1968 289 H2O

[gregski]

Quick Update

Well that makes us current. I have posted everything I have done up to this point. Thank you all for reading, commenting, and maybe even not saying anything, LOL. Regardless stuff is being done, and I am having fun, and I am learning a bunch about the internal combustion engine, ICE Ice Baby.

It is Friday night and I am going to stay up late like a fool trying to catch up on all the car shows I have DVRer instead of getting some much needed sleep. And tomorrow I am going to work on the Mustang.

I plan on evicting the other crankcase inhabitants, ie pistons. And maybe finally turning the darn thing over. Now wouldn't it be a riot if I did all that and it turned out that the car was in gear the whole time and it's the transmission that's seized!!!

 

[65ShelbyClone]

The C4 that came with my '68 was stuck. Lucky for me it was out of the car and I had no intention of using it...

 

[gregski]

Removing Pistons 1-4

Spent Saturday removing the pistons. Learned I have Flatlander Racing TRW L2249N 30 over forged (pronounced expen$ive) domed pistons. The preceding L in the part number stands for Forged, that makes sense L=Forged... Not! but since when are part numbering schemes logical?

Looking the pistons up on the Flatlander website puts them in the 1973-76 302 engine block table, yet my block is a 1966 so it should fall in the 1965-1968 289 engine block table, the concern being deck height. The 302 claims a deck height of 8.229 the 289 does not specify maybe someone could comment on that.

Listen to me rambling on and on as if I had a clue as to what the heck I am talking about, LOL... but man this stuff is intriguing, I had no idea TRW made pistons to me they were just another airline, lol

 

[gregski]

Piston Popper 3000

So how did I get those pistons out? Well I used the Piston Popper 3000, and you thought stir sticks were just for mixing paint!

Note how the con rods were enumerated whilst previously being rebuilt, this was tremendously helpful.

 

[woodsnake]

Do all of the bearings show wear, like #4 appears to have? Entertaining thread, I'll make you a good deal on an Edelbrock intake, for your project...It just needs cleaned.

 

[65ShelbyClone]

Learned I have Flatlander Racing TRW L2249N 30 over forged (pronounced expen$ive) domed pistons.

Looking the pistons up on the Flatlander website puts them in the 1973-76 302 engine block table, yet my block is a 1966 so it should fall in the 1965-1968 289 engine block table, the concern being deck height. The 302 claims a deck height of 8.229 the 289 does not specify maybe someone could comment on that.

L2249N or L2249NF? I was curious, so I went looking and apparently the L2249N is an old and discontinued part that has a larger dome than the L2249NF that is available now.

http://www.stangnet.com/mustang-forums/5849811-post14.html

306 Engine Combo?

289s have an 8.206" deck like non-1973-1976 302s.

 

[Rusty67]

Not sure about 289 vs 302 deck height but as far as I know the only time the 302 changed deck height was in the 80s when the switched to the 5.0 roller block. I know the 289 and 302 distributors will interchange with no issues.....

 

[gregski]

Some Random Bits Of Information

I used the rubber hose trick on the connecting rod studs to protect things from getting scratched. I also learned what the difference between fuel line and fuel injection hose is... yeah it's about $3.00 bucks per foot, LOL. My old hose was too brittle and starter cracking so I went to Pep Boys to buy some new stuff. Got 3 feet of 1/4 inch and 3 feet of 5/16 hose.

Check out how clean the old oil filter is, that's amazing.

Finally I learned there are holes in the crank journals big enough for me to shove the red straw from my WD-40 can through. I recon these are for lubrication, but who knew?

 

[gregski]

Cylinders 1-4

At .030 over I don't have much wiggle room, I believe it's common to go .040 over so maybe there's some machining left to do. The cylinders on the east side look good no ridges on the top like you can normally see or feel (since the pistons don't reach all the way to the top normally), except for the top skirt wear on piston number 1, here are some pics. I honestly don't know if that was wear and tear or if it got rubbed that way when I was tapping it out, what do you guys think?

Pictures of the west side pistons and cylinders coming soon...

 

[65ShelbyClone]

I honestly don't know if that was wear and tear or if it got rubbed that way when I was tapping it out, what do you guys think?

I think that happened when the engine was running. All this time I have been wondering why someone would let a fresh engine sleep with the fishes and now it's becoming apparent.

 

[gregski]

I think that happened when the engine was running. All this time I have been wondering why someone would let a fresh engine sleep with the fishes and now it's becoming apparent.

Do tell?

 

[65ShelbyClone]

Well, it probably went soft on compression in that hole and started smoking and using oil when the piston got smeared. All the parts up until this point only appeared to have damage from sitting unprotected in the weather.

 

[mustangmutt]

I did notice in one pic that there was a broken Compression ring. If who ever assembled the engine broke it that hole would also be "soft on compression" and consume oil and smoke and piss off the owner of a freshly built engine motivating him to use said engine as a boat anchor.

 

[gregski]

I did notice in one pic that there was a broken Compression ring. If who ever assembled the engine broke it...

Why in the world would you assume the assembler shoved a broken ring in the motor, that is sick man, sick I tell you. Rings are cheap and I doubt they shoved a halved ring in upon rebuild, it is very common for rings to snap do to wear and tear, heating and cooling, sittin' an' runnin'.

 

[gregski]

Pistons, Weddings, Texas & Time

Well I don't know how you get your stuck pistons out, but here's what worked for me. After trying to tap it from the top and from the bottom whilst bathing it in WD40 to no avail, (yes I did use whilst, LOL) it was time to get serious.

So I went looking for some trusty ol' transmission fluid and having found none, I grabbed a can of DOT 3 brake fluid. Since the cylinders are at an angle, I could only poor enough fluid to cover approximately half of the piston. But since the skirts are at North and South or 12 and 6 o'clock positions I figured at least one of them will get a bath.

Then I boarded the plane and flew to Texas for a wedding.

Now I know what you are thinking Texas! Really? Well I'm just telling you what worked for me that's all, if you wanna try your luck with Tteenneessee or New Mexico go right ahead.

Anyway when I came back about a week later, I scooped out the left over fluid with some paper towels, shot some PB Blaster and shoved some cut up 2x4 blocks in the hole and bolted the old head back on... all the way tight and it felt like it gave a bit. Once it was on I didn't wait none, I just removed the head, and went back to tapping the piston gently around the circumference and whalla it gave. Then it was a bit of back and forthing up and down, up and down, and she came right out.

 

[gregski]

Removing Pistons 5-8

ok, got all the pistons out now, and all but #1 shown earlier above, look good

 

[woodsnake]

I have to retract my previous offer for a cheap intake, as I bought a 71 FB, and now will be using it for that application

 

[gregski]

I have to retract my previous offer for a cheap intake, as I bought a 71 FB, and now will be using it for that application

No worries I picked one up at a swap meet for $20 bucks so I got 2 two barrel ones to choose from and 1 four barrel one.

 

[gregski]

Cylinders 5-8

and here are the other cylinders 5 through 8, eight being the worst one, it has rust on the bottom 1/3 of the cylinder walls, the rings do not go down that low, so I hope cleaning off the rust and honing will bring it back to life, but all these things are adding up, one scratched piston here, one rusty cylinder there, one stuck lifter here, etc, etc...

 

[zookeeper]

While I admire your effort on this thing, I really haven't seen any usable parts yet. If you want to make a drive up north a few hours I can make you a heck of a deal on an '89 roller cam, 5.0 GT core that is certainly head and shoulders above your current DOA bullet. PM me if you're interested.