Hecho En Mexico

[NIKwoaC]

This is really just a teaser thread. Just brought this home today from a guy that yanked it out of his '69 Fairlane. It's a mess, but still has a virgin 4" bore and is completely stock. I've got a lot of work to do- I need to put this on an engine stand, disassemble it, then have the block cleaned and magnafluxed. If it all checks out, then its going to be the foundation for a stout little 347 going into my '86.

What do you guys think? I'll put more pics up soon.

 

[tannerc91gt]

ah, you finally got it, nice! saw your thread on "the other place", ever figure out what to do about the rear seal?
looking forward to seeing what you do with this thing

 

[gearheadboy]

I thought the Mexican block was proven to be a myth as far as being superior? I don't like anything made in Mexico, well maybe tacos.

 

[NIKwoaC]

ah, you finally got it, nice! saw your thread on "the other place", ever figure out what to do about the rear seal?
looking forward to seeing what you do with this thing

Assuming that this block checks out and doesn't have any cracks, Woody is going to convert it to a 1 piece rear main seal for me.

I thought the Mexican block was proven to be a myth as far as being superior? I don't like anything made in Mexico, well maybe tacos.

It's a myth that it isn't superior. It's not a Dart block, hell it's not even remotely close, but it does have more meat in the main webs and thicker main caps than the late model roller blocks. The turbo forums has a really good comparison thread with pictures, but you can Google it and find comparison pics all over the place.

 

[gearheadboy]

Found some info. I thought for sure I read somewhere it was a myth. It sure looks stronger to me. Seems Ford had 302's in Mexico cast in an old 289 Hipo mold or something. Conflicting info on years though.

 

[NIKwoaC]

Found some info. I thought for sure I read somewhere it was a myth. It sure looks stronger to me. Seems Ford had 302's in Mexico cast in an old 289 Hipo mold or something. Conflicting info on years though.

I think the myth is that it was cast with a higher nickel content- Not sure that was really ever confirmed or disproved. And yea, there is a LOT of conflicting info on these blocks. All that's really clear is that they've got a little more beef in the mains and some really stout main caps. I figure it's just a little extra insurance when I want to really put the screws to this engine in the future.

 

[90lxcoupe]

Nice, should be cool. Whos gonna do the camshaft? Hydraulic roller? Just curious, why did you go 8.2 deck versus 9.5

 

[NIKwoaC]

Nice, should be cool. Whos gonna do the camshaft? Hydraulic roller? Just curious, why did you go 8.2 deck versus 9.5

The cam is going to stay the same as what's In the car right now... For the time being. In the future I may look to FTI for a new grind.

I stayed with 8.2... And I may regret this... For simplicity. All of my current parts will carry over to the Mexi-Block, and even though there are a few hoops I have to jump through with it (rear main seal as stated above, I'll have to use retro-fit roller lifters, etc), there will still be less effort and money than there would be in a proper W swap. As much as I love the idea of a W, I was actually taking the idea of an 8.2" Dart more seriously than a 9.5" deck anything. But then I settled on this Mexi-block thing.

 

[Boosted92LX]

A good move indeed IMHO. For people wanting to keep the car somewhat true to how it came from the factory yet still run like a spotted ape this is a great move. I've seen so many N/A 500 hp 347s its not even funny. Not hard to do with your top end, especially.

 

[srtthis]

in before the its not made in the USA id never run it!

 

[NIKwoaC]

A good move indeed IMHO. For people wanting to keep the car somewhat true to how it came from the factory yet still run like a spotted ape this is a great move. I've seen so many N/A 500 hp 347s its not even funny. Not hard to do with your top end, especially.

It’s not so much that I’m trying to be true to the car’s origins, just that my goals for this car have always been 100% streetability, minimum downtime, and ease of maintenance, all while trying to keep the financial bleeding to a minimum. That last part was obviously the huge deciding factor for not going Dart, though I do get some sense of satisfaction deep down knowing I'm gettin 'er done with a factory block.

 

[NIKwoaC]

in before the its not made in the USA id never run it!

What about all the Windsor guys? Canada block, eh?

If this 40-something year old block ends up being cracked or in some other way unusable, "Plan B" is still a budget 351... So I guess you could say I have something against American made engine blocks.

 

[Boosted92LX]

It’s not so much that I’m trying to be true to the car’s origins, just that my goals for this car have always been 100% streetability, minimum downtime, and ease of maintenance, all while trying to keep the financial bleeding to a minimum. That last part was obviously the huge deciding factor for not going Dart, though I do get some sense of satisfaction deep down knowing I'm gettin 'er done with a factory block.

Well for me deciding to not go with a windsor was mostly so i could run a factory style intake under my origional stock hood and not have to space my k member or use solid motor mounts to get it all to fit. Not having to buy swap headers and acessory brackets were a bonus. This is what i meant by staying true to factory.

 

[NIKwoaC]

Well for me deciding to not go with a windsor was mostly so i could run a factory style intake under my origional stock hood and not have to space my k member or use solid motor mounts to get it all to fit. Not having to buy swap headers and acessory brackets were a bonus. This is what i meant by staying true to factory.

Oh, OK gotcha. I agree, there are a lot of hoops you gotta jump through for a W swap.

 

[tannerc91gt]

I'm a big fan of hoops it turns out
This will be a cool build though, you don't tend to disappoint

 

[NIKwoaC]

Ok, I'm posting this from my phone... We'll see how this goes.

Got it on the stand tonight (I found spinning wrenches helped me get my mind off the election).

Yanked the oil pan... Love those meaty Mexican main caps! Also with a little lube in the cylinders, I was able to turn the motor over my hand- Which is a good sign and a bit of a relief.

Pics!

 

[hoopty5.0]

That is one greasy enchilada. Excited to see how it goes. What kind of time frame are you working on for the build? I saw you mentioned Woody. He's got a pretty serious backlog, right?

 

[NIKwoaC]

That is one greasy enchilada. Excited to see how it goes. What kind of time frame are you working on for the build? I saw you mentioned Woody. He's got a pretty serious backlog, right?

Haha yea, the thing is filthy as hell. When I lifted the oil pan, it dropped nasty debris all over my garage floor.

I plan on stripping it down to the bare block and then have it cleaned and magnafluxed within a week or so. After that, I promised my wife I'd put it on hold until after the holidays. Woody is who I'd like to do the work on it, but I know he's on permanent backlog. I'm really just going to have him do the machine work on this and I'll assemble it, so hopefully that will work out.

 

[hoopty5.0]

Haha yea, the thing is filthy as hell. When I lifted the oil pan, it dropped nasty debris all over my garage floor.

I plan on stripping it down to the bare block and then have it cleaned and magnafluxed within a week or so. After that, I promised my wife I'd put it on hold until after the holidays. Woody is who I'd like to do the work on it, but I know he's on permanent backlog. I'm really just going to have him do the machine work on this and I'll assemble it, so hopefully that will work out.

Cool man. I'll be following enviously. I'm really regretting selling the fox.

 

[tannerc91gt]

So I see you ditched the project?