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S550 A Pale Horse Build Thread Profile - S550 Mustangs

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223
420
Exp. Type
Time Attack
Exp. Level
3-5 Years
Southern California
Made some more progress last night and got the engine out with the help of a buddy.
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I want to start pulling it apart tonight. Unfortunately I managed to mess my back up badly enough that I can't even sit so I'm out of Willow Springs this wekeend. Nevertheless I'm going to do my damnedest to get to the damage over the next few days.

Shifting away from the engine trouble, there's a 4-5 week lead time on ARH longtubes. I'm about two weeks into that now. Those are going on before the engine goes back in. I've installed headers on jackstands and it is less fun than being stabbed. I'm also going to start ripping the interior out and posting the bits for sale, mainly the seats. Those seem to be desirable and can help me recover some costs. The wing should be arriving soon as well. As always, more coming soon!
 
223
420
Exp. Type
Time Attack
Exp. Level
3-5 Years
Southern California
Are you able to post up the underneath of your hood, just want to see what that looks like after you installed the hood vents.

Thanks
Sure thing! I'll flip it over tonight and get some pics. I do have some changes planned though to make it sturdier but it shouldn't affect the look too much.
 
1,040
1,088
Monaca Pa
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I need to think about how I'm going to finish off the build. I'm considering the GT500 pan but I want to talk to a shop about having it reinforced as I know Honeybadger had one let go, likely from vibrations as I recall. Either way, this engine is going to put me in TT2 so I've committed to some ARH longtubes and would like to pull as much weight as possible out and then have it caged. Fortunately I have 2023 to figure that out. For now I just want to get operational and get seat time.
If you get GT500 pan and use long tube headers I had to have pan modified.DA276C47-C282-4430-9742-6918B6329C26.jpeg8F05CD80-5345-44BA-B832-1BC47C97C95D.jpeg0B0CF978-4680-4504-90BE-411FC93E0DB3.jpeg
 
223
420
Exp. Type
Time Attack
Exp. Level
3-5 Years
Southern California
Sure thing! I'll flip it over tonight and get some pics. I do have some changes planned though to make it sturdier but it shouldn't affect the look too much.
20221211_203845.jpg20221211_203849.jpg20221211_203852.jpg20221211_203902.jpg20221211_203922.jpg

I also purchased from expanding foam that I'm going to use to seal the edges off. At speeds around 80-100 I see the top shell fluttering a bit. It's not too concerning, but I'd like to eliminate that. Sealing the two shells back together should stop it.
 
223
420
Exp. Type
Time Attack
Exp. Level
3-5 Years
Southern California
what is the accusump thing?
It's a 3 quart tank that will inject oil into the engine if oil pressure drops below a certain threshold. It's pretty cheap insurance all things considered.
 
223
420
Exp. Type
Time Attack
Exp. Level
3-5 Years
Southern California
All the Gory Details
Well the original engine is fully apart. I've been tearing it apart while I wait for the sensors, gaskets, and other various parts to complete the new engine. These Ford parts stores are taking forever to ship things and I've had two orders cancelled so far, one with no notice whatsoever.

Without further ado, here's the carnage. Let's start with the block:

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This seems to be the result of what I assume was a rod bearing failure on rod #2. Speaking of that rod, here's what that looks like:

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It also affected rod and rod bearing 6 across from it. It definitely experienced an extreme level of heat. On the bright side, it looks awesome. Definitely a trophy to keep.

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Cylinder walls #2 and #6 are very damaged. #6 has some damage in it that is about 2mm deep. #2 has an emergency exit.

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What of the crank you ask? Behold, the world's heaviest lamp post:

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I went into this knowing the engine was most likely toast. Disassembling it was just a learning opportunity. I've never cracked into an engine before or pulled one out of a car. The Ford manuals make it alarmingly simple. For those that don't know, you can pay $20 at the Motorcraft site (https://www.motorcraftservice.com/) to get access to all of Ford's service manuals with step-by-step instructions. It takes all the guess work out of it which is nice. I paid for 72 hour access and just downloaded everything I needed.

As parts eventually come in, I'll detail the finishing of the new engine as well. It came complete sans sensors, covers, gaskets, etc. All the basic finishing items. I figured it would be safest to start with fresh sensors in several cases since there were rod bearing, rod, piston, and lifter parts bouncing all around inside. Simply peace of mind. Enjoy the carnage everyone! Hopefully you only ever have to see this damage on the internet from some idiot that has a negative net worth.
 

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