390 FE teardown - a TURBO mill for the Galaxie

This winter the E-tek Rod Shop will be a rarely seen "clean zone", meaning there will be no bodywork, sanding or painting going on and all the projects will either be in build-up phase (Camaro and 240Z), or clean-up and detailing phase (Porsche). So what better time to also tackle some of the mechanical projects I have in mind, in addition to putting together the projects that have - or will have -  fresh paint on them.

Two such mechanical projects are the flatead I have slated for the E-Rod  and the boosted 390 FE I have slated for the Galaxie. The key then will be in getting both mills ready to go the machinist. so that they\ll be back in the shop - ready to go together - before the snow flies.

390 FE teardown:  I bought this complete engine from a great guy whose name is Morris, who is also the SK modertator of the FordTruck.com site.

Overall, the engine looked reasonmably well-kept on the outside, with little evidence of leaks or exterior damage. It had spent a winter (or several) outside tho and in SK that can alwasy be an issue...so lets see what lies inside -

Above - little sludge insode the valve covers and a clean valve train was the first good signs.
       Below - all the parts removed looked healthy, with no visible wear marks or evidence of  heat damage.

 Above - though the parts were easily removed, the rotating assesmbly took somewhat more torque to move than normal
         Below - a ton of slack in the timing chain often signlals some obvious wear and likely high-milage

Below -  Most of the pistons where relatively free of carbon build up and the cylinder walls where smooth.  Some flash rust is evidence of moisture settling on the cylinder walls over years of storage, which would have caised the increase in rotating torque I saw ealier.

Below - bottom end looks clean as well, with previsuly numbered rod end caps,

 signifying at least one previous rebuild.

Once everything is off the block, the crank will be shipped off to my machinist, 

along with it's 30+ year older brother, the flathead, where it will undergo all the work deemed necessary to renew it for another term at the buisness end of a fine automobile!

Via www.E-tekRestorations.googlepages.com