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Non-FE Discussion Forum / Re: Merry Christmas
« on: December 24, 2025, 05:37:02 PM »
From my family to yours, Merry Christmas!!
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Non-FE Discussion Forum / Re: A few pics from a car show on the weekend. A bit of Everything.
« on: November 26, 2025, 05:49:35 PM »
That "GIRTH" license plate on the chopper reminds me of something funny from my Ford days. The 1991 Lincoln Town Car was all new and it introduced the 4.6L Modular V8. The Modular Engine guys were very proud of this, so they had embroidered jackets made up.
"Lincoln Town Car. Because girth is everything!"
"Lincoln Town Car. Because girth is everything!"
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Non-FE Discussion Forum / Re: Galaxie Consoles
« on: October 17, 2025, 06:42:41 PM »
Yes, at least in '63 and '64. The XL's all came with buckets and a console, but you could order the rare swing-away steering column option that required a column shift. (I think about 3 percent of cars were ordered with this.)
The swing-away column required a column shift automatic. The column shifter unlocked the column when it was placed in Park, allowing you to slide the wheel towards the center. The car couldn't be started until the column was swung back into place. Shifting out of Park would lock the column in place.
I have one of these setups that i intend to use in my '64. The blank top console plate is incredibly hard to find. Here's a picture of a swing-away '64 XL:
The swing-away column required a column shift automatic. The column shifter unlocked the column when it was placed in Park, allowing you to slide the wheel towards the center. The car couldn't be started until the column was swung back into place. Shifting out of Park would lock the column in place.
I have one of these setups that i intend to use in my '64. The blank top console plate is incredibly hard to find. Here's a picture of a swing-away '64 XL:
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FE Technical Forum / Re: measuring compression height on sohc dome piston
« on: September 24, 2025, 08:10:38 PM »
Plug your numbers in here:
https://www.summitracing.com/popup/calcsandtools/compression-calculator
Assuming zero deck height and 0.040" gasket thickness, you get around 12.0:1 with the numbers you provided above
That's assuming the piston dome really does work out to 33 cc.
Color me surprised! That big bore and stroke really do make a difference. Note that you need to enter your piston dome cc as a negative number on the Summit calculator...
https://www.summitracing.com/popup/calcsandtools/compression-calculator
Assuming zero deck height and 0.040" gasket thickness, you get around 12.0:1 with the numbers you provided above
That's assuming the piston dome really does work out to 33 cc.
Color me surprised! That big bore and stroke really do make a difference. Note that you need to enter your piston dome cc as a negative number on the Summit calculator...
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FE Technical Forum / Re: BILLET SPEEWORKS MAIN CAPS
« on: September 23, 2025, 11:31:34 PM »
Mike - 7075-T6 aluminum can handle the stress, but it will eventually fail in fatigue. Unless you're going to be diligent about replacing parts on a regular schedule (like Top Fuel teams), I'd go for a good billet alloy steel. It will last forever.
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Non-FE Discussion Forum / Re: Pushrod Length 5.0 Roller Engine
« on: September 10, 2025, 09:43:01 AM »
Bruce -
I was assuming the rocker geometry is correct. You should check that before finalizing the pushrod length. You have adjustable rocker studs, right? Make sure the roller contact pattern is roughly centered on the valve stem. Once you've got that checked on a few cylinders, then you should have a good idea where the pushrod length needs to be.
I was assuming the rocker geometry is correct. You should check that before finalizing the pushrod length. You have adjustable rocker studs, right? Make sure the roller contact pattern is roughly centered on the valve stem. Once you've got that checked on a few cylinders, then you should have a good idea where the pushrod length needs to be.
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Non-FE Discussion Forum / Re: Pushrod Length 5.0 Roller Engine
« on: September 10, 2025, 09:17:22 AM »
Just get a pushrod length checker tool from somebody like Summit. Make sure the length range and ball ends are correct for your SBF.
Summit has several like this: (I don't know if this one is correct for your application)
https://www.summitracing.com/parts/hrs-92129
Once you have the length set up correctly for your lifter preload, measure it and order your pushrods in that length.
Summit has several like this: (I don't know if this one is correct for your application)
https://www.summitracing.com/parts/hrs-92129
Once you have the length set up correctly for your lifter preload, measure it and order your pushrods in that length.
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FE Technical Forum / Re: measuring compression height on sohc dome piston
« on: August 27, 2025, 04:30:13 PM »
Also, you should double check that C/R calculator before ordering pistons. I very carefully measured out my original iron head street engine with TRW domed pistons (much bigger). My chambers are 120 cc with slightly tuliped Donovan valves, and with an 0.040" head gasket I got 10.7:1 compression.
No way that little dome gives so much compression. Those must be blower pistons.
No way that little dome gives so much compression. Those must be blower pistons.
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Non-FE Discussion Forum / Re: buick v6
« on: August 17, 2025, 04:40:09 PM »Can you get that SHO motor in a little Escort or something? Sleeper alert!
Leno has one in a Fiesta.
You’re thinking of the Shogun. A California company built about 7 of them using a Kia-built Ford Festiva as the base. They took the entire Taurus SHO front subframe, with engine and transmission, and shoved it into the back of the Festiva. The result is pretty wild!
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Non-FE Discussion Forum / Re: buick v6
« on: August 17, 2025, 02:52:26 PM »
Re: Chevy Busch Series engine. Those are pretty cool as well! It would be something to see one of those on the street.
One of the last projects Don Sullivan worked on at Ford was the Ford 4.5L Busch Series V6. It made well over 400 HP and was quite reliable. I remember seeing the old man in the EMDO building with prototype engines. Good times!
One of the last projects Don Sullivan worked on at Ford was the Ford 4.5L Busch Series V6. It made well over 400 HP and was quite reliable. I remember seeing the old man in the EMDO building with prototype engines. Good times!
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Non-FE Discussion Forum / Re: buick v6
« on: August 17, 2025, 02:46:13 PM »Can you get that SHO motor in a little Escort or something? Sleeper alert!
Escort would probably be a tough fit. You know… a Merkur XR4Ti would be really cool! That’s almost as light and is already rear wheel drive. You just don’t see those anymore 😀
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Non-FE Discussion Forum / Re: buick v6
« on: August 15, 2025, 10:31:55 PM »
Yes those Buick V6's are stout! At the end of my time at Ford, I spent some time at McLaren Engines on 8-Mile Road. They had built all of the Grand National GNX engines for Buick, and those things were practically un-killable!
I just fell into a great deal on another non-FE favorite from that era. I've always wanted a 3.0L SHO V6, and one just appeared this week for 150 bucks! It's complete with about 60K miles. I'm going to tear into it in the next few weeks to see what it needs, then start thinking about a good vehicle. Fox body maybe?? Even if it ends up being a coffee table, you can't go wrong for 150 bucks
I just fell into a great deal on another non-FE favorite from that era. I've always wanted a 3.0L SHO V6, and one just appeared this week for 150 bucks! It's complete with about 60K miles. I'm going to tear into it in the next few weeks to see what it needs, then start thinking about a good vehicle. Fox body maybe?? Even if it ends up being a coffee table, you can't go wrong for 150 bucks
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FE Technical Forum / Re: Grooved vs non-grooved cam journals 2 and 4 ?
« on: August 06, 2025, 11:47:15 PM »
Re: Why don't sideoilers have grooves machined in the #2 and #4 cam journals?
I wish I knew! I wonder if it has to do with the top oiler (and standard FE) needing a 180 degree oil transfer around the cam bearing, and the sideoiler needing only a 135 degree oil transfer. Maybe there was a tooling issue with cutting a 135 degree groove in the block? Wild guess!
Another thing came to mind. It seems the sideoilers were machined on a special line with dedicated tooling to better control cylinder wall thickness. Perhaps the oil transfer groove tooling was expensive and not justifiable for such a low volume of blocks. That would make even more sense given what I saw inside Ford.
I wish I knew! I wonder if it has to do with the top oiler (and standard FE) needing a 180 degree oil transfer around the cam bearing, and the sideoiler needing only a 135 degree oil transfer. Maybe there was a tooling issue with cutting a 135 degree groove in the block? Wild guess!
Another thing came to mind. It seems the sideoilers were machined on a special line with dedicated tooling to better control cylinder wall thickness. Perhaps the oil transfer groove tooling was expensive and not justifiable for such a low volume of blocks. That would make even more sense given what I saw inside Ford.
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FE Technical Forum / Re: Grooved vs non-grooved cam journals 2 and 4 ?
« on: August 06, 2025, 08:35:52 PM »Thanks for everybody`s input, coming back to the original question about the grooves in the camshaft`s bearing journals 2 and 4... still do not quite understand why they are there, and why some cams do not have them ?
Ville - Sorry to derail your original post with our arguing! Since your engine is a 427 Top Oiler, the grooves are already provided in the cam bearing bores of the block (behind the bearing shell). Therefore you do NOT need grooves at #2 and #4 on your cam. Your existing cam core should be just fine without the grooves.
The later 427 Sideoiler blocks are machined without the block grooves, so grooves must be provided in the cam journals at #2 and #4 to lubricate the rocker shafts.
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FE Technical Forum / Re: Grooved vs non-grooved cam journals 2 and 4 ?
« on: August 06, 2025, 08:30:31 PM »
It's very much more complicated than cross-sectional area. For instance, tribology (the science of lubrication) treats rotating journal bearings as pumps. Peak pressures can reach thousands of psi at high speeds and loads. Look up the Reynolds Equation. What would the flow through the bearing be under those insane pressures? Clearances around the bearing vary a great deal with load, as does pressure. There are lots of SAE papers on journal bearing lubrication if you really want to go nuts.
Loads on the rods and mains can be measured in tons at higher rpm and throttle positions. To convince yourself, do a napkin calculation of how much oil film pressure you need to support even one ton of force on a rod journal. You'll find it's at least an order of magnitude higher than anything the pump can put out.
Loads on the rods and mains can be measured in tons at higher rpm and throttle positions. To convince yourself, do a napkin calculation of how much oil film pressure you need to support even one ton of force on a rod journal. You'll find it's at least an order of magnitude higher than anything the pump can put out.