Ford Racing Peformance Parts Boss 302 Engine Build - Reptile Resuscitation

While the Meziere water pump comes with its own stainless steel fasteners, the same cannot be said for much of the engine. In order to bolt everything together, we contacted two stalwarts of the automotive aftermarket, Automotive Racing Products (otherwise known as ARP) and Federal Mogul, whose Fel-Pro division sent us a 2816 gasket kit. ARP provided us with a set of cylinder-head studs (PN 154-4003) as well as intake-manifold and valve cover bolts (PN 454-2001). Without these two companies, we'd have a nice collection of aluminum and cast-iron paperweights.

In addition to providing the Boss block for our buildup, FRPP sent us a set of its black, crinkle-finish Cobra valve covers to dress up the outside of the engine. FRPP's Jesse Kershaw informed us that the company has a new Boss valve cover coming out, and he plans to send us a set once they're ready for production. In the meantime, the Cobra valve covers look fantastic. Tom Naegele at D.S.S. Racing had specified a multi-index timing chain, and FRPP had just the one. PN M-6268-A302 is a double-roller piece that offers nine different index positions.

While we've made great progress with Stolen Goods up until this point, now is when it starts to get tedious, as we'll come across all of the little nickel and dime items we overlooked, though something tells us it'll add up to more than 15 cents. We've kept a running list of needed items, but we're sure we'll overlook something along the way. We'll mention every little thing we run into, as it may just help prevent you from making an extra trip to the auto-parts store should you find yourself in a similar situation.

Next month, we should have the Boss up and running, and we'll see if we can get a video clip up on our Web site. See you then.