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1488 wakes from a 29 year nap...
9471488 ran a few weeks ago after not running since 1987. The car was in storage in a number of states including MI, PA, NY, and most recently eastern AZ. I have traced history of the car back to 1970 and am hoping to get as much of their story as possible. The car is mostly stock and has a number of original parts. The interior is original except for the drivers seat cover which was redone by the PO. The original carpet disintegrated as I removed it. There are a few pieces that I will try to keep in play. I am blessed with a few LAT goodies to include LAT 70 wheels, weld-on traction masters, Tri-Y exhaust, and the hi-po can with dual point distributor package. There are a few dings and dents that will need attention, but luckily on minimal surface rust.
The engine is the original 260 block topped with 302 heads and 2-barrel intake manifold. The PO mentioned that his understanding of the SBF block was that if there were 3 freeze plugs, then it was a later 260 block and the same at a 289 and therefore could be bored out to 4.000”. And since a 302 is just a stroked 289, that a 302 crank will bolt right in. As the engine hadn’t run in almost 30 years, I elected to treat the cylinders with marvel mystery oil and allowed it to sit for 6 weeks. Following the firing order, I pulled each spark plug and moved each piston to BDC prior to the compression stroke and dribbled in 2 ounces of MMO and reinstalled the plug. I then rotated the crankshaft a quarter turn and repeated the process for the next piston in the firing order. This allowed the MMO to squeeze into the piston rings and hopefully prevent a stuck ring, assuming the valves had a good seal. I disassembled the autolite 2100 and cleaned out what was left of the rancid fuel and varnish, lapped the parting surfaces with fine grit sand paper, and reassembled with new gaskets. As I wasn’t sure of the state of the dual point distributor, I installed a spare MSD electronic ignition distributor. Like the DP distributor, it does not have vacuum advance and I am on the fence about using it when the car is back on the road for fuel economy reasons. While I had the distributor off, I fashioned a very long 1/4” extension to a cordless drill. After changing the oil and filter, I motorized the oil pump counter clockwise. The oil pressure immediately came up to 50 PSI. The fuel pump was a bellows type but the bellows were completely melted due to prolonged exposure to fuel. I was able to find a bellows kit and tried to repair the pump, but the pump would not move fuel - I’m guessing the poppet valves had lost seal. I replaced the fuel pump with a new Holley HP -125. I mounted it in the original location, but may move this elsewhere to keep the heat away. I connected a 2 foot rose to feed the pump from a Sriracha bottle that was carefully wedged behind the passengers seat. The water pump was seized so I removed the fan, fan belt, upper pulley, and generator. I figured I would just run off the battery with a temporary electrical setup. Powering only the fuel pump, ignition, and starter, I was satisfied that I had covered all of the necessary steps to wake the beast.
With a quick shot of starting fluid, I flipped the interim master switch which was ty-wrapped to the left hat-brace. I allowed fuel to flood the carb and after being sure the accelerator pump was charged, I gave the intake a quick shot of starting fluid. A quick press of the start button and the engine snapped to life. It took a time or two to achieve a stable idle. My brother Doug had his eye on the oil pressure gauge and I was relived that it immediately indicated 50-60 PSI. Without an operating cooling system, I figured I was good for 2-3 minutes before shutting it down. That was the extent of the Sriracha bottle’s fuel supply anyway. Here’s a video for entertainment value. My son Walter did a great job of taking iPhone video and I’ve included a link here…
https://youtu.be/Yu9rlGu1Kwc
I hadn’t reconnect the accelerator pedal but I wanted to assess the clutch. After allowing then engine to cool down, I decided to attempt moving the Tiger back to it’s corner. I ran the clutch and my brother ran the throttle and walked along side - my entry for this years’ Darwin award. The clutch had a great feel surprisingly. I am missing the reverse lockout so it took a bit of fiddling to find first gear. Again, more video.
https://youtu.be/BcZlButTTTM
So back to the engine… Now that I know the bottom end is solid, I need to get the cooling system squared away. One freeze plug was rusted and showed evidence of leaking. After pulling the water pump, I found that it was seized not because of a bearing, but that the impeller was occluded with cooling system crud. The thermostat housing was equally coated with residue. I decided to pull the heads to better asses the water jacket and to see if the cylinder were in fact bored out to 4.000” as the PO had informed me. After pulling the heads in the car, I measured the bore which in fact is 4.000” after inspecting the water jacket, I decided that I will pull the engine out to eat replacing all the freeze plugs and clean out the water jackets.
Obviously a 302 crank in a 289 or 260 block is an especially bad idea as the these block lack the lengthened cylinder skirt to accommodate the longer stroke of the 302. I think if I keep the RPM down to a reasonable level then this shouldn’t be too much of a threat.
The resulting thin cylinder bores as a result of the 4.000” bore are a bit of an unknown. The PO ran this engine this way for several years without a problem. I’m hoping to run it for a year or so just to see what it does. My options are to sleeve the cylinders ( a HUGE cost) or to get a 302 roller motor from pick-n-pull and dress it up with an early timing cover. I’m not sure where I’m going with this engine yet, but for the short term at least I will plan on getting it cleaned up and reinstalled.
I will pull the engine in the coming weeks to replace some rusted freeze plugs and to help with some exhaust system repairs.
I'll post some pictures soon. Happy new year to everybody!
Cheers, -Kevin
9471488 ran a few weeks ago after not running since 1987. The car was in storage in a number of states including MI, PA, NY, and most recently eastern AZ. I have traced history of the car back to 1970 and am hoping to get as much of their story as possible. The car is mostly stock and has a number of original parts. The interior is original except for the drivers seat cover which was redone by the PO. The original carpet disintegrated as I removed it. There are a few pieces that I will try to keep in play. I am blessed with a few LAT goodies to include LAT 70 wheels, weld-on traction masters, Tri-Y exhaust, and the hi-po can with dual point distributor package. There are a few dings and dents that will need attention, but luckily on minimal surface rust.
The engine is the original 260 block topped with 302 heads and 2-barrel intake manifold. The PO mentioned that his understanding of the SBF block was that if there were 3 freeze plugs, then it was a later 260 block and the same at a 289 and therefore could be bored out to 4.000”. And since a 302 is just a stroked 289, that a 302 crank will bolt right in. As the engine hadn’t run in almost 30 years, I elected to treat the cylinders with marvel mystery oil and allowed it to sit for 6 weeks. Following the firing order, I pulled each spark plug and moved each piston to BDC prior to the compression stroke and dribbled in 2 ounces of MMO and reinstalled the plug. I then rotated the crankshaft a quarter turn and repeated the process for the next piston in the firing order. This allowed the MMO to squeeze into the piston rings and hopefully prevent a stuck ring, assuming the valves had a good seal. I disassembled the autolite 2100 and cleaned out what was left of the rancid fuel and varnish, lapped the parting surfaces with fine grit sand paper, and reassembled with new gaskets. As I wasn’t sure of the state of the dual point distributor, I installed a spare MSD electronic ignition distributor. Like the DP distributor, it does not have vacuum advance and I am on the fence about using it when the car is back on the road for fuel economy reasons. While I had the distributor off, I fashioned a very long 1/4” extension to a cordless drill. After changing the oil and filter, I motorized the oil pump counter clockwise. The oil pressure immediately came up to 50 PSI. The fuel pump was a bellows type but the bellows were completely melted due to prolonged exposure to fuel. I was able to find a bellows kit and tried to repair the pump, but the pump would not move fuel - I’m guessing the poppet valves had lost seal. I replaced the fuel pump with a new Holley HP -125. I mounted it in the original location, but may move this elsewhere to keep the heat away. I connected a 2 foot rose to feed the pump from a Sriracha bottle that was carefully wedged behind the passengers seat. The water pump was seized so I removed the fan, fan belt, upper pulley, and generator. I figured I would just run off the battery with a temporary electrical setup. Powering only the fuel pump, ignition, and starter, I was satisfied that I had covered all of the necessary steps to wake the beast.
With a quick shot of starting fluid, I flipped the interim master switch which was ty-wrapped to the left hat-brace. I allowed fuel to flood the carb and after being sure the accelerator pump was charged, I gave the intake a quick shot of starting fluid. A quick press of the start button and the engine snapped to life. It took a time or two to achieve a stable idle. My brother Doug had his eye on the oil pressure gauge and I was relived that it immediately indicated 50-60 PSI. Without an operating cooling system, I figured I was good for 2-3 minutes before shutting it down. That was the extent of the Sriracha bottle’s fuel supply anyway. Here’s a video for entertainment value. My son Walter did a great job of taking iPhone video and I’ve included a link here…
https://youtu.be/Yu9rlGu1Kwc
I hadn’t reconnect the accelerator pedal but I wanted to assess the clutch. After allowing then engine to cool down, I decided to attempt moving the Tiger back to it’s corner. I ran the clutch and my brother ran the throttle and walked along side - my entry for this years’ Darwin award. The clutch had a great feel surprisingly. I am missing the reverse lockout so it took a bit of fiddling to find first gear. Again, more video.
https://youtu.be/BcZlButTTTM
So back to the engine… Now that I know the bottom end is solid, I need to get the cooling system squared away. One freeze plug was rusted and showed evidence of leaking. After pulling the water pump, I found that it was seized not because of a bearing, but that the impeller was occluded with cooling system crud. The thermostat housing was equally coated with residue. I decided to pull the heads to better asses the water jacket and to see if the cylinder were in fact bored out to 4.000” as the PO had informed me. After pulling the heads in the car, I measured the bore which in fact is 4.000” after inspecting the water jacket, I decided that I will pull the engine out to eat replacing all the freeze plugs and clean out the water jackets.
Obviously a 302 crank in a 289 or 260 block is an especially bad idea as the these block lack the lengthened cylinder skirt to accommodate the longer stroke of the 302. I think if I keep the RPM down to a reasonable level then this shouldn’t be too much of a threat.
The resulting thin cylinder bores as a result of the 4.000” bore are a bit of an unknown. The PO ran this engine this way for several years without a problem. I’m hoping to run it for a year or so just to see what it does. My options are to sleeve the cylinders ( a HUGE cost) or to get a 302 roller motor from pick-n-pull and dress it up with an early timing cover. I’m not sure where I’m going with this engine yet, but for the short term at least I will plan on getting it cleaned up and reinstalled.
I will pull the engine in the coming weeks to replace some rusted freeze plugs and to help with some exhaust system repairs.
I'll post some pictures soon. Happy new year to everybody!
Cheers, -Kevin