So what's up at the Doghouse these days?

[Frizlefrak]

Yours truly has been a busy ol' Mutt.....Marco's stablemate has officially entered rehab.

Today, a buddy of mine came over and we got the nasty old 351 Windsor and the even nastier old C4 FMX trans out of the Mach 1. Got the engine torn down too......and I have encouraging news on a couple of fronts there. Stay tuned.

So here we go.....ready for extraction...



Extraction......(blurred my buddy's face....don't want him falling victim to a croc attack at some point)



On the stand......Pretty nasty....wonder what it looks like inside?



Let's have a peek inside....shall we?? Lifter valley looks pretty clean....no sludge to be found. That's a good sign....



Not too bad! Let's dig in a little further....BTW...there's an easter egg here...let's see who finds it.



Tiny ridge in cylinders....very tiny. Pistons came out easily. I think this thing's a builder Wonder where my buddy left the heads.....OH...here they are....



It ran rich for quite a while....plugs showed the same carbon buildup. Here's what it looks like inside 4 of the lungs....I put oil pan back on with two bolts to catch any oil that drips until I can get it off to the machine shop.



Pretty damn clean. Now the old C4 "Cruise-o-Matic" was another story....YECHHH!!!




It's going off to Southwest Gear for a rebuild when I get a chance. I think it has Ebola....it's leaking from every orifice possible.

So there's where we stand so far.....goal is have the car back on the road by August. Also going to up grade the Armstrong steering to power while the motor is out....much easier to get to.

Got a lot done today. I'm exhausted....gonna go scrub up and hit the hay early.

[Frizlefrak]

OH Bloody Hell.....I almost forgot the best part!! Damn I'm getting absent minded in my old age....

From the stamping on the block..... C90E - 6015 - B2 Date code 9C20

This engine was manufactured March 20, 1969. Yes boys and girls, I have a matching numbers engine.

[Taurus]

Looks pretty good to me, I've done rebuilds on much worse looking Mustang engines. Also, that C4 can be replaced pretty cheap if necessary. They are a pretty simple rebuild as well.

Are you going to have the block and heads machined and rebuild it yourself?

[PLRX]

I dont see the "Payaso" approval but, looks good Friz.

I do know the aftermarket for those bad boys is extraordinary!

[C4fan]

That engine looks pretty clean. Are you going to put that 2 brl carb back on.

[Frizlefrak]

Originally Posted by Taurus

Looks pretty good to me, I've done rebuilds on much worse looking Mustang engines. Also, that C4 can be replaced pretty cheap if necessary. They are a pretty simple rebuild as well.

Are you going to have the block and heads machined and rebuild it yourself?

That's the route I'm going to take Jon....I'll send the block off when I get a chance, and once they give me the green light that all is OK, I'll have them bore the block, install the cam bearings, polish the crank, mount the new pistons on the rods, recondition the heads, and send it home where I'll finish it up.

I know this engine has been gone through before, and I don't think it got a ton of miles afterward. I was really surprised how good it looked inside.

The C4 will go off to SW Gear. Bob quoted me $550 to rebuild the trans and the torque converter. He's done a lot of work for me in the past, he'll do it right.

Originally Posted by PLRX

I dont see the "Payaso" approval but, looks good Friz.

I do know the aftermarket for those bad boys is extraordinary!

No contesta del Payaso

And I'm just doing a stock build on it. I've been down the hotrodding road tooooo many times, and I know how slippery that slope is. This car will never see the track....I'll take cheap and reliable, and leave fast for the young guys.

[Frizlefrak]

Originally Posted by C4fan

That engine looks pretty clean. Are you going to put that 2 brl carb back on.

Nope, it's going to get a square bore Edelbrock Performer and a 600 cfm 4 bbl carb. The Autolite 2 bbl that was on it was junk, and a new one costs the same as a good Summit carb. We started it when I got it home and it ran, but we were just using a spray bottle of fuel down the carb. The car sat for 10 years and the rancid fuel ruined the whole fuel system.

I have a new tank, sending unit, and fuel line on the car already. We will be starting fresh.

[C4fan]

Originally Posted by Frizlefrak

Nope, it's going to get a square bore Edelbrock Performer and a 600 cfm 4 bbl carb. The Autolite 2 bbl that was on it was junk, and a new one costs the same as a good Summit carb. We started it when I got it home and it ran, but we were just using a spray bottle of fuel down the carb. The car sat for 10 years and the rancid fuel ruined the whole fuel system.

I have a new tank, sending unit, and fuel line on the car already. We will be starting fresh.

Smart move putting all new fuel system. You could chase debri from a gummed up system for a long time. Good choice carb

[Taurus]

Originally Posted by Frizlefrak

Nope, it's going to get a square bore Edelbrock Performer and a 600 cfm 4 bbl carb.

Excellent

Take a look at a Holley 750 and 780 VS, much easier to adjust and is the hot set up on 351's these days. Just a thought.

[Frizlefrak]

Isn't that a lot of carb for a basically stock 351? I know it'll breathe better in the upper range, but I'm considering a smaller carb for throttle response on the bottom where it's going to spend most of it's time.

[Taurus]

Originally Posted by Frizlefrak

Isn't that a lot of carb for a basically stock 351? I know it'll breathe better in the upper range, but I'm considering a smaller carb for throttle response on the bottom where it's going to spend most of it's time.

It is, but if you're looking to get better response at the bottom range I would stick with the stock Motorcraft 4300. It was the factory carb on the 69 351 and also runs out at 750 CFM. I think you'll see just as good throttle response at either end. Just me, I like the way they felt stock but I see your point.

*** CORRECTION ***

Sorry, just looked in one of my old books, the 4300 was on the 390 and ran out at 650 CFM, may be what you're looking for. Too many years since I did a Stang to trust my memory.

[mike100]

I once had a rare 725 cfm holley vac sec carb that had small venturies that really had some throttle response. It ran lean on the top end though, my 11:1 355 was too much for the metering it had. I believe it was originally designed for a high revving 302, but point being it was an interesting carb that kind of fit in between the straight 600 cfm and the double pumpers or big cube units.

[Frizlefrak]

Summit has a CFM calculator on their site too. If I put in a max rpm of 6000 and 351 cubic inches, it recommends 517 cfm for street and 670 for strip

CFM Calculator - SummitRacing.com

[PLRX]

Originally Posted by Frizlefrak

Summit has a CFM calculator on their site too. If I put in a max rpm of 6000 and 351 cubic inches, it recommends 517 cfm for street and 670 for strip

CFM Calculator - SummitRacing.com

Cool. 700 it is!

[C4fan]

Originally Posted by Frizlefrak

Isn't that a lot of carb for a basically stock 351? I know it'll breathe better in the upper range, but I'm considering a smaller carb for throttle response on the bottom where it's going to spend most of it's time.

That was why i said good choice. i only have experience with Holley not Edelbrock. But for an engine that was factory set for a 2 brl I assumed it would be cammed and valved for it as well. So unless there is a cam head change I thought a 600 would work without over carbing. I do remember the Holley being very easy to work on and tweak.

[WW7]

Looks like a fun project Friz, I see you have a solid limited rust body to start with , that makes it alot easier to get the end result perfect..Why is one of the pistons different from the rest???. Is that the Easter egg you spoke of ??WW

[Sweet 90]

I was wondering what was up with your project Friz. I'll bet you can't wait to start putting the pieces back together. Looking good so far

[mike100]

I do like the sound of a 4bbl opening up, but I have seen 350 cubic inch cars run 13's with 2bbls. Those motorcraft carbs are sooo simple to effectively rebuild, I would keep it around.

[Frizlefrak]

Originally Posted by WW7

Looks like a fun project Friz, I see you have a solid limited rust body to start with , that makes it alot easier to get the end result perfect..Why is one of the pistons different from the rest???. Is that the Easter egg you spoke of ??WW

Ding ding ding....we have a winner And also what clued me to at least one rebuild along the way.

Yes, almost no rust in the structure of this car, but I have found some things that need to be addressed. One shock tower has some cracking I will have to weld, and the heater core had leaked for a lonnnng time....pinholes in pass floor. There are quarter sized cancer spots on rear quarters, but under carriage, trunk, torque boxes, everything else is solid as can be.

Originally Posted by mike100

I do like the sound of a 4bbl opening up, but I have seen 350 cubic inch cars run 13's with 2bbls. Those motorcraft carbs are sooo simple to effectively rebuild, I would keep it around.

I've never had any experience with the Autolite ( 4100 series I think) 2 bbls, and have read that they're problematic....but again, just what I've read. The one that was on the car is a throw away....body is cracked and a piece missing on the air horn. I've priced them, and they are close to $200. That gets me a nice 4 bbl, and I don't mind the extra $250 or so for the intake.

I found a ton of bubbafication on this car along the way. Wrong headers that didn't really fit correctly and leaked. The P.O. also routed the speedo cable between the header and the floor pan.....yes, it melted. Torque converter nuts were loose....no more than 8 ft lbs on them. They would have come off at some point. Rear trans mount was gone....as in just chunks of rubber. Left motor mount had wrong bolts....which wouldn't seat, and thus were loose. #7 spark plug was finger spin loose. It's a wonder this car ran at all, but it did. I bought it from a buddy and he drove it home when he bought it. It then sat for 10 years until I got it.

I'm shooting for an August 1 maiden voyage. I'll keep you all posted.

[Frizlefrak]

Originally Posted by Sweet 90

I was wondering what was up with your project Friz. I'll bet you can't wait to start putting the pieces back together. Looking good so far

Thanks Sweets. Should keep me out of the watering holes and houses of ill repute for a while.