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Last Active: 7 Years Ago
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It's been a big job, this was a dirty engine on the inside, not a lot of wear but the scum and crud in the oil pan told the story of neglect, poor maintenance. Not much money spent here, we only did the minimum to make this thing run like new and sound good, nothing more.
New timing chain, new gaskets, new rings and a well done valve job and a new set of rod bearings, standard size. No rebore, no crank grinding, I don't intend to drive this car a hundred miles to and from work every day, I retired 16 years ago, those days are over.
It started fine, ran perfect at slow speed but we soon discovered that the vacuum advance was not working, I bought a new 'pancake' on e'Bay for 12 bucks, the listing said "fits '54 Ford" but I had my doubts, which proved to be correct, it was for the '49 - '53 Fords. Same thing and fits the distributor perfect but .... the rod tip and cotter key hole are 90 degrees off, I fixed that by cutting the rod off, turned it and welded it back together.
The trick with that is to keep sparks from going in and burning holes in the new diaphragm, small wet rags poked in prevented that, it came out fine. I also drilled the cotter key hole slightly bigger, I used a stainless steel cotter in assembly. I did this installation in the car, not easy but it can be done.
Note my "Ford Interceptor" decals, just a little way of creating conversation, anything for a laugh.
Bottom line: This engine runs like new and sounds like new, good enough for the girls I go out with, and also for the ones I don't.
Warren
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It looks awesome Warren. Good job on the diagram too. Now just enjoy it.
 Vic Correnti
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Thanks for your notes along the way, Warren. Congrats on gettin' her done! It's not just what you do, it's how you do it, isn't it? Many happy miles to you. Enjoy 'em!  Regards,
NoShortcuts
a.k.a. Charlie Brown
near Syracuse, New York
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Group: Forum Members
Last Active: 7 Years Ago
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Charlie ....... Truth be told I took plenty of shortcuts, if this were a car that I'd be driving a hundred miles to work as I used to, I would have had it re-bored, new pistons, grind the crank and all new undersize bearings but ........ since it's not that kind of duty so we don't soak endless money into meaningless 'stuff' that would never pay off, I simply don't do it. I cut the ridges out (very little showing actually) honed the cylinders, put in new rings, got a set of new $20 standard rod bearings on eBay and a gasket kit from Summit (the cheapest), put in a new timing chain, not the sprockets only the chain, it fit nice and snug. Total spent was under 200 bucks. I have valve grinding equipment, I did that job on the heads, no replacement of guides, they were OK.
It runs like new, sounds like new and uses no oil, not even a leak. The rear seal Summit furnished in the kit is probably better than original.
Bottom line here is: A simple overhaul like this will run this motor for well over a hundred grand miles, that's good enough for me. We've driven this car (from central MN) to KY, WV, MD, NY, CT, PA and all in between in the past, that was with a worn out motor, it took a quart of oil each 500 miles. We're leaving soon for a trip out west, Medora ND to see the big musical show there, also Roosevelt Park, then up to Williston to tour the oil fields, then to Custer's Last Stand in MT, then the Devil's Tower in WY, then over the Little Big Horn mountains from Sheridan to Greybull WY, then to Mt. Rushmore, the SD Badlands and who knows where else, we got nothin' but time, no time schedule. I'll bet the ol' 239 will not only get us home again but will do it with a 20+ mpg gas usage, I'm using OD and a Ford-O-Matic rear end, highest ratio, it cruises easily at 70 or more and that's plenty, we'll be in no hurry so will be more like 60.
Yea'... An old HS buddy used to live in CT, we saw him there on that trip east. He's since moved to where his kids are, in OK, we may drive there also, we'll see.
Anyway ........ thanks for the comment, happy trails,
Warren
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