Rusty, the 1970 F-100

[redstone65]

Bought a 1970 Ranger long-bed on craigslist for $2,000. It doesn't run, and the rear wheels will only roll forwards, not backwards. Body is in solid shape in all the important places. Engine is a 360 with C6 transmission. I was told the engine was put in right before it was bought by the previous owner. The PO didn't put spark plugs or carb on, so there is rust in the manifold and cylinders. Engine won't turn by hand.

This thread will first document the process of getting it running and driving again.

Picture:

[redstone65]

This engine looks decent on the outside, but it has demons internally.

Engine pics:

[jzjames]

Me, I would be trying all kinds of things to loosen up the rust and getting that engine to rotate.

Probably one of those concoctions of 1/2 mystery oil, 1/2 laq. thinner.

Dump 1/4 cup into each cylinder to soak, while coaxing the engine to rotate with a big socket and breaker bar...
If it does get freed up, have a method to flush the dirty liquid out of the cylinders with something clean, like clean kerosene or something. Get it sucked back out with a vinyl tube and a basting bulb thing.

Once it’s rotating, put a few tablespoons of oil back in there.

[jzjames]

Then, you mentioned that the rear wheels won’t roll in reverse unless the drive shaft is disconnected

Could that be part of the problem of a locked up motor?

[redstone65]

Me, I would be trying all kinds of things to loosen up the rust and getting that engine to rotate.

That was my plan of action too JZ. I poured diesel fuel in the cylinder and intake, and let it sit for about 2 weeks. I finally got it to budge Friday with a 6 foot breaker bar, but it still just wouldn't get any looser no matter how many times I turned it over:



So, yesterday I took all the accessories off, and then took the valve covers off. I found a bent push rod and 2 stuck valves:



There seemed to be some serious rust in the carb port of the intake:



So, I took the intake manifold off:




Not the end of the world here, but there was a lot of rust in some of the head intake ports and water passages:



I could also see something lodged in one of the stuck exhaust valves. [sigh] So, I bit the bullet and took the driver's side cylinder head off, and this is what I found. :




Good Lord!

That's the remains of a dirt dauber nest. I took the other one off and found more trash in the cylinders on the other side, but not as bad. Even with the cylinder heads off and the garbage cleaned out, it still doesn't turn over by hand easily. I have to use the 6 foot bar to turn it still. So, I'm going to hoist the block out and tear down the bottom end and see what's going on.

[Busboy]

Good call.

[redstone65]

Could that be part of the problem of a locked up motor?

I don't think that's it. I put the trans in neutral and when I spin the crank with the breaker bar, the output shaft of the trans doesn't turn. Unless you can think of something I might be missing. I'm game for anything.

[jzjames]

Have you played with those 2 bands on the auto transmission?
With driveshaft removed the wheels turn normally.

[redstone65]

No, i haven't done any band adjustments. I found conflicting info on whether the C6 had a reverse band or just an intermediate.

That's right. With the driveshaft out, the rear wheels turn freely in both directions.

[Busboy]

By the way the grill is from a 72.

[redstone65]

By the way the grill is from a 72.

Yep. All the VIN codes, steering wheel and speedo check out as a 70 model. I guess somebody messed the grill up and replaced it with a 72 at some point. I wish it was the '70 grill. I like that one better.

[Busboy]

I agree.

[Manny]

C6 is one band wonder. C4 has the two bands. Nice new truck project but your doing the right thing tearing that motor down. Two many mystery engine troubles I have seen. Get the running and then wind up building em anyway. You will get it this time around!!! How bad is the cylinder rust?

[WhitsEnd]

Please don't tell me you're anywhere near Richmond, VA. I just sent everything you would need to the scrap yard after pulling it from my running 360: heads, intake, carb, crank & rod assemblies, cam, water pump. You know, all the heavy stuff. I'm only keeping the block to build a stroker from. The cylinders had no compression, but you'll be boring that block anyway...if it's usable.

What's the plan? If this is a low budget deal, you may want to post something on the Fordfe.com site or on FEPower.net asking for parts to rebuild. Plenty of guys are now doing exactly as I did and discarding the 360 stuff to build a 445 stroker because there are a number of kits available now to do so (360 block is exactly same as 390, by the way).

Or, you could take advantage of the reasonably priced stroker kits and build a nice little 445. If so, check out Survivalmotorsports.com and talk to Barry or just surf the web for kits.

Whatever you do, I hope you keep the FE. The allure of swapping to a cheap small block is often too much to resist.

[redstone65]

You will get it this time around!!! How bad is the cylinder rust?

It's kinda bad. Here's a closeup of what appears to be the worst one:



At a minimum I think it would need to be decked and bored. Just not sure how deep it goes yet.