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Pull engine link?

1K views 15 replies 8 participants last post by  68fastwilliams 
#1 ·
Hi all-looking for some directional advice. Started out by just wanting to spruce up my engine bay/engine, since the weather is turning crappy in WA. So after reading about 100 posts (seriously...had to be 100!) i started taking things off/labeling and scotchbright sanding. My question is, i started out by just wanting to spray bomb the bay and brush the engine (got eastwood's ford paint for the engine)-its not going to be a show car, just an weekend driver, but i want it to look nice and its a fun project for me and my 11 & 13 yr. old. But after reading and reading, many are saying that its not too much extra time/effort to just pull the engine and be able to do a much better job-I have never done it before-don't even know if its in my skill set, but with the direction ive gotten here we've been able to replace our UCA's, spring perches, springs, leafs, S/A drop, etc without too much trouble. So my question is-is it a huge undertaking? i know i need a lift-ive got the radiator out and all the wiring away from the firewall as you can see from the pix. I have looked and looked online and can't find any detailed step by steps to pulling it and i DEFINITELY don't want to get over my head and get stuck. So can anyone give some advice or know of a link that goes through it? As you can see by the pix, i don't think the bay is in too bad shape-just a bit of surface rust under the battery tray. Also, i don't have any leaks to speak of, so i don't feel like I need to pull it to start doing other stuff (hate it when that happens), but boy, i think it would make painting the engine tons easier. Soooo, advice or direction? Thanks for the help-sorry for the long post-just wanted to make sure i made clear what was happenin!
John
 

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#3 · (Edited)
+1 spent a full day un bolting everything that can be un bolted right down to the water pump and VC's. rolled back all my harnesses.

pressure washed it with mile solvent, masked everything off primed it and painted with Krylon Flat back.

while i was in there I sand blasted and re did all the assy brackets and installed a new rad

came out very nice
all total took about 4 weekends

Before:


After:
 
#4 ·
man, i was really hoping i got some love about leaving it in! I didn't really want it to turn into a bad episode of greasemonkey garage. So Mr.R and BP-did you pull off the exhaust manifolds also to get to the engine easier and repaint em? Also, did you prime the bay first? (just a tad worried about the small amt. of surface rust i have on there)
 
#5 ·
You will need to get that rust off or use an encapsulator type product like those from Eastwood. Other wise the rust will continue and in a few years it will look like crap again.


If you are going so far as to yank the exhaust manifolds with the engine in the car that's a big project. Now, has this engine ever been rebuilt? If so how long ago? My thought about pulling the engine it everything is a lot easier to work on and detail. But, if you also have steel instead of brass core plugs, now would be a good time to change them out. If the engine is fairly new, like the last five years or so, then leave her in the car and do what you can. B
 
#7 ·
It always come the the details and just don't get i a hurry time your time, items u can remove, just do it and i used wire brush for these items brackets and pulleys. i prime the breather and valve covers and such engine bay cleaned and prime on the rusty area and painted with cans, many light coats never to heavy, just let them build.
 
#8 ·
LB-engine was rebuilt 15 yrs ago (but then was put in storage for 15 yrs). Now, after reading some prev. posts i'm not too gung ho on pulling the manifolds, as snapping bolts doesn't look like fun. so looking at the rust, can anyone recommend a good rust encapsulator, or would it be best since i don't have too much rust to just wire wheel it to bare and then prime the whole bay before painting? (thanks tons for the good advise so far)
 
#9 ·
im lucky is in that did have any real rust to deal with except for a little on the rad suportt. that i sandblasted.
i left exhaust manis on, too hard to get to.

a few weekends later put up on stands and did the under carriage, axle and suspension the same way. i found the original yellow hash marks for the leaf springs after i power washed it. i masked that off and painted the rest.
 
#10 · (Edited)
Yep, that is exactly how is started for me several weeks ago in Oregon. "Its rainy weather outside so I will just take my time, pull a few parts off, and "spruce" up the engine bay and motor before spring".

Now the engine is out at the machine shop getting all the good stuff, parts are on order from half the mustang supply stores across the country, replacing wiring, calling in favors from every friend I know, etc, etc. Than a few days ago I get the bright idea in my head "may as well clean up the under carriage while waiting for the engine to come back and now considering doing the front suspension. I got parts hanging, labeled and stored everywhere in the garage.

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Moral of the story: just clean it, tape it, spray it, drive it, enjoy it.<o:p></o:p>
 
#13 ·
Well I'm pretty new here but having recently pulled the 390 from my 67 vert I'd say it wasn't that big a deal (mind you I haven't put it back in, so maybe that's where the challenge comes...) Not saying you should pull the motor but it wasn't nearly as much work as I had anticipated BUT I don't have A/C either.

Nice thing about pulling the motor is easy access to ANYTHING you want to refinish, I'm going through this now and loving every minute. Downside of course is you'll find things you want to fix up that you hadn't planned for. FWIW I pulled the motor to deal with a dead cam, if it weren't for that I would have left it be, but wouldn't have had the experience and fun of doing what I'm doing. Oh, and it's December here in Michigan, the car doesn't need to be running for another 4-5 months. A previous poster's advice is excellent, don't get into a project that has a tight deadline that's when frustration sets in.
 
#14 ·
#15 ·
68Fast-believe it or not, yours was a post that i must have read at least 10 times this past week! It was one of the reasons i am positive about leaving it in (so sorry about the 5-i remember reading that & thinking i didn't want to ever post anything ever on here for fear of getting blasted!) I actually had saved your thread in my bookmarks to make sure i had access to it, so thanks for the response-hope mine turns out 1/2 as nice!
john
 
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