freshinXR

hi guys,

today i purchased my first V8 engine. i am very excited. This is my first attempt at getting to know an engine on a more personal level. what i am trying to say is i wouldlike to gain some mechanical knowledge and build this thing to run. The guy told me it is a cleveland block and has never been touched. It came with some 302 heads but he said it is easy to make it a 351. can someone point me in the right direction and what books etc... can i get that will demonstrate in english, not mechanic talk how to put a nice engine together.

thanks chris

Neeek

Hey Chris - good choice! I was where you are 5 months ago and I was just as excited.

First thing to do is to search through the archives of the Cleveland section of this forum - there's nothing that isn't covered there. And of course, participate in the threads. If you're intending to rebuild your engine, then I'd highly recommend this book: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg...glance&s=books. It's easy to read, and Tom will end up feeling like your best mate. Even my mum could build engines if she read and followed the instructions in this book. Well worth it - sometimes you'll find one on eBay, otherwise just get it in from Amazon in the US - will set you back about AU$50.

As for turning a 302 into a 351, it's straightforward because the blocks are exactly the same. Bit more to it than just swapping cranks over, though.

streaksinthesk

hey freshin,

im in the same boat as you
picked up a virgin block from an xb, 351 with 2v heads.
this is my first attempt at pulling down and rebuilding a motor and i plan to use these forums as a great source of info.

what kind of power are you after out of the motor?

freshinXR

well not really to worried about power at the moment. just want to concentrate on putting an engine together that will last. However if i can find someone who could tell me straight up what are sensible upgrades whilt doing this then im happy to listen. I have already got the pacemakers and a holley carb, was thinking about a cam but cant get a straight anwers from anyone about one, they all go into lift and durations etc, etc. As it is my first attempt i want to do everything right. A problem i am coming accross is it is hard to get around all the mechanic talk and make normal sense of it. For example sometimes they talk about parts that are in a pic expecting you to know what it is and what it does. I have been told to get this book mentioned previously and i am now waiting for it to arrive. it is supposedly really good in telling you everything.

Black EX-R6

Maybe for your first rebuild you should just do a standard unmodified build. Atleast familiarise yourself with the original configuration before you start changing things.

Thats what I would be doing anyway. Plenty of time to strip it and make mods at a later date when you are more confident.

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74' Sandstone Biege XBGT, 351, FMX, Sunroof, Air Con, Power Steering.

tony xa

Spend a bit of time in the cleveland section this will speed up the process .
I have become alot more aware of the engine side of things thanks to the people in that section .Also books are good as well as they explain in words and in pics .
A book I got to help and it did was Ford Performance by pat ganahl
Good luck with your engine

MaD_WoG

i built my first clevo 2 months ago, a warm 351 for dad... i was supervised and yeh, quite easy, i pulled it apart, got all new parts, sent off the block, and put it back togehter, and its great... i wanna build myself a motor too, i got a complete 302 conversion a,dna 351 crank, im gonna use 302 heads and rods, with short pistons...

hardest thing in my build was, lifting hte crank (i got a bad back) and pushin the pistons in, the ring comp was playing up....

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XE Fairmont Ghia... Silver/Grey Met over black, soon to be v8, cant wait till i get another v8, after 3 LONG HARD YEARS

http://home.iprimus.com.au/diablo_vt/xeesp.swf

grey_esp

I hope you have a good selection of tools and a good clean work shop with a lot of space!

I found for my first engine build that it helps to lay everything out in order first.

And cleanlyness is the key to a good engine with a long life. You want an air compressor and a decent wash trough and thoroughly clean everything that is second hand in your engine, then blow all the moisture out with the compressor.

I cant recomend any books, I have never used any. But alot of older ( 80's & early 90's ) magazines have really helpfull building tips in them. I have this magazine written in about 85 with a very good article on building a clevo written by Dick Johnson, great read.

Good luck.

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