Need help deciding if ready for a trip (engine wise)

falcon_master

Well-known member
Hi everyone. Today im asking for tips or like a check list for me to do to see if my current engine in the car is up for a 700 mile trip at 70mph. Now depending on rear gear ratio I'll either be doing 2,900 RPM for a 3.10:1 (which is what my Vin says I have) or 3,300 RPM for a 3.50:1 to do 70 mph. Is 3,300 to much for these for that long. I just wanna see if there's some tests to check if it's in any condition for this drive. I heard from a buddy that our Ford six has an oiling issue to the rod bearings and that extended RPMs will cause a chucked rod or a spun bearing. Is this true. Thanks
 
Um, have you drove it out of the weeds yet? Shocks could be wasted, clutch could be toasted, trans could be jacked up, ball joints could be roached, and on and on.... no farther than you are on it, every mechanical component needs looked over.

How long has it been setting? Why did it get parked? It probably has multiple problems, that setting certainly hasn't helped.
 
Very good points. It has been sitting for at least 8 years maybe more. It was supposedly running when parked. Now I care about safety but if it's something thatll just be uncomfortable but won't hurt the car I'll still drive on it. Thanks
 
I'll do some checking up on all of the systems see how they look. Supposedly from what I heard the engine worked ok it was just it was bought as a V8 swap dragster project. But given up on and instead shoved outside for years until I came upon it.
 
Yeah you are very true. My step dad bought it to v8 swap it. But he had kids and everything and lost time. So he gave it to me. He says it did run when he purchased it but he didn't go to far into checking it over since he was going to throw away the 6. My main concern is the clutch as well. There not cheap for my engine. And a pain in the but to install as well lol. Well hopefully she has some life in her. But do you know anything about the supposed "oiling issue" on this engine
 
You need to get it running half way decent first. Very likely your valve stem seals are dried up and hardened.

You may also have some sticking piston rings, which can loosen up with running the engine.

Have you run a compression test on the cylinders?
 
2X ^^^^ (fr's comments)
gotta put some mi on it 1st (B4 a long haul'n that really is. The hrs R the problem & Y do U need such hi speed?)
 
When I got my first Falcon with a straight 6, it was driving, and never parked.

It topped out at 35m.p.h. and had one working wheel brake cylinder, but the price was right.

It didn't help that someone tried to mix throttle/kick down linkage from a later six with a C4 to a '63 with a Ford-O-Matic 2 speed. Luckily the '63 linkage was in the trunk.

I've never heard of or experienced any oil issues with the rod bearings. But a hi mileage old engine can have clogged or blocked oil passages in the block. When I tore into that engine, it had a fully blocked passage to the lower distributor shaft that resulted in the end of the shaft cracking around the drive shaft to the oil pump.
 
when i got my falcon from my aunt, it had been sitting for about two years before i got it back on the road. i drove it over 6000 miles, including a round trip to shenandoah national park, the return trip i pulled a small trailer loaded up to 600lbs of stuff on it, and i had no major issues with it. my rear gear on that car the the 3.20 gear.
 
Im with chad i know you want to keep up with traffic on the insterstate but i still wouldnt be going that fast in the car especially since its a big journey take it slow and give it time i would stick to 65 or slower preferrably 60 thats kinda a sweet spot for these cars they like to drive at that speed for extended periods of time. Did it for well over 4 hours 1 day in a round trip no problems.

Now i remember you saying the car runs like a pile of poop so i would get that figured out first whether it be fuel compression or spark it has to be 1 of the three ( could be 2) once its running better then move onto the charging system making sure it wont die on your while your driving, next the cooling system does the radiator leak does it need a new thermostat? is the water pump effectively moving coolant does it over heat? are the tubes in the radiator clogged? all things worth checking out, then go to the transmission and drive train make sure it shifts properly, does the clutch move ok? does it fully disengage? make sure theres fluid in both the trans and the diff, make sure your axle seals arnt leaking on the brakes, are the bearings good in the trans and diff? btw i would test the drive train with the rear jacked up so you dont actually move to allow the moving parts to loosen up without much stress, lastly the brakes now this can go in front of the drive train but i feel having a nice braking system doesnt do you much good if you cant even go anywhere, check all the wheel cylinders they likely need replaced as would the hoses, make sure there are no kinks or holes in the brake line check the shoes and drums make sure they look ok and dont have excessive wear also look for any build up of grease or fluid as this could be a sign of leaking cylinders or axle seals, beware that the line nut may be rusted to the wheel cylinder meaning you might have to replace the whole like or attempt to splice in a section, more than likely you need to replace the tires, (very good idea) i tried driving on the ones that were on my car when i bought it from the late 90s so only about 10 years old at the time and i had one blow on me while i was driving it, now you can drive it to check the suspension and steering, i like to turn the car back and forth within the lane to get a kinda sway, it loads and unloads the suspension on each side which helps with trying to find clunks from ball joints and bearing noise from bad wheel bearings, suggested to repack the bearings if you are gonna use the originals or for about 40 bucks or less you can replace the bearing races and seals for the front, also feel the steering is it super loose or clunky? some of it could be play in the box some could be from bad tie rods. after all that feels good then and only then would i feel safe driving it any sort of distance.

When you see the guys from roadkill do those crazy trips they usually check most of that stuff as they are working on the car to make sure it isn't about to fall off or attempt to kill them as they are driving but they also have backup in case something goes wrong, something that you wont have so be overly cautious about it
 
good post.
Make a list of this sfuff & go thru it to make rd ready.
Otherwise even a back up vehicle would need a trailer.
Get it where you've made a 2 hr trip FIRST. Any probs will show after a 'shake down cruze' like that.

Keep talkin Jarod...
 
nice vid.
Ur movin that camera too quick 4 my eyes...
Shine it on the carb a lill longer 4 us 2 get a better look...
 
You might want to have a mechanic take a look at the car and give it a once-over to make sure everything's in working order. As for the RPMs, it's always better to err on the side of caution. 3,300 RPMs might be pushing it a bit, so you might want to consider a lower speed if possible. As for the oiling issue, I'm not entirely sure. It might be worth doing some research or consulting with a mechanic to see if this is a known issue with your car. All in all, it's better to be safe than sorry, especially on a long road trip. Who knows, if you're able to make it in one piece, you might even be able to splurge on some business class flights for your next adventure!
 
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I would not drive a car without changing to a dual master cylinder, and make sure that all brakes work.
Today it is a litigation happy world.
I am thinking about also adding a separate set of calipers, on a hand brake, on the hotrod.
 
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