Engine Engine rebuild suggestions

FastDriver · Oct 2, 2023

Ok. Well, here are a few P-headed combos in our dyno & 1/4 mile thread:
- v8stang289's combo: 277 RWHP, but ran a best trap of 101.6mph @ close to stock weight (not the kind of speed I'd expect)
- Grabbin' Asphalt: 280 rwhp (Cobra intake & Gt40p heads both fully ported & milled with an E-cam - no slips to back it up, but porting makes this feasible)
- RangerJoe: 268rwhp (Ported Cobra, Iron GT40's TFS1 with 1.77rr & he's run at least a 12.841@108.25 backing up his dyno)
- Michael Nadeau: 244rwhp (Ported GT40 intake, GT40Ps, N41 cam, but the claim 1/8 mi suggests more (or lighter) than what the dyno shows: 8.41 @ 86.4 mph more than backing up the dyno)
- foureyefox347: 109.93 mph (347 c.i. Gt40p ported, 650 holley on a Edelbrock rpm intake). Probably in the 300 rwhp range
- Bob F: 273 rwhp (GT40p heads, ported Cobra intake, stock cam - only 99.5 mph suggesting nothing like the dyno'd rwhp unless it's in a bus)
- 86HO5.0: 281 rwhp (Ported explorer intake, P-heads, stock cam - I have to be honest... no way in hell. No timeslips to back it up, but has provided some datalogs of a couple of pulls that I can do some analysis on. Sometimes dyno's are just happy, especially SAE corrections)
- Chuckman: 264rwhp (Stock '01 Explorer longblock (P-heads + GT40 intake, tfs stage1 cam, claimed he trapped in the 100-101 range)

So, what do we get out of all of that? If you just slap unported P-heads on then you might only run 101-ish mph in the 1/4. With proper tuning & supporting mods (cam-intake-induction) maybe 260 rwhp range, which is not much, maybe 10-15rwhp, shy of what the aluminum X-headed combos tend to make.

Noobz347 · Oct 2, 2023

JulianR said:
No concrete plans really Just trying to clean it up, make it daily drivable and give it a few horses. At this point, I was able to find some GT40P heads and bought a Stage 1 TFS cam. Still looking for a better intake than my stock, but for now that's less important than the other stuff I already picked up. We'll see how it turns out.

Find them - Yes. I wouldn't start the installation until you got your hands on an intake. It is right there with the heads as far as bottlenecks.

AeroCoupe · Oct 2, 2023

Depending on where you live you should be able to find a yard that has an Explorer upper and lower on this site:

Car-Part.com--Used Auto Parts Market

FastDriver · Oct 2, 2023

Intake is the most restrictive part, IMO. Wouldn't waste time with anything else in the induction side. Headers are pretty restrictive.

JulianR · Oct 3, 2023

Alright, the pistons are in. That was a bigger PITA then I expected. The ring compression tool from HF wasn't as easy as the tool looked in the videos. Also, I'd say 6 out of 8 pistons had the rod bearing move out of position as I was tapping the piston head to get it on the crank. 1 or 2 pistons I had to pull out and reset the bearing, the rest I kind of pushed the bearing in place with a screwdriver making sure not to scratch anything. Other than that, everything still spins freely, so on to the next step which I'm thinking is the timing gear.

JulianR · Oct 10, 2023

Who knew of the whole engine build, the water pump assembly and mounting would be the hardest

JulianR · Oct 19, 2023

Progress update. Moving on to Head work next.

Question that I was thinking about-- I need to rebuild my manual transmission as well, but I can do that over the winter. The question is, once I have the engine back in the car, can I start it or do I need the transmission and driveshaft hooked up? Or, to put it differently, what is the minimum I need hooked up to start it and make sure it runs?

General karthief · Oct 19, 2023

The biggest hurdle with the engine installed and the trans out would be holding up the back of the engine.

AeroCoupe · Oct 20, 2023

Engine is looking good man!

Install the bell housing and block it up. You just want it where as the motor torques the bell housing has enough room on the blocks that it can move that little bit. Sketchy scale would be about a 5 out of 10 in my garage.

If the motor was balanced with the clutch assembly on it then all of that will need to be installed as well but I'm pretty sure you know that.

JulianR · Oct 20, 2023

Thank you both for the tips. I don't plan on running it to break it in or anything- just want to hear it idle for like 10 seconds to know things are good.

nickyb · Oct 20, 2023

Just got to ask, why chebby orange????

85GTStangGuy · Oct 20, 2023

nickyb said:
Just got to ask, why chebby orange????

See my post on Sept 5, 2023 (post # 136), and his post on Sept 6, 2023 (post # 147).

Noobz347 · Oct 20, 2023

nickyb said:
Just got to ask, why chebby orange????

Oh good. Now, I can wait for the new page to start before I ask.

nickyb · Oct 20, 2023

85GTStangGuy said:
See my post on Sept 5, 2023 (post # 136), and his post on Sept 6, 2023 (post # 147).

Yeah, I don't belive the red cap excuse.
Once you go black.

JulianR · Oct 20, 2023

Lol! It's red, I swear!

JulianR · Nov 6, 2023

Finally found myself some time to work on the engine. Moved on to cleaning up the heads I bought (GT40P). They already came with the stiffer valve springs. My plan was to pull off the springs/valve and clean first. However, I can't get the keepers out. I've tried compressing different springs, with the same result. The spring compresses, I can move the valve up and down but the top plate and the keepers that go inside of it don't move on the valve stem. I use the cheap overhead valve compressor (it does fine compressing the spring). I even tried pulling the keepers out with a small screwdriver and pic, nothing. I've thought about using a socket over the spring once it's compressed to get things loose, but I'm afraid to bend the valve head or stem.

Anyone have any advice? Thank you!

90sickfox · Nov 9, 2023

A magnet should pull them out with the spring compressed. I use a little pocket screw driver with a magnet on the back.

JulianR · Nov 10, 2023

yea, my problem is I bought that simple jaw compressor It compresses the spring against the top retainer where the keepers are and the keepers don't move within their place. Magnet doesn't pull them out. Even tried a small screwdriver. I just bought the c-style compressor tool that I'm going to try. That one compresses the spring towards the valve head-- hopefully freeing up the keepers. Will post my results when I have them.

LILCBRA · Nov 10, 2023

That compressor will work, I've used it on a set of GT40s to swap to a set of Trick Flow springs. The handle isn't very friendly once you start compressing the springs though - you'll want some good gloves. I used my insulated leather welding gloves. Get the spring compressed, push the valve up from the chamber side while holding the compressor and spring down to the casting, then remove the keepers with a magnet like @90sickfox suggested. Easy-peasy!

JulianR · Nov 10, 2023

sounds like when you did it, the retainer compressed down as the spring compressed. For me, the retainer doesn't move-- thus doesn't release/expose the keepers that remain seated- like it's stuck on the valve end tip. The head already has the TFS stronger springs. I just want to take it apart so I can clean and paint it. Maybe I need to shoot some PB Blaster in to the keepers to help them come loose. If you have any other ideas, I'll take them-- otherwise, hoping the different style of spring compressor will get the retainer to move down on the valve stem which will release the keepers.

Engine Engine rebuild suggestions

I was uncomfortably high & wearing a helmet

Stangnet Facilities Maint Tech... Er... Janitor

lube between the nut and the face. I know my lubes

I was uncomfortably high & wearing a helmet

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wonder how much it would cost to ship you a pair

lube between the nut and the face. I know my lubes

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I gotta say i never painted my nuts, Never Ever

Stangnet Facilities Maint Tech... Er... Janitor

I gotta say i never painted my nuts, Never Ever

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Wasn't a pretty sight...and I've got big hands

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I wish I didn't have all of these balls in the air

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