I'm building a 300... 5/19/12 SHE'S ALIVE!!!

[fomocoguy]

i thought 390's had a piston slightly smaller than a 300?

No sir! The 300 has a 4.0 inch standard bore; same as a 352. A 360/390/410 has a 4.050 standard bore. You may be thinking of the stroke. The 300 has a 3.98 inch stroke compared to the 390's 3.78 inch stroke.

[killakobra]

i knew one of them was under 4". my apologies.

[killakobra]

at what point do you have to start running mid-grade gas? i know stock they can run on unleaded but 9:1 is getting up there

[fomocoguy]

at what point do you have to start running mid-grade gas? i know stock they can run on unleaded but 9:1 is getting up there

9.0:1 should be ok, especially considering I will have the chambers smoothed and polished (as well as the pistons) with all sharp edges removed. I would have gone 9.5:1 if I was running a more agressive hp cam, but I wanted a serious torque cam and I think the Crane 901 will deliver.

[fomocoguy]

Little update: the cam is here and the machine shop was able to clean up the bores with just .030 over! Now I gotta track down my pistons....

[killakobra]

ok. that's good to know. i want to give my 300 similiar treatment just to make it a little more reliable. the one barrel has to go (too hard to find parts for)

[fomocoguy]

Pistons will ship monday; clifford intake should ship anytime as well....

[fomocoguy]

Picked up the block and crank from the machine shop yesterday, plus the pistons showed up.



The block went .030 over and had .010 taken off the deck. The crank only needed .010 off the mains and rods, but now the mains are .020 due to an incompetent employee at the machine shop. When I picked it up I noticed they hadn't removed the crank gear, so I asked him if they could remove it for me. I walk over to talk to the money man and I hear him wacking on it. He's got it on the floor and he's knocking the gear off with a hammer and chisel! I go over there and sure enough there is a big gash in the front main bearing journal. He says "Oh, I can polish that right out" but I knew he couldn't. He tried and it was still there so I talked to the boss and they turned it .020 on the mains to fix it. I know it's not a big deal but the point is it only needed .010 and now it's more. I don't think I will go back there.

[fomocoguy]

Looks like I'm about ready to begin reassembly of the short block. She's wearing a nice coat of "Old Ford Blue". All I really need to do still is chase all the threads.

[DuckRyder]

Very nice!

[ToughOldFord]

Looks good!

I'd like to do a 300 swap someday, but then I think of all the little stuff, the core support, engine wiring, exhaust..... then I figure someday I'll just buy a truck with it already in.

[austin]

this project is coming along nice i love it

[fomocoguy]

Thanks guys! I'm looking foward to assembly and doing the head work. I've never done a port and polish before, but the kit will be here in a few days. I always enjoy doing new things that I've never done before. It should be pretty neat once it's all done.

[Skifu]

Picked up the block and crank from the machine shop yesterday, plus the pistons showed up.



The block went .030 over and had .010 taken off the deck. The crank only needed .010 off the mains and rods, but now the mains are .020 due to an incompetent employee at the machine shop. When I picked it up I noticed they hadn't removed the crank gear, so I asked him if they could remove it for me. I walk over to talk to the money man and I hear him wacking on it. He's got it on the floor and he's knocking the gear off with a hammer and chisel! I go over there and sure enough there is a big gash in the front main bearing journal. He says "Oh, I can polish that right out" but I knew he couldn't. He tried and it was still there so I talked to the boss and they turned it .020 on the mains to fix it. I know it's not a big deal but the point is it only needed .010 and now it's more. I don't think I will go back there.

Id settle for nothing less than that dude being fired,what a loser,gashing up your crank like that.

[fomocoguy]

Well, the rotating assembly is all installed. I put the crank in the other day, and today I was able to put in the pistons and camshaft. Here's how it sits:

Here's a shot of the shiny new pistons and cylinders:

Here's my freshly boiled head and valve cover:


I did the clearancing I wanted to do around the intake valves and had it boiled so that I can move on with the porting. The oil pan and split EFI exhaust manifolds are on the way, so the only parts left to get are the lifters, pushrods, rockers, and oil pump pickup tube. It's coming along!