The F head has seen a long life

but now i think it is time to upgrade. I found an even fire 231 near me for just a few hundred bucks and i am going to pick it up on my way home from work today. I have been hesitant to start to build my Jeep because it runs well and i have been enjoying driving it. I know as soon as I start, it'll be a while before she's on the road again. i have a SM420 sitting in the garage and am inclined to build the drive train in the garage, 231-->420-->T case(Dana 18 or NP205 depending on which axles I go with.) but part of me just wants to drop the V6 in there and drive. Either way, i am excited to begin a new project.

Matt

 

Ok, i picked up the engine last night, it looks to be in good condition. It is complete with PS pump and exhaust, it is, however, missing the flywheel. He says he has too look for it I am hoping he finds it. I have a couple of concerns I hope y'all might be able to help me with. I was told the engine was a '77, it has HEI

1) The missing flywheel, it would seem that these are a bit of a rarity, I figure i can use the flywheel from an odd fire if need be, there is also one of ebay that I think would work but i hate to order used parts over the web.

2)Radiator, will i be able to find one easily? I am assuming that any V6 CJ radiator will work, am I right in this assumption?

3)Bellhousing; ultimately I want to put one of my SM420s up to it, I am going with another assumption here that a common GM bell will work, correct? In the meantime, should I desire to put it in there with my 3 speed, will I need another bell housing or will the one that is on there work, if it works with the 3800 and the three speed, will it work with the SM420 too?

4)steering; since then engine has a pump on it, i should consider switching to Saginaw, is there a lot more to this that it seems? I assume a new box and a new column are really all thats needed, am I naive in this assumption?

5)finally, headers/exhaust; he gave me a pair of headers and mufflers with it, the set up is for dual pipes exiting before the rear wheel, not ideal, but it was included. How bad will all of this interfere with my steering, brake MC, clutch linkage?

edit: thanks to all who make this site simply awesome!

 

The odd-fire flywheel is balanced differently from the even-fire. I know that the odd-fire is externally balanced, and I'd presume that the even-fire is too, but different. A machine shop should be able to balance an odd-fire flywheel to the even-fire engine, but I'd make a good effort to find the right flywheel before I resorted to that. You might try WTB at one of the Buick web sites if you can't find a flywheel.

It's a standard BOP GM bell, AFAIK. It may need clearance cutting for the SM420 retainer - check the Novak site.

You need the parts, but you really can't do it without welding. You want good welds too, like a pro would make. There's a lot of discussion about this on the site - check the Fab forum for a sticky, the albums for a collection of pics, and the tech library.

 

I am going to be using a radiator made for the 65-66 Mustang w/289 V8 in mine. It is almost the right size, with just a bit of bracketry to be made to adapt the mounting locations. Inlet and outlet are fairly close to the ideal locations. Finding an actual V6 radiator is very hard or very expensive. 4WD has one, but it is $450 and people have had trouble with them. I figured I could get a brand new with lifetime warranty aluminum mustang radiator that would work fine for $169.95 +shipping, so why not go that route rather than the unknown quality used V6 radiators that I have found for $75-$225. Just my $.02...

The radiator I am going to order tonight: http://www.amazon.com/Mustang-1964-...UTF8&coliid=I33NGHKDAYW8PU&colid=JPM1P2H7B574

You can find slightly cheaper ones on Ebay too for ~$125 + shipping, but I like the return policy on this one, just in case it doesn't work: you can return it if you "just don't like it" for full refund including all shipping charges. Plus it is aluminum and looks cool

I will let you know how it goes once I get it installed.

 

Buy the parts and get your sm420 v6 combo ready, then pull and convert. Tranny is a great upgrade. Wheel it with your stock axles tell you brake something, I'm running my stock dana25 / 44 combo behind my v6 with no problems yet in about 10 years.

 

Thanks everyone, I just got off the phone with the guy who sold me the engine, he says he should have the flywheel to me soon, it seems like I have dealt with some great people on craigslist lately! Windyhill, I AM GOING TO ASSEMBLE IT ALL IN THE GARAGE LIKE YOU SUGGEST (caps lock!!!! instead of shift dangit) then put it in the Jeep, I already have the tranny, i just need an adapter to mate it to my t case. Since I am not going to be making it a super hardcore rig, maybe 32s, I am going to keep my axles, maybe try a disc conversion.

I am confident in my welding and fab skills as far a mounting a new steering box, i suppose I will have to wait until the engine is in before I can check clearances for steering components and figure all that out.

You guys are the best, tonight, when I should be doing schoolwork, i am gonna start my notebook for the Jeep project and do a good amount of reading here, and other sites, I am gonna order the V6 book from amazon too.


Thanks everyone, this is going to be fun!

 

tack weld the engine mounts
don't make anything permanent until you have test fit everything
and yes, this may mean everything goes in and out (engine/trans/exhaust) several times before you get it right.
do it right the first time, much easier IMO.

 

So the V6 book arrived yesterday, the even fire engine i bought is actually an odd fire, it doesn't matter too much to me though. The flywheel was sitting in my Jeep when i got home last week and the bell housing is set to arrive on Thursday. From there it is a matter of getting the flywheel resurfaced and buying a clutch. Then I can start the assembly(in my garage of course.) The "big" expense is the adapter between the Muncie and the Dana 18, that will take at least a month because I need to get new tires for my daily driver.


Ahhh....the fun!!