Very cool Jay!  I bet your new crank solves the rod fatigue issue.  You were probably getting some strange bending loads.  I'd love to coordinate with your teardown / rebuild so I can be back out there next time you do some fun testing 

Thinking Autolite inline with symmetrical ports.
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I thought so too, but the mounting hole pattern doesn't look right for the Autolites.

That is super cool Jay!  Man it's a ton of work to get those setups right.  A lot of people will never understand the hundreds of hours and decisions that will be inside that first machined head.

From my family to yours, Merry Christmas!!

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:

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.

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.

Quote from: 428Marauder on August 17, 2025, 12:18:57 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!