Monday, February 3, 2025

Swapping the Engine in the '67 F250 Part 5

At this point I'm done with the orange engine. I bolted the rusty chrome valve covers back on, which I never liked, installed the oil pan that came off the yellow engine, and mounted it on a dolly. I can store it more easily in this configuration while I figure out what to do with it. 


All of which means it is full speed ahead to re-assemble the yellow engine and get it back into the F250. This is how the engine looked after painting and removing the masking:


The first thing I did after unwrapping the block was change the rear main seal, which I previously did on the Mustang, and the procedure is exactly the same. The oil pickup from the orange engine was installed next and I was careful to add a lock washer where the pickup mounts to the stud at the third main cap:


A quick last look at all the clean parts before I start re-installing them:


Installed a new crank seal at the timing chain cover:


I mentioned in a previous post that a lot of the hardware was missing, and what I do have is not in the best shape. I cut a couple of corners here by purchasing an engine dress up kit - basically a set of stainless-steel bolts.


Installed the timing chain cover with the new hardware. It is important to use anti-seize lubricant when installing stainless steel hardware into steel. Failure to do so allows electron transfer between the block and the fasteners resulting in a solid chemical bond.


The harmonic balancer went on next. I forked out fifteen bucks for a replacement crank bolt instead of trying to fight to salvage the one from the orange engine:


I installed the dipstick tube in the oil pan next - this probably could be done later but is easier to do on the bench.

The oil pan went on next. I was very happy with how the shiny stainless steel hardware looks. Most people would paint the engine after the oil pan and valve covers have been installed. Painting the pan and the timing chain cover separately is a lot more work, but means the bolts do not get painted and gives a custom look which is worth the extra effort. 


The hardware for attaching the engine mounts to the block is typical of the F250: Three original looking bolts and one imposter. If I was making a show vehicle I would have tried to source another original bolt.



After rotating on the stand and removing the rest of the masking:


I'm particularly pleased with the top edge of the cylinder heads - these little bits did not get painted when I built the 351Winsor engine for the Mustang. 


I installed the "Cobra" valve covers that came with the engine. I plan to make my own custom valve covers in the future, but for now these will work. Cobra valve covers are actually quite sort after, so I am confident I will be able to turn them into $$$ in due course. This is as far as I can go with the engine on the stand.


I re-installed the grille on the truck. I don't want to drop the engine in without the grille because it provides a certain amount of structural support.


Re-installed the hood latch pins which I painted off the truck:


And the battery tray:


There were just a few more parts to clean up before I can re-install the engine in the truck:

fly wheel before

after

bell housing before

after.

To be continued....

Monday, January 27, 2025

Swapping the Engine in the '67 F250 Part 4

In the last installment the engine and most of the parts were cleaned, painted and ready for reassembly. This time I'm concentrating on getting the engine bay ready for re-occupation.  First, a quick reminder of what it looked like straight after the engine was pulled out:


The passenger side was covered in a mixture of dirt, grot, grease and rust:


The driver side was in much better shape on account of being regularly bathed in power steering fluid...


The first thing I did was take off the hood, which is a two-person operation. Then I gave the entire engine bay a good going over with the pressure washer. I'm not sure if I mentioned this in my blog before, but the truck was originally white with a beige interior, so it had a white engine compartment. The pressure washer took a lot of the loose paint off the sheet metal, particularly the crossmember, which is now more white than black:


It was at least a week later when I next had time to work on the F250. I began by removing the remaining heater and power steering hoses and the battery tray and then I poked the wiring harness back through the firewall into the passenger compartment:


After that I gave the engine compartment its second cleaning - with warm soapy water and a scotch bright:


There was some waxy residue at the driver side which I thought might be a mixture of dirt and power steering fluid residue, so I started scraping it off...


This is quite a bit later. I ended up scraping down the entire inner fender and then scrubbing off the residue. I discovered the inner fender (at least) has been replaced; the residue I removed was, I think, someone's attempt to replicate the texture of the original engine bay on the replacement sheet metal.


The seam sealer was missing at the base of the firewall, and since I already had several tubes of sealer in the garage, I broke one out and filled-in the gap:


Almost ready for masking....this is when I figured out it would be much easier to remove the grille than mask it off.


With the grille off, I used the RAV4 to tow the truck six feet up the driveway and then rolled it back on top of my "painting carpet" and that was it for another weekend.


The following Saturday was Turlock, so I set my alarm for 5:15 am and had a fab day out. The next morning, after a suitable lie in and some brekkie, I had Amy Sheep help me re-assemble the tent/paint booth over the front of the F250. 


The picture below shows the view from further up the driveway. The tent is set up on top of the same carpet I used last time. I also added a mixture of masking paper and a tarpaulin to keep any overspray off the driveway.  


This is the "inside" view just a few minutes into the masking process:


Masking complete! I've always enjoyed this part of painting process almost as much as I enjoy peeling off the tape afterwards. 


I covered up the brake booster and most of the steering box. If I was making a show quality vehicle, I would have taken these parts off and painted them separately.


The holes in the firewall where the wiring loom passes through were stuffed with paper. The white ring around the opening indicates that the rubber wiring inserts were left in situ last time...and painted over.


After panting:


I painted the hood hinges at the same time, even though they don't work properly. I plan to get new springs initially; if that doesn't help, I may end up getting new hinges.


The next day after work I took off the masking paper and packed away the canopy. After the next few photos were taken we pulled the truck up the driveway once more and rolled up the carpet.



To be continued....

Wednesday, January 22, 2025

Swapping the Engine in the '67 F250 Part 3

The last episode ended with getting the replacement yellow engine ready for painting. However, while that process was ongoing, I was also working on preparing the parts I removed from the orange engine for reassembly on the yellow engine. Everything was coated in a thick layer of greasy dirt:


I dragged all the non-electrical parts out to the back patio and gave them a good going over with the pressure washer:

Post basic cleaning

After that everything was subjected to more detailed cleaning, rust was removed where necessary, and then all the parts were painted. I used some appropriate high-temperature resistant gray/silver paint on the headers:


The timing chain cover and the very small engine parts were painted with several coats of Ford "Old Blue" (Dupli-color DE 1621) and then clear-coated, which will hopefully prevent some of the chipping I've suffered with the Mustang. 


The fan, water pump, pulleys, engine mounts and so on were painted with Dupli-color semi-glass black (DE1635) and clear coat for a custom look. All the painting was done in the vented booth I built in my workshop.

The oil pan was the largest piece I have to transfer, and it wasn't in the best shape when it came out of the truck:


I did my best to clean off the rust and the loose paint, and I discovered the oil pan dates from 1973, so a year older than the block. The oil pan was too big to fit inside the booth, so I took it into the backyard and painted it there. The pan was carried back into the workshop between coats to prevent contamination with dust, leaves and so on.


The first step was painting with rust converter/primer. The finish was strictly "good enough." If I was making a show vehicle, I would have taken off all the old paint and used body filler etc. to get the pan perfect. 


Several coats of Ford "Old Blue" (Dupli-color DE1621) later: 


Most of the engine hardware was in pretty crappy condition, for example the header bolts were all different sizes, two were studs instead of bolts and one was missing.  In fact, there was a lot of missing hardware. I didn't realize at the time how lucky I was with the hardware on the Mustang - it was 99 percent original and 100 percent complete. The F250 was missing bolts and other hardware all over the place...


The hardware that was complete or will be difficult to replace was cleaned up on the wire wheel:

before


after

All of which led to a very satisfying array of clean new-looking parts:


Now for the engine....which was also too big to fit into the paint booth.  I didn't want to paint the block in the garage or in the driveway (too messy!) and it was too big to move in and out of the garage more than once.....so I ponied up for the cheapest 4-sided canopy I could find online and had Amy Sheep help me erect put it together. The canopy is 10' x 10' which is a little bit bigger than the patio.


I hung the four side panels on my own and it took ages - all the attachment points are fiddly bits of Velcro. The canopy comes with canvas bags which can be filled with sand and used to hold the structure in place, but I chose to use a couple of five-gallon buckets filled with water. Neither the buckets nor the water came with the canopy.


I laid an old carpet and some sheets on the patio inside the tent and also did the final masking:


After that I applied several coats of Ford "Old Blue" followed by a bunch more layers of clear coat, which took most of the afternoon. I painted clear coat on the oil pan at the same time as the engine block. After that everything was left in the booth overnight to cure.



Striking camp the next day....the rug looks like it's had a blue rinse, but the canopy worked perfectly and there was no trace of  paint anywhere else.