Engine bay ducting after
Engine Bay
Intake / Carb
The prior intake was an old, polished Torker 1 with tiny runners and narrow ports well inside the gaskets, limiting breathing and RPM range. The largest round air cleaner that would fit between it and the hood was with a 1.78” tall x 8.11” filter for a 1.3 liter Ford Festiva.
Went with a Torker 2. The T1 had a 4 degree carb mounting pad angle, the T2 was 2.2 degrees out of the box. The car has a ride rake of -0.50” (down in front). The installed engine is down toward the back 4 degrees (proper for this engine). The carb pad was machined down 9/16” to maximize space for the air cleaner. The machinist welded some material to the inside of the plenum to maintain the carb sealing surface. Then lowered the front a bit to set the angle at 4.0 degrees to set the carb relatively level, then a bit more to maximize air cleaner size to the slight downward angle of the hood scoop at ride height.
The T2 ports and runners were shaped nicely out of the box, did a quick gasket match porting to the heads, taking a very small amount off the short runner side and at some various other parts as needed, but leaving the floors alone as was recommended for this configuration. Exhaust crossover port plugs were made for the intake and sealed into position. Edelbrock stopped offering the T2 in polished, which I preferred, so sent to a polisher.
Moved the coil, previously mounted horizontally on top of the intake, onto the inner fender well, in an upright position. This removed it from the heat and cleaned up the look of the engine. Used weatherpack connectors on the distributor harness.
Converted to carb studs, with deeper holes drilled/tapped due to machining on carb pad surface. Modified carburetor linkage to eliminate interference with the intake. The new throttle linkage was made with stainless steel and welded.
Set float levels in the carb. The rear float was too high, the front float was too low. Set idle mixture, both sides were too rich. Reduced accelerator pump nozzle size from 31 to 28. The engine is much more responsive now.
Pressure testing identified a pinhole leak on the front coolant crossover passage on the intake, from a casting flaw. Drilled intake at casting flaw leak, tapped and sealed with a small stainless steel set screw.
The head intake ports look like they'd suck up a tennis ball.
Torker 1 small runners before
Torker 2 larger runners after
Torker 2 light porting, polishing & repair
Head intake ports/gaskets before & after
Coil location/wiring before & after
Throttle linkage after
Air Cleaner
Limited hood clearance had only allowed an undersized air cleaner. Carefully measured and mocked up for an air cleaner to maximize the available space with the tight hood clearance and within the hood scoop. A rectangular K&N was the largest pre-made filter option found to fit within the space constraints of the hood. A desirable base and top weren’t located for that filter. A custom aluminum air filter base & top were fabbed and powder coated ano silver to match other engine bay parts.
The air cleaner design accentuates the metallic theme of the car and engine bay and is a bit unique, which I like. Also revised the PCV plumbing. Made an outlet in the air filter base for a valve cover breather inlet. An AN hose was made for the valve cover inlet plumbing. Used low profile polished valve cover breathers.
This was a significant air flow improvement and visually more appropriate. I’d hoped for a filter top, even cutting one into this top, yet it wasn’t in the cards at this time given space/parts involved. Gained significantly more filter area, which, along with the larger T2 ports, really helped the engine breath. There is room to extend this style air cleaner toward the cockpit some, requiring a custom air filter, if desired later.
Added an electric choke to the Holley carburetor.
Old air cleaner
New air cleaner
Displacement
The car had been advertised as a 514 stroker. A Ford experienced mechanic did the purchase inspection, and replaced a leaking rear main seal. With the pan off he said it had the stock 2YA crank and was a 460 with .30 over (he’d measured the bore), but he said not a stroker. That’s what we thought at the time. Later upon further research, I wondered if it was an offset ground stock crank, that he just hadn’t caught or considered.
During this intake job I had the shop measure the stroke via a spark plug hole, with a tool they made, and managed with the piston shape. They measured approx 4.2”, noting their measurement method had room for error, yet clearly not a stock 3.85” stroke. At .30 over (4.39 bore) it’s very likely a common offset ground stroke of 4.225 (512) or 4.25 (515), or thereabouts for a 514. It is also possible that it’s say a 509 or thereabouts. However, for now I’ll just call it a 514, as advertised, as likely the best evidence of the actual build knowledge
After confirming this I called my friend Tom (Alfa02) and led with “Stroker Ace here.....guess what...” Told him the story, now he just calls me ‘Stroker’.
Valve Covers, Distributor & Rockers
Sent the corroded distributor housing and valve covers to the polisher. Also polished the vacuum advance. Since the T2 intake placed the water neck slightly closer to the distributor with my chosen water neck, switched from the larger Duraspark cap & rotor to a regular size (at my RPM levels, spark crossover/scatter within the cap is likely a non-issue). The cap is now black along with black plug wires for the clean, black and silver engine bay theme.
The plug wires were rerouted for improved access and engine bay appearance and less heat. My distributor was identified as from a big block Mercury Marauder, and rebuilt with a new advance plate, internal ground wire, etc. I’d previously installed a Pertronix ignitor. A steel hard line was made for the vacuum advance.
The valve cover plaques were worn and outdated so had new ones custom made, respecting the manufacturer and date of manufacture, in the black and silver theme, custom shaped for the valve covers. They were laser etched, with the plates initially being black anodized and then the laser removed the black to expose the base aluminum. The serial numbers/date were also done with the laser at a higher setting.
Under the valve covers we found Harland Sharp roller rockers and some light port work on the intake ports on the D0VE-C iron heads. The valves/rockers were adjusted, which quieted the engine noise down. Got an old pair of cheap valve covers and cut the tops as sacrificial units to use when adjusting the valves/rockers, but it was still too messy, perhaps due to the high volume pump, so it was done by hand turning the engine.
Installed studs for valve cover mounting. Removed prior bulky spark plug wire looms in favor of reduced footprint and stud mounted looms.
Polished distributor & valve covers
Distributor rebuild
Roller rockers
Overall engine bay prior
Overall upgraded engine bay
Cooling & Overflow Pickup
Changed the thermal fan switch in the radiator from 185 degree to 195 degree. It was coming on too often when not needed, so this right sized it.
Added a pickup tube to the cooling overflow tank to create a true expansion/retraction chamber. That was a leftover need from my prior cooling system upgrade project. Used black hose with AN fittings and installed a threaded dipstick.
New overflow plumbing
VIN Plate
My car didn’t have a VIN plate installed. Ordered a replacement from Everett Morrison after they verified proof of title. Riveted it in the engine bay above the passenger footbox, easily readable. Also got the 2nd small rectangular self stick VIN plate that would go by the windshield, but holding off, considering the location.
VIN plate installed
Clutch / Flywheel / Bellhousing Upgrade
Clutch
The prior clutch pedal was ‘very’ stiff, even with a small master cylinder diameter and large slave cylinder. Upon disassembly, it was a heavy three finger style clutch, probably good for drag racing, with an 11” disk. Replaced with a McLeod Super Street Pro 12” single disk, dual friction, organic/metallic, diaphragm style, rated to 550 hp, SFI approved. That was the highest HP rated single, organic based disk they had designated for street use I believe, adequate for my power levels with street friendly characteristics and reasonable pedal pressure. It’s much easier now for street use, yet still a very positive feel and not too soft, I’d say just right.
Went with a McLeod billet aluminum hydraulic throwout bearing, which replaced the OEM bearing retainer, and eliminated the clutch fork and slave, particularly given my slave attached to the chassis vs the drivetrain. Could have re-mounted the slave to the drivetrain, yet the HTOB seems to ensure full clutch release with less room for adjusting errors and limits. It appears to be a well engineered, complete part/system. It allows flexible bleeder location versus the fixed orientation on a slave. Installed a bronze roller pilot bearing.
Bellhousing & Flywheel
Installed a high strength steel SFI scattershield type bellhousing & SFI steel flywheel, which I preferred over the stock iron units. May move to a 5 speed later, but am not yet settled on the configuration, and I like how the toploader shifts.
Went with a QuickTime 6.1 SFI unit which allowed for a 12” disk. Trimmed the bottom for clearance, while still considering it a safety improvement even with impact to SFI. Verified the alignment of the bellhousing to the block centerlines. The bellhousing centerline is .005” off center of the crank, which is within manufacturers specifications. Modified the scattershield around the starter to add clearance to the frame rail. The starter ground strap was too small, fabricated a new appropriate sized ground strap for current load. Secured clutch hydraulic line and bleeder for easy access.
The existing flywheel was 184 tooth at approx 43 lbs. Replaced with a McLeod billet steel SFI 30 lb 176 tooth flywheel. That seems appropriate for my 2,900 lb car, closely matching the common rule of thumb of 1% of car weight.
Inspection inside the toploader top cover verified wide ratio gears. Also replaced the transmission mount.
Prior bell, clutch & fork
New trimmed bellhousing, cover plate, flex bleeder & starter grounding cable
New transmission mount
Shifter
The existing Hurst Competition shifter movement has been improved. Upon removal there were two stacked shift boots, a rubber lower and a vinyl upper. I assume the lower was for water protection, which didn’t seem necessary in that location given my driving, and was removed. The shifter mechanism had hardened grease, which was cleaned, shift plates were greased, and shift rods adjusted. It shifts even better now. Also replaced the white Hurst shift knob with a black one, still with shift pattern. I figure if anyone else does ever drive or move the car, say a shop, I don’t want them guessing.
Prior white shift knob
New black shift knob
Headlights
Previously had blue dot tri-bar headlights with mounting buckets drilled way off for clocking, and sketchy wiring. Replaced headlights with reproduction Lucas PL700’s, with H4 bulbs and proper wiring, weatherpack connectors, and black sleeving. Properly drilled for mounting buckets with aligned tri-bars. The silver Lucas center shields look just great on the silver car. The lenses seem more rounded out and make the car feel alive, like eyes on the Cobra. Pleased with this simple upgrade.
Headlights before
Headlights after
Headlight wiring after (photo is before tightening of mounting nuts)
Front blinker light
