Big Sky Euro

Guys, I started working on my project truck again now that the weather has turned nice I figure I should post up here in the project forum, but I should start from the beginning from where I started to show where I am today. So here goes:

I started with a '75 F250 farm truck with a knock in the bottom end, and upon pulling the pan found a couple of bearings that were out of spec. So I pulled it, dismantled it and sent to to the machine shop. As the pics go I will explain each step:

This is what I started with:



Pulled the front clip to get some room for the cherry picker and make it easier to unhook everything:



Radiator and support with AC setup:



Motor mount removal:



Up and out!



Clutch reference picture:



Getting it on the stand:



Pretty much torn down and looking at the bottom end - it went fast:



Yup...:



Mains and rods off and looking at the crank. Some scoring, but not too bad. People, remember to change your oil!



Casting #'s...:








Filthy pistons and rods:





Crank is out (yes I know it's on it's side):



Ok, so block, crank, rods and pistons went to the machine shop. Everything was tanked and cleaned up, new cam bearings installed and new freeze plugs. The block was deglazed, but not bored over and rods were resized .10 over. Crank is .10 over, and was a swap with the shop. All the needed parts were ordered: New cam (stock), lifters, oil pump, main and rod bearings, master kit basically. Cost was around $800 for all the work and parts.

Before I started I washed the block out and then gave it a protective coat of Old Ford Blue:





Continue:

Just before the cam install:







And it's in!



New mains:



One edge in and ready to seat:



All in...and notice the center main (yes it's in the CENTER! lol):



Lubage:



Crank installed and mains sitting:



New rings being installed:



Filthy rockers:



Rockers (one side) disassembled and cleaned up in the parts cleaner:



Rockers are back together (the other side was done too):



Oil pan cleaned and a fresh coat of paint:



You can see the crank and cam at 12 o'clock - ready for the new timing set:



Set:



Fuel pump eccentric and oil slinger back on:



Oil pump and pickup - getting ready to install the new pump and cleanup the pickup:

Installed the timing cover with a new seal, and damper spacer. I ended up having to speedy sleeve the spacer because it had a groove worn in it. I used a small amount of JB Weld to fill the groove and tamped the sleeve in place - it worked pretty well and I didn't have to get a new spacer.





I also got the heads on and torqued to spec:





Here's a pic of the bottom end before the pan goes on:



And I got the oil pump, shaft and pickup installed:



Well, really only partially. I decided to pull the pickup and let it soak in the tank for awhile. I reused my pickup but replaced the pump shaft.

And yes, I did get the oil pickup bolts in there

Got the oil pan on and sealed up:



Painted the rest of the parts - intake, etc.



Picked up some mic. parts plus got some new valve covers and air cleaner. Also picked up some break in oil, oil and water sensors, new push rods etc:



Primed the new lifters by soaking and priming them with an old pushrod:



Lifters installed!

Used a Crane Cam lube on the flat end and coated the lobes with it as well:



Installed gaskets and valley pan:

Edit - I actually did this twice. Because I noticed my rear left drain back hole draining slowly I pulled the intake off again to make sure I didn't miss anything. Looked fine and I think it was getting backed up on the valley pan and the oil is cold so it should be fine when I run the motor.



The intake went on after all that - torqued all the bolts to spec:



Installed fuel pump, oil filter housing and water pump. Gave the pulley a fresh coat of paint:



Also installed the thermostat housing and dizzy:



And had some help cleaning up for the night. Yes, he loves fruit punch! (And he's much taller now)



I ended up buying a new dizzy and using my old one to test and prime my oil pump.

Classic Ford Red stock headers with stainless steel hardware:



Here it is with valve covers on, all brackets attached, headers on with all new hardware...well the rest is there:





Wires and plugs on, coil attached and ready for the final parts.



I picked up a new alternator, and wired the H20 and oil pressure sensors with new pickups. That's about it - this weekend I am going to try to get it back into the truck and fire it up!

Edit - also picked up a new (reman) clutch set and had my flywheel resurfaced!

Painted the inspection plate (made sure to get some paint runs in there) :



Reman clutch:



Getting it on the picker:



Here's a shot of my shelf with some of the things I use in my truck and in my other cars:



I decided to paint the motor side of the clutch linkage. I got new bushings from JBG (I just painted over the old ones instead of masking them off):



It's now on the lift and supported by only the chain:





New clutch and resurfaced flywheel installed:



Here is a shot of the clutch and the linkages I cleaned up, greased and got ready for install:



I also replaced the rubber boot on the clutch linkage and the throwout lever:





It's up in the air:



It took a while because i was doing it myself with no help:

















[QUOTE=MikeWire;117937]and more:

Installed coolant hoses:





Radiator and front clip - no AC so the cooler is coming out:



It's back on:



Rep points who can see my little error: (hint: its not the PS)





Nasty starter:



New starter - this took forever to get going. Turns out this starter was bad and it was binding on the flywheel! After a couple of trips back and forth to the local Napa, who are extremely helpful, we ended up replacing it with another and it was fine.



Oil additive for break-in:



Somewhere around this time, I picked up a Holley 4bbl and an Edelbrock aluminum intake. Thanks Josh!!!!

Time to take care of the saggy springs. Thanks to Joe for holding them at DynoJet for me.

Here's some pics of what I found...the leaf spring bushings are gone:





I need to get some after pics because is was too dark when I was done - here's some in progress pics:



And a panoramic close up of the leaf and suspension:

[/QUOTE]

Pics later, but I uninstalled the stupid reserve/extra side tank and fuel switch solenoid. Tuned the carb a little more, thanks to by neighbor across the street. Also painted the shifters flat black.

Dropping the tank:









See how that tank has made the driver rail droop?



Painted the shift levers with a flat black enamel - like 10 coats.





Things left to do:

1. POR-15 the floor in the cab
2. Install the new molded rubber floor and door sill trim
3. Make a new headliner and install
4. Get power assist valve rebuilt
5. Replace the nasty bench seat (looking for 90-96 40/60 or high backed bench w/ center armrest)
6. Get some XLT trim from Stoney

awesome!

Cheers!

Looking great Mike!!!!

Thanks guys! Hey Jason, have you ever replaced kingpins on a solid axle? This is a Dana 44HD and it needs a rebuild on the drivers side, and I'm wondering how hard it is.

Wow! That intake looks a lot better than the last time I saw it! Great work Mike!

MikeWire wrote:Thanks guys! Hey Jason, have you ever replaced kingpins on a solid axle? This is a Dana 44HD and it needs a rebuild on the drivers side, and I'm wondering how hard it is.

Yup, sure have and it was a PAIN IN THE ASS mostly because they were the originals and were seized in there pretty good. Soaked them from the top and bottom with PB Blaster. Resprayed them about 6 hours after the first soak. Let them then soak a full day.
Some guys had said to heat up with a propane torch but I didn't have any luck with that.
That should help with them!