408 Cleveland

I've already listed what is in the engine and the details of the build, so here are a few pictures of it.  I'm anxious to feel it running and enjoy the power of those extra cubes breathing through the closed chamber 4V factory iron heads.  The cam I chose to install is strong through the mid range without having a rough idle.  The 408 cubic inches will help deliver the low end torque to make street driving fun.  I'm sure I will eventually shred that T5Z tranny that is going in with all the torque this thing is going to produce.

I found a local guy who is pretty good with coatings so I had him apply the candy blue carbon fiber hydrographics to the cast aluminum valve covers, and also some powder-coat to the intake.  The headers are ceramic coated and will not be a problem to install as there is plenty of room since I removed the shock towers for that new font end. 

All in all, this mill should be a smooth running, easily streetable, fun ride.

Heads 
·         4V factory iron Closed Chamber heads
·         Decked
·         Harland Sharp Roller Rockers
·         Heads are Port matched with intake manifold and gaskets
·         Cleaned out, smoothed up exhaust ports, did not polish
·         ARP head bolts
·         Hardened valve seats
·         3 angle valve job
·         Bronze valve guides
·         New valve springs, retainers, locks and steel spring seats
 

Block

·         Bored .030 over, and decked
·         ARP Main Cap bolts
·         High volume oil pump with chrome moly shaft
·         Rear sump pan to clear new front end

Crank
·         9000 series stroker cast crank for 408 ci displacement
·         Dynamically balance with flywheel, clutch and damper, 28 oz. balance  
 

Pistons

 

·         Forged pistons  -16 cc dished    9.5 Compression Ratio
·         New rings (Total Seal Gapless) 

Rods
 ·         Forged I Beam 6” for 408 ci displacement
·         ARP rod bolts 

Cam

·         Hydraulic flat cam, custom grind by Jerry Wilson
·         Double roller timing gear & chain

Intake manifold

·         Edelbrock Performer
·         Port matched with heads and gaskets
·         ARP manifold bolts
·         Holley 780 cfm       

Me and Dad working to get that 351C factory 4V out of the engine bay.

 

Dad doing a little tear down on the block, we're having some fun now!!

 

Disassembled, ready to go to the machine shop.

Parts are ready for machine shop, although I did not reuse these pistons or rods.  New ones came with the 408 stroker kit along with crank, rods and other goodies.  Fit like a charm, no clearance issues at all.

Pretty parts.  Harland Sharp roller rockers.

Sure happy that chevy orange color is covered up with something Blue now!!

 

Rear sump oil pan for clearance with the new front end install.  Getting close here with the motor.

Here's that Candy Blue Carbon Fiber hydrographic application.  I like the way it turned out.

A few engine goodies being test fit.  Engine Eye Candy.

Here with a better view of that intake with the powder coat finish.  It's hard to tell from the picture but it is a special black color.

Showing off the Holley 780 cfm here.  I like the looks of that polished aluminum. 



2014 Rear End Work

This project proceeds and continues every day and every weekend.  There's never a day that goes by without me thinking of what to do next or which project to tackle next.  The gear set is a 3.55, and I have added disc bakes to the rear for increased stopping power.  I added the scorpion to the 9" in keeping with the King of Sting theme.  It is colored the same as one of the trim stripes that will set off the yellow main body color.  Plain and simple here, no long explanations needed, just look at the pics and enjoy. 

I am loving this little Mustang project, I have a great family (with lots of kids and grandkids), I have a great life, I have my health, and I have full time employment.

 

 Life is good!!!

Axles with new bearings pressed on and some ceramic paint.

 

Nothing fancy, just some ceramic paint.

King of Sting

 

Another shot of the rear.

 

Another view of the King, notice you can also see a little of the undercoating I applied earlier in the year.  I'll post more on that soon.

 

Overdue Update

Life gets pretty busy sometimes so I do not have all the free time I need to keep up with this blog.

One of many projects with the car I have been working on is getting the car ready for a painter to take over and get the sheet metal straight and shot with color. My part in this endeavor includes making all the custom changes I want such as side marker deletions, antennae delete, side “Mustang” emblem delete.  Included in the sheet metal fab work I have done is installing both new rear quarters, installing 2” oversized inner wheel houses, removing and squaring up the outer wheel houses to facilitate larger tires being tucked up inside the fenders.  Tailoring the rear panel with key-hole delete and also to accommodate an aftermarket gas cap instead of the original pop open gas cap.  Fabbing up a cable and mechanism to remotely pop open the trunk from the cockpit.  Custom fitting the hood with the 2012 Mustang hood scoop, and also smoothing or shaving the engine bay to remove unsightly holes and seams.   These are most of the cosmetic sheet metal changes that will be apparent to the casual observer, but there are several other changes I have made and will be making over the course of this build. 

Another part of the sheet metal work I am doing is to remove all the rust and I have been working steady on that as well, fixing small areas with patches.  Besides the floor pans and lower quarters, there was not too much rust on this old car considering how long it had been sitting outside in the elements. After I remove all the paint which includes two repaints of red and the original white, I have been prepping the metal and shooting it with an epoxy primer to seal it so no new rust forms.  While removing the paint layers I have also been removing any and all sloppy body work.  Actually there was not much bodywork to remove as there was really not much previous damage to the vehicle.  The car had been hit once on the left quarter and I cut this panel off to replace with a new one so there was no bodywork to remove there.  Also all the loose body parts were clean and free of any bodywork or repairs so it was only a matter of sanding off the three paint layers to get to the bare metal.  They have a few minor dents and dings from over 40 years of life.  Once bare, they are coated with epoxy primer as well to stifle any new rust growth.

Sheet Metal Work on the Fenders

After I stripped the original paint and two repaints off the fenders, I cut pieces to fill in the side marker lights and the antennae hole.  I welded in these patches and also welded closed the “Mustang” emblem mounting holes on the fenders to eliminate any unwanted distractions in the lines of the vehicle.   After I filled the holes, I applied metal prep to etch the sheet metal and I shot the fenders with an epoxy primer to seal them.   (All of these things were supposed to have been done by the used car salesman I hired and paid in advance to do.)  He never did any of it.

Here you can see a dated picture where I was stripping the original paint along with two layers of red repaint.  All of which I had payed the used car salesman todd watkins to do and he never did. 

He stole my money.

Paint is stripped here, both fenders are stripped then I started filling holes.

Just wanted to see what it looked like sitting on the car, it's been awhile.

 Side marker hole that was supposed to be filled by the used car salesman who was paid in advance, but he stole my money.

 

Same thing here.

Plug I cut is in place and ready to weld in.

Started the job of welding the plug in place.  Both sides completed.  Along with other trim holes I will not be using including the antennae hole.