How To Rebuild Your Small-Block Ford

adhesive to the rear face of your engine block. It will hold the engine plate in place. When installing the engine plate, fit it over the locating dowels with the starter hole to the right and hold it in place for a minute or so to make sure the adhesive gets a good grip on the plate.

Flywheel or Flexplate-Make sure the crankshaft-mounting flange is clean and free of burrs or knicks which can cock the flywheel or flexplate after it's mounted, causing it to wobble. This is particularly important in the case of flywheels because it can cause clutch or transmission problems. Install the flywheel or flexplate using the six grade-8 bolts with a drop of Loctite Loc N' Seal@ on the threads. Don't forger the sealer.

The mounting holes in the crankshaft flange are drilled and tapped straight through the flange into the engine's crankcase, and as a result crankcase oil will leak past the threads into the bellhousing or converter housing if they aren't sealed. For automatic transmissions, this means lost oil and spots on the driveway. For standard transmission, it also means an oiled clutch-consequent- ly a ruined clutch. When locating the flywheel or flexplate on the crankshaft flange, rotate it until the holes in the crank and the flywheel or flexplate line up. The reason for this is the flywheel/ flexplate must be mounted in a certain position on the crank to maintain engine balance. If you are mounting the flexplate, you will also have what amounts to a load spreader which is a ring with the same bolt pattern as the flywheel. Its function is to spread the load exerted by the mounting bolts so the area around each bolt head doesn't become overstressed. This avoids cracking or breaking the flexplate at the mounting bolts. Don't forget this little ring with the six holes in it. Snug the bolts up and torque them in

the flywheel mounted on the engine, you're ready for the clutch. Remember to avoid touching the friction surfaces of the pressure plate, the disc or the flywheel. Grease on the clutch can cause bad things like grabbing or slipping to happen, so be careful what you touch. To ensure the clutch friction surfaces are free from oil and grease, clean with lacquer thinner even though you're sure you didn't get any oil or grease on them. To mount the clutch you'll need one tool to line the center of the clutch disc up with the crankshaft-pilot bearing. An old transmission input shaft works well, or there are special tools for this job which are inexpensive. Although you can probably do this job yourself, a friendly third hand comes in handy. To install the clutch, hold the pressure plate and the disc against the flywheel while starting at least 2 pressure-plate mounting bolts

and their lock washers. As soon as you get the 2 bolts started to hold the pressure plate and the disc in place, install your clutch-alignment tool in the center of the disc and into the crankshaft-pilot bearing. You can now install the rest of the bolts and washers loosely. A word of caution at this point-don't tighten any of the pressure-plate mounting bolts all at once. This will result in junking the pressure plate because it will bend the cover. Tighten each bolt a couple of turns at a time going around the pressure plate till the cover is firmly against the flywheel. Now you can remove the alignment tool and torque the pressure-plate bolts 12-20 ft. lbs.

Install the Carburetor Heat Riser-If your engine is equipped with a heatriser shroud and/or a spark plug shroud, install them on the exhaust manifoldls. Fit them over the exhaust-manifold-bolt studs and secure them in place with the mating nuts.

Spark Plugs-Now seems like a strange time to install a new set of spark plugs. You may think there is a good chance some may get broken during the installation process, but fear not. The exhaust manifolds do an excellent job of protecting the plugs. Remove the old plugs which you installed to keep the cylinders clean and dry, and replace them with the new ones. Check them for proper gap and set them accordingly. Torque all the plugs 15-20 ft. lbs. except for the one in the number-one cylinder. Just snug it up. It has to be removed when you install the distributor.

Engine Mounts-The engine mounts used with the small-block Ford vary according to the car they are used in, however their basic design remains the same. All use the single through-bolt for ease of engine installation and removal. Some mounts are not interchangeable from side to side, so make sure you identify which is which. When assembling the mounts to the engine, make sure you have all the parts that go with each mount. For instance, the '68 Mustang pictured here uses a starter-cable bracket which attaches to the right-front engine-mount bolt. After snugging the bolts up, torque them to 40 ft. lbs.

Alternator Bracket-If your engine only has an alternator mounted on its right side of it it has an air pump in addition the the alternator, but with the alternator mounted above the air pump, now is a good time to install the alternator bracket. It makes a good handle for guiding the engine into place. Install the bracket loosely to the water pump and then install the long alternator pivot bolt which goes through the bracket, the alternator and then threads into the head. Run the bolt into the head a few turns until the bolt stabilizes, then tighten the bracket mounting bolts at the water

pump to 12-1 5 ft. lbs. The reason for installing the alternator-pivot bolt is to align the bracket so the alternator and bolt will assemble later on without binding. Leave the bolt in the head until you're ready to install the alternator.

Oil-Pressure Sending Unit-You'll have to use your best judgement as to whether or not to install your oil-pressure sending unit now, or after your engine is in place. Base your decision on whether you have the smaller warning-light type or the large sender and extension as used with a gage. Remember, the extension is easily broken if it is bumped during the engine installation.

To install the warning-light sender, thread it into the lower-left-front side of the engine block after coating its threads with sealer. You'll need a 1-1116- in. open-end wrench to turn the large hex. There is a special socket made just for this sending unit, however they aren't normally found in even the most professional of tool chests, so count on using an open end. Tighten the sender so it is snug.

You'll have to use your discretion with the larger gage-type sender. Whether you decide to install it now or after your engine is in place, use sealer on the extension threads and tighten the assembly with an open-end wrench. Use the wrench at the cylinder-block end of the extension to minimize the bending load on the extension. Turn the extension and sending unit so the assembly is snug and the sender is pointing u p .

Fuel-Pump-To install your fuel pump, you'll need its gasket and 2 attaching bolts 3/8-16 x 1-112-in. long. Use sealer on both sides of the gasket and coat the end of the pump actuating arm at the cam bearing surface with moly grease. Install the pump by forcing it to line up with its mounting holes as the actuating arm contacts its cam, then thread the

extruded hole which pilots into the center of the damper. Make sure the pulley is piloting before you tighten the bolts. Torque them to 40-50 ft. lbs.

Position the Crankshaft-There's not much more you can do with the engine out, so the big moment has come. Attach a chain to the front of the left head and to the rear of the right head as you did when removing the engine. Now, if you have an automatic transmission, the most important thing to do is to rotate the crankshaft so the marked hole on the flexplate will be at the bottom so it will line up with the torque converter. It won't take long for you to find out how important this is if the converter studs and the flexplate holes don't line up.