1968 don't MESS with Renee!....

[Ruppstang]

Congrats Tim, Renee and TJ!
Nothing like that first start up. Tim what is the story on this car? I see it has no stripes and a script on the fender. Marty

 

[Midnight Special]

Marty,
I bought this car out of Hillsboro, Oregon in 2007 as a Marti-certified S-code 4-speed (original color was Acapulco Blue/ white vinyl top). After a hard life with prior owner(s), the guy I got it from did a ground-up rebuild (huge file of receipts) to its present configuration. I also have a stripe kit, but haven't installed it yet...

This car (was) is the quickest of the lot and blast to drive, but suddenly quit producing power at cylinders #3 and #8 for no good reason. Weeks of compression tests, carb, plug and distributor swaps, intake swap and a lot of head scratching and phone calls led to my pulling it after ultimately hearing FOD in a chamber. The performance drop (I'm told) was caused by a broken valve spring (down low where we couldn't see it) disrupting ignition timing between those opposing cylinders.. A renown Ford guy in Chico, CA did the rebuild...

Now, I'm not a BB motor guy, so don't flood me with synopsis... but we did pull & check everything before yanking the motor. Things we learn....

 

[admin]

Looks like a great time. Thanks for sharing the pics!

 

[Ruppstang]

It will be a blast to drive with a fresh engine. I told one of my best friends the other day it is a good thing we have these old cars, gives us something to talk about other than our aches, pains and pills. We are never too old to learn and my cars seem to allways have something new to teach me. Marty

 

[Midnight Special]

...This car (and situation) also brought me closer to some VERY wonderful people and members here! 'Shared some sleepless nights with Rob Campbell whose generous information kept us busy for a week after each call I made to him...checking and testing! Don "68gt390" was its perfect pilot as well when he visited in '07...lighting 'em up in front of Mike's BBQ in a way to make David Athans proud! I could go on & on.....

 

[robert campbell]

Tim,
I harken back to a few calls from you when the 390 was dying. I was glad I could help in some small way. Your appreciation and friendship in return is more important than anything else. And you met a great engine rebuilder!! A guy you can recommend to anyone!!

Sounds sappy to some people... Spend some time with Tim and the rest of this people on this site. We are lucky to have each other!

Can't wait to spend some time with you guys this summer!

Tim, congrats and some "tire frying" is in your future!!!

Rob

 

[robert campbell]

Tim,
Go out and do some acceleration and de-acceleration on your winding roads. Trust me, I know, you know, how to do this!!! Keep that baby under 4,000 RPM. Lots of up and down to work the rings back and forth in the ring lands. Put about 200 to 300 miles on her. Drain the oil and replace the oil filter.

Do a retork of the heads, intake, and exhaust bolts. If you have no tappet noise, then no worries. Looked like you have non-adjustable rockers and your engine guy is the shit!!

Keep having the same fun up to about 1,000 miles. After that, the sky is the limit or 6,000 rpm for your big FE!!

Fly Rob down to do nothing but admire your car!! Feed him, and give him a ride in big block GT/CS. Enjoy a beer with Rob! Take him to air show! Drive him back to the airport in big block GT/CS!

Wow, this is almost like last year!! Without a big block GT/CS and the air show!!

Change the oil at 2,000 miles. Enjoy!

Beat up Cheby's!!! Enjoy more!!

Rob

 

[GT/CS S Code]

Stripe kit?

What colour is the stripe kit that you're going to install?

(White looks pretty good on a red "S" code ...)

:grin:

 

[GT/CS S Code]

Ps:

PS: Definitely a good idea to double check all the bolts after a few miles. We're doing a bit more work on our "S" code right now and discovered that the header bolt nearest the firewall on the driver's side had worked loose, fallen out, and was missing completely! We're replacing most of the front end components right now, and wouldn't have noticed the missing header bolt without crawling around under the front end ...
:embarass:

 

[Midnight Special]

Tim,
Go out and do some acceleration and de-acceleration on your winding roads. Trust me, I know, you know, how to do this!!! Keep that baby under 4,000 RPM. Lots of up and down to work the rings back and forth in the ring lands. Put about 200 to 300 miles on her. Drain the oil and replace the oil filter.

Do a retork of the heads, intake, and exhaust bolts. If you have no tappet noise, then no worries. Looked like you have non-adjustable rockers and your engine guy is the shit!!

Keep having the same fun up to about 1,000 miles. After that, the sky is the limit or 6,000 rpm for your big FE!!

Fly Rob down to do nothing but admire your car!! Feed him, and give him a ride in big block GT/CS. Enjoy a beer with Rob! Take him to air show! Drive him back to the airport in big block GT/CS!

Wow, this is almost like last year!! Without a big block GT/CS and the air show!!

Change the oil at 2,000 miles. Enjoy!

Beat up Cheby's!!! Enjoy more!!

Rob

THANKS Rob! That's what we'll do! In the meantime, is it natural to have a slight tappet noise before break-in when she warms up? There is a slight one on the right side... Oil pressure is good and heads are lubing nicely. What oil do you suggest? right now it's 30 wt. with zinc additive...

I would love nothing more than to fly you down and go play The air show is in July right before your Northwest gathering.

 

[Midnight Special]

PS: Definitely a good idea to double check all the bolts after a few miles. We're doing a bit more work on our "S" code right now and discovered that the header bolt nearest the firewall on the driver's side had worked loose, fallen out, and was missing completely! We're replacing most of the front end components right now, and wouldn't have noticed the missing header bolt without crawling around under the front end ...
:embarass:

Yes, I will be on top of that too Al, Thanks! The stripe kit I have for it is currently "black", but I could go either way. It could be neat having a California copy of your S-code. We could pose in front of it with our guns & call it the "Al'Ca'Clone" ;-)

 

[robert campbell]

THANKS Rob! That's what we'll do! In the meantime, is it natural to have a slight tappet noise before break-in when she warms up? There is a slight one on the right side... Oil pressure is good and heads are lubing nicely. What oil do you suggest? right now it's 30 wt. with zinc additive...

I would love nothing more than to fly you down and go play The air show is in July right before your Northwest gathering.

Tim,

I would fly myself big guy!!!

I would not worry a bunch at this point. I suspect you will drain the 30 weight out after you have seated the rings. If this was my car, I would use that oil for a 200 to 300 miles.

If the slight tappet noise is only during the frist couple minutes and goes away, live with it to the first real oil change a 2,000 miles. If it continues to worsen slightly, then talk to the engine builder about the push rods. As I remember you can get 1/32 and 1/16 inch longer push rods for the non-adjustable FE motors. If you isolate it, you can try the 1/32 longer push rod.

It may be a tappet that is a little grumpy when cold and will soon get better with use. I have used 20/50 Castrol for years. And the Castrol full synthetics. I have went to lighter weight Purple Royal synthetic in both my motors now that I push both very hard. VERY HARD!!

I assume this slight noise is when it is cold?

Rob

 

[Midnight Special]

Rob, the noise is also there when warm... There's probably 30-minutes total time on the motor. No driving yet and it's raining today, so will start it again tomorrow.

 

[robert campbell]

Cam is broke in, so you "own" the lifter on the lobe that "may" be making the noise. As long as it is not a huge noise, I would drive it and set the rings. See if it goes away. I would contact the engine builder for his thoughts. I bet it goes away! If it ends up being a defective lifter, a new one could be placed on that lobe if necessary. If this is the case, the less miles the better. Again, call the builder. some people say that a new lifter on a "broke in" lobe is a no no. In a perfect world, yes, but I have done it with engines that ran for years and years with no ill effects. And with an FE, you can fish it out of a stock Ford intake without removing the intake!! If it comes to that!

Raining?? In California? What up??

Rob

 

[Midnight Special]

...Not a huge noise at all Rob. Just noticeable. I will start it again this afternoon, run it for a bit, do a final check then drive it up & down the driveway a time or two to see how it behaves.

 

[hookedtrout]

...Not a huge noise at all Rob. Just noticeable. I will start it again this afternoon, run it for a bit, do a final check then drive it up & down the driveway a time or two to see how it behaves.

Don't get lost, that's one wayward winding driveway you have there, baffled the crap out of me.

 

[dpheyes]

Yes, I will be on top of that too Al, Thanks! The stripe kit I have for it is currently "black", but I could go either way. It could be neat having a California copy of your S-code. We could pose in front of it with our guns & call it the "Al'Ca'Clone" ;-)

Tim,

If you decide to go with white stripes, I have a new-in-box set you can have for half price. I went ahead and had mine painted on. PM me if you want them.

Doug

 

[Midnight Special]

Thank you Doug!
PM sent

...In the meantime, last weekend's car show and more rain this week means no real update on the 390. I have started and run it a few more times and it does seem to be getting quieter. I'm going to install a real oil pressure gauge before button-up and driving this coming weekend

 

[GT/CS S Code]

Sounds good to us!

Quote:
Originally Posted by Midnight Special
It could be neat having a California copy of your S-code. We could pose in front of it with our guns & call it the "Al'Ca'Clone" ;-)


Sure! We've definitely got the guns to do that! (... although our clothes are a bit older than the roaring 20's ...)

:grin:

 

[Midnight Special]

...Oh, but just think of the trips to Canada & back if they had S-codes in the '20's! I wonder how they would've performed on the "molasses" of the day...
;-)