I posted something on Facebook and someone I went to college with from Nebraska said he has one available for scrap price. It has low oil pressure, but otherwise was running and has never been rebuilt. The one in the picture has already been bored +.030, so I may look at combining the best parts from both. From what I understand, anything beyond +.030 starts getting a little sketchy.
I thought that the industrial FE engines had a different crank register, i.e. where the flywheel mounts.
I’ve never heard of that. My understanding is it’s identical to the 428CJ crank. The heavy duty 361’s and 391’s had a different snout, but the 428 should be the same as everything else.
I thought it was something along that line. Wasn’t sure about the industrial 428, but thought that it did relate to the industrial FE engines. Thanks. Will file that in the memory banks in case I run across one. We recently had generators replaced that were powered by 460 Fords. AFTER the fact, I found out that they let the company who did the work take them off with them. I’m sure they laughed all the way back to their shop.
The snake ended up back in it’s hiding spot:
I still have quite a bit of cleaning up to do on it, but it’s at least closed back up.
I also got the frame rail closed back up, too:
Next up is getting the torque box back into place.
We pulled one of the 428’s apart last night and unfortunately it wasn’t what I was hoping for. He didn’t remember the engine ever being rebuilt, but it actually had been. The bore was 4.16 instead of 4.13. Worse than that, though, was the shape of some the cylinders. It apparently got rained on with an open exhaust right before it was stored and it filled up several cylinders with water. At least 2 of the cylinders are stuck, and I’m guessing the pitting will make it beyond being able to do another overbore. There was one other worry I had with it. The front of the lifter valley tray had a couple of holes in it:
I’m not sure if these are casting flaws or if something happened to it. It may be that it’s nothing to worry about, but I’m a little suspicious. If you’ve got any ideas or thoughts on those spots, let me know.
Because of the stuck pistons we weren’t able to pull the crankshaft. I pulled one main cap off and one rod cap off and it appears like the crank is still untouched. It had some scratches on it, so even if the other journals are ok, it would still need to be turned. We’re soaking the bores right now so hopefully we will be able to unstick it and get a better look. I’ll try to make it back to tear down the other engine in the next couple of weeks.
That doesn’t look good. I can’t imagine that’s a casting flaw that was allowed to pass and be put in service. On a side note if that can be repaired maybe you can sleeve the cylinders. Probably easier to find a better condition block but it’s just a thought.
Steven
Those are the same as my thoughts. I still have one other 428 to tear down yet, so maybe that one will be usable. If not, I’ve got access to a late 390 block out of an F250. It was a warranty replacement engine that Ford put in because the original block was too soft and wore out quickly. This one actually doesn’t have very many miles on it, so I may even be able to keep it at standard bore. We did this 410 combo with another engine and it seemed to work pretty well.
I’m remembering why I was thinking of doing the FE conversion later. An aftermarket block is anywhere from $3500 to over $6000, so if I can’t find a usable factory block then I’ll need to save up some cash to do an aftermarket one.
Back to the body work. The driver’s side torque box is welded in place:
I still have some finish work to do, but it’s looking a lot more complete. Next up will be the passenger side torque box.
I got the driver’s seat rise put back in place today:
I ended up not doing a whole lot of finish work/grinding, so the seams are fairly obvious. I still need to do seam sealer on everything, but I’ll wait until I get the whole thing done. Here’s the “after” shot:
I started cutting on the passenger side torque box area and found a bit of rust in the frame rail and the rocker panel. Here’s the rocker panel as viewed from the front of the torque box after I got it cut out:
It’s actually in very similar shape to the driver’s side, so it shouldn’t be too bad. Now for the fun part of getting the old material out…
You are knocking out out, brother (think Hulk Hogan)! It’s kind of motivating seeing people tackle this kind of work on their own in their own garage. I’m gonna’ fire up the ole Hobart this weekend and do some welding myself. Just not on my car.
Thanks. I’ve been waiting to work on it for almost 15 years, so I’m ready to get at it. Tonight I spent a little more time with the grinder, air saw and air chisel and got most of the rust removed:
I still need to cut out some sizable sections on the frame rail and rocker panel in order to get all of the rust out of it. It’s definitely looking like the other side did.
My welding is getting better, but it’s still very amateurish. I’ve been switching back and forth between the MIG and TIG quite a bit. Stitch welding with a MIG seems to work pretty well, but sometimes I end up getting the TIG out to smooth it over.
I managed to get both 428’s pulled apart today. The second block is already +.040" on the bore, so I’ll have to get it sonic checked to see if it’ll handle +.060. Even if that doesn’t work out, I now have 2 crankshafts with this stamping:
One of them is already -.010 and the other is standard yet. Both are in pretty good shape but will need to go another -.010. I’ll start with the standard one and get it magnafluxed to make sure it’s alright.
Today I got back to a little bodywork on the car. I replaced the rusted out section of the rocker panel:
and an area that ends up being up at the top corner of the torque box:
Next up will be cutting out the front outside corner section of the floor that meets up with the firewall.
Took a few days off and headed to Ashland, Kansas to join my wife in helping with the aftermath of the fires that went through there earlier in the week. Here’s a picture I took while driving down the highway:
The fire burned up about 750,000 acres (640 acres is a square mile) in Kansas and Oklahoma. There were several other fires, but this was the largest. My wife is a vet, so she was helping with animal welfare (to keep it from getting gruesome). I was just helping her out and shuttling some of the volunteers around. It was a tough week, and will continue to be for quite some time for those people.
I didn’t take pictures of the floor section, but here’s the frame rail that needed to get repaired:
Here’s the after shot:
I got the torque box pushed up into place, so once I make sure my measurements are OK and the seams are tight, I’ll start welding it in place. Here’s a shot from the interior:
I found out from the driver’s side that notching the flap that goes on top of the inner rail and bending it back makes it easier to get the torque box in place. Actually, I’m not sure how you’d do it otherwise without cutting the pieces apart. I’ll have to bend it back down into place and weld it back solid.
The firewall sheetmetal is turning out to be an extremely poor reproduction. One of the bends at the top is off by over an inch. I ended up cutting it in a couple of pieces and will splice it back together so it lines up with the factory sheetmetal. Here’s the before:
And here’s the after:
I still have some trimming on the firewall to do, along with the new pieces. Looks like I’ll be getting a little more practice with the welder.
I got the firewall trimmed and the top patch is in place:
and here’s what it looks like from the inside:
I still need to get the lower piece put in and finish up the welding, but it’s looking like I’ll need to do some modifications to the torque box in order to get it slid up a little higher for a better fit. I’m not terribly impressed with the accuracy of the “Spectra Premium” sheetmetal, although it may just be that my expectations were a little high.
I was right that I needed to modify the torque box. I ended up cutting it apart and doing some rewelding. The top seam had to get the spot welds cut out and the seam was repositioned. Here’s what it looks like welded back together:
I don’t have an “after” shot yet, but here’s what the floor/firewall look like part way through the weld process:
I added the torque box gusset to the front corner of the torque box this afternoon. I still need a lot of work with my welding, but it’s at least starting to look a little better. Here’s where I welded the seam on the trailing end of the gusset:
That shot of the burnt landscape sure brings home the reality of what happened there.I applaud you and your wife for taking the time to help those in need. If more people were willing to step out of their self centered bubble, it would make for a much better place to live.
You’ve certainly been busy on that '68! Thanks for the pics and the update.
The response to the fires from the agricultural community has been incredible. People have shipped hay and supplies from all over the country. They’ve been getting a decent amount of rain in that part of the country, so hopefully things will green back up quickly.
Back to the Cougar…
Progress seems to have slowed a bit, but I’m still moving forward. Today I got some of the shock tower reinforcement done. I bolted the export brace in place and welded the “dog bone” piece on the outside of the shock towers. Here’s the driver’s side:
Eventually I’ll get some more of the typical reinforcement parts made, but I haven’t taken the time to get those made yet. I’ve been spending some amount of time trying to get things cleaned up so I can get it painted once everything’s in place.