A few months back, I posted a link to an ad for a complete SOHC engine that was for sale local to me. At the time, I wasn't interested, but curiosity got the better of me. I went and checked it out, and, after much deliberation and selling my left *$% to fund it, I bought it. I figured that I have always wanted a cammer, and I have never seen a complete engine using mostly factory parts come up for sale in my part of the world, so I had better grab it while I can. I plan to put the engine in my '63 Galaxie, and have just had a set of headers made for it. The engine is now back in my workshop and will be stripped down to check everything.
Some details of the engine. The previous owner bought it from Les Blahut and was going to put it in his Galaxie. However, poor health prevented him from proceeding with the project. The engine had been dry assembled, but was stored in less than ideal conditions. A lot of dirt and bugs are throughout the it, so I will strip, clean and check everything.
The engine is based on a service replacement sideoiler block, and I was told it is at 4.245" bore.
The crank is a steel 427 $ crank, but has been offset ground to use BBC rods and has 4.00" stroke.
The rods are supposed to be Manley, but from what I can see so far, they have a big black cat on the beams, so not sure if that makes them CAT rods. Also, I haven't seen the brass screws in the centre of the main caps before, not sure what they are about.
The pistons are supposed to be Diamond and the compression is supposed to be 10.5 to 1, which should work okay with our premium ULP.
Another interesting thing about the block is that the lifter bores have keyway slots in them.
The heads are factory cast irons that were supposedly set up by Jim Green. They do look in good condition, and have 2.25"/1.90" valves.
This engine is set up with the early lash cap style non-adjustable rocker arms, and also has the low profile magnesium valve covers. The cams that came in it are Crower grinds that are fairly mild, so once I determine exactly what the compression ratio is, I will replace them with some new Comp cams.
The engine also came with a single 4 barrel factory intake and original C5AF BV Holley carb, which I plan to use. I do have a Munro 2x4 intake that I may swap on it at some point.
The timing chain and gears are all Munro parts, using the bigger 0.250" pin chain.
So now I strip, clean and check to see exactly what I got for my money. Then the fun of re-assembly begins.