[j_o_e_l_05]

hey, I got me first car yesterday arvo, its a FC LTD with a 351c :wnc: It needa a little work on the engine (me bro said the rings may be gone cause puffs out a little smoke under a lot of accelerator. While i'm at it can anyone tell me how hard it is to convert it to unleaded and what sorta cost would be involved in doing it ?

thx all

 

[davway]

stainless steel valves or something similar is what you need to run unleaded...as of cost ask your local mechanic

 

[XDman]

nice job with your first car there man, ive had my 302C XD since i was 14 :angel:

 

[Rustyfords]

could just be your valve stem oil seals that are a bit gone, if its just little bits of smoke, you will notice it when you decelerate going downhill or accelerate going uphill. If she is pushing out smoke all the time then its probably rings. I think [and note I say think] that light grey smoke means valve stem oil seals, dark grey means rings.
congrats on the car.
Repeating "I think"again, that 351c's are okay with unleaded, but double check on that, we still have leaded petrol but are changing over to unleaded only in 2006 and I did a bit of research on it awhile ago [got 3 351c's] and from what I can remember that was the general consensus.

 

[all4ford]

hey, I got me first car yesterday arvo, its a FC LTD with a 351c :wnc: It needa a little work on the engine (me bro said the rings may be gone cause puffs out a little smoke under a lot of accelerator. While i'm at it can anyone tell me how hard it is to convert it to unleaded and what sorta cost would be involved in doing it ?

thx all

i had the heads done for my 351 windsor for $800. not sure what he did but whatever was needed.

 

[ford4v429]

If you're worried about valve life, not terribly concerned about environment, I saw 'real lead' additive at parts store the other day...tetraethyl lead over the counter- dont get any on you!
a dab in the tank occasionally could be alternative to putting stainless seats in your motor. you could probably replace 'umbrella' valve stem seals easily by yourself for minimal cost- wont help worn guides, but should slow oil consumption.
might also suggest looking at spark plugs- one oily plug might point to a vacuum leak under intake port, or possibly worn out camshaft- I had a 396 chevy i got for cheep, had 3 wet cylinders- found those three cyls had near perfectly round cam lobes on intakes,I think high vacuum/no burning was sucking oil in bad...extreme case maybe, as it would barely run until repaired, but if only one cyl on a bigger v-8, the power loss might not be felt. If you do find a wet plug, pull that valve cover, unhook coil, bump starter over to see if rockers moving roughly same amounts.

 

[azraelder]

What was the name of the shop that sold lead additive? Would it be avaliable in WA?

Thanks

azraelder

 

[gm dstroya]

as stated it could be the valve seals worn, do them first, if the problem persist... well at least you have a set of reco head to put on ur fresh bottom end.

to convert to unleaded running... you will need hardned valve seats installed on the heads, as lead has a lubricating quality to it, the unleaded fuels do not.

other then that... thats all you need for unleaded running.

cheers.joe.

 

[ford4v429]

Re: real lead octane booster

I saw this stuff at either Autozone or Advance(I think...been buying way too many car parts this year...)

Heres a link to a place that sells it over the web- I'm sure theres more: http://www.batterystuff.com/fuel/lead_supreme130/lead_supreme130.htm
If you try this stuff, be careful with it! I'm pretty sure they'd have to dilute it to sell it, but I remember reading long ago how bad this stuff was.

Can give old pre emissions iron a big octane boost and lubes the exhaust seats...Cant help but wonder how many people have dumped this into a car under 30 years old and and damaged the exhaust/engine...would ruin a O2 sensor or catalytic converter (at least) right away.

 

[azraelder]

Thanks for the link. If I manage to get hold of any I'd be putting it in my 75 LTD towncar and my XB falcon. Both of which are designed for leaded petrol. The LTD has never been quite the same since the introduction of LRP. BP 98 is ok but I would like to see how they run with proper leaded petrol

azraelder

 

[ford4v429]

Dumb question- about what year did AU cars get air pumps/Catalytic converters? I'm pretty sure US was around 1974, I havent seen leaded fuel anywhere here since the early '80s...
the last ten years or so we've also had the joy of emissions testing- every car(but some areas are exempt) under 25 yrs old gets a short run on a dyno, and emissions are checked. Wouldnt really bother me, but here commercial vehicles are exempt- not fair, and the biggest gas consumers run unchecked.

 

[paull]

Cat's where introduced to Australia in 1986. From memory, lead in Western Australia was banned about 3 years ago. From that point we have had LRP (complete crap) and all I use know is BP Ultimate. One car, ZH Fairlane - 302 cleveland, I use additive and the other, 351C ute has had the heads, or more to the point, the exhaust valves done. If you don't, you will get micro welding between the valve and the seat, thus wearing it out and the valve finding it's way further into the head.

 

[ford4v429]

Another dumb question- Whats a 302 cleveland? over here they did build the "boss 302" back in 69/70, which was kinda a 302 with the big cleveland heads- was a screamer...is the Au 302C a similar high revving powerhouse?

on unleaded- over here when unleaded was phased out, I remember buying "Amoco super unleaded"- had kinda a bluish color to it, they had something proprietary that lubed valves/boosted octane...dunno if Amoco is still around in the US though, let alone over there...was good gas though, but kinda expensive.

 

[paull]

Another dumb question- Whats a 302 cleveland? over here they did build the "boss 302" back in 69/70, which was kinda a 302 with the big cleveland heads- was a screamer...is the Au 302C a similar high revving powerhouse?

The 302 cleveland is basically a destroked 351. It has a 3 inch stroke rather than a 3.5 inch stroke. The cylinders heads are also different in having a smaller combsution chamber, this, is due to the fact that they are clsoed chamber heads rather than open as in the 351 C engines.

 

[outback_ute]

Hi Joel05 - nice 1st car, my Dad had one for over 10 years when I was younger, what a fantastic beast that was.

Before you get too carried away with pulling the engine apart, what colour smoke is it putting out?

White - water/steam (head gasket?)
Black - fuel (running rich)
Blue - oil
Also a general rule I've heard is if you get blue smoke under load it's rings, if you get it on overrun it's valve guides/seals.