Airbur's 427W Build Thread

[airbur]

I figure since this will be a long and fun process, I'd try documenting it as best I can here. After considering a rebuild of my stock 302, then a rebuild and stroke of the same motor to a 343, and finally a 351W, I decided that since a lot of time and effort (and $) will be expended on this project, why not go big.....so here is my experience building and installing a 427W. I hope this helps others that might be considering trying something like this themselves.

I have never rebuilt an engine before and want to do it myself for the satisfaction and learning experience. Since I have no clue what I'm doing, I found an awesome set of DVDs by a well-respected speed shop owner out in CA. It's 5.5 hours on 3 DVDs and he walks you step by step through building a Chevy and Ford along side each other. I would highly recommend them to anyone in my situation (http://www.badasscars.com/index.cfm/pag ... prd256.htm)...I bought mine from Summit.

I bought the engine off Craigslist for $200...it's a 1994 351W roller. The only info I have on it is that it's previous owner used to live in Hawaii and he pulled the motor from a wrecked F250 (or similar). He had completely disassembled it and brought it to CO when he moved here a few years ago. He ended up doing nothing with it and put it up for sale. The block was in great condition and it came with all the original parts..most of which I have given away or recycled.

I dropped the block off at SpitFire Racing Engines in Denver and they did the typical checks and balances, cleaned it up, installed new freeze and galley plugs. During this time I ordered the 427W rotating assembly from Coast High Performance. They make these to order so it took about 5 weeks for them to ship it out. Once SpitFire had it, they mocked up the parts and make sure everything would fit. They bored it .030 over and notched the cylinder walls for crank clearance. I also had them install the Cam bearings and ordered a custom Cam from CamResearch in Englewood (I also bought a set of hydraulic roller lifters and a dual timing-chain set from them). SpitFire installed the Cam to make sure everything fit correctly. One concern they brought up was the TDC on the new pistons was about .050 below deck height.....which is fairly tight to do any decking. I wanted to make sure the decks were flat though so I had them do a minimal deck which brought the clearance down to .020. It's tight but I can use a thicker head gasket to compensate.

Note: Coast High Performance touts their "free assembly balancing" stating that they balance all the assemblies saving customers upwards of $300. Well, after the shop received the kit, they noticed that nothing had been balanced, there was no material removed from any of the pistons, rods, or crankshaft. I called Coast and they stated that they don't really balance them but that "all the parts they receive from the manufacturers are within tolerance." After that conversation I told SpitFire to send out the kit, dampener, and flexplate for balancing. After which almost all parts had been modified to correct the balance. I'm scared to think of firing this thing up with it unbalanced!

Since I want to do the assembly myself, the only items I had the shop do were things I would need specialized tools for. Other than that, all the parts, pistons, crank, bearings, rings on up etc etc will be installed by me.

I picked up the block and was happy with most of the work. The only thing I was not happy with is the fact that SpitFire uses an old process of "boiling" the block to clean it instead of the newer steam-washers and/or the shot-peen rollers. Also, after they boiled it, they must have let it air dry as there was flash-rust that formed on the exterior. Other than that, the other work was top notch.

I picked up a 4-wheel engine stand from Harbor Freight ($40 after 20% off coupon). It took a few trips to Ace to nail down what size and length bolts to get to attach the bracket to the back of the engine...ended up with 7/16-14 at 3" long and a few washers. I had a buddy help me lift the engine onto the stand. I chose DupliColor Engine Enamel w/Ceramic paint in Cast Iron color (thanks to Viperwolf's example) and did 2 light and 1 heavy coat. I first started with a copper color from VHT but just didn't like how it looked. I'll paint over that (only on the rear) when the engine is done.

The first order of business is to clean everything up and install the Crankshaft starting with the bearings. I want to use all new ARP bolts so I ordered up a set of standard 351w main bolts and thought I was ready to go. I flipped the engine over and first thing I noticed was that one of the bolts is actually a stud that holds the oil pickup. There were no studs in the ARP kit. After a little research I ordered the full stud kit from Summit which includes a stud for this specific purpose. I also learned that studs are the preferred fastener over bolts for engine building.

So this is where I'm at now, engine machined, mounted, and painted...awaiting main studs.

[airbur]

VEHICLE INFORMATION
Make: Ford
Model: Bronco
Year: 1970
Weight: 4000 lbs.
Axle Ratio: 4.11
Transmission Type: Automatic
Overall Tire Height: 35"
Torque Converter Stall Speed: NA

ENGINE INFORMATION
Engine Block Type: Ford
Engine Family: Ford 351W 1994
Engine Size: 427 c.i.
Number of Cylinders: 8
Bore: 4.030
Stroke: 4.170
Compression Ratio: 10.06:1
Connecting Rod Length: 6.125
Intake Manifold Type: EFI - Edelbrock Victor Jr
Cylinder Head(s) Brand: AFR
Head Runner Volume: 205
Ported Heads: NA
Intake Valve Size: 2.020
Exhaust Valve Size: 1.600
Rocker Arm Type: Roller
Rocker Arm Ratio: 1.6
Exhaust Headers: Yes
RPM Range Low: 1000
RPM Range High: 5000
Nitrous Oxide: No

COMPUTER
Vehicle Computer Type: EEC-IV
Mass Air Sensor: Yes

FUEL DELIVERY
Fuel Type: Pump Gas
Fuel Octane Rating: N/A
Electronic Fuel Injection: Yes
Custom Tuned: Yes

APPLICATION SPECIFICS
Application Type: Street/Off-Road 4x4

VALVE TRAIN SPECIFICS
Lifter Type: Hydraulic Roller

CAM SPECIFICS (Makes power right away.....lots of low end torque, easy idle):
Duration: 214 at 50
Exhaust: 218
Lift: 505/505
Lobe: 112

[ZOSO]

Only thing I would do is to wash the block before putting it together. Get a bucket of water and laundry soap. Some brushes and pipe cleaners. Give it a good scrub down. Blow dry all the ports then wipe a thin layer of oil on the cylinders.

[airbur]

Only thing I would do is to wash the block before putting it together. Get a bucket of water and laundry soap. Some brushes and pipe cleaners. Give it a good scrub down. Blow dry all the ports then wipe a thin layer of oil on the cylinders.

Yep...that's in the plan. The only part that sucks is that the cam is already installed along with those bearings. Can I remove the cam and not worry about the bearings during the wash?

[Viperwolf1]

Only thing I would do is to wash the block before putting it together. Get a bucket of water and laundry soap. Some brushes and pipe cleaners. Give it a good scrub down. Blow dry all the ports then wipe a thin layer of oil on the cylinders.

Yep...that's in the plan. The only part that sucks is that the cam is already installed along with those bearings. Can I remove the cam and not worry about the bearings during the wash?

Yes. Just be careful not to nick the bearings when removing/installing the cam. A long bolt in the end of it will help you guide it.

Torque limit on cam thrust plate bolts is only about 9 ft-lbs.

[airbur]

Pulled the cam out at lunch....slipped right out.....used one of the old water pump studs (I think) as a handle. Bearings look good...you can see rub marks on them from the cam but no nicks etc. I'll give-er a bath next.

[Shawns Fords]

This is awesome! I can not wait to see how it all turns out!

[airbur]

I washed the block using Dawn and a bunch of different pipe cleaners. I patted it dry and used compressed air to dry it out completely. Once that was done I coated the cylinder walls, decks, and lifter slots with WD40.

[crawlercreations]

Is it done yet???

[airbur]

Is it done yet???

Soon;)

[airbur]

While I'm building this thing over time, I still needed to acquire about 1/3 of the parts to make any progress. Here's what's taking up all the room on my workbench right now. Had to buy a few tools to make the job a little easier also (adjustable piston ring compressor, crank turning nut, plastigauge, piston ring pliers, 3/8s torque wrench, pushrod length checker, piston ring equalizer....to even them up for checking gap, and a few others.) I'll be renting a piston ring grinder as well as some other tools.

[airbur]

Here's a couple of pics where you can see how the shop notched the cylinder walls to clear the crank. This is something else I asked Coast High Performance before I made the purchase and they said "no, with our kit you do not have to notch the cylinder walls."...sigh.

[Shawns Fords]

Well if you dont have to notch the cylinder walls then why are they notched? Did someone make a clearance check to verify? I am curious because I have never built anything like this. I am also curious why you chose this combo with a stroke longer than bore?

[airbur]

Well if you dont have to notch the cylinder walls then why are they notched? Did someone make a clearance check to verify? I am curious because I have never built anything like this. I am also curious why you chose this combo with a stroke longer than bore?

When the machine shop mocked it up, they found it necessary to notch the walls to maintain good clearance. It's not a big deal and doesn't hurt anything.....just something I didn't think we'd have to do because CHP said it wouldn't be necessary....they were wrong.

The Stroke should really be labeled Rod Length above, I'll change it.

[airbur]

Sorry.....didn't read your question fully. The bore is the diameter of the cylinder, not the length.

[ZOSO]

I believe anything over a 408 you have to notch the cylinder skirts.

[airbur]

I believe anything over a 408 you have to notch the cylinder skirts.

Yeah.....I think I was talking to someone other than a technical expert when I called CHP unfortunately.

[airbur]

Luckily, a pro engine builder stopped by yesterday and gave me some pointers:)

[hockeydad4-22]

Luckily, a pro engine builder stopped by yesterday and gave me some pointers:)

Awesome, when he is done he can get started on our 302. I assume payment in juice boxes instead of s is appropriate?

[airbur]

Yea.....a fresh diaper will put you at the head of the pack also:)

[Booger]

I can't wait to hear this thing rumble.

I'd like to put a roller cam in mine sometime in the future. Right now it needs a good set of heads. I don't think their is 20k miles on my 351 since I built it in 95.

[airbur]

I can't wait to hear this thing rumble.

I'd like to put a roller cam in mine sometime in the future. Right now it needs a good set of heads. I don't think their is 20k miles on my 351 since I built it in 95.

Were they new heads 20K miles ago? Are they OEM? I looked at retrofitting the older non-roller blocks before I found this '94...the one thing that sux is the cost of the lifters with connecting arms....it's outrageous!

The new ARP main studs arrived yesterday so I may actually be able to get started this weekend. I'll try and take lots of pics along the way.

[airbur]

Got quite a lot accomplished. Installed all the bearings, crankshaft, main caps/studs, and camshaft. First snag was hit when the rear main seal in the Ford Racing seal kit did not fit. I tried for 30 minutes to get the damn thing on....finally I tapped it with a mallet and ended up cracking part of the inner seal. So I picked another one up at Advance, came home and first thing I notice is that it's much larger! The new one went right on. Now I am bit concerned about the rest of the seals in the kit....going to call summit and check today.

Everything else went pretty smooth. Next to size the piston rings...I'm still waiting for the leveler to arrive (should be today) and then I'll need to rent a ring grinder.

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[airbur]

More pics....

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[airbur]

Few more...

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[Viperwolf1]

Looks like good progress. I'm not a fan of the push in oil galley plugs on the front. I like to tap them for screw in plugs.

[airbur]

Yea...I thought about that. These are in good with 4 score marks on the outside.....they aren't going anywhere.

[airbur]

Called Summit on the seal kit and I did order the wrong part. It's for a 351W but only up until 1986. They pointed me toward the right kit and this one is on it's way back for exchange.

[Viperwolf1]

That block uses the 1-piece rear seal.

[airbur]

Yep, that's what odd. It was a one piece rear main in the kit....but just too small. The kit was Ford Racing and included provisions for both a one piece and two piece seal.