onto a 351W blank. Cool, some of the marine cams are frequently ground with a wider LDA, which the boats really need, and I think most of us could use without trouble. I like some of the Lunati VD grinds, but they grind the flat ones on a 110, and I would rather a 112 or 114. The juice rollers come with a 112 LDA, but all of the blocks I have right now are flattappet. If you're willing, and your engine guy won't get mad at you, can you tell us the cam specs your build is using ? Do you think it would idle at less than 800 if you fussed with it some ? Is the idle smooth or raspy ? Idle is a big deal to me, cause i have A/C and would like the engine to idle, in drive, with the A/C going full tilt. I would much rather have a big block and a 5 speed, but my budget is limiting me to the small block stuff I have that is closer to completion. That, and the 100 mile trips to the next town over twice a week. LSG

 

112 lsa

109 icl

1.7 rockers

the .006", .050", .200" and lobe lift matched the specs from the xtreme marine hi lift family in the comp catalog for both intake and exhaust. yes the catalog indicates a big block journal. supposedly the previous cam i had was a chevy grind put on a 351w core/firing order.

 

why don't you just have lunati grind you a cam with the voodoo lobes and a wider lsa?

 

the shop said it was idling around 800 rpm. there is a video, i'll let you decide if that's considered smoothe or raspy. i don't know if it will idle lower. since i have a stick car, i doubt i will have the need to be concerned about idle rpm.

[BuckeyeDemon 211]

I actually did the opposite, I raised the rear of the car when I dropped a 302 w/C-4 into my 70 fastback. Raising the rear means that you don't have to point the tailshaft down so far. I would think raising the front would make things worse.

 

makes sense to me. i like it!

 

i won't install the engine with the headers installed (or the fan). the 351w is a little too wide, not much margin for denting and scratching. plus i can get both headers bolted on in about 10 minutes (i can't count the number of times i had to pull them on and off during fitment).

[BuckeyeDemon 211]

112 lsa

109 icl

1.7 rockers

the .006", .050", .200" and lobe lift matched the specs from the xtreme marine hi lift family in the comp catalog for both intake and exhaust. yes the catalog indicates a big block journal. supposedly the previous cam i had was a chevy grind put on a 351w core/firing order.

 

why don't you just have lunati grind you a cam with the voodoo lobes and a wider lsa?

 

the shop said it was idling around 800 rpm. there is a video, i'll let you decide if that's considered smoothe or raspy. i don't know if it will idle lower. since i have a stick car, i doubt i will have the need to be concerned about idle rpm.

 

forgot.

 

236/244@.050"

Edited July 6, 2011 by BuckeyeDemon

[LSG 15]

Buck, for my own engine, I'm thinking of asking for a Lunati 003, but on a 112 or 114 LSA. If one of you was wondering why we don't special order all of the time, its because the specials take a few days, sometimes a few weeks, and they cost more. And then you run into the problem of guys who really don't know what they are asking for.......we have guys who learn that narrower LSAs generally make for a raspier idle, so they all want 106*,.....they get it and stab it in and then complain because they have no more low speed power and it stalls when they put in gear.

 

Where is the video of this engine idling ? Or this site, or some other page ? Usually manuals idle nicer than autos. LSG

[BuckeyeDemon 211]

Buck, for my own engine, I'm thinking of asking for a Lunati 003, but on a 112 or 114 LSA. If one of you was wondering why we don't special order all of the time, its because the specials take a few days, sometimes a few weeks, and they cost more. And then you run into the problem of guys who really don't know what they are asking for.......we have guys who learn that narrower LSAs generally make for a raspier idle, so they all want 106*,.....they get it and stab it in and then complain because they have no more low speed power and it stalls when they put in gear.

 

Where is the video of this engine idling ? Or this site, or some other page ? Usually manuals idle nicer than autos. LSG

 

i wasn't wondering why you don't special order all the time. i thought you were talking about your own motor.

 

the video link was on the same page as the dyno sheet and picture of the motor on the dyno.

 

here is another link.

 

[bnickel 10,004]

makes sense to me. i like it!

 

i won't install the engine with the headers installed (or the fan). the 351w is a little too wide, not much margin for denting and scratching. plus i can get both headers bolted on in about 10 minutes (i can't count the number of times i had to pull them on and off during fitment).

 

 

yep i installed my 351w with the headers and fan and everything damn thing else bolted up, ac compressor, PS pump and alternator too. didn't scratch a thing.....used moving blankets draped over the shock towers

[BuckeyeDemon 211]

yep i installed my 351w with the headers and fan and everything damn thing else bolted up, ac compressor, PS pump and alternator too. didn't scratch a thing.....used moving blankets draped over the shock towers

 

are you running long tubes? do your collectors come closer to the transmission or the front floor extensions?

 

i think you are more brave than me!

[BuckeyeDemon 211]

still waiting for the alternator and fasteners. also waiting for another breather cap.

 

header gaskets are a little small. i'm not sure if i can easily trim them or if i'll just try something from cometic.

 

you may recall, i had the headers ceramic coated gray.

 

 

 

 

 

[bnickel 10,004]

are you running long tubes? do your collectors come closer to the transmission or the front floor extensions?

 

i think you are more brave than me!

 

 

nope they're shorties but i've seen guys install long tubes bolted up as well. to be honest i think it would have been easier if i'd had long tubes

[bnickel 10,004]

still waiting for the alternator and fasteners. also waiting for another breather cap.

 

header gaskets are a little small. i'm not sure if i can easily trim them or if i'll just try something from cometic.

 

you may recall, i had the headers ceramic coated gray.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

yeah, i'd forgotten that your's are modified and smake around quite a bit, but they still tuck in pretty tight though. i think you'd be better off laying those in and wiring them up to hold them in place and then drop the engine in.

 

what's funny is that when i installed my motot it looked "almost" identical to yours, cast iron gray headers and all, albeit mine were shorties and i had a performer intake and the ac compressor and PS pump and no shaker but still damn close. i wish my scanner worked and i'd post some pics of mine going in, it really did look amazingly similar. then again i guess that's why you went to so much trouble to make yours look as stock as it does huh?.....LOL

 

when i get ready to do the 351w in the cougar it will look even more stock since i have an actual Ford Muscle Parts "over the counter" intake with an actual C90 ford part number on it. basically just like a shelby intake except it says FORD instead of shelby.

 

i'm even going to install the flapper lid and correct ram air seal on the cougar to make the future eliminator/ram air CJ scoop functional so it'll look totally factory right down to a set of "stock" cast iron exhaust manifolds which will recieve a heavy does of F.A.S.T. style modifications to make them flow on par or at least close with some shorty headers. the FMP intake will recieve a similar treatment and I'd like to have the intake, GT-40-X heads and exhaust manifolds extrude honed as a matched set as well but i'm not sure the wallet will be able to take that kinda hit

[unfrozen1969 11]

Brian,

 

Try taking a digital photo of your picture, then upload it, it usually works ok.

 

I printed copies of this motor and have it on my wall to give me guidance and something to aspire to.....someday...

 

Bill

[BuckeyeDemon 211]

bnickel,

 

i'm a big fan of the f.a.s.t. stuff. the extremes some of them go to is really amazing.

 

post your progress when you get to that point.

 

unfrozen,

 

you should probably hang pics of engines detailed by people who know what they're doing. a concours detail puts mine to shame.