68 engine rebuild

stangirl92 · 10-22-2002, 10:09 PM

hello all,
My dad gave me his 68 coupe and i have started to yank all the parts out and i am down to pulling out the engine. However, i am very new at all this and i would like to know what i should say to a machine shop or whoever i take it to to have the rebuild so i wont sound like a dumb girl. lol. I want the 289 to be all original as my father bought it. any replies would be appreciated. Oh yeah, and what is the easiest way to strip or clean the engine bay compartment? sandblasting, wirebrush, etc?? thanks!!!

mustangII460 · 10-22-2002, 11:14 PM

Rebuilding a motor for regular duty.

I spend around $500.00 for the following bottom end work.

Block bored out, bored untill things are straight.

Rods re-sized, pistons installed and balanced.

Crank turned, polished and balanced.

Cam bearings installed also freeze plugs.
---------------------------------------------------
Heads etc.

I would just go with a regular R&R on the heads. Since your not going to building a nitro motor, no need for massive dollars.

Depending on how bad they are, cost varys.

Also I would go with a hardened valve seats if your going to drive it everyday. Older motors that used leaded gas had softer seats.
-----------------------------------------------------
It never hurts to ask everyone about the shop you are looking at. If it were my coin, I would spend the extra money at a performance shop. I trust them because they are less likely to let a half @$$ed motor get out their door.

There is no reason you can't put it together yourself. There are all kinds of good books out there.
-------------------------------------------------------

Cleaning engine bay.

Steam clean the crap out of it. That Purple cleaner (Sell it at wal-mart) works great. Spary it on and let soak, before steaming. Scuff the old paint, and paint it again.

If I had access to a sand blaster I would do that.

Hope this helped a little.

hobgoblin351 · 10-27-2002, 12:24 PM

Hey SatngII thats a good price for machine work! I gotta move down there, up here in NYC it's alot more. Stangirl, shop around and get references before giving you engine to a shop. He's right, a performance shop will be best. You might pay a little more. But , if it's the origional motor, you dont want inexpierenced people doing the work. Dont get me started on the horror stories.
The newer mustang blocks are pretty close to spec. But the old ones are not. I just did a 70 351C and it was not even close. Have them clean it hot tanked if they have one. Bore it over, not more than .030, align hone the crank journals, and deck the block. Then everything is nice and square. New freeze plugs, and have them install the cam bearings. Have the crank done, mic'd to see if it's in spec, pollish the journals, resize the rods. new pistons(get forged if you ever intend to run a blower or N2o),
Right again, let them do the heads! When you tear it down, you can clean up the ports alittle with a grinder, but leave the rest to the pro's. If you do decide to port the heads dont go crazy in there, just smooth them out. New valves (now's the time if you want bigger valves), Hardened seats(you could get away with just the exhaust side), 3 angle valve job. The springs seals and retainers will all depend on the cam you intend to run. So will the rockers, if you want adjustable rollers, you'll need screw in studs. Do that machine work now. Once you put this together you dont want to pull it all apart agin later.
Bolting it together is fun. Read a few books on it. Engine blue printing, is one and get one on rebuilding small block fords (289's,302's and 351w's) Do you homework before buying parts, and it will all payoff. Good luck

stangirl92 · 10-27-2002, 02:16 PM

thanks for all the information guys! I will sure need it. Doing some researching now about engine info. Gonna yank it out this week!! Taking pics so maybe i can post them some day!

bgnracing · 10-28-2002, 01:24 PM

if you want to go to the extreme of repainting the engine bay,remove everything you don't want stripped,spray it down w/ easy off oven cleaner..let it sit a while....hit it w/ high pressure washer.....it'll be stripped to the metal....ready for paint prep

10-22-2002, 10:09 PM	#1
stangirl92 Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2002 Location: Spokane Posts: 8	68 engine rebuild hello all, My dad gave me his 68 coupe and i have started to yank all the parts out and i am down to pulling out the engine. However, i am very new at all this and i would like to know what i should say to a machine shop or whoever i take it to to have the rebuild so i wont sound like a dumb girl. lol. I want the 289 to be all original as my father bought it. any replies would be appreciated. Oh yeah, and what is the easiest way to strip or clean the engine bay compartment? sandblasting, wirebrush, etc?? thanks!!!

10-22-2002, 11:14 PM	#2
mustangII460 Factoy Five Roadster Join Date: May 2000 Location: Sevier Co,Tennessee Posts: 1,681	Rebuilding a motor for regular duty. I spend around $500.00 for the following bottom end work. Block bored out, bored untill things are straight. Rods re-sized, pistons installed and balanced. Crank turned, polished and balanced. Cam bearings installed also freeze plugs. --------------------------------------------------- Heads etc. I would just go with a regular R&R on the heads. Since your not going to building a nitro motor, no need for massive dollars. Depending on how bad they are, cost varys. Also I would go with a hardened valve seats if your going to drive it everyday. Older motors that used leaded gas had softer seats. ----------------------------------------------------- It never hurts to ask everyone about the shop you are looking at. If it were my coin, I would spend the extra money at a performance shop. I trust them because they are less likely to let a half @$$ed motor get out their door. There is no reason you can't put it together yourself. There are all kinds of good books out there. ------------------------------------------------------- Cleaning engine bay. Steam clean the crap out of it. That Purple cleaner (Sell it at wal-mart) works great. Spary it on and let soak, before steaming. Scuff the old paint, and paint it again. If I had access to a sand blaster I would do that. Hope this helped a little. __________________ Frank Last edited by mustangII460; 10-22-2002 at 11:20 PM..

10-28-2002, 01:24 PM	#5
bgnracing Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: plano/rockwall Posts: 3	engine bay if you want to go to the extreme of repainting the engine bay,remove everything you don't want stripped,spray it down w/ easy off oven cleaner..let it sit a while....hit it w/ high pressure washer.....it'll be stripped to the metal....ready for paint prep

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10-27-2002, 12:24 PM	#3
hobgoblin351 Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: NYC Posts: 245	Hey SatngII thats a good price for machine work! I gotta move down there, up here in NYC it's alot more. Stangirl, shop around and get references before giving you engine to a shop. He's right, a performance shop will be best. You might pay a little more. But , if it's the origional motor, you dont want inexpierenced people doing the work. Dont get me started on the horror stories. The newer mustang blocks are pretty close to spec. But the old ones are not. I just did a 70 351C and it was not even close. Have them clean it hot tanked if they have one. Bore it over, not more than .030, align hone the crank journals, and deck the block. Then everything is nice and square. New freeze plugs, and have them install the cam bearings. Have the crank done, mic'd to see if it's in spec, pollish the journals, resize the rods. new pistons(get forged if you ever intend to run a blower or N2o), Right again, let them do the heads! When you tear it down, you can clean up the ports alittle with a grinder, but leave the rest to the pro's. If you do decide to port the heads dont go crazy in there, just smooth them out. New valves (now's the time if you want bigger valves), Hardened seats(you could get away with just the exhaust side), 3 angle valve job. The springs seals and retainers will all depend on the cam you intend to run. So will the rockers, if you want adjustable rollers, you'll need screw in studs. Do that machine work now. Once you put this together you dont want to pull it all apart agin later. Bolting it together is fun. Read a few books on it. Engine blue printing, is one and get one on rebuilding small block fords (289's,302's and 351w's) Do you homework before buying parts, and it will all payoff. Good luck

10-27-2002, 02:16 PM	#4
stangirl92 Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2002 Location: Spokane Posts: 8	thanks for all the information guys! I will sure need it. Doing some researching now about engine info. Gonna yank it out this week!! Taking pics so maybe i can post them some day!