[DeTomaso] whats old is new again

[Daniel C Jones]

> I think it's probably a long list of reasons, including better materials,
closer tolerances, better oil, better designs, EFI vs carb, overdrive trans
to reduce rpms on cruise, and now I need to list not dumping the clutch to
do smokey burnouts.

The 5.0L HO in my 1987 Mustang GT is approaching 250,000 miles.  The
pushrod 5.0L is essentially a bored and stroked version of the 221 Fairlane
V8 that Ford introduced over 50 years ago (1962 to be precise).  Compared
to the original 221, the 5.0L HO has received a number of updates
(introduced over the years):

 sequential fuel injection with built-in diagnostics
 much better emissions controls (compared to 1970's stuff)
 more nickle content in the block
 hardened exhaust valve seats
 steel cam and roller lifters
 high energy electronic ignition
 stainless steel tubular exhaust manifolds
 forged pistons (low thermal expansion alloy
 thinner, low tension, rings

Add to that a better cross-flow radiator and a 5 speed overdrive
transmission.  Most engine wear occurs at cold start up.  Fuel injection
has much better control of the cold start mixture so you don't have excess
fuel washing oil off the cylinder walls like you would with a carburetor
and modern oil, particularly synthetics, are much better than older oils.

I pulled the engine at 163K miles.  It ran fine, held good oil pressure and
got good gas mileage but I just wanted to see how it looked inside.  I
bought the car new and for the first 40K miles, I ran conventional oil
changed at 3000 miles, after that I switched to synthetic oil (primarily
Mobil 1 but also Castrol Syntec) changed every 5000 miles.  The Mustang is
the first and only car I've owned since new, so I was curious to see what
it looked like inside.  Previous to the Mustang, I had a 1979 Buick Regal
as a daily driver that was purchased with 70K miles showing on the
odometer.  When I opened it up, it was evident the previous owner didn't
change the oil on a regular basis.  The oil pickup screen was completely
clogged (only the bypass hole was pulling oil in), the bearings were in bad
shape, the timing chain was flapping in the wind, and there was carbon
build up everywhere.  My Mustang's 5.0L HO was at the opposite end of the
spectrum.  The inside of the engine was completely clean.  When we ran the
rifle cleaners through the oil passages, they came out as clean as they
went in.  The only build up was a slight amount on the tops of the pistons
and the exhaust valves.  The block showed no wear whatsoever: no ridge and
the original honing cross hatch marks were still visible.  The valves and
crank were still within the tolerances for new parts.  The roller cam and
lifters were fine.  The cam bearings were like new, in fact they were a bit
on the tight side.

I had heard the nodular iron 5.0L blocks wore quite well but I was
surprised to see how nice the engine looked inside.  I was expecting some
wear due to the fact I was running a K&N filter which probably does not
filter as well as a paper filter.  Also, I spent a year in the Mojave
desert and upon my return, noticed the air inlet tube had  a gap at the
bottom that allowed unfiltered air in.  Strictly speaking, the only thing
the engine needed was a valve job (guides were fine, just the exhaust seats
had some pitting) and a throttle body cleaning  (later versions got a
Teflon coating, mine is an early one that is uncoated aluminum).  I re-used
the pistons, rods, block, crank, cam, lifters, pushrods, etc.  I used a
rotary wire brush wheel to remove  carbon from the tops of the pistons,
removed the bearings and stuck the pistons and rods in a 5 gallon bucket of
carb cleaner overnight.  The next day, I rinsed them off with Gumout spray
and wiped them dry with a clean rag.  There wasn't much in the ring
grooves, so I didn't use a ring groove cleaner.  I just ran an old ring
around the groove to clean out any residue.  The valves were cleaned on a
wire brush wheel.  The guides and valves (the 5.0L HO OEM valves appear to
have chrome plated stems, BTW) checked out fine, so I reassembled the heads
using the valve seals from the Fel Pro gasket kit.  The intake seals from
the kit were identical to the Ford seals but the exhaust seals were
standard looking umbrella seals with a note indicating they are made of a
superior high temperature type material that doesn't break down like old
umbrella seals.  The OEM Ford exhaust seals were some sort of hard
plastic.   I ground out the thermactor bumps in the exhaust ports and dad
did a standard valve job on his Sioux valve grinder.  Since I was there I
installed new rings, bearings timing chain and oil pump, a windage tray,
water pump, 1.7:1 roller rockers etc.

Still runs fine and still gets a smokey burnout on occasion.

Dan Jones
-------------- next part --------------
   > I think it's probably a long list of reasons, including better
   materials, closer tolerances, better oil, better designs, EFI vs carb,
   overdrive trans to reduce rpms on cruise, and now I need to list not
   dumping the clutch to do smokey burnouts.
   The 5.0L HO in my 1987 Mustang GT is approaching 250,000 miles.A  The
   pushrod 5.0L is essentially a bored and stroked version of the 221
   Fairlane V8 that Ford introduced over 50 years ago (1962 to be
   precise).A  Compared to the original 221, the 5.0L HO has received a
   number of updates (introduced over the years):
   A sequential fuel injection with built-in diagnostics
   A much better emissions controls (compared to 1970's stuff)
   A more nickle content in the block
   A hardened exhaust valve seats
   A steel cam and roller lifters
   A high energy electronic ignition
   A stainless steel tubular exhaust manifolds
   A forged pistons (low thermal expansion alloy
   A thinner, low tension, rings
   Add to that a better cross-flow radiator and a 5 speed overdrive
   transmission.A  Most engine wear occurs at cold start up.A  Fuel
   injection has much better control of the cold start mixture so you
   don't have excess fuel washing oil off the cylinder walls like you
   would with a carburetor and modern oil, particularly synthetics, are
   much better than older oils.
   I pulled the engine at 163K miles.A  It ran fine, held good oil
   pressure and got good gas mileage but I just wanted to see how it
   looked inside.A  I bought the car new and for the first 40K miles, I
   ran conventional oil changed at 3000 miles, after that I switched to
   synthetic oil (primarily Mobil 1 but also Castrol Syntec) changed every
   5000 miles.A  The Mustang is the first and only car I've owned since
   new, so I was curious to see what it looked like inside.A  Previous to
   the Mustang, I had a 1979 Buick Regal as a daily driver that was
   purchased with 70K miles showing on the odometer.A  When I opened it
   up, it was evident the previous owner didn't change the oil on a
   regular basis.A  The oil pickup screen was completely clogged (only the
   bypass hole was pulling oil in), the bearings were in bad shape, the
   timing chain was flapping in the wind, and there was carbon build up
   everywhere.A  My Mustang's 5.0L HO was at the opposite end of the
   spectrum.A  The inside of the engine was completely clean.A  When we
   ran the rifle cleaners through the oil passages, they came out as clean
   as they went in.A  The only build up was a slight amount on the tops of
   the pistons and the exhaust valves.A  The block showed no wear
   whatsoever: no ridge and the original honing cross hatch marks were
   still visible.A  The valves and crank were still within the tolerances
   for new parts.A  The roller cam and lifters were fine.A  The cam
   bearings were like new, in fact they were a bit on the tight side.
   I had heard the nodular iron 5.0L blocks wore quite well but I was
   surprised to see how nice the engine looked inside.A  I was expecting
   some wear due to the fact I was running a K&N filter which probably
   does not filter as well as a paper filter.A  Also, I spent a year in
   the Mojave desert and upon my return, noticed the air inlet tube hadA
   a gap at the bottom that allowed unfiltered air in.A  Strictly
   speaking, the only thing the engine needed was a valve job (guides were
   fine, just the exhaust seats had some pitting) and a throttle body
   cleaningA  (later versions got a Teflon coating, mine is an early one
   that is uncoated aluminum).A  I re-used the pistons, rods, block,
   crank, cam, lifters, pushrods, etc.A  I used a rotary wire brush wheel
   to removeA  carbon from the tops of the pistons, removed the bearings
   and stuck the pistons and rods in a 5 gallon bucket of carb cleaner
   overnight.A  The next day, I rinsed them off with Gumout spray and
   wiped them dry with a clean rag.A  There wasn't much in the ring
   grooves, so I didn't use a ring groove cleaner.A  I just ran an old
   ring around the groove to clean out any residue.A  The valves were
   cleaned on a wire brush wheel.A  The guides and valves (the 5.0L HO OEM
   valves appear to have chrome plated stems, BTW) checked out fine, so I
   reassembled the heads using the valve seals from the Fel Pro gasket
   kit.A  The intake seals from the kit were identical to the Ford seals
   but the exhaust seals were standard looking umbrella seals with a note
   indicating they are made of a superior high temperature type material
   that doesn't break down like old umbrella seals.A  The OEM Ford exhaust
   seals were some sort of hard plastic.A A  I ground out the thermactor
   bumps in the exhaust ports and dad did a standard valve job on his
   Sioux valve grinder.A  Since I was there I installed new rings,
   bearings timing chain and oil pump, a windage tray, water pump, 1.7:1
   roller rockers etc.
   Still runs fine and still gets a smokey burnout on occasion.
   Dan Jones