After tearing my 317 Lincoln y block down, I'm trying to find out if my car would lose a ton of value if I didn't keep the original engine. The block and heads are in good condition but it needs to be bored out and finding oversized pistons or the next size up, the 341 pistons is proving difficult. I was considering building a 302 or 351 and put it in but wanted to keep it original. Kinda thinking about all options at this point. Don't want a race car but dependable cruiser. I appreciate the advice

Brad
Sierra Vista Arizona
1954 Lincoln Capri

Hey guys, thanks a lot for your input. Yeah, I've been all over the place on this site regarding the rebuild. Never been on a forum before and never rebuilt a car before. I've been trying not to get going on too many projects on this car at a time but a lot of this build is dollar dependent. Working pt at Lowe's to make parts money so there's a lot of time cleaning engine parts.
The first thing I did once I got her home was to gut the interior. There was a whole lot of pack rat feces in there that I had to get rid of in order to feel safe opening the door. I continued gutting it til there was just the steering wheel and dash left. Happy to see that the floor was as rust free as I was hoping.
Then I disassembled the engine and took it and the hydra matic tranny out and separated them. The engine and heads went to the shop to get baked and checked. They came out just fine. I had to order .040 over pistons and rings and will have him replace all the bearings.
Since the engine is out I am now replacing the bushings on the steering and suspension systems and cleaning up the engine bay for painting. I'm changing the color. Painting the susp and steering parts. I've been doing a really good job at cleaning the engine parts and hoping to find a way to test them before reinstalling them.
Thes are my plans so far, brakes, fuel system, engine reinstall, wiring, interior, paint, and I'm almost donei realize it's not quite that simple but I am optimistic since almost everything is present and in good shape . I haven't had to use anything but wrenches, sockets and a breaker bar so far. And I've disassembled quite a bit of the car.
Someone suggested that I start a forum topic on this rebuild. I don't quite know in which category to do it.
Thinking about it now, This topic was whether or not to keep the original engine or not. Seems to have gotten off on a bit of a tangent. But as you probably know, I am keeping the original 317 and boring it out to a 323. Gonna figure out a way to get dual exhaust ang eliminate the crossover pipe.
If someone can tell me where I should start a new topic for just the rebuild, I'd appreciate it. Thanks again for the advice. I will be looking for more when it comes to me testing my parts.

Brad
Sierra Vista Arizona
1954 Lincoln Capri

I always enjoy reading about anyones progress, and they’ve been done in different ways here. You might take a look at

https://www.hotrodreverend.com/blog

HRR has done a great job of putting different segment’s together. There’s one titled keeping your restoration moving that might be worth a look for you. Given the commonalities of a lot of Fomoco systems, you might find some of the blogs useful also.

miker
55 bird, 32 cabrio F code
Kent, WA
Tucson, AZ