[Got the Bug]

Originally Posted by RICK LAKE

LudicrousSpeed The books listed here will give you a GENERAL idea on how to rebuild a motor for normal driving. Finding Blueprint specs are the better way to go and should have the latest info on each block. IMO and your limited ablities of building a motor, Let someone like KCR build the short block or buy one from Ford Racing Parts and assembly it yourself with just basic tools. The machinist that advertise on this forum have between 20-40+ years of building motors. There are tricks that apply to each motor family that help in a long life for that motor. FE motor is a prime example with the stroker kits and running BBC rods in them. They will last longer, the rods weight less, the bearings are wider for handling more load pressure. Small block windsor motors also have special things done. A stock rebuild will work fine if you drive your cobra NORMALLY. I doubt this will happen. Don't worry about how much HP the motor makes. Build a strong torque motor and limit the rpms to 6,000 and you will get many years out of this motor. VOTECH classes will help you to understand doing BASIC machine work on a motor but I have not seen these motors last long on the street. It takes about 60-100 hours to do a complete motor assembly with ALL the correct measuring and rechecking of each parts before assembly. An example of this is the rod bolts if ARP need to be stretched and measured 3 times before measurements are done. 8 rods, 2 bolts per rod, using the caliper for stretch to check, adds up to 2 3/4 hours alone. This is what people don't under stand about WHY and HOW MUCH is cost for top notch motor builders to assembly motors. Degreeing a camshaft, looks and sound easy, can take 2 hours to do a setup and recheck. I think you see where I am coming from. Let someone assembly your short block and you do the rest, heads, water pump, intake( becareful with the gaskets here) oil pan( check the air space between the pan bottom and pickup tube, I like 1/4 " to 3/8") Check pushrod lengths to keep the rocker centered on the valve stem. There are plenty of guys on the forum that will help walk you through the assembly of your motor and help install it in the car. Make sure you get the dampener and flywheel with the short block and that they are all balanced together. Good luck Rick L.

Good stuff Rick. But throw us a bone every once in a while and include a paragraph break.