Ver. 2 Engine Build

Spring 2021

After consulting with a few engine builders, I finally came up with a plan for a nice combination of parts that will work really well together. 

I'm starting with my original block. It was magnafluxed, bored +.030", decked -.012", cleaned up, new bearings, crank polished, etc by another shop in the winter of 2019-20.  Due to some bad machine work on the crank that caused 3 quick thrust bearing failures in 2020, I switched shops. I won't say who the first shop was, but their name rhymes with "Bar Quest". lol.

I chatted a bit with Dennis from Atchison Machine and he cooked up a plan to get my shortblock back in good shape. He took my block, lightly honed the cylinders to clean up the bores, did a mild align hone of the mains, new rings on the existing .030 over Speed Pro H273CP 30 hyper pistons, cleaned up, installed new bearings including new cam bearings, and new pilot bearing. Most importantly, he installed an OEM crankshaft  he had as mine was junk. 

While machine work was being done in late 2020, I started conversing with Ed Curtis of Flowtech Induction. Ed is well known for his custom cams. He sorted through my spec's and came up with a custom cam that would work well with my combo. He also looked after installing proper springs in my new AFR165 heads to match up with the custom camshaft. I also bought Comp Cams Magnum Pro 1.6 ratio stud mount roller rockers.  Along with my TMoss ported GT40/Explorer intake I have a good flowing, well matched top end. 

I had the shortblock and all parts in hand, ready for assembly in early 2021. 

Atchison's assembled the shortblock so all I had to do was install the oil pump and pickup, Ed's custom camshaft, billet double roller timing set, timing cover, water pump, oil pan, heads, lifters, pushrods, rockers and lower intake manifold. 

I took my time assembling, and used the best gaskets for each job. 

With the engine back in the car and everything hooked up, it eagerly started on the first crank. I let it warm up to operating temp, shut her off and did a quick oil change to get any contaminants out. I then ran it and drove about 50 miles before doing another quick oil change. This time I also cut the filter open to inspect for any bearing material.....simply because I'm paranoid about last years misadventures. Oil and filter were relatively clean. A small amount of metal silt was noticed on the magnetic oil drain plug. It's not unusual, but I will keep an eye on it..

After about another 200 miles I thought I would finally upgrade the injectors from the stock 19lb to some upgraded 30lb units I bought from Injector Rehab. They take used injectors and basically make them new again and provide a detailed flow sheet. And since the upper intake was coming off anyways, I re-measured my pushrod length using the more accurate "mid-lift method" and determined I should use a pushrod .050 longer than what I originally measured for. The valvetrain seemed a little noisier than what I though it should be- not terrible, but had a bit of a sewing machine mechanical noise mainly due to the sharp ramps of the custom cam. Thankfully the new pushrods helped that a lot. Decipha updated my tune for the new injectors and finished dialing in a few other aspects of the tune, and I'm happy to say this car runs fantastic. While things were apart I did another short oil change. Oil seemed to look OK, but I'm still being overly cautious.

One small issue I'm having is with the cooling system. Before all the upgrades/new performance engine, the dual electric fans would easily cool the rad  down even idling for extended periods. Now, not so much. Since it cools down nicely while driving, and the temp only rises while at a standstill, it must be the fans that are not efficient enough to cool her down. A new Ford Contour fan/shroud setup and Dakota fan controller are on their way. Pics and details to come shortly.

Parts for the fan upgrade arrived. While the rad was out and I had the room, I measured crank  endplay again... .0060  same measurement as on assembly so I think we're in good shape at 500 miles.

Oil and filter changes on the new build were done after initial startup to warm idle, again at 50km and again at 200km. After additional changes at 1000 and 2000km, I sent an oil sample off for analysis and was happy to get this positive report. I'll put on another 3000km before the next service and send another sample off to make sure things are staying on track. 

Between the oil analysis and having nice even cranking compression numbers of ~165psi it looks like this engine is pretty healthy.

Fall 2022

Not much has happened this year with the car. Covid restrictions  have been lifted for live events, so my live sound/festival work has picked back up- which means less time for fun car stuff though I did get out to a few car meets/cruise nights/show'n shine type deals where the car always garners a lot of attention.  It's fun. 

Car continues to run well- the Contour fan setup rocks. I have fans set to come on "low" at 205* and on "high" at 210*.  Low is sufficient  to cool her down and it is rare for the temp to exceed 208*. 

Plan for this winter is to change out the engine bay troublesome 10 pin connectors  with some upgraded units that have been backordered for a year. They finally arrived. Otherwise, just the usual fluid changes/checks and possibly look for ways to get cooler air to the intake. 

Did another oil analysis. This one looks good. A little high on Silicon which indicates dust/dirt or sealant material in the oil. My guess is the K&N filter is the culprit. I'm on the hunt for a dry filter substitute.