Bob, tried to PM you, I guess you didn't get it.

A little anecdotal experience.
I have a D4TE block that sonic checked at the machine shop to have at least .100 walls everywhere bored to 4.130.
Got an Ebay sonic checker in the meantime and checked the block after I got it home. Several places under .100, thinnest at .079.
So I Hard Blocked it up to the water pump holes and have been running it pretty hard for the last 2 years. Plenty of street miles with some round trips of 100+ miles. Run it up to 6K rpm often.
I also have a 19x31 Ebay aluminum radiator, engine oil cooler, 5" water pump pulley, and PRW aluminum water pump. Runs very cool (below 200*) according to my coolant temp gauge, and hasn't run over 210* on my oil temp gauge.

Not really suggesting it's the correct way to build an FE motor, but it has worked well for me and would do it again.

This thread is interesting and is reoccurring fairly regularly.
It does put me into a quandary.
I did buy a China RPM for the 360 in my pickup. It fit well and works good. Got it on Ebay for $200 bucks.

My point of quandaryment is, who is my bigger enemy?
Is it the Chinaman who supposedly wants to kill me and send the American economy into a downward spiral?
Or is it the Investment Firm that bought a family owned business (Edelbrock) that's selling an intake manifold that the R&D and foundry tooling was done 30+ years ago and has decided that gouging the consumer to the tune of $700+ is the way to go?
I can't decide.
Flame away.

Only 2 carburetors?
I hope that the a/c compressor is tucked WAAAY under.

Late to the party but I'll add my bit.
It seems a bit silly to add subframe connectors to a Ford unibody without welding them the entire length of floor from one end to the other. The amount of stiffness added compared to just welding, or God forbid, bolting tubing to each end of the subframes is huge.
I usually cut the floor open the entire length of the connector and weld the tubing the entire length and around the front and rear stubs, and reinforce the factory welds and stubs as necessary. If you're going to do it, make it work. I you're worried about cutting your precious car, well...

In 1997, I built a 1964 Falcon Sprint for a daily driver/commuter car. My daily commute included 37 miles of twisty mountain roads through a National Forest. While I had the 2 strips of floor cut out and was fitting the tubing for the connectors, I had a couple of friends stop by and tell me this was WAY overkill for a "driver". Probably so, or so I thought.
About 6 months after I started driving the car I was sitting at a traffic signal and was hit by a raised Ford F250 travelling about 70mph. The car was demolished but the floor never buckled at all. After a lengthy hospital stay and then an inspection of the car I am confident that I'm typing this post at least partially because the entire floor was reinforced.

I ass-u-me that you have a 385 series motor. They tend to run a little warmer than FE's, but they can really make big power.

A couple of things I've found that really work.
1) I try to run a 5" water pump pulley and a 7" crank pulley. Folks talk about water pump cavitation. It's talk, nothing more.
2) I run 2 11" Spal paddle fans with shrouds. They come as a kit. The paddle fans are noisy but flow a ton of air.

These 2 things along with a 19"X31" aluminum Ebay radiator keep my D4TE 390 block that's been bored to 4.130 and Hardblocked to the water pump holes nice and cool. Plenty of cruising miles at above 100* this past summer.

Quote from: Tommy-T on June 15, 2025, 05:48:41 PM

2 Things I hate about spools...you cannot push a car with a spool. Once you turn the steering wheel even just a little, the car just stops and it takes 3 guys to get it to move. Secondly, in a parking lot the rear tires will screech loudly when you pull into and out of a parking space.

All of this said, my Jeep and my Comet both have 9" rears with Ebay NASCAR Detroit Lockers. They are cranky to drive and very loud around corners. Both get driven pretty long distances. They are embarrassing pulling into gas stations and such and I have had a few folks ask me what's wrong with my vehicle.

My track diff with 4.88 gears has a spool.

Tommy, just curious, what axle spline count do you run with your spools on the street? I don't have experience with spools, but always wondered how a 31 spline would handle the twisting with big tires. It's just a guess, but I think I would want 35 or bigger with that scenario. I wouldn't even attempt a 28 spline, even an aftermarket. I've wondered if my Strange 31 splines could hold up under a spool on the street.

Also, I've run several Detroit lockers, and none of them behaved like you've described. I've certainly heard the horror stories like you relate, just never experienced it. Are they old lockers? They have changed over the years.

I run the NASCAR takeout Detroit Lockers that are very inexpensive on Ebay. They're tough but cranky.
I've run a spool against Moser and Currie 31 spline axles with no trouble. I'm talking about cars that drive less than a thousand miles annually.

I run the Holley in tank module that mounts in most fuel cells in direct replacement of the fuel cell fill. Simple installation and a 340gph pump. Works fine with my carbureted return pressure regulator and is supposed to work with efi if an appropriate  regulator is used.
It comes with #10an outlet and #8 return but I have it stepped down to #8 with #6 return. Pressures are rock solid.

Quite frankly, the old Holley blue pump has powered many 10 second hot rods reliably with a dead head blue regulator. Yes, it is noisy and it sounds like it's eating itself but I bet a lot of old farts here have run them with no trouble. I do suggest a return regulator.

My Comet has similar suspension to your Maverick with the except that I have a 4 link on the rear instead of ladder bars.
I have Posies Super Slide leaf springs with 9 2" wide leaf springs on the front. They are quite heavy and I thought they would be much too stiff. After putting a couple hundred miles on the car it turned out they ride quite nice just as the salesman from Posies said they would. I tried to pull the bottom 3 springs off the pack and they were much too soft. You are fortunate that your front springs are long as that makes them ride nicer. Mine are 35" long and go from the chassis kick-up at the firewall to the front of the chassis. Try what you have with a running, driving car before you try to adjust them. There is a place on your end of the country that makes composite (plastic) mono springs. I may try that sometime soon.
Try to make your tie rod and your drag link parallel to each other and as long as possible. A bunch of positive caster helps too, I have 11* in mine.
The 1" off center of your pinion is probably negligible, but if you're building motor mounts anyway you can certainly square things up. Room for headers is more important.