It has been over 20 years since I was awakened in the early morning hours by the anticipation of a new toy. On Friday, my new engine was to be delivered and there were many preparations to complete. I found my mind racing with excitement to the point where I could sleep no more. I was 12 years old again! It was 5:30 AM when I awoke and I couldn't wait to pick up my brand new Ford FE 428 Big Block from Southern Automotive and 4 speed top loader transmission. I rented a truck from Enterprise Rentals so that I could pick up the 1,000 lbs cargo...yes....ONE THOUSAND POUNDS!! (click on pictures below to get bigger view)
The engine was shipped from Atlanta to Newark, NJ via Air Freight through Forward Air. I had a hard time finding their loading docs as I was in middle of a sea of semi trucks. I finally found them after about 1/2 hour of driving.
The shipping dock was MASSIVE. The guys driving the forklift raced around like it was a hot lap in Formula One! After about 45 minutes of submitting paperwork and waiting for my turn on the ramp I noticed that a forklift was coming with a rather large crate....This would be my new engine and transmission.
As soon as the crate was loaded into my truck, I proceeded to strap it down to make sure it stayed put. I didn't want it to accidentally slam the cab, fly out the back or take a tumble over the side should I take a corner too fast.
When I got home, it was time to "open the present. I was curious what lurked in this massive crate on the bed of the truck. I feverishly removed the wood screws on the top of the crate and pulled back the lid. Here is the sight that I was welcomed with.....all shrink wrapped and ready for me! I also realized that I needed to remove all the crate in order to back the truck into the garage so I could move the engine out of the back of the truck.
Once I got over the initial excitement, I proceeded to remove the rest of the crate. Must have had about 60 screws. My drill couldn't go fast enough for me. Finally I removed all sides of the crate. What you see here is the shrink wrapped motor and transmission. Southern Automotive also provided two boxes; one for my overflow tank for the radiator and one full of misc parts like the gear shift lever, transmission mount, etc.
Eva (my wife) and I removed the shrink wrap off the motor so we could get access to the engine. When we were finished, I wanted to pose next to the engine. I felt like a proud parent next this beautiful engine. Southern Automotive did an AMAZING job building this motor. I am pretty sure it will run just as good as it looks.
This engine is huge. In order to help move it around the garage and into the car, I purchased a cherry picker from Summit Racing. I also have an engine leveling device which you attach to the engine. This allows you to change the level/angle of the engine so you can "snake" in an engine and transmission into a car (i.e. up and over the front and into the engine compartment and back...picture an "S" motion as you move into the car). I had the engine lift prepped and ready to work for this next phase.
Southern Automotive left two bolts (one on front and one on back of motor) on the head to attach the cherry picker to. I attached the chains and counted links to make sure I had just enough to lift the engine but not too much that I hit the ceiling with the top of the hoist. As you can see in this picture, the top of the hoist is right at the ceiling joist. I lifted the engine just enough to clear the palate. Because I am only affixed to two bolts, the engine rotated to center on the leveling device.
Once the engine was high enough, I was able to move the truck forward and out of the way of the motor. This allowed me to bring the level of the engine down far enough to access the engine cradle that I had bought and assembled the week before......Did I mention this is the second engine stand I have bought? First one I bought is sittin gin the basement as it is of a design that bolts up where the bell housing resides. Southern Automotive already dialed in the bell housing and I didn't want to remove it. Therefore, I bought an engine cradle which uses the engine mounts and some frontal mounting points to secure the engine..what a great idea right?
Well....I could not for the life of me figure out how that damn cradle would support the engine (is this a sign to come for the rest of the build??). Susan, at Southern Automotive informed me that they just leave the engine on the oil pan and bell housing (and I can see why..this oil pan and bell housing are indestructible). As a result, I gave up and rested the engine in the corner until I can figure out how the darn engine cradle works.
My wife jokes that I will sneak out in the middle of the night to cuddle with my "other woman." It is a beautiful engine and I am sure that it will look even better once the frame and body arrive from Hurricane Motorsports. With that, I need to start preparing for the arrival for the rest of the kit by building a body buck...but that is another post.
Here is the parts list for the Engine adn Transmission:
FORD 428 CUBIC INCH HIGH PERFORMANCE ENGINE (Block Code: 6H24 -Year: 8/24/66)
-SINGLE 4-BARREL CARBURETOR
-BLOW PROOF BELLHOUSING & BLOCK PLATE
-HIGH PERFORMANCE ELECTRONIC DISTRIBUTOR - MSD
-ALUMINUM BLOCK ADAPTER FOR REMOTE OILFILTER & COOLER LINES
-427 BADGES FOR PENT ROOF VALVE COVERS/PAIR
-ORIGINAL FORD SURGE TANK
-CRANKSHAFT WINDAGE TRAY
-TURKEY PAN - POLISHED AND INSTALLED
-STELLINGS CHROME AIR CLEANER (EXACTLY AS ORIGINAL)
-SPECIAL K & N HI FLOW WASHABLE FILTER ELEMENT FOR STELLINGS AIR CLEANER
-M.S.D. 6AL IGNITION KIT-INCLUDES IGNITION BOX WITH BUILT IN REV LIMITER, ADAPTER FOR ELECTRONIC.
-DISTRIBUTOR TO M.S.D. BOX, M.S.D. BLASTER COIL & COIL BRACKET
-REPLICA 427 MAIN CAP BOLTS
-STEEL BRACKET FOR OIL FILTER ADAPTER (EXACTLY AS ORIGINAL)
-TALL HEATER HOSE FITTING FOR INTAKE MANIFOLD
-CLUTCH ARM KIT - SMALL SPLINE INCLUDES: CLUTCH ARM, PIVOT & THROW OUT BEARING
-CLUTCH SLAVE CYLINDER KIT - INCLUDES: SLAVE CYLINDER, BRACKET TO MOUNT CYLINDER TO BLOCK, ADJUSTABLE CLUTCH ROD AND 10'
BRAIDED STEEL FLEX LINE
FORD 4 SPEED TOPLOADER TRANSMISSION
- 1 & 1/16' DIAMETER SPLINE
-COBRA SHIFTER KIT - INCLUDES: HURST SHIFTER, COBRA SHIFTER HANDLE, KNOB, RUBBER BOOT AND STAINLESS STEEL TRIM RING
-SPEEDOMETER CABLE
-SPEEDOMETER CABLE GEAR
-TRANSMISSION MOUNTS
The engine was shipped from Atlanta to Newark, NJ via Air Freight through Forward Air. I had a hard time finding their loading docs as I was in middle of a sea of semi trucks. I finally found them after about 1/2 hour of driving.
The shipping dock was MASSIVE. The guys driving the forklift raced around like it was a hot lap in Formula One! After about 45 minutes of submitting paperwork and waiting for my turn on the ramp I noticed that a forklift was coming with a rather large crate....This would be my new engine and transmission.
As soon as the crate was loaded into my truck, I proceeded to strap it down to make sure it stayed put. I didn't want it to accidentally slam the cab, fly out the back or take a tumble over the side should I take a corner too fast.
When I got home, it was time to "open the present. I was curious what lurked in this massive crate on the bed of the truck. I feverishly removed the wood screws on the top of the crate and pulled back the lid. Here is the sight that I was welcomed with.....all shrink wrapped and ready for me! I also realized that I needed to remove all the crate in order to back the truck into the garage so I could move the engine out of the back of the truck.
Once I got over the initial excitement, I proceeded to remove the rest of the crate. Must have had about 60 screws. My drill couldn't go fast enough for me. Finally I removed all sides of the crate. What you see here is the shrink wrapped motor and transmission. Southern Automotive also provided two boxes; one for my overflow tank for the radiator and one full of misc parts like the gear shift lever, transmission mount, etc.
Eva (my wife) and I removed the shrink wrap off the motor so we could get access to the engine. When we were finished, I wanted to pose next to the engine. I felt like a proud parent next this beautiful engine. Southern Automotive did an AMAZING job building this motor. I am pretty sure it will run just as good as it looks.
This engine is huge. In order to help move it around the garage and into the car, I purchased a cherry picker from Summit Racing. I also have an engine leveling device which you attach to the engine. This allows you to change the level/angle of the engine so you can "snake" in an engine and transmission into a car (i.e. up and over the front and into the engine compartment and back...picture an "S" motion as you move into the car). I had the engine lift prepped and ready to work for this next phase.
Southern Automotive left two bolts (one on front and one on back of motor) on the head to attach the cherry picker to. I attached the chains and counted links to make sure I had just enough to lift the engine but not too much that I hit the ceiling with the top of the hoist. As you can see in this picture, the top of the hoist is right at the ceiling joist. I lifted the engine just enough to clear the palate. Because I am only affixed to two bolts, the engine rotated to center on the leveling device.
Once the engine was high enough, I was able to move the truck forward and out of the way of the motor. This allowed me to bring the level of the engine down far enough to access the engine cradle that I had bought and assembled the week before......Did I mention this is the second engine stand I have bought? First one I bought is sittin gin the basement as it is of a design that bolts up where the bell housing resides. Southern Automotive already dialed in the bell housing and I didn't want to remove it. Therefore, I bought an engine cradle which uses the engine mounts and some frontal mounting points to secure the engine..what a great idea right?
Well....I could not for the life of me figure out how that damn cradle would support the engine (is this a sign to come for the rest of the build??). Susan, at Southern Automotive informed me that they just leave the engine on the oil pan and bell housing (and I can see why..this oil pan and bell housing are indestructible). As a result, I gave up and rested the engine in the corner until I can figure out how the darn engine cradle works.
My wife jokes that I will sneak out in the middle of the night to cuddle with my "other woman." It is a beautiful engine and I am sure that it will look even better once the frame and body arrive from Hurricane Motorsports. With that, I need to start preparing for the arrival for the rest of the kit by building a body buck...but that is another post.
Here is the parts list for the Engine adn Transmission:
FORD 428 CUBIC INCH HIGH PERFORMANCE ENGINE (Block Code: 6H24 -Year: 8/24/66)
-SINGLE 4-BARREL CARBURETOR
-BLOW PROOF BELLHOUSING & BLOCK PLATE
-HIGH PERFORMANCE ELECTRONIC DISTRIBUTOR - MSD
-ALUMINUM BLOCK ADAPTER FOR REMOTE OILFILTER & COOLER LINES
-427 BADGES FOR PENT ROOF VALVE COVERS/PAIR
-ORIGINAL FORD SURGE TANK
-CRANKSHAFT WINDAGE TRAY
-TURKEY PAN - POLISHED AND INSTALLED
-STELLINGS CHROME AIR CLEANER (EXACTLY AS ORIGINAL)
-SPECIAL K & N HI FLOW WASHABLE FILTER ELEMENT FOR STELLINGS AIR CLEANER
-M.S.D. 6AL IGNITION KIT-INCLUDES IGNITION BOX WITH BUILT IN REV LIMITER, ADAPTER FOR ELECTRONIC.
-DISTRIBUTOR TO M.S.D. BOX, M.S.D. BLASTER COIL & COIL BRACKET
-REPLICA 427 MAIN CAP BOLTS
-STEEL BRACKET FOR OIL FILTER ADAPTER (EXACTLY AS ORIGINAL)
-TALL HEATER HOSE FITTING FOR INTAKE MANIFOLD
-CLUTCH ARM KIT - SMALL SPLINE INCLUDES: CLUTCH ARM, PIVOT & THROW OUT BEARING
-CLUTCH SLAVE CYLINDER KIT - INCLUDES: SLAVE CYLINDER, BRACKET TO MOUNT CYLINDER TO BLOCK, ADJUSTABLE CLUTCH ROD AND 10'
BRAIDED STEEL FLEX LINE
FORD 4 SPEED TOPLOADER TRANSMISSION
- 1 & 1/16' DIAMETER SPLINE
-COBRA SHIFTER KIT - INCLUDES: HURST SHIFTER, COBRA SHIFTER HANDLE, KNOB, RUBBER BOOT AND STAINLESS STEEL TRIM RING
-SPEEDOMETER CABLE
-SPEEDOMETER CABLE GEAR
-TRANSMISSION MOUNTS
posted by Khan Smith at 9:36 AM
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