I've made a poor decision

[happystang]

I will be able to finish things off under the car (at least for a while) once my Rhodes fuel cell arrives this week. Fingers crossed I have a enough clearance between the fuel line/feed coming out of the tank and the panhard bracket.

Guess we'll find out .













I was originally planning on mounting the Aeromotive fuel pressure regulator to the fender apron, but I ended up making a small bracket and stuffing it between the Webers. It looks more at home there and will free up some space in the engine bay. I will not be using the vacuum tree since I don't have power brakes. I will however use the ports to vacuum sync all the carburetors before plugging them.










My goal was to have the car done (like driving AND painted) before August for Monterey Car Week, then I widened the goal post a bit to "driving and primered one color". Looking at what I still have left to do- I have a feeling that I will be taking my Datsun this year, lol. Either way, I'm going to do my best to get this thing driving.

 

[happystang]

The Rhodes fuel cell arrived and fits well. The packaging was overkill and inadequate at the same time. Rhodes put the tank in a garbage bag, then into a cardboard box, then filled the empty space with expanding foam. The fittings still managed to punch through the cardboard and the foam made it a pain to get the tank out of the packaging. Luckily it made it here in once piece.

You'll notice my electric pump is no longer installed.




That's because there's very little room to fit the electric pump/filter & all the plumbing with the panhard setup. The fuel feed coming out of the tank points straight at the panhard bracket, so I'm forced to use my mechanical pump; unless I go with an in-tank electric pump. Oh well! At least I have less wiring to worry about .




I also realized I never took a picture of the Ford Ranger master cylinder:




I also ordered an ACP 3 row 24" radiator and Champion electric fan shroud. The shroud isn't technically designed for the ACP radiator, but it fit with a few love taps. I will be running a couple SPAL 11" electric fans powered by a Leash Electronics Dual relay module.




I needed the radiator in place so I could get an idea of where to install the remote oil filter mount. I wanted to put it where the washer bottle would be, but I think it's going to be a little cramped there.




And lastly- I've been plumbing the quad Webers. I would have liked the fuel feed to come out of the front of the regulator, but that would have put it straight into the distributor. My solution is to have it come out of the backside with a 180* -6 AN fitting, which allows me to route the hose away from the distributor. I'm waiting on a few straight fittings to connect the front/rear Webers, but we're almost done here! I wasn't sure how I'd like the gold/black, but it's grown on me .

 

[happystang]

The shiny bits from Viking Performance were delivered- I'm very impressed with everything. These are not the same shocks/springs you get from CPP; this is Viking's competition-only double adjustable Crusader shocks along with 500 lb/in springs, helper springs, and lower bearings (to eliminate the urethane bushing on the T bar). They are made to order and take a few days to ship out. I worked with Ross at Viking and he helped spec out the whole package based on intended use, approx. weight, and desired ride height. All four shocks are slightly shorter to accommodate my lowered ride height.




A neat warning about using them on the street.




The shocks came with a nice guide to serve as starting point for shock adjustment. I was not impressed with their instructions- it appears to be a one size fits all sheet thrown in. Not many pictures and no Crayons to scribble .




This is what the assembly looks like before getting installed; no spring compressor needed. I made sure to coat all the threads with antiseize.

One thing about the QA1 kit I like is the included upper shock mount, which is not included with the Viking kit.




And here it is all installed! The helper spring is a cool upgrade and prevents the main spring from flopping around when the suspension is drooping.

 

[happystang]

Time to assemble an angry V8

My friend Gabe over at Champion Racing Engines did all the machine work and assembly of the short block (I helped a little )




I've known Gabe since 2014 and at the time, he was big into Subarus. I took him for a rip in my '69 convertible and within a month, he bought a Corvette and never looked back. 12 years later, he's building a spicy 306 for me!




Neat fun fact- an LS torque plate fits a SBF perfectly . I'm sure that's a total coincidence.




I'll be using Cometic MLS head gaskets, so we have a very smooth finish on the deck.




I brought the block home, wire wheeled it, ground down any casting flash, and ported the oil returns before cleaning/painting it with epoxy/urethane.













It is now violently shiny and smooth. I went a little overkill with a diegrinder and flap disc. This block had to be the roughest casting I've ever seen ('87 roller block).

 

[happystang]

Some final cleaning before installing the cam bearings:





I'm using Clevite H series coated rod/main bearings and Total Seal rings.



Crank was ground 10/10 and the entire assembly balanced.





Cam is installed, we will degree it before we lock it down.





Pistons going in! Compression ratio will be around 11.3:1 per the Summit calculator; it should run fine on pump gas since the dynamic compression is fairly low thanks to the cam.

 

[happystang]

Rotating assembly is done! I'm waiting on a new cam bolt/gaskets/lifters before we can continue on.

 

[happystang]

The Gaterman roller lifters, Cometic head gaskets, and ARP cam bolt came in, which means we can start buttoning this thing up!!

Both Gabe and I were very impressed with these lifters, especially for the price. I'm curious to see how they perform.




.030 compressed thickness head gaskets because we like to party. We clayed the pistons and the chunky 2.055 and 1.6 valves didn't leave a mark, even with the ridiculous .595 lift and .242/246 duration. It's amazing what happens when you buy the correct Trick Flow pistons for your Trick Flow heads




With the heads bolted on, I brought the long block home to finish reassembly. I installed an ARP oil pump drive shaft and Melling standard volume pump that was blueprinted by Precision Oil Pumps. They're very popular in the FE world, so naturally I opted for one of their Windsor pumps. At $150, it's hard to beat!




I also installed a Canton windage tray; it uses ARP main studs that have a provision for another (smaller) lock nut.




I couldn't resist slapping on the 8 stack, timing cover/water pump and oil pan just to stare at it. Like holy sh!t this is rad!!!! I plan on getting the valve covers vapor blasted for a cast finish. I really like the timing cover/water pump in the raw cast aluminum, but experience tells me that they will look nasty within a few weeks. They will get a coat of gloss black paint .

The oil pan will be painted silver.

 

[happystang]

The water pump and timing cover are now hilariously shiny.




The blue Felpro gaskets are ungodly hideous, so I ended up buying some Mahle gaskets; which also required less trimming!




I drilled/tapped the timing cover and block for an NPT plug since my oil pan has a dipstick provision.



I don't know who made my Weber intake, but the water crossover ports were TINY. I ended up opening them up (I forgot to take a picture of the finished product).




And here we are today! I painted the oil pan silver and installed it with one of those one piece Felpro gaskets. I'm still waiting on the ARP water pump/timing cover bolts, but I'm hoping to install the motor this weekend. Once installed, I will be able to start routing oil lines and maybe even attempt to fire it up in the next couple weeks!

I ended up order the larger Weber 48's; they will arrive Friday. Anyone want a set of 44's?

 

[happystang]

IT'S TIME!!!!

I've been trying to get as much stuff mocked up on the motor before it goes in. I ordered a 95 amp 3g alternator for a 90's F700(?) that allegedly (per the little slip inside the box) actually puts out 130 amps. It even came with a zinc plated double sheave pulley already installed!




With the help of some buddies, we rolled the car outside to begin installing the engine/transmission. I gotta say, it looks awfully mean with the dark primer and black hood.




I forgot to remove the old pilot bearing while the motor was apart, so we had to dangle the engine on the hoist while I stuffed bread/WD40 into it with a punch to press it out.




After having to deal with installing FE's in mustangs, stuffing a short deck SBF was a breeze.










I also installed the transmission/shifter- everything fits great!




I had to install the Webers, even though I won't be using these ones, lol.







And with the weight of the drivetrain/hood on the car, I was finally able to get an idea of how it will sit. The Viking Coilovers are a breeze to adjust. The car sat a little too low at first (I actually like it, but the tires would probably rub):

 

[happystang]

And after a bit of adjustment, I have the front sitting slightly higher than I'd like, but I figure it will settle a bit once I have the glass/bumpers/etc installed:




My buddy convinced me to put the chin spoiler back on:




The rear sits way too high, even with the reverse eye Detroit Speed springs and 1" lowering blocks. I will likely rob the Hotchkis springs out of the convertible since it sits a little low anyways.

I will be ordering some 1 3/4" primary JBA long tube headers in a week, I need to give me credit card a rest. In the meantime, there are plenty of details to drown in that cost nothing .

 

[happystang]

The Weber 48's arrived, so I was able to set up the throttle linkage and finish making the fuel feed hoses. I'm just about done with the fuel system; I'm waiting on carburetor insulators/spacers and one more fitting. I was a little disappointed that the Weber's didn't come with base gaskets, especially for how much they cost. Whatever.

I will need to order a throttle cable and fab up a bracket to mount it; the OEM '69 cable will not work. I wish I had splurged on a fancier linkage kit, but I can make this one work.





Next will be plumbing the oil lines for the remote filter/cooler.





The electric fan relay module arrived from Leash Electronics as well- pretty neat piece!

 

[happystang]

One step closer!

I finished the oil cooler/filter lines. I mounted a Setrab oil cooler in the factory SCJ location, then ran -10an PTFE hose to an Earl's remote filter and Moroso filter adaptor.

The Earl's filter mount has an 1/8 NPT bung; I used this to run a line for my mechanical oil pressure gauge. The gauge is fed via -4an PTFE hose into a bulkhead fitting at the firewall, then another line to the gauge itself. I do not trust those plastic lines!

I filled the 306 up with BR30 and primed the oil system- no leaks and 45 PSI of oil pressure with my drill!











Filter changes will be a breeze from now on







This would have been so much easier if I didn't have a mechanical fuel pump in the way.




I made a bracket for my throttle cable, so we now have 2/3 pedals functioning. My headers arrive Tuesday and carburetor base gaskets on Wednesday. I'm hoping to fire this thing up next week!!!

 

[happystang]

I had to take a couple steps back- the damn freeze plugs were leaking. I've installed dozens over the years and never had an issue. I normally use a large socket on the inside of the plug with some Right Stuff. My machinist friend says that doing so can cause them to concave and therefore lose some press fit. I don't doubt it, but I've also literally never had an issue doing that. Ce la vie! Lesson learned. I had a grand ol' time replacing all 6 plugs with the engine in the car.




I bought two other replacement kits- the first one a Dorman "made in USA" (which is complete bullsh!t), then a Pioneer "made in USA".

The Dorman packaging:




The Dorman plugs:




The original freeze plug kit was Summit Racing branded- the plugs were VERY shallow; I think that exacerbated the concave/distortion problem. I ended up using Pioneer branded ones with Permatex #1; these ones were much deeper.




The 1 3/4" stainless long tube headers showed up- I was stoked for parts and Mango was stoked for the box.




Not cheap and not the best fitting (at least compared to the original set I bought for my other '69), but they do fit







Other odds and ends like alternator wiring/carb insulators/gaskets showed up as well:









....which means we're about ready to fire it up

 

[happystang]

IT'S ALIVEEEEEE!

And very, very violent.

We held a watch party for the first fire up- everyone was excited to see it come to life.

(Okay- I'm done copying and pasting for a while)

 

[Grabber70Mach]

Thanks for bringing your build thread over here. Your car is going to be a beast with the sound of that motor. It's definitely going to be a blast for you.

 

[rpm]

Ya, thanks Armon for posting your outstanding build here. I had forgotten about half the things you had to fix. You have much more drive and energy than me. Kudos.

 

[Bad66GT]

I love this and it also makes me realize how slow I am.

Chris