Gary Lewis

I've done it on both warm and cold engines and haven't seen a huge difference. The rings probably seal better on a warm engine, so if the results are borderline bad when it is cold then you might want to test it warm later.

I'm running a 42 behind my Scotty-built 460 with no problemos. I don't really beat on it, but I have done a number of WOT runs. The key is just don't try to speed shift it as the synchros don't like it. And by the way, back to testing the engine. I am NOT a fan of compression tests. I've seen plenty of them say the engine is good when it was totally worn out. I don't do compression tests anymore, and instead only do leak-down tests.

Man, this is serious stuff working with oil supplies and returns. But, what do you need, Bill? Something I can make?

Thanks, Jim. This will help a lot. As said, that tab is a dog's breakfast and is begging to be cleaned up. And you pointed out things I'd not even noticed. I'm not sure when I'll get to it given all that is going on, but I will do it. Thanks again.

Nice! Well worth $9K.

No prob, Jim. I think he's got some reading & to do.

Jim - I pointed him to the 3G page in my last post. Was there something else you wanted me to provide a link to?

As for replacing your 2G alternator, aka "fire starter", with a 3G go to the pages at Documentation/Electrical/3G or the 3G In Development page. The latter speaks to the 2G changeout directly.

My experience is that it is really hard to find a reputable machine shop to build engines. Here in the Tulsa area friends have dropped engines at shops and had to pick them up years later when nothing had been done. And I took Dad's engine to a shop here and they didn't build it the way I told them to, and when I send the whole mess to Tim Meyer he had to done some rework. So when I needed a new engine for Big Blue I turned to Scotty, The Mad Porter. I had the heads done locally and bought a short block from Scotty, but if I had to do it over again I'd have gone for a long block.

Yes, things are tight under there. For sure. But it works, and works well. Now I need to iron out some little details as my son and I are planning to go overlanding w/it in October. Here are some things I want to get done before then: Fix the ignition miss spotted on Saturday Get some clearance for the starting battery's negative posts Put a pin switch on the tailgate so the security system will alarm if that is opened. Shouldn't be difficult as I just need to extend the wire that goes to the pin switches in the tool box. Add the bed lighting I bought some time ago. Will have to put the switch at the very back of the bed. Add 12v power outlets at the back of the bed. Should be easy to do when installing the lighting and switch. Provide some kind of stop for the hand tool box so it doesn't slide into the air compressor inside the big tool box. I'm sure there will be other things, but that's a good list to start with.

The later master cylinder is a good upgrade, all the way around. Glad Ford made that change. As for the intake, I really wouldn't want to put one on under the hood, much less the cast iron one. I don't like leaks on the China walls, so want to install an intake while the engine is on the stand. And I fully agree on using Ultra Gray or The Right Stuff, but would also use studs to ensure the thing goes down where it is supposed to be.

Jim - I think you meant alternator rather than distributor mount. And I forgot about the EGR spacer, so I agree that the Edelbrock intake is a good idea. Want me to take a pic of my engine bay?

I hadn't thought about that, but I think I'll pass. The hood isn't great, but I don't want to beat on it. I hope there's a way to drop the battery carrier a bit.

It looks like that engine has been leaking a lot of oil for a long time. And the only way I can see getting the engine compartment clean is to pull the engine and then go to town cleaning the engine compartment with degreaser and elbow grease. With the engine out and on a stand you can clean it - assuming it passes a leak-down test well enough not to need rebuilding. It is interesting that the master cylinder has been changed out for the later model one - which I think it a big improvement. As for the intake manifold, the factory unit isn't a bad design. So while you can replace it I doubt you'll notice much difference. However it would make the engine slightly less obese.

Got the plug wires on, and discovered that I'd run 5 & 6 in parallel all the way from the distributor to the support on the valve cover. I re-routed so that they come off the distributor pointing in different directions and put #7 between them on the run to the support. And I made sure 8 was well away from 7 even more than it was. So I think the plug wires are good. Then I turned to the negative battery cable on the start battery. You'll remember that I recently discovered that the hood was rubbing against the cable running from the negative terminal to the fender, so I brought it to the terminal from the front, as you'll see below. That solved that problem, but then I got to wondering how close the nut and round post are to the hood. So I put a 1/8" thick piece of aluminum-backed foam with adhesive on it on top of the battery post and nut and shut the hood. Turns out that both the post and the nut left marks in the foam. In fact, I then peeled the foam off the hood and discovered marks on the hood itself. I think it is time to put terminal boots on, but I don't want them rubbing the hood and I'm sure they would. So I'll see if I can drop the battery tray just a smidgen as the hood lines up with the fender pretty well and I don't want to change it. But do any of you have an idea?

Chris - I have an aftermarket cable that says "Made in Israel", and the clip snaps on it. So I'm pretty sure it'll fit yours. I got your email and will get it out soonest. I have several things to send to various people so will get them gathered out and out.

Interesting! The base part number shown of 7A758 is wrong. How do I know? First, because that # doesn't show in the MPC. Second, because that is the throttle cable and you can see higher on the page that it is actually 9A758. Close, but no cigar. So I pulled out my three throttle cables to see what they look like. As you can see in the pic on the left, at first blush it looks like I have three styles. But upon closer inspection there are only two styles - the green one with the speed control connection built in, and the other style with the piece that snaps on. So I looked in the MPC and I found the illustration on the left, below, showing that the piece is 9C876. And the screenshot on the right shows the part numbers. I don't know which part number mine is, but I think it is probably the E1 version, which should be right for your truck if the throttle cable is original. Send me a message and it is yours if you want it. And if you send the message via the forum click the box to copy yourself as it will look like the message doesn't go, but it probably will and this way you'll know.

Yep! Plugs are in and torqued. Was surprised that they were all gapped to about .038" so had to be re-gapped. But in looking them up I did see that they are stock to some GM, so I'm guessing that they were gapped for it. This afternoon I'll ensure the plug wires are properly routed and lubed and get them on. But I may wait until in the morning before I put the scope on as the temp is already up to 94F and it is headed to 100+. And the sun would make reading the scope almost impossible. But in the morning the driveway outside the shop will be in shade - and it'll be cooler. So after getting the plug wires on I think I'll work over that ground that was hitting the hood - in the shop.

I would do a leak-down test before you pull the engine. That will tell you what shape it is in and whether it is worth it to replace gaskets or just rebuild the engine.

Amen, brother! I remember the guy that said that about setting his truck on fire before trying to change out the pan gasket in situ. Bruno2 and I did it on his truck with a 351W and there's no way I'd ever do it again on a Windsor. But I wouldn't even consider it on a 460.

Stopped in to see DeWayne and passed on our thoughts and prayers for him. But he didn't have the NGK 2771 UR5's nor the Motorcraft ASF32C's, so I moved on to O'Reillys. They had the NGK's in stock @ $3.99/ea, so I'm getting ready to install them - as soon as this cup of French Roast is empty. I was surprised that while I could get them for $3.12/ea from Amazon they wouldn't be here for a week. That made the decision easy.

The Bullnose speed control units are way too aggressive in my book. And with your combination of driveline more finesse is needed or you'll be shifting all the time. But yes, 3.08 gears in a truck are quite tall, especially when coupled with an AOD that has a .67:1 OD. That's like having a 2.06 rear end.

Thanks, Jim. That almost made me cry. I was just thinking about him this morning. I'm getting geared up for the show and he's never been able to attend as his boss, David, needed him to work the store on that day. Now that David has passed it is only DeWayne running the store, so there's no chance. Hopefully there won't be anyone else in when I get there as it gives us a chance to talk.

I missed the bit about your granddad's truck. Yes, it is cool. As a granddad I'd sure be happy if my grandkids did that. And amen to the Holley vs generic kit. Back in early '75 I rebuilt the Holley on my '69 Bee with a generic kit. Had always used Holley kits from the day that car was new, and trust me - I'd been through a lot of kits on that carb. But for some reason this time I went generic and then the thing didn't want to start. Turns out the gasket between the metering body and the main body only had one hole in it for the accelerator pump's shot, and I'd put it on upside down.

Thanks, Jim. That helps. I have a meeting at church at 7:00 and then will swing by Skiatook Auto Parts after they open at 8:00 and see what DeWayne can do for me.