New Engine

While investigating my engine I came to the conclusion that just throwing new bearings in it would probably not help much. The piston rings, valves, valve springs, camshaft and everything else is most likely also 47 years old and in need of some TLC. A complete rebuild would take the whole winter and not to mention all my money. So, I needed another option.

A possible solution appeared to FMOC forum in the form of a 302 engine sales ad. It was a 69 block with 289 heads and all accessories. The ad said that it was in good condition and the price was right so I reserved it. A couple of day later I drove over to check it out.

The seller had not driven with the engine himself but said that it had been in a car when he bought it. Previous owner had been using it a lot and it seemed fine then. I took a risk and bought it hoping I could clean it up and put it in my car temporarily. This way I would have time to fix the rest of the car and drive next summer. I'll rebuild the original engine later and put it back.

While at it, I realized that doing this engine work in my cold and damp garage was guaranteed to cause problems. FMOC forum came to the rescue again as I found a warm garage for rent a couple of kilometers from my home. I checked it out and took it for the winter. Hopefully I won't have to move there completely to get the car back to running condition in the following months...

First I will investigate my new engine a bit so I can trust it to run next summer. I think I'll open the oil pan and check the bottom end for wear. If everything seems good, I'll just clean and paint it and lift it in my Mustang. Let's hope I won't find any surprises...