Notes on 2006 engine buildup
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Turning this: ........................................................................ into this:
I bought this '96 Explorer motor, said to be a Ford surplus piece, for $300 on eBay with the thought of maybe being able to just toss it into the car and drive it. Of course, this entailed some risk, because there was no telling what it had been used for, be it dyno testing, in-vehicle testing, or perhaps even from a high-mileage fleet vehicle. When it arrived, I noticed some JB-Weld on the #3 spark plug hole and thought it wise to remove the heads. Aside from the spark plug threads being trashed, it looked like the engine had been treated rather harshly. Cylinder #3 had experienced pretty bad detonation (perhaps as a result of the botched repair and substitution of an incorrect spark plug), a couple other holes were scored and the pistons scuffed, and the bearings didn't look too good ... so, time to rebuild. All was well until I couldn't find anyone willing and/or able to fix the spark plug threads, so being unwilling to run a questionable head, I spent what seemed like months searching high and low for a replacement head before finding a pair at a swap meet for $230. (Ever tried convincing Internet junkyard idiots who barely know their heads from their feet that you DON'T want V6 parts for your V8 engine?) Anyway, here's a list of what I've done to prepare this little motor for further abuse.
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Hard parts:
- 1996 5.0 block, bored 0.030" (yes, that makes it now 306ci if anyone cares)
- 1996 5.0 crank, undercut 0.010/0.010"
- 1996 5.0 rods, resized
- 1996 5.0 heads "GT-40 Iron" (non-P), casting F3ZE-AA, milled 0.010 and standard valve job performed
- ARP 12-point head bolts ($40 from Summit Racing)
- Speed Pro/Federal Mogul rebuild kit
--- 9:1 hypereutectic pistons with coated skirts
--- Speed Pro replacement rings and bearings
--- Fel-Pro gaskets
- New stock-replacement FRPP roller lifters
- Crane cam kit #444212
--- Cam #444211 (530/530 lift, 208/216 duration at 0.050")
--- Performance valvesprings (PN 99841: 113 lb @1.950 installed height, 333 lb @1.440)
--- Hardened retainers and keepers
- Generic double-roller timing set from AutoZone
- Stock replacement '87 Colony Park harmonic balancer
- Stock replacement pushrods for '96 Explorer
Induction:
- Offenhauser "360-degree" divided single-plane intake, $80 at swap meet
- Edelbrock 1406 600cfm carb, $265 from Summit Racing
- Spectre 1" four-hole carb spacer (needed to clear '89 Crown Vic coolant pipe)
- Summit Racing drop-base air cleaner with gauze filter (needed to clear hood with spacer installed)
Cooling:
- Mustang-style coolant pipe that runs across top of intake (from '89 Vic at yard ... looks cool, though it forced my decision to drill the heater-hose port in the intake manifold to 1/2-NPT)
- Nifty D9AE '79 LTD aluminum water pump (about $40 on eBay ... AutoZone brought out a Cleveland pump - go figure)
- $40 used radiator from a guy's '88 Crown Vic (said he'd run it 2 months before the engine blew ... I flushed a little oil from inside, but it seems otherwise okay)
Fuel system:
- Stock-replacement '79 Squire mechanical fuel pump ($17 at AutoZone)
- Bent fuel feed line to carburetor from 5/16" brake line
- Adapted 3/8" brake line to carb with Edelbrock adapter
- Spectre see-through fuel filter installed between hard lines
- Original fuel return line on driver's side replumbed as feed line
- Replacement '79 Squire fuel tank, $113 delivered from eBay vendor Gas Tanks Now
- Homebrewed fuel pickup assembly
--- Cut fuel-level sender from stock assembly
--- Bent 3/8" brake line to reach bottom of tank
--- Obtained replacement '68 Mustang pickup filter new from Ford
--- Drilled out original plate for fuel-level sender
--- Soldered in new pickup tube
--- Brazed old fuel-level sender to new pickup tube
Ignition:
- Stock-replacement '85 Mustang Duraspark II distributor ($90 from AutoZone)
- ACCEL brass-terminal cap (it was easier to use a stock rotor)
- ACCEL 5.0 TFI ignition coil ($40 from Summit Racing)
- Ford Racing 9mm ignition wire ($20 at swap meet)
- Stock-replacement '96 Explorer spark plugs (had to explain that I didn't want to pay $5 each for SplitFires)
- Four-pin GM HEI module for '78 Camaro ($17 at AutoZone)
- Unused Slot-1-style computer heat sink
- several feet of custom wiring (inctructions can still be found here)
Fun touches:
- Old Ford Blue paint on block, heads, timing cover
- Stock '79 valve covers, cleaned and painted Old Ford Blue
- Blasted and blued bolts (intake, valve covers, timing cover)
- Cleaned and painted '87 Colony Park accessory brackets
- Cleaned and painted '87 Colony Park dipstick
Exhaust:
- Flowtech shorty headers
- Mr. Gasket Copperseal header gaskets
- Pacesetter Mustang X-pipe
- Flowtech intermediate pipes
- Economy replacement mufflers (they're quieter than Flowmasters, and sound very similar to Walker SoundFX/NAPA SoundMaster)
- 2.5" Mustang taipipes from Summit Racing, cut off behind axles and 45 deg. bends added to approximate exit angle and location of stock '87 wagon tailpipe (2" single exhaust used Walker PN 44660)
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Page 1: Intro
Page 2: Engine details
Page 3: Suspension and General History
Page 4: What is a 5.0 HO?
