finally got my stang project moving, few questions (engine related)

[88GT17MA]

I bought a stang last year but it got postponed due to personal issues. The car was a complete mess when I bought it. Recently I got the car towed to my new house and started stripping down engine. Everything has gone smothly and now im down to the shortblock, which is where my questions come in:

1) The previous owner had the engine rebuilt so even though it is an 88, and should have forged pistons, im thinking the rebuild kit used may not have had forged pistons. How can i tell by looking at a piston while its still in the shortblock wether or not it is forged? (I have plans for forced induction)

2) Before I put on a new top end, what should I look for on the block? the pistons look pretty good, little black tint on them but nothing scary. Any special areas I should check for certain damage?

3) What sort of daily maintenence should be performed on my shortblock while it is sitting around with the topend off?


4) how delicate are the cyliner walls and deck surface? I have this feeling in my head im going to scratch it or drop a wrench and put a dent in it. When I took of the heads off some debris (small rocks, dust, rust chips) fell into some of the cylinders and is sitting on top of the pistons, whats the best way to clean this stuff out?

lastly:

5) how can I manually turn the engine to check cylinder pressure and valvetrain settings?


thanks in advance, btw this is my first mustang project.....wow.....lot of work....but awesome

 

[88GT17MA]

anyone?

 

[Rick 91GT]

I bought a stang last year but it got postponed due to personal issues. The car was a complete mess when I bought it. Recently I got the car towed to my new house and started stripping down engine. Everything has gone smothly and now im down to the shortblock, which is where my questions come in:

1) The previous owner had the engine rebuilt so even though it is an 88, and should have forged pistons, im thinking the rebuild kit used may not have had forged pistons. How can i tell by looking at a piston while its still in the shortblock wether or not it is forged? (I have plans for forced induction)
Does the Piston have a PT#? Is it a flat top wit 2 valve reliefs, 4 valve reliefs, a dish?

2) Before I put on a new top end, what should I look for on the block? the pistons look pretty good, little black tint on them but nothing scary. Any special areas I should check for certain damage?
You could pull a main and rod bearing to check them out if the motor is out. Make sure there is no dirt or debris on the cyliner walls, lifter valley, etc

3) What sort of daily maintenence should be performed on my shortblock while it is sitting around with the topend off?
Coat the cylinder walls with reg oil, tape the bores and lifter valley off also


4) how delicate are the cyliner walls and deck surface? I have this feeling in my head im going to scratch it or drop a wrench and put a dent in it. When I took of the heads off some debris (small rocks, dust, rust chips) fell into some of the cylinders and is sitting on top of the pistons, whats the best way to clean this stuff out?
You want to keep the surfaces clean and free of all dirt debris and marks or you could have issues with headgasket sealing. Make sure you get ALL the old gasket material off and the surfaces are perfectly clean before re-installing. Also be sure to run a tap through the head bolt holes tap to clean the threads out so you get proper tq readings. I prefer to use the ARP moly and thread sealer on all the motors I build. Just be sure to follow all TQ specs. You can use a shopvac to suck out the debris, make sure you get the motor as clean as you can before assmebling anything.

lastly:

5) how can I manually turn the engine to check cylinder pressure and valvetrain settings? You can do the compression test by unhooking the coil, and jumping the car at the solenoid if you do not have a remote start cable/tool. Prime the system then set the valvetrain and you should be OK, with a hyd roller you can not turn the motor over to set the lash like a solid. You may find you have to go back and readjust them. I usually start at 5/8 turn on the rockers once I am at 0 lash, I find 1 turn to usually be excessively tight, but it all depends how good you are at setting lash, it is an art. Dont forget to check the rocker to valve alignment to ensure you have good geometry


thanks in advance, btw this is my first mustang project.....wow.....lot of work....but awesome
Take your time and don't be afraid to double or triple check anything, it will save headaches further down the road.

Response is above in bold

 

[88GT17MA]

Thanks alot for the response rick, I was just out working on the car and put everything away for the day so I'll have to check for a p/n on the pistons tommorow. Pretty sure there are two valve reliefs, but again, will double check tommorow. Is there anywhere I can further my knowledge on setting the lash on a hyd roller (website, book, etc, maybe just some more detailed instructions)? The block is still in the car, attached to the tranny, the original plan was to send the block to you rick, for a 331 stroker, but instead im going to use this car as a learning experience and bigger plans will come down the road when I know exactly what I want to do (which is where RNH comes in ).

Have you ever been down to my neck of the woods? Im in mass also, in ashland, town over from framingham....once this car is running I'd like to check out your shop and may even arrange an appointment to get some other work I need done. Let me know, and thanks again.

 

[Rick 91GT]

I'm in PA so it would be a couple hour haul for you but when your ready let me know..

Here's instructions for a ped mount rocker (stock style)

http://www.cranecams.com/pdf/453e.pdf

Here's the stud mount

http://www.cranecams.com/pdf/425e.pdf