Boss Rod 5.0 Assembly Has Begun

I finally had a chance to drop by FPS last week to pick up my crank so engine assembly has begun. I painted the block on Sunday. I've never seen the approach I took to paint the block before and thought you may enjoy some pics.

The block is a new 5.0 roller with standard bore. I picked it up about four months ago with the crank, rods, pistons, ARP studs, and heads. I got a killer deal... more on that later. I had the block decked .015, front oil galley plugs tapped, and the head bolts were enlarged to use ARP 1/2" studs. This was the only machining I had done.

I used a file to remove the sharp edge on the cylinder bores from the milling. I then used simple green to degrease the block in the driveway and used a wire brush on the external surfaces. I then used a pressure washer to rinse it off. The air compressor took care of the drying. It was a nice day in SoCal (about 80 degrees) so it was a perfect day for painting.

I just finished removing the masking, installed the oil galley plugs, rear camshaft plug, Crane 2031 cam, and coated all the exposed metal surfaces with some penetrating oil. I'll install the nodular crank and Ford Racing timing chain tomorrow.

I used Ford Light Blue VHT spray paint. I've had good luck with this in the past. There are a couple of spots that will need some additional paint but I'll apply with a brush after assembly.

Thanks for the replies. I'll post pictures as I go. For more engine specs, check out My Garage.

More Progress...

I had to pick up some more 1/2" plugs to cap the front and side oil passages. The block also had a hole for a knock sensor so I plugged it as well.

You can see the screw in plugs in this image. Usually, these are pressed in caps. There isn't really any measurable advantage to using the screw in type except for peace of mind that they won't fall out.



This is the first engine I have used main studs. ARP instructs to install them finger tight. You can also use loc-tite but I decided not to. The studs look cool.



Crank bearings are standard Clevite-77s. FPS said they are all tri-metal now so you can't go wrong.



I also used Lucas Oil for the first time during the install. I really like this stuff. It is heavier than a regular motor oil so it will not slide off during the assembly process. It also ensures there will still be oil on the bearing surfaces for the initial start up (which could be over a month away).

I used plastigage on three of the five bearings and all are good. I applied sealant on the bottom surface rear main cap and in the corners where it sits in the block. This is important so oil doesn't eventually seep into the bell housing.

I used moly lube on the studs when torqing down to 70 ft. lbs. If you use motor oil, you torque to 85 ft. lbs. I also seated the thrust bearing before torking the #3 cap.



Here is a good picture of the timing chain. I ran the cam straight up. I also noticed in the pics there is some surface rust in the timing chain cover so I'll have to run a thread chaser in there to clean them out before installing the cover.



Now... there is some debate on whether or not I need to use an oil slinger or not. My information suggests it is dependant on the timing cover. Mine is pictured below. If the timing cover has the angled bar over the crank sprocket then an oil slinger is not necessary. You either have one or the other, not both. The 289 I removed this from did not have one so I think I'm OK. Before I install the timing cover, I'd like to get a confirmation from someone that what I stated above is OK.



This is the first part I used my bead blaster on (Harbor Freight for $89 on sale). Man I love that thing. There is no way all the scrubbing and solvent could get it as clean as blasting. Here is a good example of the before and after.

Timing covers are typically painted but it looks so good in raw aluminum I'm keeping it this way. It will also set off the aluminum Edelbrock water pump when complete.

D.Hearne said:

By the way, what rods are you using? Length?

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Carrillo Forged H-Beam 5.155"

D.Hearne said:

You done good, but I think you really wasted time and effort with all the masking and prep work to paint the block.

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Well, the only thing that is getting painted on the engine is the block. Everything else (except the pan) is Aluminum. The Canton pan doesn't need paint. This was easier than scraping all the overspray off of the head, timing cover, and oil pan gasket surfaces so I have to disagree.

D.Hearne said:

I don't see how you missed the timing cover bolt holes while doing all that. I guess it's kinda like the saying, "can't see the forest for all the trees" Now you're going to have to be very careful not to get the drippings from them into the rest of the engine.

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It looks worse in the pictures than it actually is. It is just a little surface rust but I still need to clean it up or the torque ratings will get fouled up. I'll just use some moly lube or grease when running the chaser in there. That should pick up most of the shavings.

I don't know how long the engine had been sitting but these are the only threads that have the problem.

Off to the airport heading for Tuscon. Happly Holidays everyone!

D.Hearne said:

I was going to do a long rod 302 also before I did the 331, but I was thinking on using 5.4 inch rods. To me there just isn't a whole lot of difference between the lengths of the 302 and Boss rods to make it worth while. I believe the only reason Ford used the 289 length rods in the Bosses was the tooling was already done.

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I agree, but I could not pass up a deal for a new block, Carrillo rods, ARP stud kits (crank, heads, screw-in studs), nodular crank, Speed Pro racing pistons, and ported Edelbrock RPM cylinder heads for $2,200!

I did an initial mockup of the engine to make sure everything fit properly. I thought I had a problem when I first measured the rods since they didn't measure to the standard 302 length. The rod length was more of a bonus than a conscious thought. Anyhow, after the mockup I measured the distance between the piston and the deck height and it was about .016 off. I had the deck milled .015 to bring it to a near zero deck height. I also had the heads milled .015 to bump the compression up a bit.

D.Hearne said:

I see now why you went with them, I'd have done the same Must be custom pistons, if you mocked it up and they were still .016 down the hole, unless the block's deck was taller than spec.

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The pistons are custom and could actually be Chevy slugs. The tops of the pistons have also been bead blasted. I assume this is to harden the surface and help against possible detonation damage. I'll post some pics of the pistons in a day or so. I'm still in Tucson enjoying the Western mountain views.