351W 1969 with iron cast manifold gasket or no gasket

Cougar Community Classic Cougar Maintenance Restoration and Repair
1

Sorry if this topic hasn’t been discussed before.
I have a 1969 XR7 coupe with a 351W, original iron cast manifold and FMX automatic.
I had completely disassembled the car and since I didn’t know enough about the engine I ordered the necessary parts from online dealers such as NPD, WCCC, Rockauto and some in Europe and according to the item descriptions.
I bought the timing chain, water pump, oil pan, overhaul kit for the FMX gearbox including all the seals as a precaution, so that I can finish everything as quickly as possible. Among other things, I also bought a gasket for the original cast iron exhaust manifold.

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1)
I recently installed the engine with the cast iron exhaust manifold and gasket and gearbox etc.
Now I read in some posts that no seal is used on the 351W as it is easily damaged.

Is that correct? Shouldn’t a seal be installed between the exhaust manifold and the cylinder head?
What mass/silicone should be used for sealing?
Can the exhaust manifold be removed if the engine is already installed and everything is hooked up?
I’ve already removed the exhaust because the Precision exhaust doesn’t fit properly.
2)
Can anyone tell me what the mounting holes on the underside of the front panel are for? (see photo red circle on driver and passenger side)

Thank you for your support.

2

Ford never used any gaskets on the exhaust manifolds of many engines in many different car lines. By not having a gasket there is no chance a gasket can fail.

The 351W was one of those engines. The factory simply put a thin coat of lithium grease on the surfaces. It’s sold under the trade name “Lubriplate” at auto part stores. I use a thin smear of RTV, black or blue is my color of choice. Never had a problem in many years of wrenching on these.

3

Interesting - I knew there was no gasket, but had no idea the factory used lithium grease.

The circled mounting holes are for the optional chrome bumper guards that extended down below the front bumper on both sides.

4

OK, the mounting holes are clear to me! Was it the year of manufacture 1969?

5

Not sure if I understood the question, but front bumper guards were an option for the 1969 model year (pics are from the 1969 Cougar sales brochure).

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6

Okay, I didn’t know that.
Mine were missing them.
Now I know why the front panel was dented so much on both sides.

7

Believe you will find that the instructions for the engine plants list that it was a graphite product (labeled “graphite grease”) in the paperwork that described all the details used for assembling the engines.

Below is a scan of the page showing this. This is from a 1970 engine set… Just what I had handy.
I have used liquid graphite in the past for this purpose when restoring engines, after assuring both heads and manifold surfaces are flat and true

Hope this helps

8

OK, thanks!