Fuel Injection upgrade

[Rusty_S85]

I hope you aren't wanting my input on pushrod length as I don't know. I understand what you are doing, but don't know which approach to bank on.

However, I applaud your thoroughness and your attention to detail. You are considering every option and doing a good job of researching things.

Glad the cam is actually moving. Otherwise it would seem like a bearing might be too tight.

Anyway, keep up the good work. We are following along.

lol lot of it is just me rambling on that helps me to figure things out some time through making a post.

I did how ever thought of checking Cranes still existing PDF files online for their catalog and look up the recommended push rods for my camshaft along with recommend rocker arms which from all my reading all rocker arms out there are pretty much copies of each other in geometry so that shouldnt really matter.

I found 36625-16 as one number and 95608-16 as another number with the following specs.

36625-16 : Crane Crhomoly 5/16", 0.062" wall thickness, 6.375" length, Stock +0.117" (86-96 302 and 302HO w/ Factory Hydraulic Roller Lifters and Crane Aluminum rocker arms, heat treated, heavy wall)

95608-16 : Crane Pro-Series 5/16", 0.080" wall thickness, 6.40" length (this one is just one of their generic fits anything pushrod with no specific listed application.)

So I am still in the same boat I was in as of yesterday. 6.35" length vs 6.40" length. Part of me wants to just go with 6.40" length but the big question is, if its not right is it going to cause me problems down the road when it comes to longevity and is it going to drastically reduce my max lift at the valve. I still can order custom 6.50" pushrods in 0.120" wall thickness or I could just simply go with the 0.080" wall thickness and get them off the shelf for 6.50" length but I just dont know if I need 0.120" or if I can get by with 0.080". From my understanding stronger is better but many state a 0.120" wall thickness pushrod isnt much stronger than a 0.080" pushrod and that a better upgrade for strength is going from 5/16" to 3/8".

part of me thinks really thinks I should go with the 6.40" length just as it would put me a little closer to the 1/2 lift method and would reduce my sweep pattern more so than the 6.35" length. I cant exactly buy a 6.375" pushrod as they are in 0.050" increments and that was some custom length rod made just by Crane. But I could run the 6.40" that was the alternative. 6.40" would put me right on the center line of the valve and 6.50" would put me just off the center line outboard.

I just dont know what to do in this case cause I can go 6.35" length in 0.080" or 0.120" wall thickness, I can go 6.40" in 0.080" or 0.120" wall thickness, or I can go 6.50" in 0.080" wall thickness or custom length ordered in 0.120" wall thickness.

Aside from that I found another problem, the header gasket I bought I checked it its a 1467 gasket and it is not the recommended gasket for my AFR 165 CC heads. They recommend the 1415 gasket with a 1.480" port height x 1.250" port width compared to the 1467 gaskets which are 1.350" port height x 1.05" port width. This is something I noticed yesterday when I held it up to the head and saw how much smaller the ports in the gasket was than the head. These are for stock port style heads while the 1415 is for small race port style heads. So as of now I dont even know if my Hedman 89470 street shorty headers will fit these heads properly. It states stock profile cylinder head which this is a stock profile and it states the port shape is square but doesnt give me the dimensions of the port. There is a listing for replacement hedman gasket but no spec on the opening but one guy left a review saying its a great gasket for hard to seal aluminum heads at 1.5" square to 1 5/8" headers. Sounds like the opening on the gasket is 1 1/2" square which would be bigger than the felpro gasket I need to get.

Biggest issue for me now I think is deciding on pushrod length the rest I can handle when the time comes.

Manley Chromoly Swedged End pushrods came recommended on Scorpions website for 0.120" wall thickness.

I can get them in the following sizes.

25207-16 : Manley Chromoly Swedged End, 5/16" diameter, 0.120" wall thickness, 6.40" length : $224.99 set

25206-16 : Manley Chromoly Swedged End, 5/16" diameter, 0.120" wall thickness, 6.35" length : $223.99 set

25650-16 : Manley Chromoly Swedged End, 5/16" diameter, 0.080" wall thickness, 6.50" length : $141.99 set.

I really need to wait till Manley gets back with me via email if they even will cause I asked them pertaining to this, maybe they will tell me on sub eight inch length pushrods the 0.080" wall thickness would be well over enough to avoid any kind of flex.

Was doing some browsing online and came across this through a link posted in the Muscle Ford forum on valve train geometry.

http://www.mid-lift.com/PUB/PUB050206PA.pdf

This guy who pioneered the mid lift process states to rotate the cam till the lifter lifts to half lobe lift. Then adjust your pushrod and tighten the nut down till your valve is half valve lift.

Way I did it was as presented in a video on youtube where you are on the base circle of the cam and you adjust the rocker arm till the center line of the roller tip pin and the pivot pin are horizontal then adjust down half the lift of the cam to locate the center of the pivot pin at half lift.

This is really making me question if I should just go with the 6.50" pushrod length and get it in 0.080" wall thickness and let it ride. I dont believe I will be able to do a sweep test to verify cause the hydraulic roller lifter will compress without oil pressure when exposed to spring pressure. I am not going to destroy a single $40 - $60 head gasket to do this verification cause to do it right I will have to install a test lifter that had the guts removed to make it a solid lifter. I cant pull the lifters out with the heads installed for cylinder 1 hence why I really want to do the math on it. I mean sheesh its just geometry which is a form of math there has to be a math way to get this down without having to rely on the sweep test method.

Well what am I saying in the video the 1/2 lift method or the 2/3 lift method are the math based way of doing this without the sweep test. 1/2 lift I know will give the smallest sweep and I dont know about 2/3 lift that is still fairly new but still none the less popular.

On the other side I placed an amazon order for a pair of my Felpro 1011-2 0.039" head gaskets these have a preflattened copper wire while the 1011-1 which I currently have is 0.041" with a preflattened steel wire. Engine builder I know told me to stay away form the copper but there is no Felpro head gasket in 0.039" with a steel wire. I also ordered my Felpro 1415 header gasket to fit my heads properly.

[Rusty_S85]

Was doing some browsing online and came across this through a link posted in the Muscle Ford forum on valve train geometry.

http://www.mid-lift.com/PUB/PUB050206PA.pdf

This guy who pioneered the mid lift process states to rotate the cam till the lifter lifts to half lobe lift. Then adjust your pushrod and tighten the nut down till your valve is half valve lift.

Way I did it was as presented in a video on youtube where you are on the base circle of the cam and you adjust the rocker arm till the center line of the roller tip pin and the pivot pin are horizontal then adjust down half the lift of the cam to locate the center of the pivot pin at half lift.

This is really making me question if I should just go with the 6.50" pushrod length and get it in 0.080" wall thickness and let it ride. I dont believe I will be able to do a sweep test to verify cause the hydraulic roller lifter will compress without oil pressure when exposed to spring pressure. I am not going to destroy a single $40 - $60 head gasket to do this verification cause to do it right I will have to install a test lifter that had the guts removed to make it a solid lifter. I cant pull the lifters out with the heads installed for cylinder 1 hence why I really want to do the math on it. I mean sheesh its just geometry which is a form of math there has to be a math way to get this down without having to rely on the sweep test method.

Well what am I saying in the video the 1/2 lift method or the 2/3 lift method are the math based way of doing this without the sweep test. 1/2 lift I know will give the smallest sweep and I dont know about 2/3 lift that is still fairly new but still none the less popular.

On the other side I placed an amazon order for a pair of my Felpro 1011-2 0.039" head gaskets these have a preflattened copper wire while the 1011-1 which I currently have is 0.041" with a preflattened steel wire. Engine builder I know told me to stay away form the copper but there is no Felpro head gasket in 0.039" with a steel wire. I also ordered my Felpro 1415 header gasket to fit my heads properly.

I have yet to get a email reply to my tech question from Scorpion asking what method do they recommend for their rocker arms for setting up rocker arm geometry.

In the mean time I started thinking I never accounted for preload to the length which I have to account for as if I don't it will make my rocker arm short. I need to find a exact spec for the R302H roller lifters on what recommended preload is but on Summit one question on preload was answered by another individual that stated preload is 0.020" to 0.060". With 7/16-20 rocker arm studs I know 1 full turn of the polylock equals 0.050".

Traditionally it is 1/2 turn to 3/4 turn past zero lash is where you set hydraulic lifters. How ever in my browsing I found a posting on Ford Muscle Forums on March 30, 2005 from a Crane website posting from January 3, 2005. This post talks about hydraulic roller cams and how their phone techs are getting more questions on proper adjustment of hydraulic roller valve trains. The article goes on about the extra weight of a roller lifter vs a flat tappet lifter, the quicker opening rates avaliable to roller cams and higher valve spring on seat pressure and open pressure. This article states that hydraulic roller lifters will perform best with at least 1 turn of preload. They state R&D has shown best performance occurs with preload set at 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 turns from zero lash, that this adjustment will maximize power throughout the rpm range and increase the useable topend by 200-300 rpm. Problem with this article is it doesn't state what rocker arm stud is being used. Using a 7/16"-20 rocker arm will give you 0.050" for every 1 turn of the poly nut. If using the 3/8"-24 rocker arm stud it gives you 0.042" for every 1 turn of the poly nut.

So if Crane was using 7/16" studs then 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 turn would be 0.0625" to 0.075" preload. If using 3/8" studs that would be 0.0525" to 0.063" preload. That is outside of what the individual on summits product page stated as an answer to a question with the R302H being 0.020" - 0.060" preload.

So I am thinking 0.050" preload to shoot for which is simply a whole even 1 turn. Doing the math at 2/3 lift for just intake where I rounded from 6.92 turns to 7.00 turns and ignoring the exhausts 7.22 turns I calculated 6.3125" length pushrod, adding in the 0.039" headgasket thickness gives me 6.3515" length which is where I stopped at with trying to decide between 6.35" and 6.40" length. Throwing in the extra 0.050" preload would give me 6.4015" length or might as well say 6.40" length. But I dont think I will buy the 6.40" pushrod just yet. I am thinking about pulling my engine out tomorrow after work if I am not too tired and see what I get on the exhaust side doing 7.25 turns as 7.22 to 7.25 is close enough. I am curious if the exhaust could possibly fall up a size to 6.45" length even though thats not offered in 0.120" wall thickness.

I think I want to do this cause if the exhaust calculates to that I may consider running two different lengths of pushrod between intake and exhaust vs letting it ride on a single length pushrod. But I am leaning towards 6.40" which is what the old crane catalog listed as one option for my camshaft.

The hardware I ordered from Jegs for my timing cover and water pump should be here tomorrow. The pair of 0.039" headgaskets and the correct exhaust header gaskets shipped from amazon today should be here tomorrow or thursday. Pushrods wouldnt ship from jegs till August 10 or from summit till August 18 so I have time to do a little more precise 2/3 lift measurement and see what I come up with.

[Gary Lewis]

I have yet to get a email reply to my tech question from Scorpion asking what method do they recommend for their rocker arms for setting up rocker arm geometry.

In the mean time I started thinking I never accounted for preload to the length which I have to account for as if I don't it will make my rocker arm short. I need to find a exact spec for the R302H roller lifters on what recommended preload is but on Summit one question on preload was answered by another individual that stated preload is 0.020" to 0.060". With 7/16-20 rocker arm studs I know 1 full turn of the polylock equals 0.050".

Traditionally it is 1/2 turn to 3/4 turn past zero lash is where you set hydraulic lifters. How ever in my browsing I found a posting on Ford Muscle Forums on March 30, 2005 from a Crane website posting from January 3, 2005. This post talks about hydraulic roller cams and how their phone techs are getting more questions on proper adjustment of hydraulic roller valve trains. The article goes on about the extra weight of a roller lifter vs a flat tappet lifter, the quicker opening rates avaliable to roller cams and higher valve spring on seat pressure and open pressure. This article states that hydraulic roller lifters will perform best with at least 1 turn of preload. They state R&D has shown best performance occurs with preload set at 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 turns from zero lash, that this adjustment will maximize power throughout the rpm range and increase the useable topend by 200-300 rpm. Problem with this article is it doesn't state what rocker arm stud is being used. Using a 7/16"-20 rocker arm will give you 0.050" for every 1 turn of the poly nut. If using the 3/8"-24 rocker arm stud it gives you 0.042" for every 1 turn of the poly nut.

So if Crane was using 7/16" studs then 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 turn would be 0.0625" to 0.075" preload. If using 3/8" studs that would be 0.0525" to 0.063" preload. That is outside of what the individual on summits product page stated as an answer to a question with the R302H being 0.020" - 0.060" preload.

So I am thinking 0.050" preload to shoot for which is simply a whole even 1 turn. Doing the math at 2/3 lift for just intake where I rounded from 6.92 turns to 7.00 turns and ignoring the exhausts 7.22 turns I calculated 6.3125" length pushrod, adding in the 0.039" headgasket thickness gives me 6.3515" length which is where I stopped at with trying to decide between 6.35" and 6.40" length. Throwing in the extra 0.050" preload would give me 6.4015" length or might as well say 6.40" length. But I dont think I will buy the 6.40" pushrod just yet. I am thinking about pulling my engine out tomorrow after work if I am not too tired and see what I get on the exhaust side doing 7.25 turns as 7.22 to 7.25 is close enough. I am curious if the exhaust could possibly fall up a size to 6.45" length even though thats not offered in 0.120" wall thickness.

I think I want to do this cause if the exhaust calculates to that I may consider running two different lengths of pushrod between intake and exhaust vs letting it ride on a single length pushrod. But I am leaning towards 6.40" which is what the old crane catalog listed as one option for my camshaft.

The hardware I ordered from Jegs for my timing cover and water pump should be here tomorrow. The pair of 0.039" headgaskets and the correct exhaust header gaskets shipped from amazon today should be here tomorrow or thursday. Pushrods wouldnt ship from jegs till August 10 or from summit till August 18 so I have time to do a little more precise 2/3 lift measurement and see what I come up with.

Man, this is complicated stuff. I'm following and I understand, but I sure don't know what to suggest. But keep on keeping on.

[Rusty_S85]

Man, this is complicated stuff. I'm following and I understand, but I sure don't know what to suggest. But keep on keeping on.

It can be complicated when you go a bit more in depth than probably is needed.

It is why I decided to settle on the 6.40" length pushrod as it was listed in the old Crane Cam PDF catalog as one option for pushrod length. I ended up buying from Jegs on August 5 the Manley Swedged 5/16" x 6.40" x 0.120" wall thickness pushrods for $244.63 after shipping/handling and tax. It was supposed to be shipped out August 12 but was emailed that Manley has such a high volume of orders that it wont be till October till my order will ship. I could cancel my Jegs order and place the order via Summit to save the shipping as Summit doesnt charge shipping on orders over $100 but I dont want to lose my spot in the off chance that Jegs can get it to me sooner.

Today how ever I installed the grease seal in my Ford Performance timing cover and then dry fit my Felpro timing cover gasket and used a black sharpie pen to mark where the timing cover sits to trim excess gasket material away. Since I will be painting the whole engine after assembly I dont want excessive gasket material blocking paint to the block. It also would look tacky to have the gasket material painted engine color as well.

I found out in the process that the ARP bolt kit may not include all the bolts I will need. I went to go install the water pump to see what bolt goes where only to find out my Cardone OE replacement water pump was not an aluminum water pump like the listing on RockAuto stated but is in fact cast iron which I wont use as it is not correct for an '80s model 302/5.0L. I found a GMB High performance aluminum water pump for $61.79 on Rock Auto that states pump pressure increased up to 300%, increased flow from idle through the rpm range, and increased cooling capacity to reduce engine temp by 15-30 degrees. I really dont think I need this but there really isnt many options for water pumps when it comes to aluminum. The standard GMB Aluminum body water pump is $46.79 so only a $15 difference in cost. So I decided to buy the GMB one even though I cant find any information on what the actual difference is between the standard and the high performance one. I looked at AirTex which they have a high performance HD one for $55.99 and is listed as having 8 blades on the impeller but cant find any information on how many blades a stock 302/5.0L water pump has. Summit has a review on the GMB unit claiming it didnt help cool his over heating engine down and it appears to have a stock 8 blade impeller.

I did have a Stewart High Volume water pump I bought for my '78 Mercury I pulled out brand new in the box from 9 years ago or so. I cant use it even though it says it fits 75 - 85, the problem with it is it cant be used on a street vehicle unless you want to lose your power steering pump and A/C compressor brackets as there is no mounting points for these units. It probably would work fine on a older bracket setup that uses the stud bolts to attach the brackets but it is totally useless on a later model setup.

The unit I have coming in has all the mounting bosses to screw the brackets for the AC compressor and the powersteering pump to and it was fairly cheap from Rock Auto.

The other item I ordered is a PowerBond dampner, its made by Dayco. I ended up splurging for the Race Performance balancer over the Street Performance. The differences between the two is the Street Performance uses a Cast Iron ring while the Race Performance uses a Steel ring. The second difference is the Race Performance balancer is SFI approved while the Street Performance isnt.

Another is the Race Series is CNC machined AISI 1045 Forged steel hub bonded to a steel inertia ring, even though this is a steel unit it states in most cases its only marginally heavier than the OE cast iron unit and lighter than other units made out of steel. It also is protected positively against forward and backward movement which looking at the photo it appears there is a snap ring on the front side holding the inner steel hub tightly against the back of steel inertia ring. Then what holds it in place Dayco states the PowerBond Race Series uses a high pressure low cure that they developed. Supposedly Dayco states that they have tested these Race Performance balancers beyond 21,000 rpm without failure.

For me what sold me on it is the SFI 18.1 specification they meet. Ever engine builder I chatted with told me to get a balancer that is SFI approved as they are better than your standard replacement. This was in response to me looking at balancers such as fluidamper and other performance balancers which I was informed I didnt need on a daily driven truck with a performance 302 that will never see past 6,000 rpm.

I ended up paying a couple dollars more for this balancer through Rock Auto over summit but for the water pump and the balancer I actually saved $22.07 buying from Rock Auto over buying from Summit.

So I am delayed till next weekend to do more. The head gaskets I ordered Monday from Amazon didnt ship out till Thursday and isnt listed to be delivered till Monday. I had hope they would come in today or tomorrow when I placed my order Monday so I could clean the deck surface with brake clean and install the AFR heads and torque them in place.

I might pull my NOS Ford oil pan out and try and strip the paint off it. I looked online for a paint stripper to remove most of it then I can hit stubborn areas with a wire brush. Couldnt find anything that would work, everything I kept finding says to wrap it in plastic to keep the gel from drying out so it works. I dont know what that is about, paint strippers I used in the past took about 10 minutes and the paint would start bubbling up.

Close up photo of the mating surface of the timing cover to block. Most that have used the Fel-Pro timing cover gaskets know of the raised solid piece of gasket material on the driverside and the cut out webbing on the passenger side. These two areas along with any area hanging out on either side below the water passages were marked and trimmed out for a more OE look. Even the Ford gasket was too thick and would require cutting. I had a gasket with my Dorman timing cover I initially bought that fit nice but it had a horrible semi cut punch out for the dowels that resulted in the gasket ripping when trying to punch these pieces out.

The timing cover is not torqued in place how ever, just enough to hold the gasket snugly against the bead of Ultra Black I put on the block.

[Gary Lewis]

Man, this is complicated stuff. I'm following and I understand, but I sure don't know what to suggest. But keep on keeping on.

It can be complicated when you go a bit more in depth than probably is needed.

It is why I decided to settle on the 6.40" length pushrod as it was listed in the old Crane Cam PDF catalog as one option for pushrod length. I ended up buying from Jegs on August 5 the Manley Swedged 5/16" x 6.40" x 0.120" wall thickness pushrods for $244.63 after shipping/handling and tax. It was supposed to be shipped out August 12 but was emailed that Manley has such a high volume of orders that it wont be till October till my order will ship. I could cancel my Jegs order and place the order via Summit to save the shipping as Summit doesnt charge shipping on orders over $100 but I dont want to lose my spot in the off chance that Jegs can get it to me sooner.

Today how ever I installed the grease seal in my Ford Performance timing cover and then dry fit my Felpro timing cover gasket and used a black sharpie pen to mark where the timing cover sits to trim excess gasket material away. Since I will be painting the whole engine after assembly I dont want excessive gasket material blocking paint to the block. It also would look tacky to have the gasket material painted engine color as well.

I found out in the process that the ARP bolt kit may not include all the bolts I will need. I went to go install the water pump to see what bolt goes where only to find out my Cardone OE replacement water pump was not an aluminum water pump like the listing on RockAuto stated but is in fact cast iron which I wont use as it is not correct for an '80s model 302/5.0L. I found a GMB High performance aluminum water pump for $61.79 on Rock Auto that states pump pressure increased up to 300%, increased flow from idle through the rpm range, and increased cooling capacity to reduce engine temp by 15-30 degrees. I really dont think I need this but there really isnt many options for water pumps when it comes to aluminum. The standard GMB Aluminum body water pump is $46.79 so only a $15 difference in cost. So I decided to buy the GMB one even though I cant find any information on what the actual difference is between the standard and the high performance one. I looked at AirTex which they have a high performance HD one for $55.99 and is listed as having 8 blades on the impeller but cant find any information on how many blades a stock 302/5.0L water pump has. Summit has a review on the GMB unit claiming it didnt help cool his over heating engine down and it appears to have a stock 8 blade impeller.

I did have a Stewart High Volume water pump I bought for my '78 Mercury I pulled out brand new in the box from 9 years ago or so. I cant use it even though it says it fits 75 - 85, the problem with it is it cant be used on a street vehicle unless you want to lose your power steering pump and A/C compressor brackets as there is no mounting points for these units. It probably would work fine on a older bracket setup that uses the stud bolts to attach the brackets but it is totally useless on a later model setup.

The unit I have coming in has all the mounting bosses to screw the brackets for the AC compressor and the powersteering pump to and it was fairly cheap from Rock Auto.

The other item I ordered is a PowerBond dampner, its made by Dayco. I ended up splurging for the Race Performance balancer over the Street Performance. The differences between the two is the Street Performance uses a Cast Iron ring while the Race Performance uses a Steel ring. The second difference is the Race Performance balancer is SFI approved while the Street Performance isnt.

Another is the Race Series is CNC machined AISI 1045 Forged steel hub bonded to a steel inertia ring, even though this is a steel unit it states in most cases its only marginally heavier than the OE cast iron unit and lighter than other units made out of steel. It also is protected positively against forward and backward movement which looking at the photo it appears there is a snap ring on the front side holding the inner steel hub tightly against the back of steel inertia ring. Then what holds it in place Dayco states the PowerBond Race Series uses a high pressure low cure that they developed. Supposedly Dayco states that they have tested these Race Performance balancers beyond 21,000 rpm without failure.

For me what sold me on it is the SFI 18.1 specification they meet. Ever engine builder I chatted with told me to get a balancer that is SFI approved as they are better than your standard replacement. This was in response to me looking at balancers such as fluidamper and other performance balancers which I was informed I didnt need on a daily driven truck with a performance 302 that will never see past 6,000 rpm.

I ended up paying a couple dollars more for this balancer through Rock Auto over summit but for the water pump and the balancer I actually saved $22.07 buying from Rock Auto over buying from Summit.

So I am delayed till next weekend to do more. The head gaskets I ordered Monday from Amazon didnt ship out till Thursday and isnt listed to be delivered till Monday. I had hope they would come in today or tomorrow when I placed my order Monday so I could clean the deck surface with brake clean and install the AFR heads and torque them in place.

I might pull my NOS Ford oil pan out and try and strip the paint off it. I looked online for a paint stripper to remove most of it then I can hit stubborn areas with a wire brush. Couldnt find anything that would work, everything I kept finding says to wrap it in plastic to keep the gel from drying out so it works. I dont know what that is about, paint strippers I used in the past took about 10 minutes and the paint would start bubbling up.

Close up photo of the mating surface of the timing cover to block. Most that have used the Fel-Pro timing cover gaskets know of the raised solid piece of gasket material on the driverside and the cut out webbing on the passenger side. These two areas along with any area hanging out on either side below the water passages were marked and trimmed out for a more OE look. Even the Ford gasket was too thick and would require cutting. I had a gasket with my Dorman timing cover I initially bought that fit nice but it had a horrible semi cut punch out for the dowels that resulted in the gasket ripping when trying to punch these pieces out.

The timing cover is not torqued in place how ever, just enough to hold the gasket snugly against the bead of Ultra Black I put on the block.

Looks like you have a plan. A well thought out plan, at that.

But that October date is going to slow you down a bit. Maybe they'll speed up a bit?

On the pan, the "aircraft" paint stripper that I have does a pretty good job of taking powder coating off. It is just the run-of-the-mill stripper from O'Reilly's or Walmart. But if you are stripping the inside of the pan then you could put a piece of plastic wrap over the top of the pan to keep the stuff from drying out so fast.

[Rusty_S85]

Looks like you have a plan. A well thought out plan, at that.

But that October date is going to slow you down a bit. Maybe they'll speed up a bit?

On the pan, the "aircraft" paint stripper that I have does a pretty good job of taking powder coating off. It is just the run-of-the-mill stripper from O'Reilly's or Walmart. But if you are stripping the inside of the pan then you could put a piece of plastic wrap over the top of the pan to keep the stuff from drying out so fast.

Im hopeful that they will catch up and ship it out sooner. But I can wait on the pushrods and continue assembly else where and even mask and paint the engine. I really dont need the intake manifold off to set preload its just something I would like to do just to make life a little easier.

I actually bought one can of the Dupli-Color industrial stripper that should come in Monday-Tuesday. I looked online and none of the local autopart stores have it. It basically straight acetone with a thickening agent to make it a spray gel that wont run. States paint will bubble up and can be removed in 30 minutes or less. If it works as good as they say and how reviews state then I should cut my time drastically for stripping it down. Then I can either spray wd40 on the inside to stop rust till I get the oil put in or I could use some oil and just smear it into the metal on the inside of the pan. Outside I will spray with WD40 unless the pan is one of the last things to go on and I can actually start priming and paining. In that case I will just hose the engine off with some brake clean to wash away the WD40 on the block and then start my masking and painting.

I havent decided how I want to mask the aluminum heads off around the exhaust ports. Part of me is tempted to just stuff some blue shop paper towels in the exhaust ports and spray everything then let the paint act as an extra layer to help seal the header to the head. Or I could tape up my painted headers and bolt them to the head and use it as a mask in of itself. Headers will be sent out for ceramic coating just dont know what color to do.

[Gary Lewis]

Looks like you have a plan. A well thought out plan, at that.

But that October date is going to slow you down a bit. Maybe they'll speed up a bit?

On the pan, the "aircraft" paint stripper that I have does a pretty good job of taking powder coating off. It is just the run-of-the-mill stripper from O'Reilly's or Walmart. But if you are stripping the inside of the pan then you could put a piece of plastic wrap over the top of the pan to keep the stuff from drying out so fast.

Im hopeful that they will catch up and ship it out sooner. But I can wait on the pushrods and continue assembly else where and even mask and paint the engine. I really dont need the intake manifold off to set preload its just something I would like to do just to make life a little easier.

I actually bought one can of the Dupli-Color industrial stripper that should come in Monday-Tuesday. I looked online and none of the local autopart stores have it. It basically straight acetone with a thickening agent to make it a spray gel that wont run. States paint will bubble up and can be removed in 30 minutes or less. If it works as good as they say and how reviews state then I should cut my time drastically for stripping it down. Then I can either spray wd40 on the inside to stop rust till I get the oil put in or I could use some oil and just smear it into the metal on the inside of the pan. Outside I will spray with WD40 unless the pan is one of the last things to go on and I can actually start priming and paining. In that case I will just hose the engine off with some brake clean to wash away the WD40 on the block and then start my masking and painting.

I havent decided how I want to mask the aluminum heads off around the exhaust ports. Part of me is tempted to just stuff some blue shop paper towels in the exhaust ports and spray everything then let the paint act as an extra layer to help seal the header to the head. Or I could tape up my painted headers and bolt them to the head and use it as a mask in of itself. Headers will be sent out for ceramic coating just dont know what color to do.

I stuffed blue paper towels in the ports and painted everything, including the exhaust flanges. So far, not problems.

On the color of the headers, I didn't have a lot of options with Jet Hot when I had mine coated. Once I worked through what the options were on the type of coating I was pretty limited in colors.

But bear in mind that one of the reasons for coating is to hold the heat in. And since dark colors radiate heat the best you want to go with a light color.

[Rusty_S85]

I stuffed blue paper towels in the ports and painted everything, including the exhaust flanges. So far, not problems.

On the color of the headers, I didn't have a lot of options with Jet Hot when I had mine coated. Once I worked through what the options were on the type of coating I was pretty limited in colors.

But bear in mind that one of the reasons for coating is to hold the heat in. And since dark colors radiate heat the best you want to go with a light color.

Thats what I was thinking of doing as well. It would be easier and I could just simply thread some cheapie bolts in the exhaust side of the head just to keep paint out of the threads.

I found a ceramic coater up in Oregon state few years back they had a whole line up of ceramic coating colors. I was looking for something that had more of a bare steel look to it either unpolished stainless or just plain steel. I was at the time looking at the Titanium they offered as shown below third from the left.

But for me after paying for shipping to and from Oregon state and then the cost of the ceramic coating itself I was quite pricy for shorty tube headers like I have. I was quoted $250 - $275 price range for the shorty headers back in 2018 not including the cost to ship to and from Oregon state. But they ceramic coat the inside and outside of the headers which I found out from a more local ceramic coater you dont coat the inside of the headers just the outside. From the more local guy he is quoting $168 to $185 depending on if you go with black (cheapest) or a silver metallic (most expensive). Shipping would also be cheaper as its with in the state as well.

Only thing is he only offers the silver which I dont like so is out of the question, black which I am unsure about, or the Zirconia which is a greenish grey color that many restoration people use for a OE look.

Below is a pair of full length headers in the Zirconia coating.

That may be the color I end up going with cause I just think black headers with black accessory brackets would just blend in too easily along with the dark Ford Corporate blue I will be painting everything.

I could go the silver but Ive installed them at work, they discolor so easily from scratches from installation to simple handling and to me they just look like very cheap chrome plating.

The local guy here in Texas that I found up in Borne told me that what I want is a stable thermal coating on the exterior and solid carbon build up on the interior of the header to work together at keeping the heat inside. He also informed me the colors he offers have different heat ratings. Silver is only good to 1,600 degrees, black is good to 2,000 degrees, and zirconia is good to 3,000 degrees.

I did look at Jet Hot as well but its been 3 years now since I clicked "get a quote" and never got an email from them. I sent the quote in back in 2018 along with a quote to Finish Line Coatings in Oregon state and to Cradin Industries here in Texas. So far I am leaning towards Cradin Industries as he not only does automotive stuff but he does coatings for aerospace as well including some work for Pratt & Whitney and Lockheed Martin. That tells me he has to know what he is doing as a coater to be used by some big names like that.

If Jet Hot would give me a price quote I would consider them cause they did come out in 1981 and my truck is an '82 so it would be fitting. It also appears they have many different color options that one can have applied to the Off Road 2000 coating which is the one I would be looking at for a truck application. It also is only coated on the outside which is what Cradin Industries informed me is the proper way to do ceramic coating.

[Gary Lewis]

I stuffed blue paper towels in the ports and painted everything, including the exhaust flanges. So far, not problems.

On the color of the headers, I didn't have a lot of options with Jet Hot when I had mine coated. Once I worked through what the options were on the type of coating I was pretty limited in colors.

But bear in mind that one of the reasons for coating is to hold the heat in. And since dark colors radiate heat the best you want to go with a light color.

Thats what I was thinking of doing as well. It would be easier and I could just simply thread some cheapie bolts in the exhaust side of the head just to keep paint out of the threads.

I found a ceramic coater up in Oregon state few years back they had a whole line up of ceramic coating colors. I was looking for something that had more of a bare steel look to it either unpolished stainless or just plain steel. I was at the time looking at the Titanium they offered as shown below third from the left.

But for me after paying for shipping to and from Oregon state and then the cost of the ceramic coating itself I was quite pricy for shorty tube headers like I have. I was quoted $250 - $275 price range for the shorty headers back in 2018 not including the cost to ship to and from Oregon state. But they ceramic coat the inside and outside of the headers which I found out from a more local ceramic coater you dont coat the inside of the headers just the outside. From the more local guy he is quoting $168 to $185 depending on if you go with black (cheapest) or a silver metallic (most expensive). Shipping would also be cheaper as its with in the state as well.

Only thing is he only offers the silver which I dont like so is out of the question, black which I am unsure about, or the Zirconia which is a greenish grey color that many restoration people use for a OE look.

Below is a pair of full length headers in the Zirconia coating.

That may be the color I end up going with cause I just think black headers with black accessory brackets would just blend in too easily along with the dark Ford Corporate blue I will be painting everything.

I could go the silver but Ive installed them at work, they discolor so easily from scratches from installation to simple handling and to me they just look like very cheap chrome plating.

The local guy here in Texas that I found up in Borne told me that what I want is a stable thermal coating on the exterior and solid carbon build up on the interior of the header to work together at keeping the heat inside. He also informed me the colors he offers have different heat ratings. Silver is only good to 1,600 degrees, black is good to 2,000 degrees, and zirconia is good to 3,000 degrees.

I did look at Jet Hot as well but its been 3 years now since I clicked "get a quote" and never got an email from them. I sent the quote in back in 2018 along with a quote to Finish Line Coatings in Oregon state and to Cradin Industries here in Texas. So far I am leaning towards Cradin Industries as he not only does automotive stuff but he does coatings for aerospace as well including some work for Pratt & Whitney and Lockheed Martin. That tells me he has to know what he is doing as a coater to be used by some big names like that.

If Jet Hot would give me a price quote I would consider them cause they did come out in 1981 and my truck is an '82 so it would be fitting. It also appears they have many different color options that one can have applied to the Off Road 2000 coating which is the one I would be looking at for a truck application. It also is only coated on the outside which is what Cradin Industries informed me is the proper way to do ceramic coating.

I talked with Roger at Jet Hot in OKC. Just called them up.

[Rusty_S85]

I talked with Roger at Jet Hot in OKC. Just called them up.

Ill give them a call. Im not in a rush just yet to send the headers out, I really want to bolt them up to the engine loosely after paint and see how they look in black and then I can use the photo and photoshop to try different colors offered to see what I think would look good.

I dont mind paying $400 for ceramic coating for these headers. I got them uncoated cause the only coatings offered from Hedman was the tacky looking silver or the black. I got them painted so I could have them done in a color that I like.