Engines!

[suki243]

Hey all, I need some opinions here, the only thing that really remains a mystery to me is the engine itself, in my mustang. I redid the interior, the electrical.
I always thought of a hands on approach as being the best teacher. As of right now I'm not that confident enough to take out my own engine and rebuilding it. I was wondering what you guys would suggest me doing. I was thinking of trying to locate an old block somewhere like a junkyard that some1 has totally just forgot and tearing that apart and getting a book and rebuilding it. Then maybe selling it later or something.
What do ya'll think?
Approximately how much does a basic rebuild cost for a small block?(not going over the top just an engine that will last, not for drag, purely streets)

 

[jikelly]

I was at that stage once, but you have the advantage of your car still running at the moment. My mom blew my engine so I had to rely on my Leather Personnel Carriers (shoes) to get me around during the 6 month of scraping up the 1100 dollars I needed to rebuild a junkyard motor.

I was lucky though. A guy at the local Ford house liked my car and we would talk about cars and stuff. Once he took me for a ride in a Cobra, WOW. Anyway, he and another guy helped me find a good block and we put the engine together at his friends house.

I'd say read everything you can before you jump into it, and see if you can find someone who's knowledgeable to help you. I've made it through the years with a 100 piece set of craftsman tools. You'll need a few other special tools like a torque wrench, but their tool set is a good start.

I actually pulled that engine again when my heads needed rebuilding after 60,000 miles. I decided to go ahead and have the block freshened up. A local machine shop did the machining of the block. I didn't feel comfortable putting all the bearings and everything in the bottom end so I asked the machinist to assemble the short-block for me. I handled putting the ported heads and intake on myself at home.

That engine ran great for 80,000+ miles till my high 11:1 compression ratio combined with my stupidity to break a few rings resulting in grooved cylinder walls and excessive oil blowby. I was trying to save money and put in some cheap, low octane gas. BIG MISTAKE!

 

[rbohm]

start by picking up a book called "how to rebuild your small block ford" by tom monroe. you can also pick up a book called "ford performance" by pat gahnal(sp). these books will give you a good base to start. you can then pick up a long block from a salvage yard, and buy an engine stand, i like the 4 wheeled ones, and tear down the engine. use a digital camera to record everything, and put fasteners in zip lock bags, the kind you can write on, and store them for reuse or replacement verification.