A moment of madness! Considering a 6.1 Hemi for the F100!

I still don't know what to do with the 351. At one stage I was even looking at flogging it off in favour of this magnificent Hemi 6.1 engine that we found for sale on Facebook in the Marketplace section for less than six grand. 

Apparently running well and all, but I have to say a little bit of research into the Hemi had me backpedalling. There is a "known" issue with Lifter roller failure. Poor lifter design and lack of lubrication to the lifters is cited as the main issue. I wouldn't know as I don't own one, so cannot speak from experience, only what I have read on the internet. Seems fairly uncommon, but it's something to consider. 

The other thing, of course, is the wiring up of this engine. It seems immeasurably beyond my capabilities to play with, and where would I begin? I believe Holley make a Sniper kit to suit, but it's very expensive. 

So, I might give that one a miss, as tempting and intriguing as it might be. By God! Wouldn't that engine make the old truck sit up and bark! 

But I really only want the truck to be a reliable old cruiser that can sit on the highway speeds all day and not be fussed too much by anything. 

I've got a guy who has a 377 stroker more or less ready to go, but he's asking ten big ones and as nice as it sounds, it's just too much. 

I really wanted to keep it in the Ford Family and I have a soft spot for the 351 Cleveland. For me, it was the ultimate Ford engine. When I was a kid, I used to love watching the Bathurst races and especially loved watching those beautiful old Ford Falcons hammer around the track. My favourite was the XC Cobra. Two of which entered the 1978 race but unfortunately neither finished the race. A far cry from the year before when the Falcons won 1-2 on the track side by side. 

So I have pretty much made up my mind that it is gonna be a Cleveland. 

Stay tuned. 

1956 Grille Arrives! Excited I am!

 After a long wait and a lot of stuffing around- most of it probably thanks to me, the grille has arrived! Woohoo! Looks great. This was a swap deal that didn't quite go ahead as planned but the end result was the same. Now my 55 grille goes off to its new owner and I have the proper grille for my truck. Here is a picture of Geoff's gorgeous truck. Geoff was originally gonna send it to me but after a bit of a communication breakdown, managed to get it through Tony who was keen to purchase my old 1955 Grille. What would you call this? Definitely a Win-win!

I got so excited, I made a Hollywood movie! 

Bit the bullet and went Holley Sniper EFI for the truck

 You know, it wasn't that long ago when I was considering sticking a big twin carbi tunnel ram 302 Windsor into the truck. The cost of fuel did kinda make me think twice about the whole setup, but it looked so damned cool. But I tend to think an engine like that was better suited to being on show all the time, a bit like the old hotrod look with open bonnet/hood.  And when my truck appeared with the 351 it was a big decision as to whether I should just get it rebuilt and flog the 302 which I ended up doing. 

I'll be seeing the truck tomorrow and should have an update on the engine (with pics!) as to where things are at with it. But so far what I have gleaned is that the engine appears to be in salvageable condition. 

With that in mind the consideration of a fuel system arises. The engine has no carbi, dizzy or basically anything, so I decided why not start with a fresh EFI system? 

I'd been researching the pros and cons of Sniper with the 351 and it appears the Terminator is probably the best choice. BUT, it comes in at a whopping $1000 more thank you very much. Even though the risk of RFI would be greatly reduced, decided it still wasn't worth coughing all that money up when it is needed elsewhere. So, I opted for the cheaper composite bodied Sniper for $1900 aud. That was the best price I could secure. I have seen a couple of used ones for sale on eBay, but they were still going for $1500 second hand, and you don't know what you are buying.  

To make the transition as seamless as possible, and to ensure all components talked to each other by giving the system the best chance of life it had,  I opted to go completely Holley and bought the Hyperspark Distributor, ignition and coil all from separate sources and saved about $300. This is their "preferred" option and when I costed other alternatives it was actually not too bad. I mean the ignition box was comparable to the MSD units and this one was designed to suit the Sniper. 

The good news is I was able to buy all this stuff in Australia so it should be here within a week or thereabouts. Ironically, I bought a really nice hood ornament from a seller in the USA about half the price I would have been gouged had I bought it locally and it arrived in just a few weeks which was astounding! It came packed in a Denis Carpenter package but I noticed the product was made in China. I guess everything is these days. It does seem like a really nice item, regardless. 

Holley Terminator X or Sniper for my 351? I haven't the foggiest!

 Well, the good new is the bore is looking okay. Sadly, not the big heavy duty crank I was hoping for but the heads aren't off yet, so could be a few surprises. The bore is looking okay even though it show signs of being left out in the rain with nothing covering the hole in the manifold. Garry says it's been sitting for twelve years! With fingers crossed the cylinder walls will be okay and might only require some light resurfacing- if that is the correct terminology. 

Of course, this brings me to the 64000 dollar question: what am I a going to do with the fuel delivery system? This engine has no carbi, no distributor, no ignition, so is it a great candidate for EFI? I'm thinking that it probably is.  I had sort of been contemplating it all along in any case. . But having read quite a lot of the issues guys have been having with the Sniper pertaining to predominantly  RFI related issues, wondered whether the Terminator X was a better option for the 351 as it seems a lot of the interference issues involves the ECU being in close proximity to the Dizzy. And as we know the Ford has its Dizzy at the front of the engine. Where is the Sniper's ECU? inbuilt into the unit at the front. The Terminator X has a separate ECU.

So, you're thinking, well, this is a no-brainer, just buy the Terminator. And in a world where I can guess with 100 percent accuracy every weeks Lotto numbers, that would be fine, but I have a narrow budget and it is essentially zilch from here on in. I've already spent up big on a ton of things and I have money saved for a rainy day but not much beyond that, and really, we are talking another grand on top of everything. In the real world, that is not a lot more to ask when I am getting a nice truck built, but it doesn't stop there. I have to buy a distributor, and other stuff and suddenly we're talking another grand. Should I just buy the Sniper and hope the RFI issues don't become too much of a headache or should I expect that it will cause pain and cough up and buy the better unit now? Decisions decisions...

Well as one door slams in your face, another one opens...

 Seems like the guy who was selling his 56 grille had a bit of a screw loose somewhere and the conversation between him and I was confusing to say the least. In the end I just gave up trying to communicate with him as he kept telling me he was willing to swap but really didn't seem that fussed either way. Well, the good news is, I got onto Geoff who happens to own a 56 as well, but his truck is a custom beast and he had no need for the grille. The price was three times cheaper than what the other guy was asking, so done deal! Should arrive by the end of next week. AND I have a genuine buyer for my 55 grille. As they say as one door closes, another opens

Best swap deal ever! Guy swaps my 55 grille for his 56! Happy Days!

 Gotta love Facebook sometimes. I mean, without it, I wouldn't have known about this righteous deal, now would I? Messaged this guy in Vic who was selling this very clean 56 grille, and I just happened to say I was interested in it but wanted to sell  off my 55 grille first, and he said, well, let's swap! Yes, you heard right! As easy as that. I tell you this guy is a true gentleman. He says it's only hanging on his garage wall anyway and he'd rather me use it on the proper truck it was meant for! Gotta get lucky sometimes!

Little plug for Pickup Trucks Down Under

 I don't know about you, but I could always do with a pickup down under, and here is a great Aussie Website that aims to bring us all together, and what a fantastic idea! I only just heard about this "movement" and would like to have discovered it earlier, but as we know, I haven't had a pickup in around six years, and that kind of makes hanging around pickups seem all little depressing for someone who sold his truck like an idiot. Anyway, the NEW truck is, well,  progressing... 

So here we have a great concept taking shape in the form of gatherings of like-minded and righteous dudes who all share the same love of their trucks. If you go here Pickup Trucks Down Under you will find some great stories and photos of their most recent gathering in Sydney, just a couple of months ago. By all accounts it looked like a great day, although Winter this year feels particularly colder than others for whatever reason. As well as this there's a brand new video of the event which has just been released on AdTube. Go here: Pickup Trucks Sydney Gathering for that. Look, there's even a Facebook page, so how is that for a comprehensive plug? Go boys! Hope to be there someday showing off Annabel to y'all. 

D2AE-CA Ford 351 Cleveland

 

So, all that I know so far  is that the engine is most likely a true 351. I know it is a Cleveland, and these block numbers, although quite tantalizing, don't tell us a whole lot of information only that it is MOST LIKELY a 351C Boss or 351C CJ, HO with a  4 inch bore. But it doesn't necessarily mean it is has a 4 bolt mains, because the casting numbers for 4 bolt was the same as 2 bolt. Although the Ford gurus will tell you it is SUPPOSED to be a 4v. However, history tells us they used a lot of the same blocks for both engines, and 1972 appears (as this engine is a '72 due to the 2 on the second row) to be a fairly common year for D2AE-CA blocks.