Blowing 3 Gees on my Six

While I'm waiting on parts I figured I'd waste some time painting the head. I thought maybe it might be easy to do this since the head is apart and sitting on my workbench. Now I've done it, I think it might have been best to paint it while installed to the block, since I had to take great care not to get any paint on the mating surface. But it turned out ok.

I used POR's "engine painting kit" with the color being their Ford Corporate Blue. I think it looks awesome. Quite a hassle though, there are two cleaning steps, both involve spraying down the piece afterwords with a hose. I don't have a hose inside my apartment so I made do with a water mister, but it was tedious, time-consuming, and made a god-awful mess. The painting went better, first there is a coat of POR-15, then several hours later the coat of color. I'd really like to paint the whole engine but whether I can do that without making a mess in the parking lot I don't know. Management here wouldn't be happy if I spilled a bunch of paint. And cleaning the engine is another challenge since again, I won't have a hose, and also, I won't be allowed to get so much as a drop of crud on the ground. I'm thinking it could be done, but it may be one of those jobs where you seriously regret the hassle about half-way through.

Taking it to a car wash for the cleaning is an option, and I've done this in the past, but it doesn't work very well. First, by the time I get the car to the wash, the engine will be hot, so now I'm sitting at the car wash for several hours waiting for it to cool off. Invariably I get inpatient and bad things happen. Secondly, it's hard to clean some areas with all the accessories on, it would be best to remove them first, but then I couldn't drive it to the wash...

Well anyway, I'll keep thinking about it. But the head will look nice. At the very least I can also paint my rusty water pump and a few brackets.


Luke






With my Summit valve cover. You can see the PCV spacer won't work in the stock configuration.
 
Here are some pictures. Also, I'm going to start using smaller pictures which can be clicked on to see the full size.
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Yes that looks like the exact same spacer I dug out of the old parts pile this morning so you are on the same track with what I was thinking! (y) Looks like you need to cut some off of it 1/4 inch or more for valve cover clearance? I have plugged them using a socket head plug like in a blocks oil galley or a set screw with lock tite and or sealer.

However, now I examine more closely the design of the underside of the spacer, it looks like it was intended to evenly split whatever crankcase gases were coming in, equally between both "intake holes." So maybe it would be best to just put the nipple on the opposite side, as you say, rather than on the long end, otherwise the gases would only be going to half the cylinders of the engine. Some grinding will need to be done to create new air channels, but that's ok, grinding I can do. Installing a new fitting I'm not so sure about, but maybe I can do that too. If I can find the right threaded nipple I guess it shouldn't be too hard to drill a hole, tap it, and thread the fool thing in.
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Yes right Swapping it around 180 we all ready know that that should work about as good as the factory did. I think it might also work on the sides at 90 degrees. Dose it matter? I don’t think that it would, you could sure find out by reading the plugs to see if any were running any leaner. Maybe someone has all ready tried something like this. :unsure: Right you will need to grind a little slot on both sides to conect that chamber drilling should not be too big a deal you should be able to find a 1/8 or 1/4 pipe thread fitting angel (90) with the 3/8 hose size on the end the old slots could be filled in. :nod: Honestly have not tried a side mounting you could try it and find out if you go that way would put it on back side towards firewall and use rear of valve cover use a 90 degree PCV valve and it would be a short run and a clean look. :shock: Yet I have to wonder if it maters or not on which side after all a PCV is just a controlled vacuum leak! :)
 
Great job on the painting of the head that is my favorite of the Ford Blue’s my engines usually are painted that color except on a race or Hot Rod I paint them Black.

Taking it to a car wash for the cleaning is an option, and I've done this in the past, but it doesn't work very well. First, by the time I get the car to the wash, the engine will be hot, so now I'm sitting at the car wash for several hours waiting for it to cool off. Invariably I get inpatient and bad things happen. Secondly, it's hard to clean some areas with all the accessories on, it would be best to remove them first, but then I couldn't drive it to the wash...
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Used to do them at car wash all the time before I got my pressure washer, would not worry much about cooling it down if the engines at normal operating temp (read as not boiling over or hot like its crackling than no) should not hurt it. :shock: I put rag over distrib and carb try to keep them from getting soaked. Also do the sides of the engine compartment first too the mist will be cooling down the engine slowly. Don’t’ spray on exhaust manifold area until last start on other side of engine first by time you get there it will be cooled down. Take some dry rags to wipe the inside of distrib cap, wires etc, a small air tank works great too, and some WD40 (just in case to dry water out). If you do it the parking lot get some card board under it than scrape it down wipe with solvent rags is not the best way and will take you a lot longer but could be done if you had too. (y) :nod:
 
Good ideas all Bubba! I stopped by the local Home Depot after dinner with the wife this evening and got myself some 1/4" NPT barb fittings. They didn't have a tap but I'll check the auto stores tomorrow, they probably do. The more I think about this the more I think it will be an easy conversion. Even better, since I'll have the tap, I can just grind off the existing nipple, tap that hole too, and plug it with an NPT plug. It helps to have a second set of eyes (and brain), I was just going to chuck this spacer and start looking for something else!

I can tell you have cleaned an engine at the car wash before. The WD40 is a good idea, I've gotten stuck before when I got my dizzy wet! As a matter of fact, the engine cleaner that comes with the POR kit actually calls for using very hot water to do the cleaning, so maybe having the engine warm wouldn't hurt. The cleaner is called "Marine Clean" but it smells to me basically like rebranded "Purple Power."

UPS shows my RetroSound Model One radio arriving Monday, so that will be another project to keep me busy for a day or two. Afterwords, I'll look at the engine bay again and contemplate my choices. It sure would be nice to have the whole thing painted, but I know I'm in for a big stinky project no matter how I do it...


Luke
 
The more I think about this the more I think it will be an easy conversion. Even better, since I'll have the tap, I can just grind off the existing nipple, tap that hole too, and plug it with an NPT plug.
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Don’t know if you will have the room or want one, but maybe the 1/4 you can use a bushing than a small 1/8 NPT fitting 90 could fit there and you would have a source for a vacuum gauge too. :unsure:

As a matter of fact, the engine cleaner that comes with the POR kit actually calls for using very hot water to do the cleaning, so maybe having the engine warm wouldn't hurt. The cleaner is called "Marine Clean" but it smells to me basically like rebranded "Purple Power."
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I have not used these yet but can say that using the other cleaners on a warm engine or using hot water really cuts the greese better. (y)

Afterwords, I'll look at the engine bay again and contemplate my choices. It sure would be nice to have the whole thing painted, but I know I'm in for a big stinky project no matter how I do it...
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Well no doubt it’s a crappy, dirty job yet the results of your hard work show and will last a long time. Your car is looking great. :nod: Good Luck
 
Well Bubba I have taken your suggestion and decided to paint the rest of the engine while I'm still waiting for parts. This has been a very long, tedious, filthy dirty and laborious job, which has taken a good ten days or so. I am still now in the process of putting everything back together. I'm not sure I'd do it again, but I'm glad it's done now that it's done.

The engine bay still doesn't look that great because the old head is still on the engine, along with the old valve cover, crummy exhaust, etc... Once I get the shiny new head on, chrome VC, stainless exhaust, and clean up some hoses and wires, it will look much better.

Some may wonder why I don't go ahead and swap the head now, and put on the new exhaust, since I could do this without the new rocker arms. However I've agreed to do a before and after dyno test on the stock engine with nothing changing but the rockers, so until those come in I'm waiting on the other upgrades. But also I'd rather just do it all at once anyway...

Here are some photos from the painting process. Again I used the POR engine painting kit and did it all by hand (no spraying). This takes a long time and I'm sure I will make some chiropractor rich from all the injury I did my back, but the end result really looks nice. Their Ford Corporate Blue seems to match my original valve cover pretty well, accounting for the fact my valve cover has faded somewhat in 35 years...


Luke




Engine after getting back from the car wash. Looks better, but still lots of grease in places I wasn't able to reach with the accessories on.



Here is the engine after having been scrubbed by hand with a toothbrush, then treated with POR's "Metal Ready." I spent about three days of scrubbing with the toothbrush. The block is now largely down to bare metal.



Other side of the engine, also down to bare metal, ready for paint.



Engine after applying a coat of POR 15, then a second coat of engine enamel (the color coat). I still need to paint the top of my dipstick white. I didn't paint the head because it is going to be replaced anyway.



One of the many accessory brackets as it came off the engine.



Same bracket, cleaned, treated, and painted.



A partial view of the many brackets and other parts which I also painted.



I cleaned and painted by hand over 50 bolts.
 
Thanks guys for the compliments. All the accessories, bolts, brackets, fan, water pump, yadda, yadda are all back on. I'd take a picture of the overall effect but I'm afraid so long as I still have the old top-end sitting there, with the faded valve cover, rusted exhaust manifold, and other assorted junk that goes with it, it kind of ruins the effect. So I'll just keep you guessing what it looks like until after the head swap and other detailing plans that I have are complete.

Now I go back to waiting for the rockers... in the meantime I can resume work on the interior of the car. Also I finally got a tap so I took Bubba's suggestion and tapped my carb spacer on both sides. On the side facing the valve cover I screwed in a plug, and on the opposite side, a new nipple fitting. You can also see in the photo where I had to do some grinding to allow air flow to the new nipple location. The whole thing works a treat, I've tested it on the new head and it offers plenty of clearance for the carb throttle linkage. (Haven't tested it in the car, so I hope I have plenty of clearance from the hood!!)



Luke



Shiny spots above and below the new nipple are where I had to grind to allow airflow.
 
ive been a autobody repairman since 2003 an easy and simple way to paint screws and bolts are to go buy a sheet of foam from lowes or similar and stab the threads into the foam and paint them all normal saves you aloy of time (y)


p.s. i love granadas to
 
Hello LUKE,,,i have watching your topic,,very nice job,,,i like the photo's.
please let them come,,,

greetz,,JD..... :wow:
 
Thanks JD. I wish I had more progress to show! I am still waiting on the rocker arms and until they come I am sort of stuck. It's amazing, but in the meantime I have taken care of so many small projects I am nearly running out!

Today I installed a Transgo shift kit (the 40-2) on my C4 trans. I had really dreaded this job, but only in the way I dread all jobs that I have never done before, because it's hard to say what might come up. In the end it was not so bad at all. Definitely can be done in a single day. The instructions that come with the Transgo kit are very good, but there are many steps and many small parts so you have to go slow and be meticulous! Also a standard, round oil drip pan is only barely just large enough to catch the oil from the transmission pan, so it helps to use a large trashbag or something on the ground as well.

I drove the car around this evening testing out the improved shift. The effect is subtle unless you really give it the gas. Unfortunately on my engine as it exists now, there is not much difference between giving it the gas and not giving it the gas. So the effect is subtle, but I could definitely tell a difference. Once I start putting more power to the rear wheels I think I'll enjoy it more.

This evening I was going to finally paint my ugly looking oil dipstick, which is visible in an earlier picture. But once I got all the paint stripped away I thought it might look even better polished. Two hours later and she's nice and shiny! You know I'm getting desperate for projects when I spend two hours on the dip-stick...


Luke



I didn't want to get in trouble with the apartment people so I did the transmission upgrade out on the street.



The transmission valve body disassembled in preparation for the Transgo kit. Looks like a butcher's table!



My shiny dip-stick, which should look great against the painted engine. What car made today would have parts on it that can be polished up so nice 40 years later?
 
luke when the results are awsome,,TIME IS NOT IMPORTEND,,,
thanks for the pictures,,let them come.

greetz,,JD (y)
 
Ha ha! Yeah, I wish I had 3 grand too... ;) But whether or not, it's spent! And actually I think I probably broke my limit too... I'm afraid to add it all up. But I will at the very end, and post the results here...

Back to waiting!


Luke
 
Dude, that thing is gonna be bad ass when it's done. After all the engine upgrades, will you be painting and adding new tires to the car? Or are you going to go for a very stock looking outside and inside?
 
Hi Ralf, I think for now I will keep pretty much the stock look inside and out, mostly because I don't have the money for now to change it. Also it is a Granada, so one has to ask how much money is worth putting into it. Ideally yes I would love to get a new paint job - even though the stock paint is in exceptional shape given the age, it still has its share of scratches and poorly-done cover-up spots. Maybe some day if I'm rich I'll make it show-worthy.

For now, the main thing is to not be embarrassed by the driving performance, which is why the engine has to be upgraded... it's also easy to justify the engine changes because it's a great learning experience and I can directly apply all the knowledge I gain here to a Mustang at some later day.

I'm hoping to do the head swap soon, perhaps in the next week if I'm lucky. I'll be posting updates.

Luke
 
Hi guys,

Since the new CI roller rockers are taking a while to finish, I had decided to skip the chassis dyno before and after with the new rockers, and instead proceed with the head swap now while the weather still holds (I have to work outside, and it rains all winter in Oregon). The plan was to do the head swap, use my stock rockers for the time being, and later when the rollers arrive I can do a dyno test then.

So, this is what I proceeded to do only I have run into a hiccup and maybe you guys can give me some advice.

My stock engine has had some clickety-clack valve noise, not too bad though and I haven't been motivated to investigate it since I knew I was going to replace the head anyway. Taking apart the stock head in preparation for the swap it didn't take long to discover where this noise was coming from: see the pictures below. The number 7 rocker arm had somehow managed to goober itself on the valve stem. The rockers arm seems to be aligned correctly, but maybe the valve stem is bent? I can think of an occasion where this might have happened, but long story...

Anyway, there's a nice gash on the tip of the rocker arm as you can see. I'm guessing I really don't want to use this arm on my nice new cylinder head that has nice new expensive valves on it. At the same time, I'm not keen on spending a bunch of money to fix this stock rocker in the interim, since I'm just going to be upgrading to the roller rockers at some point anyway.

So here's the question - is there some inexpensive way to fix this single arm that would allow me to use the stock rockers on my new valvetrain without messing them up, while I wait for the roller rockers? I looked a bit online to see if I could buy a single rocker arm, it appears I can but the pictures often don't look like what I have so I'm wondering if it's really the right thing.

Or, should I put aside this stock rocker assembly completely and keep my new valvetrain pristine? I almost wonder even without this one scratched rocker arm if this might not be the better course of action - certainly the valves and the rollers are going to eventually wear in to each other, and it seems kind of silly to first wear in the valves to my old rockers. But maybe this isn't a big deal.

Valve trains are something I have zero experience with and not much practical knowledge of. I don't want to mess anything up now so any advice about the most conservative way to proceed would be appreciated...



Worn retainer, maybe from a bent valve stem??


The worn gash in the rocker tip.



Luke
 
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