Build Thread Want To Blow 5 Years And $50k On A Foxbody? Step By Step Instructions Inside!

RacEoHolic330 · Dec 23, 2014

No updates to report right now. I told the engine builder to wait until after the holidays. I'm not in a rush to have it back. I am going to start working on the interior hatch area again. I'd like to get that finished up. And yes, I'm very excited to have it for the spring. I didn't get to enjoy it nearly enough this year!

RacEoHolic330 · Dec 31, 2014

I heard from the engine builder today. Good news and bad news. The good news is that the rod bearings and cam bearings are okay. The bad news is that the pistons are not. There are signs of excessive heat and metal transfer on the skirts. He does not recommended re-using them, so I'll need to order a set of 0.040 Probe pistons. Eff. The crank bearings will also be replaced.

The slightly larger pistons weigh 2 grams more than the existing ones. My builder said that should not be enough of a difference to require getting the rotating assembly balanced again. A slight over-balance won't hurt anything. He's going to send me some pictures of the parts.

Things could definitely be worse. I'll be ordering the parts and he'll get everything done as soon as he gets the parts. Hopefully it will be back together in a few weeks.

bird_dog0347 · Dec 31, 2014

Ouch, that sucks man!

Noobz347 · Dec 31, 2014

Damn.... I had imagined maybe roughing the bore and replacing the rings.

Do you now know what caused it exactly?

RacEoHolic330 · Dec 31, 2014

Apparently the cylinder walls were washed down so bad that there was literally no oil on the walls anymore causing metal-to-metal contact between the skirt and cylinder wall. That created too much heat and caused enough damage to the pistons to make reusing them questionable. He said I could possibly get away with using them if I really wanted to, but he's confident I would have issues down the road. The fuel content in the oil also contributed to the scuffing on the crank bearings. I never imagined washing the walls down for a few minutes would wreak so much havoc. Hard lesson learned from all this!

RacEoHolic330 · Jan 1, 2015

Here's the damage. Not pretty at all. The stock 100k mile pistons I took out of the original engine looked better than these. 100 miles and 8 pulls on them. They will make very nice ash trays. Too bad I don't smoke.

Stock 100k mile piston for comparison.

hoopty5.0 · Jan 2, 2015

Wow. That's nuts.

84Ttop · Jan 2, 2015

Did you wind up using Gil Davis for the rebuild Scott? My motor is going to him next week for a little winter update

RacEoHolic330 · Jan 2, 2015

I did not, Nick. Mainly just because I found a reputable builder closer to me. Gil's son was very nice when I spoke to him on the phone though. Both builder's quotes were within $100 of each other.

I have a set of lightly used pistons if you need them for your update. Only 100 miles on them! I'll cut ya a deal.

84Ttop · Jan 2, 2015

RacEoHolic330 said:
I did not, Nick. Mainly just because I found a reputable builder closer to me. Gil's son was very nice when I spoke to him on the phone though. Both builder's quotes were within $100 of each other.

I have a set of lightly used pistons if you need them for your update. Only 100 miles on them! I'll cut ya a deal.

It's always good to know when pricing is in line when it comes to this stuff, good info there. As far as the pistons go, I don't smoke either not to mention they are about .100" too small

Madd_Hatter_1979 · Jan 13, 2015

WOWZERS... just spent the last several hours reading your build thread from start until now... Sorry to hear about the motor, that blows... You have inspired me as im sure many others to rebuild our Foxes... Cant wait to see this thing back together and completed!

Noobz347 · Jan 13, 2015

RacEoHolic330 said:
Here's the damage. Not pretty at all. The stock 100k mile pistons I took out of the original engine looked better than these. 100 miles and 8 pulls on them. They will make very nice ash trays. Too bad I don't smoke.

Stock 100k mile piston for comparison.

That sucks an AMAZING amount of donkydik. Great pics of what can happen though for the next, "Can I drive my car un-tuned to the dyno"????

Edit: I know this this not your case Race. I'm just recalling all of the times that the question has been asked.

90lxcoupe · Jan 15, 2015

any reason you arent opening up the bore even more?

RacEoHolic330 · Jan 15, 2015

Madd_Hatter_1979 said:
WOWZERS... just spent the last several hours reading your build thread from start until now... Sorry to hear about the motor, that blows... You have inspired me as im sure many others to rebuild our Foxes... Cant wait to see this thing back together and completed!

Thanks man! Glad you enjoyed the really, really long read.

Noobz347 said:
That sucks an AMAZING amount of donkydik. Great pics of what can happen though for the next, "Can I drive my car un-tuned to the dyno"????

Edit: I know this this not your case Race. I'm just recalling all of the times that the question has been asked.

That's the truth. Even though these cars are fuel injected, it's still possible to screw things up royally. My damage was done in a matter of minutes idling in my garage.

90lxcoupe said:
any reason you arent opening up the bore even more?

1. Money
2. Because streetcar

Going with substantially larger pistons would require a re-balance of the rotating assembly. It will also require more machining work. This ordeal is costing me almost $2k to fix, so I'm not interested in spending a dollar more than I need to now. The car will also make over 800hp to the wheels next time out. That was my original power goal, so I'll be happy with that! Also, knowing me, I won't be happy with a 347-363 engine that has 185cc heads, so I would be tempted to get a new set. I don't want to be tempted to do something like that. My little 331 (now a 333!) is perfectly fine.

RacEoHolic330 · Jan 26, 2015

The pistons were on backorder from Probe. My builder finally got them. Probe changed the valve relief design a bit. The original pistons were a made at least 6 years ago. It should not be an issue, but I'll definitely need to check valve clearance. New piston on right.

He is going to confirm the piston weights and then put everything together. It may be ready to pick up this weekend.

hoopty5.0 · Jan 26, 2015

RacEoHolic330 said:
It may be ready to pick up this weekend.

While I love optimism, I have yet to ever experience myself, or hear of someone picking up the engine when promised. I hope you do, and then let me know which squares to pick for the super bowl.

RacEoHolic330 · Jan 26, 2015

Haha. True story Colin. If it's anything like my painter, I won't see that engine until the summer!

FoxMustangLvr · Jan 26, 2015

RacEoHolic330 said:
Haha. True story Colin. If it's anything like my painter, I won't see that engine until the summer!

Hopefully it's only a little bit late as a worse case scenario. It's weird how excited we get when YOUR build goes well and how disappointed we all get when things go bad and it's not even our car, time nor money invested. We're simply followers. Even though I have my own build that consumes my time I still enjoy following yours and as excited as I am to soon be turning that ignition over for my own car I eagerly anticipate a successful start up, test and tune of the beautiful machine you've crafted.

02 281 GT · Jan 26, 2015

RacEoHolic330 said:
Haha. True story Colin. If it's anything like my painter, I won't see that engine until the summer!

But you can be sure it'll look like a million bucks and be done right.

RacEoHolic330 · Jan 27, 2015

FoxMustangLvr said:
Hopefully it's only a little bit late as a worse case scenario. It's weird how excited we get when YOUR build goes well and how disappointed we all get when things go bad and it's not even our car, time nor money invested. We're simply followers. Even though I have my own build that consumes my time I still enjoy following yours and as excited as I am to soon be turning that ignition over for my own car I eagerly anticipate a successful start up, test and tune of the beautiful machine you've crafted.

I'm glad that my thread inspires people as much as other's have inspired me. I know how exciting it is to see other builds evolve and come together. That's why I did this thread. I appreciate it man.

Build Thread Want To Blow 5 Years And $50k On A Foxbody? Step By Step Instructions Inside!

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