The 83GT

Yeah, they are the same rings that have been in it since 2015.  Last time I did a compression test, they were all fine.

Tip of the oil pump driveshaft.

Made a tray with the 3D printer to keep my lifters organized.

Thanks!

I pulled the pistons out and they look freakin great. Crank, timing set and cam all spin over super easy even though the crank weighs a milion pounds.

I put the oil pump back together, reinstalled it in the block and the oil pump driveshaft has plenty of free play. Then I removed the pump and tried to turn it by hand. Nope. I clamped it in the workmate and tried turning it with a wrench. It would turn a bit then get tight, like it had something in it. You could back it up then it would turn free only to get tight again. Sorta like it would bind up, then you could back up and it would realign and turn again, then bind again.

Bearings, gaskets and rings all showed up today. Tomorrow I'll start getting it ready to put back together.

Vid of me spinning the crank before disassembly.

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/QSOqI_mxs20?si=5Ib2mMNsnIJe4-k5

​Next is file fitting rings. Not my favorite part of engine assembly by a long shot.

I think the current direction for this car is to just keep it simple. Carb, distributor, n/a. I almost think it would be fun to go back to a stock 83 hood scoop haha.

Greenbean will be the high tech car, efi, a/c, overdrive, turbo, etc etc.

Rings are gapped and the bottom end is all done. Looks great and turns over great. I'll poke the pan on and then start on the top end.

Mark Miller wrote:I was thinking about taking my engine out this fall and changing the valve springs and solid roller lifters that i've had a few years now and maybe throwing some new head gaskets on it!! The heads and oil pan haven't been off since i put the engine in the Mustang in 2004!! If you want you could come up here and i could buy new rings and bearings and you could file fit the rings for me and assemble the short block for me ha ha!!

I went to test fit the oil pan yesterday and the pickup tube I bought is the wrong one. Unfortunately the correct one is no longer available unless you buy the entire FRPP kit (M-6675-A460) that comes with a pan, pickup, gasket, main cap bolt, and dipstick. Luckily I did not throw the old one away. I did cut the bottom open to see if stuff was stuck in it, so I may clean it good, weld the bottom closed and reuse it.

So, I went ahead and flipped it over and started on the top end. One thing I am going to change is the exhaust pushrod length. The intake side looks pretty good with a 8.80" pushrod, but the 9.25" one's on the exhaust look a skosh long. I think a 9.10" or 9.15" would improve the geometry a bit. It's not bad as is, but I feel it could be a little better.

Intake gaskets and pushrods will be here tomorrow. Timing cover, engine mount, water pump and harmonic balancer are all installed again.

Since I am keeping the carb on it, I wanted to get rid of the fuel rails altogether. I considered making a low profile bar to lock the injector plugs in place but I didn't really like that idea. Then it hit me, I could use a set screw to hold them in place. That idea then morphed into "why not just drill all the way thru and use a cotter pin?"

So that's what I did and amazingly enough, I didn't screw it up. The cotter pins fit snugly in the holes and are really just there to keep them from vibrating out or popping out if it were to backfire for some reason.

I considered just buying a new intake, but dang, parts are expensive these days. $500+ for a new one just doesn't put a giggle in my wiggle.

This will be fine for now.

Look who is back in the shop!

Started ripping the wires out of it! Well, all the stuff I have added over the years. This part was really pretty satisfying! Haha.

Chopped a hole in the inner fender (just like the 98!) too move the battery back up front.

I also start monkeying with the headers.... Again.

Started working on the old Hooker headers to get a little more life out of them. I bolted them up tight to the heads and welded the flanges together and I welded the slip-fit tubes in place. I have always disliked the slip-fit tubes. I have never had a need to remove one of them.
I ordered some 3.5" v-band clamps and I am going to chop off the 3 bolt flanges and weld v-bands on.

I also crawled under it and cut 46,000 zip ties to release the nitrous feed line, electric fuel pump wire, and the ground cable for the rear mounted battery.

I am also going to replace the 15 year old Aeroquip push lock fuel line while I am doing all this. It looks pretty sketchy in some places.

Poked a battery tray in it and took a quick look at the crunchy fuel line.

Getting a little behind! Grinding through some details and improvements!