Well, I guess I'll call this the offcial start.

Truck broke on Sept 27 , 2000. Had a few bad experiances between now and then. Did lot's of research and am still reading everything I can on swaps.

So here's a couple of pictures to start the project.

The crate motor, No really it is......

http://albums.photopoint.com/j/View?u=1388432&a=10803322&p=37290982

Should I leave it Blue? or paint it black and add some chrome?

http://albums.photopoint.com/j/View?u=1388432&a=10803322&p=37290988


Anyway, It's a start. Hopefully next weekend, if the weather permits I'll sit it in the truck.




[Edited by Gofast on 01-06-2001 at 08:24 PM]

What pictures?

Thats what happens when you forget to move your pictures to a different folder. I went to post the links and realized that they wern't in the folder I wanted....so I had to go back and edit the link to show the pictures.

Anyway, Here they are....

Thanks

Cool! Is it a rebuild or completely new?

I'd say to paint it a different color. Black would be good, but what about a Ford blue? Then dress it up a bit, how about these valve covers?:http://www.jegs.com/photos/397M6582A460.jpgHow much did the motor cost you? What is the approximate HP going to be? What kind of heads did they use? What intake are you going to use? Give us some details.

Geez that's a really clean lookin' garage. Didn't look that way a couple of hours ago when I was there....

Got busy and did some cleaning in the garage.

Motor details.

306 C.I. it's a rebuild with ARB bolts & Forged Pistons.
It's got E6 heads which are more for torque than high flow, high HP stuff. It's got an RV cam, and I have no idea what the specs are on the cam. According to the builder it should dyno at about 300 HP in this set-up.

Intake is a factory H.O. intake from a 90 something stang. I got the computer, complete F.I. set-up and harness plus the MAS for $175 from a friend in Dallas.

I think I'll paint it black and put the SVO vavle covers on it.

Glad to hear you are back at it again Gofast,
I would make it some kind of color you can see, not just black. How will people see all your hard work if it is just black. Blue is good, but then anything will go good with white.
Looking forward to seeing it at Moab.

I would paint it Ford blue too. I don't like the current light blue. I also like those chrome valve covers Rock posted. I would go with those or some Edelbrock(sp?) ones. Good luck and be sure to take lots of pictures!

i have my stock 4.0 painted ford blue with some dress-up parts and it looks sweet .

hey cmartin91
where'd you get the dress up parts
i want to get some

Gofast--Do you have any pics of the empty engine compartment....Id just like to see what the whole thing looks like with out the motor or any other parts....I would just assume that you've gotta have some pictures lying around somewhere.
Thanks,
Pete

In the beginning.....

http://albums.photopoint.com/j/View?u=1388432&a=10803322&p=37378718


Maybe the Jaws theme would be better? Anyway, we creep ever so slowly towards the open hood....

http://albums.photopoint.com/j/View?u=1388432&a=10803322&p=37378715

And at last....The engine compartment. What a mess! Lot's of wiring to straighten out, not to mention the A/C system.

http://albums.photopoint.com/j/View?u=1388432&a=10803322&p=37378714

My battery died while taking these. I'll snap some with better details later. I get very depressed everytime I look under the hood though.

Hey Gofast,
If you a thinking of changing the color this would be a good time to paint the engine compartment since there is nothing in there.
So far there is PURPLE, ORANGE, so you could go with pink, yellow, or something like that.

You need to take a power washer to under the hood. That thing is dirtyhttp://members.aol.com/riffman80/smile.gif! Nice back bumper although what is the deal with that strap thingy at the bottom of it?

Wow, cool...Thanks :) Looks like you're progressing, or so I hope!
Pete

#1 go with the idea of pressure washing the engine compartment
#2 paint the engine compartment (I say chrome paint)
#3 paint that engine FORD BLUE (it adds HP just making it that color)
#4 go with those valve covers
#5 go ahead and splurge and buy all of the high performance parts you can find (you don't want to wish you had when you're done)
#6 GOOD LUCK!!

Originally posted by rock883
Then dress it up a bit, how about these valve covers?:http://www.jegs.com/photos/397M6582A460.jpg

Rock883, Do you have any part numbers or pricing and order info on those Valve covers. I'm ready to buy them and can't find them on the SVO site.

Thanks Rob

Gofast, go to http://www.Jegs.com pt# 397-M6582-A460 $106.99 Ford Motorsport Polished Aluminum Valve Covers which are the exact same as above. If the part number does not work, do a search on Jegs for "Valve Covers" and you will find the ones named above.

[Edited by Brian1 on 01-14-2001 at 09:09 PM]

...gotta get on the email update list for this thread :)


Gofast-
your other thread said that you got a new tranny- what did you end up with? I hope you bought a really big shoehorn while you were at it, it's gonna be tight :)

way to go with all this! good luck!

Aaron

Sorry GoFast, I don't check the conversions forum much. But, Brian hit it on the head. Thats where I found those valve covers. I really wish I had a 94 or 95 mustang GT although I would get in trouble with money if I did. Good luck. I guess I should check back here more often.

Originally posted by rock883
Brian hit it on the head. Thats where I found those valve covers.
Yea, I found where the pic came from by clicking on properties. How is the work coming Gofast?

GoFast,

I don't know how your wiring and computer troubles are coming along, but I just saw that Painless Wiring just came out with a complete kit for the 302 (minus computer). Just thought you might like to know...

Alec, Do you have a link for that wiring kit? I dong small things waiting for the weather to clear so I can stab the motor.

Maybe,just maybe this is why most people don't do conversions. It seems that there are a zillion set backs.
Anyway, here's the latest.

Day was in the 40's & 50's so I decided to drop the motor in the truck. Very concerned about trying to get the motor in a lifted truck.

I took both wheels off the front, used Jackstands in the frame and let the Kingpin rest on a block of wood. My rotors where 1/2" off the ground.

My truck was still to high for the engine lift! I couldn't get it over the front of the truck ( Now only 54" high ).

Plan 2 was to put the lift on my 5 X 8 trailer which gave it 24" more lift. Can't get the boom extended far enough to place the motor in the truck.

My next plan is to find a shop with an A Frame type lift and have them drop the motor in.

It's almost Feb. and I'm feeling the rush to get it done for Moab already!

Sorry Rob, didn't see that the thread had been updated.....I saw an ad in the recent Car Craft, I think. Painless' web site is http://www.painlesswiring.com

Can you wheel the engine lift into a pickup truck bed? Then you could back the truck up to the front of the Explorer. Just an idea....

Tried lifting the Engine lift. Problem was that the legs of the hoist stuck out the back of the trailer and wouldn't clear my truck. The legs would hit all the steering stuff and drop brackets on my truck. With the lift father back in the trailer so the legs didn't stick out, The boom wouldn't reach far enough over the engine bay.

I really need an A Frame type lift with a hoist.

Hey, Maybe we can Fun Run the trucks in a month or so....

BBK vs the 2 extra cylinders?

Can't wait to see pics of your set-up.

Rob,

How many horses does the new V8 have? You got it custom rebuilt, right? New cam, heads and stuff? Hmmm, I wonder how my blown 6 will fare....

Hey Rob,
Is there a way to make a stand out of 4x4's then rent a hoist lift. Not sure what they are called the thing with pully's and chains. Then you could push the Explorer under after getting the motor high enough and lower it down into it. Might be cheaper then a shop doing it and then you could burn the 4x4's in the fireplace.
Just a thought. Looking forward to seeing it at Moab.

start by pushing your truck next to a large tree. Hook a tree strap up to a large branch and then hook the engine up to a winch. Just lift it right on up

I would do what leebo said. Just find a tree with a limb about 4" thick (if you don't have a tree what about a friend's house?). Use a 2 ton chain hoist. It works great! I use a tree limb and a 2 ton chain hoist to take the engine t-case and tranny out of my J**p as well as some axles out of the truck bed.

Well, I hired someone else to put it in. He just finished a conversion on a J**p so he's used to this type stuff. Best part is the J**p looked factory after he was done.

Anyway, he's droppng the motor in and hooking up the driveline stuff.

I'm just glad to have this part out of my hair. I expect it back in about 2 weeks. Hoping to be done by end of Feb.


My shade tree friends..There arn't any good tree's within a mile or so of my house that I could use.

Alec, I'm expecting about 275 to 280 at the crank, less 18% drivetrain loss I should put about 220 at the wheels. Give or take a few.

Well, the engine is in the truck.

I used the Kaufman Mounts. You have to drill or weld to the frame with these mounts. Transfer case mounted in the factory location thanks to Advance Adapters 9" tailhousing kit on the AOD tranny. Had to mod the cross member a little to hold the transmission mont for a 93 Mustang though. Not a big deal.

All the bolts that used to hold the driveline in were lost by the previous shop I had working on the truck. So while installing this we have had to do many trips to the dealer trying to find drivline hardware.

Valve covers were a tight fit against the firewall. The intake looks like it will have a clearance issue with the A/C stuff too.

The big problem is exhaust. My $169 MAC ceramic coated shorty Mustang headers don't fit! I have to cut the flange off to clear the frame. I also have to "Notch" the frame about 1/2" to clear the exhast pipe. We are bracing around this notch so I should loose any strength.

Maybe the $400 headers from the conversion companies are worth it?

General Questions.....

Would factory Explorer V8 mounts work? Who knows I'll compare someday, I bought the Kaufmans because I thought that would place the motor so that I didn't have valve cover or intake clearance issues.

Would factory Explorer exhaust manifolds clear the frame?


Next weekends plan is to get the exhaust system installed from the Headers back.

Pictures???
WERE ARE THE PICTURES????
Since they are doing the work, you could be running the camera......lol

i think that they would as long as the frame is the same in the '95+. stuff like that is usually pretty interchangeable.

OK, First off pictures should be done Sunday night.

Second, It's in! Talk about tight fit. Looks like this truck was desinged for a V6, ( Wait it was.... )

Anyway, Factory Drivers side exhaust manifold almost touches the steering shaft. Very close fit. The passenger side manifold had to notch the frame. It has been reinforced where it was notched. This is a tight fit.

When you see the pictures you'll understand my "Tight Fit" statement.

I'm off to Tulsa to get my exhaust system installed at my bother in-laws shop.

Next item to do....

I need to install the intake and all the accesories next.

Pictures after my road trip!

Nothing wrong with tight I don't think.
Used to have a Mustang with the 351 and that was tight.
If you can get it in then it is a GOOD FIT!!

I like to use the expression "Like a glove"

OK, the motor is in and snug. Fits better than OJ's glove too.

I'll post better pics once the intake is in, I'm tired from the long road trip getting the exhaust done. So these will have to do.

http://albums.photopoint.com/j/View?u=1388432&a=10803322&p=40096178


Here's a good picture of the infamous notch.

http://albums.photopoint.com/j/View?u=1388432&a=10803322&p=40096172

I also had the complete exhaust sytem installed. Everything is fabbed using a ball joint & flanges so I can drop sections of it if I need to get to the tranny or something else. Basically with a 9/16th's wrench I can drop the whole exhaust if I want too.

http://albums.photopoint.com/j/View?u=1388432&a=10803322&p=40096153

and the mufflers are where my spare used to be...

http://albums.photopoint.com/j/View?u=1388432&a=10803322&p=40096151

Now as soon as I'm back from Porta wherever in Mexico, the real work begins....


Running by March?

lookin good man. are you worried about the exaust hitting the frame when the engine mounts flex? dont know if that could be an issue down the road. not many options though.

Shouldn't happen, I hope. The mounts are Kaufmans and they shouldn't flex like a stock mount would do. If that happens then I'll use a brace to keep the motor from torquing. If the motor moves at all I have to worry about all kinds of things hitting eleswhere. It's a tight fit in the engine bay too.

What a good memorie that was. I chained many a small block to the frame. Every no and then you run across someone that chained the wrong side because they saw someelse do it but didn't know why they were doing it. I graduated to turnbuckles because they looked so much better.

More than once my chain gave away my sleeper status at the drags.

and Can you imagine a 4 wheel burnout.... I need to keep an eye out for some older tires and do that some time, maybe enter a burnout contest and try to win some money.

I can imagine a 4wl burnout. Just can't picture the d-35 holding up to one! Wow you realy had to knotch the top of the framerail. When i was having my exhaust run i ran into the same on the pass side. Only had to take a small sliver out for header clealance.