Out of the ashes, a Phoenix is born

[ford20]

Well, I got the head studs in. I ended up having to chase the threads in 2 holes (oddly enough right next to each other) and the studs threaded into place without issue. The issue I ran into was that the Tap that ARP sells you is 3.5” long and the threads start 3.4 inches into the block. Thankfully, by the grace of god the 5/16th deep socket was the perfect size to fit the end of the tap as well as the hole.


My contraption



I damn near shiznit my pants trying to decide should I continue at this point and potentially **** myself or stop. I live dangerously and kept going, thankfully one more turn and it reached the bottom.



Then I can pull it out with my magnetic extension.


Now, all the studs are in their place and ready for the heads. I’m not too certain how important this is but after screwing the studs by hand, as per ARP instructions, into the holes and touching the bottom I measured them and they were all within 2 or 3 thousands of an inch (3.556” was a common number) minus 1 which was 3.49X".



Studs are in!! I also got my head gaskets and heads in from JPC yesterday so as soon as I can find the old head gaskets I will be putting the heads on to prevent anything from falling into the combustion chamber or cooling passages.

Thread Chaser Extension

• ARP M12x1.75 Thread cleaning tool – Part # 912-0008
• 5/16 deep socket
• 3/8’s extension
• 3/8’s socket wrench

 

[ford20]

I just want to give a HUGE thank you and a shout out to Tad @ Freedom Racing. Some of you know Tad from S197forum or and others may not. Freedom Racing has all sorts of OEM tools that you can buy or rent for a reasonable price and their service is second to none. Every time I get in touch with Tad, it is unfortunately on a weekend and usually within 15 minutes or so I have a PM back from him. Well Saturday night I went ahead and asked him a bunch of questions about certain tools and whatnot and he told me that he would run down to the shop tomorrow (on Sunday) and get me the answers. Sunday afternoon I had all the info that I needed with a special quote and everything all ready. Tad is a hell of a guy and I love Freedom Racing, everything always goes so smooth and I have never had any issues with them.

http://www.freedomracing.com/

Anyway, back to the fun

Seeing as I now have what I need to put in the retainer plate and the rear main seal I figured now was the time to get things done. So, off comes the oil pan, pickup tube and windage tray so I can put in the retainer plate.

I open the box and pull out the necessary tools and get to work. Seeing as how I have never done this before (as pretty much everything with the build) I figured I would do a little step to step for those who have never done it before. With the retainer plate on my bench I cleaned the area where the rear main seal goes and lubricated the rear main seal along with the hole where it fits into and just positioned the seal on top of it with both indication marks and the 12 and 6 position.



I then put the tool onto the rear main seal




I then grabbed my BFH (Big ****ing hammer) and hit the shaft until the seal top of the seal laid flush with retainer plate as the OEM one is.


When I get home from work tonight I will put some gasket sealer on it and install the plate onto the block.

• Rear Main Seal Plate (Retainer) – Part # - BR3Z-6K301-A
• Rear Main Seal – Part #- AT4Z-6701-A
• Rear Main Seal Installer Set – Part # - 303-1250
• Adaptor Drive Handle – Part # - 205-153

 

[ArizonaBOSS]

Make sure you get the front cover seal in at the proper depth. I didn't get mine pushed in far enough and it ripped the rubber "lip" off, now leaks a tiny bit of oil. Too lazy to take everything off to fix it any time soon.

 

[ford20]

Make sure you get the front cover seal in at the proper depth. I didn't get mine pushed in far enough and it ripped the rubber "lip" off, now leaks a tiny bit of oil. Too lazy to take everything off to fix it any time soon.

Thanks Drew, the depth on the seals is one thing I am concerned about. The front seal is one thing but the real seal is a pain in the ass haha. I will have to take a look at what the depth was on the front seal. IIRC it was flush as well, but I may be wrong about that. I will have to see if I have pictures of it.

 

[ArizonaBOSS]

Thanks Drew, the depth on the seals is one thing I am concerned about. The front seal is one thing but the real seal is a pain in the ass haha. I will have to take a look at what the depth was on the front seal. IIRC it was flush as well, but I may be wrong about that. I will have to see if I have pictures of it.

I have some pictures of a good one on my phone, I'll try to post them soon.

 

[straightliner1]

Great thread - love the detail you're putting into this! I'll bet your credit card companies love you right now?

 

[ArizonaBOSS]

Here are some pictures of the front cover seal depth, properly installed (but used--this one should probably be replaced). Note the distance from the metal seal edge to the edge of the front cover.

 

[ford20]

Here are some pictures of the front cover seal depth, properly installed (but used--this one should probably be replaced). Note the distance from the metal seal edge to the edge of the front cover.

Thanks Drew! It looks like it sits slightly deeper than the cover itself which is interesting. I hope the tool goes down that far haha.

Great thread - love the detail you're putting into this! I'll bet your credit card companies love you right now?

I do believe so! They are generating some nice interest on my. Although I would say that 75% of it has come at the expense of my debit card. Poor thing is probably howling every time I take it out of my wallet.

 

[twistedneck]

Thanks Drew! It looks like it sits slightly deeper than the cover itself which is interesting. I hope the tool goes down that far haha.


I do believe so! They are generating some nice interest on my. Although I would say that 75% of it has come at the expense of my debit card. Poor thing is probably howling every time I take it out of my wallet.

Lulz at discussing finances around a race car engine build. they are not compatible unless you have a sponsor with deep pockets. I asked a fast PWC Mustang racer why he didn't run GRC. He said you need a huge sponsor for that. Kind of like what you need for the Phoenix... pricing does not compute! and props to anyone doing this themselves, example Arizona Boss has a leaky main seal, why? cause he had the balls to do it himself.

 

[ford20]

Lulz at discussing finances around a race car engine build. they are not compatible unless you have a sponsor with deep pockets. I asked a fast PWC Mustang racer why he didn't run GRC. He said you need a huge sponsor for that. Kind of like what you need for the Phoenix... pricing does not compute! and props to anyone doing this themselves, example Arizona Boss has a leaky main seal, why? cause he had the balls to do it himself.

Without a doubt! As is, using quick math, I am into this for somewhere around 20-25k and that is for a new engine from oil pan to intake manifold while using very little of the original parts. Don't get me wrong, I still have my block, rods/pistons etc. but the entire motor was trashed so anything that had any contact with oil has been replaced. I'm sure I am going to make a mistake somewhere so I am trying to get this out on as many forums as possible so someone like Drew who has done this before can go "hey dummy, make sure you do this correctly" or "Uhhhh you messed that up, redo it this way" haha.

 

[ArizonaBOSS]

20-25K? You can buy an entire Aluminator XS crate for under $16K...

What am I missing here? ???

 

[Grant 302]

20-25K? You can buy an entire Aluminator XS crate for under $16K...

What am I missing here? ???

The price of salt in a wound. My advice is always, "never add it up."

 

[steveespo]

I don't know why people try and reinvent the wheel. Let Ford build you an Aluminator and put a set of heads(Boss or Ported) and cams on it. All of the detail work building up the short block is much better served by letting the Ford guys do it in the factory. MMR has proven to have a less than stellar track record and while there are many other engine builders out there I trust Ford the most.

 

[VoodooBoss]

Regardless we appreciate Sean sharing his build with everyone.

 

[302 Hi Pro]

Guys:

While what you say is true, I'm sure Sean is feeling the pain of this build, in both time down and cash spent. We have to remember how these things go. You have an idea to build the best engine possible using premium parts and then it starts, oh we found this, then you find that, etc., and the build gets away from you in terms of coming in at, or under your original estimates.

During the build you get to the point of no return, and the next thing you know, your in way over the estimate.

Then in terms of originality, there is the matching numbers consideration that is important to many owners. So yes, it may be more than you would spend, but hind sight is always perfectly clear.

One thing for sure, I have to applaud Sean for undertaking this epic build of a 302 Hi Po engine, and sharing the cost of this build. We can all learn something here.

Kind Regards,
Dave
302 Hi Pro

 

[ArizonaBOSS]

Definitely agree on the sharing and I'm enjoying that. I thought this was a stock-type rebuild...maybe I need to go back and read up. If it's not too late, avoid MMR as Steve mentioned.

 

[twistedneck]

I don't know why people try and reinvent the wheel. Let Ford build you an Aluminator and put a set of heads(Boss or Ported) and cams on it. All of the detail work building up the short block is much better served by letting the Ford guys do it in the factory. MMR has proven to have a less than stellar track record and while there are many other engine builders out there I trust Ford the most.

This motor is beyond the aluminator xs. 94mm sleved means its capable of much higher pressures. Bore is larger. Block stiffer. Also, just to list a few MMR love or hate them has identified the chains, sprockets, and guides as potential high wear items not available in the aluminator xs.

I plan on going w Holbrook when I get the cash.. Botique builders are so expensive though! I have $38k into my car. You would think it's a p.o.s. looking at it. And that's a stock bottom end except oil pump gears.

 

[F.D. Sako]

...I have $38k into my car. You would think it's a p.o.s. looking at it...

this line made me laugh way too much ;D

 

[ford20]

My apologies for the ridiculously long post. I can get lost in my thoughts at times and generally have so much to say.

For sure, I have to agree with you here, and have often times wondered why I am going down this path. The price tag is more than egregious and to 99.999% of people (even in the mustang and car community), they will scratch their heads and ask what is wrong with me. You all, are part of my extended family, my Mustang family and I don't expect everyone to fully understand my craziness and that is perfectly fine and completely understandable.

I guess it started out with the folks on S197 forum like Matt Dasilva, Marcspaz, Chad05gt, and Spyder who pushed the envelope of what you can do with a 3V. I mean these were the guys who were exploring the absolute limits of the engine and they were all doing it N/A (not to discount those who were pushing the FI envelope), they were pushing for that 400 RWHP mark. Something that so many have thought was unobtainable out of a modular motor. Defying what people thought they knew and showing what can be done with the right knowledge and ingenuity. I look up to that kind of ideal and is something I have always strived for and have wanted to achieve. To show what I can do when people tell me I can’t or that it can’t be done.

When the Coyote rumors were flying around in 2009, we heard that it was going to have 400HP from the factory I was just blown away. Here was an engine that in all likelihood was going to put down at the rear wheels what they were putting down going all out and I couldn’t help but wonder what this engine could do and I was brimming with anticipation at the thought of guys like these who went ahead and blazed a path towards an unobtainable number N/A. As for the Boss, that is a different story, one that extends to one of those first page blurbs in a Motor Trend magazine back in 2008 when they broke the news that Ford would be releasing a Boss 302 and Bullitt version of the Mustang. Thankfully, that didn’t happen! In 2010 when the Boss 302 was unveiled I was in utter shock and amazement that Ford was willing to take an engine and make it so close to the cars that I would look at in amazement when I had my little V6. You had CNC’d heads, different cams, forged internals, a new intake manifold, everything that you needed to create a monster sitting right under the hood of this beautiful car! It was something special and amazing to me and only strengthened my desire to have one and unleash the beast inside.

Up until somewhat recently, no one has had the fortitude (or should I say enough lack of sense) to try and achieve 500 RWHP with this motor. When I saw someone do this, it was at JPC Racing (Joe Marini’s car IIRC) and they made 500HP through the Boss intake manifold and I watched in amazement at this Top Dog package creating 480 HP through the stock Manifold and 507HP through the Boss manifold. For a long time, this was all I had heard about N/A power with this motor. Then you see some people popping up using a combo that I thought would get you some great results and you could make 500HP with off the shelf parts and E85.

I’m not one to try and settle for mediocrity and follow down a path that has been done before. I pride myself in the uniqueness of things (hence a Laguna Seca over a regular Boss 302. I mean that with the utmost respect towards my fellow Boss and Mustang owners.)and try to do what has not been done before. If we never tried to reinvent the wheel we would never have had the Lotus 77 or the aero cars of the late 60’s NASCAR or a Gurney Flap. There would be no innovation or advancement in technology or the way we understand things. This is America, where we welcome and encourage the idea of doing new things, or taking what works and tinkering with it to make it work even better. One hundred and thirty years later we are still tinkering and trying to perfect personal motorized transport.

I chose JPC Racing as my engine builders because through it all, they have seemed to emerge as one of the best in the business. Recently it has become clear that they run the fastest cars down a strip short of MMR's 6 second "car" and their reputation is about as squeaky clean as they come. Working with RGR Engines which is IMO one of the top 5 modular engine builders in the country they can do pretty much any task and whenever I needed to talk to Aaron or Eric (including weekends), they have always been there or gotten back to me in a timely manor. They are by and large one of the most respected shops in the Mustang world with almost no contention to that and I have never seen a bad report come across their desk that hasn't been resolved. While I know that they aren't the cheapest out there, in my opinion they know their N/A work with this platform and their reputation and quality of service is second to none to me. Let me not forget to mention that I am so overbuilding this car, which is one reason why the build price is so high. The Darton sleeves will help the block stay true and increases rigidity and longevity of the motor, coated bearings, pistons, wrist pins etc., the billet lower crank gear is a wee bit overkill, the billet secondary chains are a wee bit overkill, the high strength reusable cam cap bolts are probably not needed but a just in case item, I will be running ID1000 injectors for a just in case item with the E85 fuel system. Those extras alone totaled $6k not to mention the $750 in specialty tools that I am renting ..... Son of a, why did I do this again?

This engine is a departure from the norm, from what we know will work and a push towards the envelope of what we can do with the platform. When I started this, I was one of only a handful of people who looked at this as a task worth pursuing. Most of those who did it, did so to be competitive in their class of racing, but no one had come out and shared their recipe to try and achieve these high HP numbers. Now look at this, one of our fellow Boss family members Darren (who unfortunately found out the hard way of MMR’s hard won reputation) has an engine similar to mine and is making some wicked awesome numbers with it and tearing the NASA Mid Atlantic Region a new one. I love seeing these kinds of things and applaud all who step up to the challenge of modifying their car, be it anything from a CAI & tune, up to a full BIW race car. I am doing this as something that I was told I couldn’t possibly do. That building an engine was too difficult; while it is a daunting task, it is one that I would like to do and share with the community to help those who might not otherwise know how to do things (such as myself). So they can look at this and say, oh ok so that is how you time the engine, or that is how the intake manifold goes on.
For me, this is an opportunity to do that which not a whole lot of people have done before, to push the envelope, to reinvent the wheel with a RGR/JPC built 326ci monster that can terrorize the streets and hang with some of the most powerful of factory built cars. The exclusivity of a 326ci Pre-Production Laguna Seca is something I admire and am proud of with only one in the world. Sure, the price is preposterous, and the gains compared to that of XS are marginal at best. I could have slapped a JPC turbo on an engine and made close to 1000 RWHP, but that isn’t my cup of tea. I prefer making power the way God intended us to …. With atmospheric pressure.

 

[twistedneck]

My apologies for the ridiculously long post. I can get lost in my thoughts at times and generally have so much to say.

For sure, I have to agree with you here, and have often times wondered why I am going down this path. The price tag is more than egregious and to 99.999% of people (even in the mustang and car community), they will scratch their heads and ask what is wrong with me. You all, are part of my extended family, my Mustang family and I don't expect everyone to fully understand my craziness and that is perfectly fine and completely understandable.

I guess it started out with the folks on S197 forum like Matt Dasilva, Marcspaz, Chad05gt, and Spyder who pushed the envelope of what you can do with a 3V. I mean these were the guys who were exploring the absolute limits of the engine and they were all doing it N/A (not to discount those who were pushing the FI envelope), they were pushing for that 400 RWHP mark. Something that so many have thought was unobtainable out of a modular motor. Defying what people thought they knew and showing what can be done with the right knowledge and ingenuity. I look up to that kind of ideal and is something I have always strived for and have wanted to achieve. To show what I can do when people tell me I can’t or that it can’t be done.

When the Coyote rumors were flying around in 2009, we heard that it was going to have 400HP from the factory I was just blown away. Here was an engine that in all likelihood was going to put down at the rear wheels what they were putting down going all out and I couldn’t help but wonder what this engine could do and I was brimming with anticipation at the thought of guys like these who went ahead and blazed a path towards an unobtainable number N/A. As for the Boss, that is a different story, one that extends to one of those first page blurbs in a Motor Trend magazine back in 2008 when they broke the news that Ford would be releasing a Boss 302 and Bullitt version of the Mustang. Thankfully, that didn’t happen! In 2010 when the Boss 302 was unveiled I was in utter shock and amazement that Ford was willing to take an engine and make it so close to the cars that I would look at in amazement when I had my little V6. You had CNC’d heads, different cams, forged internals, a new intake manifold, everything that you needed to create a monster sitting right under the hood of this beautiful car! It was something special and amazing to me and only strengthened my desire to have one and unleash the beast inside.

Up until somewhat recently, no one has had the fortitude (or should I say enough lack of sense) to try and achieve 500 RWHP with this motor. When I saw someone do this, it was at JPC Racing (Joe Marini’s car IIRC) and they made 500HP through the Boss intake manifold and I watched in amazement at this Top Dog package creating 480 HP through the stock Manifold and 507HP through the Boss manifold. For a long time, this was all I had heard about N/A power with this motor. Then you see some people popping up using a combo that I thought would get you some great results and you could make 500HP with off the shelf parts and E85.

I’m not one to try and settle for mediocrity and follow down a path that has been done before. I pride myself in the uniqueness of things (hence a Laguna Seca over a regular Boss 302. I mean that with the utmost respect towards my fellow Boss and Mustang owners.)and try to do what has not been done before. If we never tried to reinvent the wheel we would never have had the Lotus 77 or the aero cars of the late 60’s NASCAR or a Gurney Flap. There would be no innovation or advancement in technology or the way we understand things. This is America, where we welcome and encourage the idea of doing new things, or taking what works and tinkering with it to make it work even better. One hundred and thirty years later we are still tinkering and trying to perfect personal motorized transport.

I chose JPC Racing as my engine builders because through it all, they have seemed to emerge as one of the best in the business. Recently it has become clear that they run the fastest cars down a strip short of MMR's 6 second "car" and their reputation is about as squeaky clean as they come. Working with RGR Engines which is IMO one of the top 5 modular engine builders in the country they can do pretty much any task and whenever I needed to talk to Aaron or Eric (including weekends), they have always been there or gotten back to me in a timely manor. They are by and large one of the most respected shops in the Mustang world with almost no contention to that and I have never seen a bad report come across their desk that hasn't been resolved. While I know that they aren't the cheapest out there, in my opinion they know their N/A work with this platform and their reputation and quality of service is second to none to me. Let me not forget to mention that I am so overbuilding this car, which is one reason why the build price is so high. The Darton sleeves will help the block stay true and increases rigidity and longevity of the motor, coated bearings, pistons, wrist pins etc., the billet lower crank gear is a wee bit overkill, the billet secondary chains are a wee bit overkill, the high strength reusable cam cap bolts are probably not needed but a just in case item, I will be running ID1000 injectors for a just in case item with the E85 fuel system. Those extras alone totaled $6k not to mention the $750 in specialty tools that I am renting ..... Son of a, why did I do this again?

This engine is a departure from the norm, from what we know will work and a push towards the envelope of what we can do with the platform. When I started this, I was one of only a handful of people who looked at this as a task worth pursuing. Most of those who did it, did so to be competitive in their class of racing, but no one had come out and shared their recipe to try and achieve these high HP numbers. Now look at this, one of our fellow Boss family members Darren (who unfortunately found out the hard way of MMR’s hard won reputation) has an engine similar to mine and is making some wicked awesome numbers with it and tearing the NASA Mid Atlantic Region a new one. I love seeing these kinds of things and applaud all who step up to the challenge of modifying their car, be it anything from a CAI & tune, up to a full BIW race car. I am doing this as something that I was told I couldn’t possibly do. That building an engine was too difficult; while it is a daunting task, it is one that I would like to do and share with the community to help those who might not otherwise know how to do things (such as myself). So they can look at this and say, oh ok so that is how you time the engine, or that is how the intake manifold goes on.
For me, this is an opportunity to do that which not a whole lot of people have done before, to push the envelope, to reinvent the wheel with a RGR/JPC built 326ci monster that can terrorize the streets and hang with some of the most powerful of factory built cars. The exclusivity of a 326ci Pre-Production Laguna Seca is something I admire and am proud of with only one in the world. Sure, the price is preposterous, and the gains compared to that of XS are marginal at best. I could have slapped a JPC turbo on an engine and made close to 1000 RWHP, but that isn’t my cup of tea. I prefer making power the way God intended us to …. With atmospheric pressure.

Excellent post. I have yet to see a coyote make power above 8200 rpm.. with your increased displacement to 326 (5.34L) The stock boss heads will flow better with the unshrouding probably shift at 7800 and get all the power efficiently and w/o tearing up chains and springs. Looking forward to future posts!