Engine replacement & tranny rebuild

1320stang · Dec 11, 2006

The 'A' in the third position is a generic Ford or a Galaxie, an 'O' here designates a Fairlane (or a Torino) and an 'M', Mercury. These are the only 3rd character designators I've seen for blocks, I don't recall a 'Z' block, but a 'Z' means Mustang in any other part. The 'E' 4th character means it's an engine part, a 'Z' 4th character means it's a Ford service part.

1320stang · Dec 11, 2006

The crank is likely a later crank, maybe a 70's or early early 80's one unless you just haven't found the right spot.

t_chelle16 · Dec 11, 2006

Well, my buddy at Autozone said the casting numbers weren't a problem so I've got the new engine ordered (should be here in about 4 or 5 days). I also bought some of the parts that the manufacturer recomends replacing (water pump, thermostat, etc) and I'll be getting some more parts (hoses, belts, spark plugs, distributer cap, etc) a little later. I'll spend the next several mornings that I have free cleaning up the engine bay and fixing rust.

Quick question: Is the battery apron just a bolt on panel? Or is there some welding involved in replacing the whole thing? Would it be easier to replace the whole thing or just cut out the rust (just where the battery sits) and weld in a patch panel from the new apron?

-Chelle

krash kendall · Dec 11, 2006

It is a welded in apron, the bolts you are seeing ore for the outer shock tower/cover. It would probably be easier to put in a complete apron and it would also give you more room to access the work required on your front crossmember/rad support.

dennis112 · Dec 11, 2006

t_chelle16 said:
Well, my buddy at Autozone said the casting numbers weren't a problem so I've got the new engine ordered (should be here in about 4 or 5 days). I also bought some of the parts that the manufacturer recomends replacing (water pump, thermostat, etc) and I'll be getting some more parts (hoses, belts, spark plugs, distributer cap, etc) a little later. I'll spend the next several mornings that I have free cleaning up the engine bay and fixing rust.

Quick question: Is the battery apron just a bolt on panel? Or is there some welding involved in replacing the whole thing? Would it be easier to replace the whole thing or just cut out the rust (just where the battery sits) and weld in a patch panel from the new apron?

-Chelle

It is easier to use weld a patch from a new apron. I've done the patch panel route several times and prefer it over doing the whole apron. Just cut out the damaged area then cut that section from the new panel. Allow a little overlap and then weld into place. The battery box will probably cover most of the patched area.

To do the whole apron requires removing the fender, the outer shocktower spring cover, plus all the wiring and maybe even the headlight bucket. The apron was factory spotwelded on all sides and so you would need to break those spotwelds and then have the new panel welded back in. Not a huge deal, just a PITA.

ozstang65 · Dec 12, 2006

For decoding your casting numbers:

The first character is for the decade the part was produced.
A - 1940's
B - 1950's
C - 1960's
D - 1970's
E - 1980's
F - 1990's
G - 2000's

The second character is for the last numeral of the year the part was produced.
(With the first 2 characters you can decode the year of the part. A7xx - 1947, B5xx - 1955, C6xx - 1966, etc.)

The third character:

This character is for the product line that the the part was used on.
A - full size Ford (Galaxie, LTD, Custom, etc.)
B - Fairlane and Torino to 76, then 77-79 LTD II, then Festiva, then Aspire
C - Mercury Capri (60's - 70's), Escort
D - Falcon, Maverick, Granada, Taurus, 96 and later Taurus/Sable common parts
E - Escort
F - common Tempo/Escort parts (same parts, different body panels)
G - Mercury Montego, Monarch
H - Ford heavy truck
I - (Omitted because it could be misconstrued as a 1)
J - marine (boat engines, stationary power plants)
K - Tracer
L - Lincoln Mark series and regular 4-door Lincoln
M - full size Mercury for unique parts (otherwise, use A)
N - Ford tractor
O - 62 and up Fairlane and Torino, Mercury Montego, Sable, and Lincoln Continental
P - Bobcat and Pinto
Q - (Omitted because it could be misconstrued as an O)
R - Merkur, then Contour/Mystyque
S - T-bird
T - light truck (F-100, F-150, etc.), Bronco, Explorer
U - Econoline van
V - Lincoln Town car
W - Cougar
X - Villager
Y - Lincoln or Mercury/Lincoln non-vehicle-specific part
Z - Mustang or Ford non-vehicle-specific part
2 - Probe
3 - Tempo
4 - 96+ Sable body parts
6 - Topaz
7 - Ranger
8 - Windstar
9 - Aerostar

The fourth character is an engineering number. (Z - denotes an actual saleable part available off of the dealer's shelf)
Much of this information came from an SHO Taurus site but is no longer available on that site.

But don't quote me on those, i just ripped them from some website. For the crank, if you look closely somewhere near the front I think, it may be stamped with the number (Not a cast in munber). I think I've seen one stamped on the first counterweight.

t_chelle16 · Dec 14, 2006

The engine came in yesterday and we picked it up this morning. It took us over an hour just to get it into the garage because the driveway is full of cars and the ground is muddy. We ended up having to hoist it into the back of my dad's Jeep then back it up to the driveway just in front of the garage (where we could get the hoist on concrete).

Since it got here way sooner than I was expecting, I think I'm just going to cut & weld a patch in the apron rather than replacing the whole thing. It will be a lot quicker.

-Chelle

D.Hearne · Dec 14, 2006

Chelle------the third digit of the engine's (or any other part number) is really meaningless as far as you're deal goes. The third digit only tells you what vehicle line the engineering costs were assigned to. The block could have been installed in any vehicle line using that engine displacement. ............................................ ............................................................... Larry--------- Only block comes to mind with a "Z" in the third character is the Boss 302.

D.Hearne · Dec 14, 2006

Rusty67 said:
Would you honestly trust an Autozone block ?

When it comes to factory reman engines, I don't think there's any one brand that hasn't been associated with failures. With the lower cost you pay, that's the added risk you take. You sometimes get what you pay for, sometimes you get lucky too. I did a build up with a City Motor Supply reman shortblock a couple years ago. Paid $350 for a late model roller shortblock with Silvolite Hypereutectic flattops. It survived over a year of daily floggings to as much as 7500 rpms (after replacing the rod bolts with ARP's) In the end it cracked the #4 cylinder wall (1/2" long crack midway in the bore) The rest of the rotating assembly held up fine. The pistons and rods went into another motor.

t_chelle16 · Dec 14, 2006

-Chelle

t_chelle16 · Dec 16, 2006

Just about ready to start patching up the rust holes (just need to do a little welding practice tomorrow because I haven't welded in a while).

Pulled off the valance so I could get to the radiator crossmember:

The damage after I did some cutting. I actually cut away more than just where the hole was to make the patches easier to cut. I also found a couple of little holes that I'll weld up.

Battery apron with the hole all squared up. I decided not to replace the whole panel and I'm also not going to cut a patch from the new panel. It's a fairly flat area so I just bought some metal to cut a patch from. No sense in ruining a whole new battery apron (which I can sell) just for that little patch.

Oh, and after years of searching, I finally found some small welding gloves locally.

-Chelle

68stang351 · Dec 16, 2006

Platonic Solid said:
How much do you know about Recon 302 from Autozone? (Keeping in mind that if you search for dirt on just about any company, you'll find it.) I found some rather negative comments on Ford-Trucks.com (last post on page).

In my quest for a new truck engine, I recently found myself doing lots of research in this area. I even had NAPA quote me an engine, but as soon as I mentioned that I was considering getting a Jasper engine, the counter guy (who I've known for years) said, "Don't buy it from us. Get the Jasper engine". Yes, it cost about $500 more, but I'll gladly spend it for peace-of-mind.

Jasperengines.com

Cool Jasper Engines Video

I have a Recon engine in my 68. I've had it for about 3 or 4 years now without a single problem. And believe me I drive it VERY hard.

t_chelle16 · Dec 17, 2006

Welded up the radiator crossmember and the battery apron today:

(Ignore the gorilla welds and the tab that I still need to cut off).

-Chelle

bnickel · Dec 18, 2006

looks good Chelle. will look even better one the welds are ground down and painted.

krash kendall · Dec 18, 2006

Very thorough job Chelle, looks good!

t_chelle16 · Dec 18, 2006

Thanks. If it's not raining tomorrow morning, I might go out and grind down the welds a little.

Oh, and something else I plan on doing is cutting the whole exaust system off of old Sadie (it was only a year old when I parked old Sadie) and putting it on new Sadie. I figured that since it's coming off of a 67 mustang and going onto a 67 mustang, it shouldn't be that difficult to do. And if, once I get it off of old Sadie, I decide that I really just don't want to do it myself, once I get new Sadie running again, the muffler shop here will put it on for about $50 as long as I take everything down there.

-Chelle

t_chelle16 · Dec 22, 2006

New engine unwrapped and on the stand (yes, I know it's sideways. I was looking at the block casting number - came from a 72 Fairlaine/Torino/Sabel/etc).

Right now I'm in the process of cleaning & painting all the parts that I need to put back on the engine, but I'm working a lot so I'm doing what I can in the mornings before I have to go to work. I was hoping to get it all back together by the end of the year, but I've changed my goal to getting it done by my birthday (Jan 16).

Oh, and for future reference, don't bother trying to use a dremel to grind down welds - you'll be there for days. I need to find my dad's big grinder.

-Chelle

t_chelle16 · Jan 9, 2007

Just a quick preview of what the engine will look like when it's done (everything is just sitting on there for now, but I'm really close to being ready to reassemble).

I ended up going with the block letter valve covers. I really wanted THESE, but they were discontinued 3 years ago (competed too much with the block letter Ford Racing ones). I was told a place that might still have some so I emailed them. They said they'd check their warehouse but never got back with me so I went ahead and ordered the block letter ones. The day I got the block letter ones, I got an email saying that they did still have some. I considered going a head and getting them until they said they'd been selling them for the past few months for $275! (yet it took them 3 weeks to find them in the warehouse ) So I'm happy with the ones I have.

EDIT: Oh and I got the welds ground down, the engine bay painted, and the valance partly put back on; just haven't taken any pics yet.

-Chelle

bnickel · Jan 9, 2007

looks good but it need's to be Blue!!!!!

t_chelle16 · Jan 9, 2007

LOL. Nope, no blue.

-Chelle

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