Progress Thread SoFlo5-0 builds a 5.7 (347, that is)

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better yet, why even mess with an explorer engine? The gt40 heads and intake? His engine looks to be in pretty good shape.

Side note: are there any explorer engines worth grabbing these days? I’d think they all have a ton of miles. Up here in Maine they don’t exist anymore anyway. (Rust)
 
I had a 10'whip CB antenna on the quarter panel of a 69 mach 1. There will never be a picture of that atrocity posted anywhere.
THAT would something to be "ashamed" of as long as nobody had to see it.
Having a MII with something similar would be reason to change your identity, and go into hiding.
Hey, it was the 70s. CB radios were ubiquitous - and not every CBer was a "10-4 there good buddy' stereotype yahoo.
 
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Uh why... Just grab an explorer longblock add cam of choice and turbo.. more power than the 347 at a lower cost.
:stick:
That would be a decent choice if I was looking for max power/lowest cost, but there's more to this build than that. I was originally just going to do a HIC (headers, intake, cam) and call it a day, but the thought occurred to me: When am I gonna get a better opportunity to build another Ford smallblock - something I hadn't done since the late 90s? My oldest son and I had a blast asssembling a 351W from the bare block and stuffing it into my '66 Fastback. The opportunity to do the same with the 91's motor was too hard to resist. Stroking it was a no-brainerif we were going to strip it to the block - so there you have it. It's not a MAX-POWER build by any stretch of the imagination. More of a father/son project
 
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Nice project.

How is the Ranger for towing? I'd like to get a truck and am weighing the Ranger vs F150 right now. I'd like to be able to tow my fox.
The Ranger is a STUD as a tow rig. It pulled the Mustang and a U-Haul trailer with power to spare. I've towed the Mustang or a Focus race car back and forth from FL to SC a few times now and I'm more than impressed.
 
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Finally, some progress and pictures to share. The 347 Project is proceeding nicely and is much further along than these pictures I'm sharing today tend to indicate, but I'll get caught up soon enough.

wash.jpg
paint.jpg


Got the block back from the machine shop (finally )and gave it a good washing. Opened up the oil journals and used a rifle bore brush to clean them out a few times. A good blow-dry from my air compressor and a few hours of So. Florida sunshine (after applying WD-40 to the machined surfaces) for a final drying. I decided to paint the block black and did just that after some very time-consuming masking. I think it turned out pretty well.

I enlisted the wife to help me lift the block and slide its attached mount into the engine stand in the shade of the carport where it was a downright brisk 85 degrees with 78% humidity. This might explain why I decided to move the whole engine assembly indoors to the seldom-used, but blissfully cool Florida Room. Now, you Floridians know what a Florida Room is but for the uninitiated, it's a fairly large room with a low wall and wall to wall windows, usually found in the back of the house. I set up shop in there and started the build that afternoon.

stand.jpg
inside.jpg
 
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Main journal bearings were all a hair under .0020 - which is in spec. :) Rod bearings were about the same - probably .0018", so I went ahead and began the laborious job of gapping 16 piston rings and checking all the others. Having done that, for the first time, used a anodized Al piston ring compressor to get the pistons into their new homes. It worked like a charm. I'll never use the 'allen key adjustable metal hand-cutting band type' again. The cam is a Comp Cams XE274HR. Pistons are Mahle forged flat top Twisted Wedge models with forged rods and a SCAT 9000 crank.

ringgap.jpg
4030.jpg
Piston1.jpg
CompCam.jpg
CamInstall.jpg
 
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UPDATE (Finally!!) I took the top end of the build in a completely different and surprising direction. TFS 190 heads remain, but the EFI /intake system is radically different. The engine has been completed for some months now, started and broken in, oil changed, clutch adjusted and dutifully thrashed on the Mean Streets of Hialeah, FL (lolol). Verdict: It's a freaking BEAST! The Edelbrock Pro-Flo 4 system started up on the first try and has self-tuned into a motor that breaks the tires loose at the slightest goosing of the throttle and pulls hard to the red line. Full disclosure, the initial wide-band sensor went south a few weeks after installation, but the Bosch part I replaced it with solved that problem very nicely. Questions??
ProFlo4.JPG
 

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