Spent a few hours today checking the bearing clearances on the engine I recently bought. The mains came in a little on the tight side, at between 0.0019" to 0.0023". However, the rods are way too tight, at around 0.0009" to 0.0014".

Now, I know I could try a different set of rod bearings, but theses are on BBC rods that have been narrowed to FE width, and the bearings have been narrowed as well. What I'm thinking is it may be easier to have the rod journals polished to reduce the diameter down 0.001". Does that sound feasible? How much material, if any, is removed with polishing a journal?

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.

This is for sale local to me.

http://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/two-rocks/engine-engine-parts-transmission/ford-427-sohc-engine/1129764126

Price is Australian Dollars, so at a current exchange rate of about 0.75, works out to about US$26k

If anyone is interested, I can help out with checking the engine out.

Has any one used the new Canton louvred windage tray, part #20-938P? I know their screen type tray will clear a stroker bottom end, was wondering if the new screen will do the same.

Following on from the post I made in the Technical section, I am looking for either an offset or low profile distributor that will fit in with the sheet metal tunnel ram on my race engine. I have a crank trigger pick up and locked timing, so don't need those functions in the distributor.

If you have anything that might help me out, please either PM or email me  toddkeen at hotmail dot com.

Thanks.

I'm chasing the chrome trim piece that runs across the front lip of the hood on a 64 Fairlane. The piece I have is pretty scratched and dented, so I would prefer to get one in better condition. If you can help, please contact by PM. Thanks

I'm looking to buy a new ATI harmonic damper for an engine I am putting together. It is a 496 cube motor that I hope to get about 750hp/7000rpm out of. For my past 2 engines, I have used the ATI part# 918310, which is a steel outer and inner damper. However, I just noticed ATI make a FE damper with an alloy outer shell and steel inner, which is actually cheaper than the steel/steel damper. Any disadvantage to using the alloy/steel damper for my application?