Here we have the entire bank...
Here we have the entire bank finished. After finishing each cylinder, clean it out with a paper towel and WD-40 or other machine oil.
To help us with this endeavor, we enlisted the help of Dave Young, tech editor for our sister magazine Mopar Muscle. Being a Mopar enthusiast, Dave often finds himself elbow deep in rebuilds of all sorts, and since this was your author's first time at doing this, it made sense to have someone handy that could make sure things were done correctly. Besides, both engines (Ford and Mopar) have the distributor in the right place.
With our subject short-block on the engine stand, we needed to pull the main bearing caps to see what said bearings, as well as the crankshaft, looked like. The 5.0L powerplant is a stout piece, capable of taking quite a bit of abuse. Our unit looked good, with no copper showing through the bearings, and no grooves on the crank journals. This was a good sign. After cleaning up the rotating assembly as well as the block, we used a stone hone on a drill, along with some 30-weight motor oil, to hone the cylinders to an even finish. It actually took longer to disassemble it than it did to perform the hone. Check out the captions for a more detailed explanation of the process.
Next up is the deck-surface...
Next up is the deck-surface prep. Remove all of the old gasket material and anything else that isn't shiny metal. Then clean the cylinders again, along with the deck surface itself.
Get a straight edge from the...
Get a straight edge from the local Home Depot or Lowe's and a set of feeler gauges (from Harbor Freight perhaps), and check the deck surface to make sure it isn't overly warped. Anything less than 0.005 inch is good. Ours checked in at 0.003 inch.
Polishing the crank journals...
Polishing the crank journals is the next step. Inspect each journal for excessive grooves, nicks, or other surface abnormalities. If you encounter any of this, you might have to take it to a machine shop to have them polish it or turn (read: machine) the journals. With the latter, you'll need to order the appropriate-sized bearings since the journals will be smaller. Ours was in great shape, and chances are yours will be decent, too. Get a couple of sheets of 600- or 800-grit emery cloth and cut a few strips as wide as the journals. Wrap the cloth around the journal, and saw back and forth to polish it. You'll need to rotate the crankshaft around as you go, but basically you're looking to create a uniform finish.
For new piston rings and bearings, we turned to Mahle/Clevite, which had recently stopped by the MM&FF Southern Command Center. We ordered a set of standard-bore Perfect Circle piston rings, standard-sized Clevite main and rod bearings, and a stock Mahle oil pump. The oil pump will come in our next installment, but we were able to install the rod bearings and the piston rings. So far, we've got about $160 invested in this buildup, and when we're finished, we shouldn't have more than $1,500-2,000 from intake to pan.
We've broken this engine buildup into three parts so you can get a good idea of what's needed to accomplish the same goals. If you want to see more of this bare-bones notchback buildup, e-mail Editor Evan Smith at evan.smith@sourceinterlink.com, and tell him to make it an official project. It's not a glamorous venture by any means, but if you relate to it, drop him a line. We've got plenty of low-budget ideas for the ride.
After inspecting the new piston...
After inspecting the new piston rings to make sure they're all the same size, check the endgap on the upper and middle rings by inserting them squarely into the cylinder. Our Perfect Circle rings from Mahle/Clevite fit right in, and we measured 0.028 inch gap on the upper and 0.024 on the middle. You'll want to see something below 0.030 inch.
It's time to install the piston...
It's time to install the piston rings. The saw tooth-looking ring is the oil ring, and it goes on the bottom. It comes with a set of thin, flat rings that seal it on the top and bottom. The bottom one should overlap the oil ring joint by about an inch or so. Then overlap the top one in the other direction.
Next up are the middle and...
Next up are the middle and top compression rings. Splurge and pick up a piston ring installation tool like this one so you don't take the chance of breaking the new rings. Don't worry about overlapping the ring gaps just yet, as you can do that when you finally install the pistons. You should be able to slide the top ring on by hand. That's pretty much all there is to it. Some ring manufacturers, including Perfect Circle, mark the rings with a dot on the flat surface, meaning that side faces the top of the piston. Perfect Circle includes an instruction sheet as well.
The connecting-rod bearings...
The connecting-rod bearings are next. Again, double-check to make sure they're all the same size. Here, the STD means standard bearing size.
The bearings are held in place...
The bearings are held in place by something called a "tang" (no, not the stuff the astronauts drink). The tang is the little piece of metal sticking out of the bearing. There's a receiver groove on the rods to accept this. Though we won't be installing the pistons at this point, make sure you reinstall the cap for the time being with the numbers matching.
So far we've got about $16...
So far we've got about $16 in paint and freeze plugs. You can round that up to $20 or so if you need to buy an emery cloth. We were only able to get jobber pricing on the rings and bearings, which came in at $78.42 for the rings, $33.44 for the rod bearings, and $34.72 for the main bearings. Retail should be slightly lower. Well, that's it for now. Next month we'll put the rotating assembly in the block and start adding some heads and a cam.