1968 Ford Galaxie 500

R

rzucker

Well-known member
td25c said:
Got the new brake master cylinder installed yesterday , brakes work great now !

Need a new key switch & neutral " safety switch" . For some reason the key switch has some dead spots in it . Will start the engine but no accessory power though it .

Have to put the gear shift in neutral to start the engine . Hopefully the two switches will fix it .

Mostly little minor issues now but can see the light at the end of the tunnel on this phase of the project .

Off to the exhaust shop next & have them drop on some new dual pipes .

Thinking of 2 1/2 " pipe ?
Click to expand...
2 1/2" on a 302 is probably overkill, may even cost you some low end response. On my older chevy pickups I usually ran 2.25" pipes with a 350 engine and 2" on a 305. The 305 was a bit of a story itself and most people wouldn't believe it anyway. But I took an early 80's 305 in a Chevy 1/2 ton 4x4 and freshened it up with early 70's pickup heads and a stock GM camshaft for a smallblock C-60 and a set of Rams horn manifolds, topped it off with an Edelbrock SP2P manifold and a good Carter/Edelbrock carb, That setup ran good in a truck with 33" tires and 308 gears. No super power at high rpms, but it got things rolling quite well.
 
td25c

td25c

Well-known member
Understand RZ .

Was going to install the 2 1/2 " exhaust thinking ahead for the 460 engine .:)
 
td25c

td25c

Well-known member
Took the crew in to town this morning to set a digital electric sign at a church .

Power & utility lines everywhere but found an opening where we could make it work .
 

Attachments

td25c

td25c

Well-known member
It sure was a great time RZ !

I eyeballed the blue 1971 Chevelle pretty close . 402 engine , turbo 400 auto trans . Really clean car & sounded great !

It's for sale , did not ask the price but guessing 30k plus .

The owner just grinned when we pulled in with the Grove , first time they ever had one of them rigs show up to a " Cruise In " . LOL !

Although the Grove is no stranger to the site , he's worked there before .

http://www.heavytruckforums.com/showthread.php?51-Fwd-Trucks&p=3828&viewfull=1#post3828
 
Last edited:
td25c

td25c

Well-known member
Ford Guy's

I've also got a line on a 1986 Ford F 600 with a 429 in it .



Were the Ford 429 's the same engines as in the automobiles ?


I know the big block chevy truck engines had the tall deck with the extra ring on the piston but other then that they would still bolt up in a car .
 
td25c

td25c

Well-known member
td25c said:
Then again on the other hand part of me thinks " keep the engine stock " & drop a blower kit on top .

I'm a Detroit man anyhow , it would fit in fine with the other superchargers we have in trucks & equipment . LOL!

Some of these kits are interesting .
https://www.holley.com/products/superchargers/supercharger/
Not to bad of a price on the small block Ford kit . Could drop it on pretty fast & paint the satin finish blower Detroit Green so it would match the rest of the fleet .:)

https://www.holley.com/products/superchargers/supercharger/parts/77-174FSB-1
Click to expand...
Spotted this interesting article on the Weiand 174 charger on top of a Ford 302 .

http://www.powerperformancenews.com/tech-articles/the-middle-ground-boosted-bolt-ons/
 
td25c

td25c

Well-known member
Getting a welcome rain spell off the last hurricane . We were getting pretty dry .

Heater core In the Ford was leaking a little & fogging up the windshield . New one showed up so I went ahead installed it this morning .

Core was pretty reasonable , $ 25 bucks :)

Best part was this has to be the easiest heater core I've ever replaced !

Remove 4 screws on the faceplate & she slides out like pulling a book off the shelf . I was due for an easy task anyhow .

Glued the old foam padding on the new core with silicone sealant & slid her back in .

Blowin hot air now without the antifreeze fog LOL !

Ready for fall & winter weather .
 

Attachments

td25c

td25c

Well-known member
At first I dreaded it RZ ........

Speculated they were playing with me with the 4 screws on the faceplate at first . Thought to myself .... " That's just to easy there has to be a catch somewhere ? "

But that's how it went down .... Starting to really like this car !
 
td25c

td25c

Well-known member
Glad the heater core is easy to get to .................


Yep , noticed a drip coming from the air box again on the new core :(

First thought was take it back to the parts store & return it for another one .

Sat down a few seconds & started to get pi$$ed off about it . Hell .... Trying to return a 25 dollar heater core I would burn $ 100 in time & frustration .

Called Dude Watson again:) . He came over and filled a 5 gallon bucket of water for the test tank & put a little air pressure on the core and sure enough the pin hole leak showed up .

Peeled back a few fins beside the leaking tube & soldered it back at the base of the tube . Dropped it back in the test tank & she held now so we putter back in .
 

Attachments

td25c

td25c

Well-known member
Spotted this article on building up a 460 .

http://www.hotrod.com/articles/ccrp-0602-big-block-ford-engine-build/


Like anything else ..... All it takes is more money :)

http://www.jegs.com/i/Edelbrock/350/2045/10002/-1


Our 460 engine is out of a 1977 Ford LTD so it's a low compression " smog motor " with miles of vacuum lines under the hood .


Being I plan to stay under 5,000 RPM on this engine just wonder what would happen if I could run the stock heads & bump up compression with some forged pistons ?

Run stock crank and rods , roll in new rod & main bearings

Install the cam and intake that Truck Shop suggested and keep the factory Ford / Autolite 4 barrel carb on top .

This would sure cut allot of cost & still have a decent power plant .

I really like the Jegs top end kit but that's allot of money & not sure that I would gain much in the lower RPM range where we plan to stay .
 
Last edited:
J

JasonG

Well-known member
I think you're right, the cam and pistons will be the best bang for the buck. Headers would be a good idea too.
 
td25c

td25c

Well-known member
That's the direction I'm headed Jason . Would like to at least achieve 10 to 10.5 to 1 compression with new " flat top " pistons . Not sure if it's possible with the stock heads as I'm sure they have a big open chamber around the valves .

Pretty sure the stock 460 pistons will have a countersunk dish on top .


Get the bottom end of the 460 done and run the stock iron heads first . Down the road if needed can drop the aluminum heads on later pretty easy .

One of those 460 articles mentioned a big loss of weight up front when going to aluminum heads & intake . That's a plus as well .

I believe it , also have a 460 in my 1974 F - 350 service truck . Dropped a valve in it years ago but remember how heavy the intake & heads were when we had it apart .
 
Last edited:
Steve Frazier

Steve Frazier

Founder
Staff member
I built a 351W back in the 80s and was able to raise the compression by using junkyard heads with a closed chamber, if I remember correctly the '69 heads had the tightest chambers. There might be 460 heads with smaller chambers that could help.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top