Crate Motor Install
 

I think I'm all set to start the motor swap. I've got the following parts:

o Ford Racing 5.0 M-6007-XE3
o 50 oz. Damper to fit 3 bolt crank shaft
o 50 oz. Flex plate
o Mildon oil pan with windage tray
o 1.6 roller rockers
o Roller timing chain
o Mini Ford starter
o Ford Racing Aluminum valve covers
o Gasket set
o Shims for the roller rockers
o Head plugs
o Edlebrock Performer RPM intake
o Demon 625 cfm carb

I plan to put all the new parts on the crate motor except induction, then pull the 289 and swap in the 5.0. Any words of wisdom before I start? I'd appreciate every tip I can get.

Thanks,

I would put as much on the engine before you install. It's alot easier to do with engine on a stand then hanging over the fender.

Make sure you prime the oil system before you start. Easy to do and well worth it.

Gearhead, thank for the tips. On priming the oil pump, can I do this by just disconnecting the coil wire and then crank the engine over?

I've also read that I should run the motor for 1,000 miles, then re-torque the aluminum heads and intake. Is that necessary?

You can crank the engine with the starter. But, that is hard on starter. It is alot easier to pull dist. Mark it before you remove it so you can put it back in without the hassle of retiming. When I do it, I turn the engine over till the rotor is pointing straight back, toward carb. Then pull dist. You can get a 5/16" 1/4 inch drive deep socket on the end of a long extension and turn the pump till you get oil to the rocker arms. I usually drive mine with a 1/2" drill. Needs to be reversable. You can also do it by hand with a speed handle. But, it is a lot of work.

Then put dist. back in. If you haven't turned the engine over the timing hasn't moved. Just hook it all up again.

Yes you should retorque heads. Very important.

Have fun.

Picture enclosed:

More nearly finished:

Looking good !!!!!!

The crate motor won't come with the provisions for the cam to drive a mechanical fuel pump. Plan on using an electric one. And just in case you didn't know already the firing will be 1,3,7,2,6,5,4,8. The only reason I added that was because in all the Chilton and Haynes manuals for the older cars, that is the firing order for the old 351s. But it is also the firing order for all the newer 302s. Good luck, it's not that bad. All the bolt patterns and everything are the same as they were 20 years ago.

Thanks David,

I have the old motor out and I'm starting to swap parts. Why won't my mechanical fuel pump work if I swap the timing cover off my old engine?

If you swap the original front cover and make sure that there is an ecentric bolted on the front of the cam to drive the fuel pump.
The manual pump will work.

If there isn't an ecentric on the cam. You should be able to take the one off the old engine and install it on the crate motor. If you do that....make sure that the cam pin sticks out of the cam gear enough to drive the ecentric. Also, that the bolt is long enough and is a grade "8" bolt. Locktite and torque it too.

I was assuming you didn't have anything to swap out. I didn't so it was easier for me to go electric.

There is no cam pin on a late model HO or Motorsport.

If you want to use old accessories and timing cover here's the way I did it: removed the serpentine drive stuff, including the timing cover and the timing cover block pins (something not on old engine that will prevent you from using your old timing cover unless removed). Get a conversion fuel cam eccentric (Total Performance, etc.) and install it. It has a tab on it that fits into the cam timing gear so it won't slip. The one I have is two piece, meaning it has a slip ring and an eccentric. These are thinner than the original eccentric. Note: the slip ring stops wear between the fuel pump arm and the eccentric. The slip ring has a lot bigger surface area than the fuel pump arm, hence does not wear nearly as fast as the old one. Okay you've got the eccentric in and installed. Put some clay on the edge of the cam and press the timing cover on to flatten the clay. Remove the timing cover and peel the clay off the cam or timing cover whichever it sticks to. Cut a cross section of the clay with a razor blade so you can see the thickness between the cover and the eccentric, should be greater than .020". If you don't want to bother with this step, then use a flashlight and look in the fuel pump boss. Make sure the eccentric is not jammed on the timing cover. Okay, you're ready to install the timing cover. Replace crank seal if you haven't done it then slip over oiled crankshaft. Rotate cover back and forth a small amount just before contacting gasket. Make sure to get good alignment with the base of the block (don't want any oil pan leaks). When aligned start setting bolts to hold it. The rest of the procedure is ordinary. I put the old pan on the new engine and used the new engines torque spreader bars to help secure the pan. Use RTV in the corners of the timing cover where it meets the pan. Use the recommended adhesive on the pan gasket (likely yellow adhesive).

Thanks for the advice on the fuel pump eccentric and timing cover. This is exactly what I need to know. My goal is to make the new 5.0 look a lot like the 289 in the engine compartment.

Along thoese lines, I'm wondering if anyone has any thoughts on distributors. Mine is the stock one with Pertronix electronic ignition. I like the look, but I'm not sure it is up to the task on the new motor. All the others I've seen on Mustangs (Mallory, MSD, etc.) don't look anything like the stock one.

Thanks again for all your help.

The shaft lenght is longer on 5.0's, so I took no chances and installed a Mallory built for the 5.0L HO. The Mallory numbers you can choose from are basically 2770401 (Dual Points) and 4770401 (Unilite). If you wish to buy the Dual Points first, it is upgradeable to the Unilite electronic configuration. Also if you wish a capacitive discharge box, the Mallory Hyfire is a good choice. Realize if you go to capacitive discharge ignition, the cap, rotor and wires need to be upgraded to take the really hot ignition voltages. I'm using the Dual Points because it was relatively cheap ($149).

You can also use the Duraspark II but theres a lot of wiring I didn't fully understand, so I skipped it. The MSD distributor has a bigger head and I was concerned about manifold clearance with my Weiand. The Mallory DP fits fine in that respect but is very close to my monte carlo bar. To service the distributor and points I have to take the monte carlo bar off first. Perhaps the curved kind would work better; I've been considering it.

I had the same idea about making the -a52 Motorsport a 289 clone. The Motorsport has GT40 heads/valves and hence the early Hi-Po valve covers I planned to use didn't fit. I also tried some Scott Drake "Cobras" and they too did not fit. I understand the Ford Racing version of these will fit. I tried the Ford Racing polished aluminum next and they fit so that's what I kept. The others were returned to the Mustang parts vendor.

With T5-Z, I had to shorten the driveshaft 1" even though I used a T5 conversion yoke. 7/8" would have been ideal.

I also used a '64 Galaxie upper radiator hose as it fit much better than the '65 Mustang 289 hose. Galaxie hose fit like it was made for the swap. Note: the Weiand manifold I chose may have impacted the fit of the classic Mustang hose. The It fit like crap which caused me to search for another. I thought a Falcon hose might work and in stopping by Obsolete Ford Parts, I found the Galaxie. Note: my problem was the Mustang hose flattened out when I tried to make it fit. I tried it both ways just in case the marking "RAD" was incorrect.