Small Block restoration finishing tips

[Eric S]

Will try to get a picture but I have been told it's a 3/8 NPT.

[simplyconnected]

'Conical' flush plugs with threads? Show us a picture of what you mean.

[Eric S]

Still working on this small block engine.
I am painting the block. Removed the coolant flush plugs on the bottom of the block.
How do you re-install them. They seem to be conical and self locking/sealing. Do we need any product on the threads?

[simplyconnected]

We have come a long way from 'Squarebird days' in materials and methods used. Those 'umbrella seals' are useless. They are made of neoprene which hardens, loses its 'grip' on the valve tower, then it rides up on the valve.

The idea of a valve seal is to wipe oil on the valve stem and to prevent intake vacuum from sucking oil down the tower and to help prevent exhaust gasses from blowing oil up the exhaust valve stem.

Modern Ford engines use Viton seals that have a spring that girdles the seal around the tower so the seal never moves. Aftermarket heads, like Edelbrock, use Viton seals as well. If I must reuse cast iron heads, I have the machine shop cut the valve stem towers to accept Viton seals. They really are an advancement in engine engineering because the engine uses less oil and you don't get that 'puff of smoke' upon starting.

Here are pictures of my Y-block heads with Viton seals:
DSCN3564.jpg

DSCN3582.jpg

These valve guides have not been changed.

Here is an Edelbrock FE head with Viton seals:
DSCN1075.jpg

Valve springs are inexpensive. Like all coil springs, they get stiff and don't work as well. I suggest you change ALL of your valve springs as part of a head overhaul. Remember, heads are the heart of every engine. Don't ever cut corners on your heads. - Dave

[Eric S]

Still on this engine. I removed the freeze plugs. They were nice but quite dirty inside as Dave said.

Now I was looking at the heads and noticed the springs were not all the same and on some valves I can see a guide gasket (that's it?) and other not.
So as the heads were removed, I pulled some springs and valves.
Some were quite difficult to remove and valve locks were stuck in the spring retainer. Tool compressed the spring but I had to hammer (with a wood hammer handle used on contact with valves) quite a bit to remove some.
I have shorter springs on intake valves. Never saw different springs on different valves!?

Also the gaskets that slide on the guides were going up and down with the valve. Are they supposed to clip and stay on the guides?
And on the exhaust valves, I had not a cupped gasket but a square section kind of O-ring. At first I thought it was the remains of a cupped gasket but those are the same on all the exhaust valves.
I don't think this is all normal and I may order new springs, gaskets, ...
What do you think?

[simplyconnected]

Like trying to judge a book by its cover, this plug looked ok from the front. They corrode from the inside out.
I automatically install brass plugs in all my engines whether they need it or not (today).

image.png

If you happen to knock the plug into the water jacket, simply grab it with pliers and pull it back out. I never leave them in there. - Dave

[Eric S]

Dave From what you see on pictures below, would you remove and replace the plugs?

[simplyconnected]

The engine build and all new components are up to you. Freeze plugs are easier to remove and install with the engine out of the car. Unless you have first-hand experience with the history of the last rebuild, taking chances on low-cost parts makes no sense to me. Yes, I listen to the previous owner's 'stories' but they go in one ear and out the other. Then, I check for myself.

Freeze plugs corrode from the inside, not the outside. Galvanized steel plugs suffer from 'galvanic corrosion' whereas brass plugs do not. I urge you to look at this engine... CLICK HERE

I spoke directly with the previous owner who told me, 'the engine ran when it was removed from his F100.' After tearing into it, I don't know how that was possible. - Dave

[Eric S]

For core plugs (with no threads), simply clean the machined hole to get all grease and dirt out, spread a thin layer of Permatex Ultra RTV in the hole then pound the plugs in. I use brass plugs and I buy them in a kit at Amazon.

Dave,
looking at the freeze plugs in the engine, they are in real good condition, rather thick from what I can see and engine is overall in good condition. It's not a 60 years old dirty original engine.
Now my question is, does it make sense to remove them and replace with brass plugs of maybe a lesser quality (chinese). I originally thought I might be able to check, clean behind plugs but am wondering if this makes sense at all, disturbing something that is not broken...

[Eric S]

Yes old gasket is .040" so I will get a FelPro perma Torque that is .042"...

[simplyconnected]

Some builders like to control the compression ratio by using different thicknesses of head gaskets. Measure your old head gasket with a micrometer. It should be around .030" thick.

[Eric S]

As a rule how do you determine the thickness of the head gasket on an engine?
FelPro offers one stamped steel .015" and their Perma Torque at .042".
Is there any reason to use a thin one over a thick one?
I am not sure to understand the advantages of their Perma Torque.

[simplyconnected]

This is why it's important to use a GOOD and experienced FE engine builder. I know that Ford quit making these engines many decades ago and that most of the 'FE guys' are long retired, so finding 'the right guy' is not easy, especially in Europe.

Ford parts catalogs refer to these bolts in two part numbers as follows:
C1AZ 6A527-A (qty. 2) 3/8"-16 x 3.29
C1DZ 6A527-C (qty. 6) 3/8"-16 x 2 31/32

Notice that only TWO are required for the oiling stands and both part numbers are called out as the same diameter. But... look at the difference in shank diameter and thread length. ARP will not have what you need because they are not FE guys but they will have standard bolts:

FE_StandBolts.jpg

StandBolts-a.jpg

You can use grade-8, 3/8"-16 x 3-1/4" bolts that are turned down in a lathe. How far? I would take off 1/8" (.125" diameter) OR you can simply grind a flat into the side of a standard bolt (as I previously mentioned). Make sure you use hardened flat washers because the bolts are carbon steel and the stands are aluminum.

Experienced builders restrict oil flow to the heads because FE engines notoriously retain about a quart of oil 'on top', on long interstate trips where 65-MPH is sustained for hours. My point is, the shank diameter may be a little larger than the small-shank OEM bolts, just to restrict oil flow. Rocker arms do not need much oil flow.

A common mistake that Chevy builders make is to install the rocker shafts upside down. Rocker arm oiling holes are on the BOTTOM of the shaft. - Dave

[Eric S]

Thank you for the link on E-bay. I am trying with ARP too*.
The 2 different bolts are what I am looking after. I am also aware of the oil on the bottom of the shaft. I already told this to my engine builder. I also gave him all the printed material I had, my mails to and from Shelby and what I printed from https://www.diyford.com.
American V8s are not really rare here but not the main engines we encounter with engine builders and I wanted to make sure he can understand all the details with those engines. He told me he will read that and he appeared to be willing to learn. I will check that on our next meeting.

Thank you for the tips on cleaning the surfaces. I was ready to "scratch" a bit more than mere cleaning.

*ARP is asking for thread sizes and length. Bolts being with engine builder, do you have this information?

[simplyconnected]

It was just 1 cylinder that had stuck rockers. As they were not activating the valves that remained closed, we did not had a catastrophic failure.

I read several items about oil restrictions. I came to the conclusion that it was not necessary on this engine. Hope I am right. However I need to get the correct slimmed bolts. Any idea where I can get them? I looked at different places and I am un-successfull so far.
We may turn them in the lathe if can't source a set.

Dave, back to original question, how do you recommend to "clean" the block and heads gasket surfaces? Should I use co****, medium, fine cloth?
I need to get it clean so I can measure with a rule for straightness before we go to the machine shop which should be, considering the overall condition of the engine, not necessary.

Do you have a steel scraper? Use it to remove any gasket material that remains. Sometimes I use a wire wheel on my drill motor.. A wire wheel will clean down to metal. That's all you need, clean down to bare metal without sandpaper or any grinding, Do not remove metal but simply clean down so that the metal does not have gasket material on it.

If you find the block or heads are not flat OR coolant has made deep corrosion in the castings, bring the castings to a good machine shop and let them mill a few thousandths off. What ever they to to one side, they should also do to the other side so all dimensions are the same on both sides or on both heads.

I 'CC my head's combustion chambers'. Meaning, I use liquid to measure the cubic centimeter volume of each combustion chamber. If one end of the head has larger or smaller volume in the combustion chamber, that means it is machined wrong. They should all be equal from end to end and on both heads. If they are different volumes, you will never have a smooth engine. If your compression readings are >10% from the highest compression to the lowest, again you won't have a smooth engine.

Rocker stand bolts for FE engines are available. Here is an eBay offering:
FORD FE BIG BLOCK ROCKER SHAFT BOLTS 352 360 390 406 427 428 CJ MUSTANG,TRUCK, | eBay

Pay close attention to the bolt shanks. Two are different from the other six. I hope this helps. Make sure you don't install the rocker shafts upside down. The oil holes are on the bottom. This is a common mistake, - Dave