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t-tung · 11-08-2014, 01:08 AM

Well, the motor is alive! Runs strong too. It came with damn near everything replaced on the motor except the starter and the water pump. Bought a new battery, rough checked the timing to make sure it was in the ball-park, checked the oil, coil had power, new plugs and wires had spark, new fuel pump was pumping.... Everything was good except the intake bolts were finger tight. Took it and exhaust manifold off and used some extreme temp copper gasket sealant (for the time being) on them and bolted it back up. After 30 minutes of jacking with grounds, we determined the started is just flat wore out. Hooked up a tow rope to it, started down the road , dumped the clutch and it fired right up. Adjusted the idle and let it purr like a kitten for 10 minutes. It was a good feeling. It was the first time I'd ever heard one of these old motors run in person. Gotta love it. Now we get to yank it out.

Found out the yard I'm getting my 8.8 from has 4 running 5.3s. One has been pulled and has no ECU, the other 3 are still in the vehicles. The beautiful thing is, I'm probably going to be able to pick one up for less than half of what I was expecting to pay AND they'll be coming with trannies. I wasn't planning on jacking with an electronically controlled transmission but for the price I guess I'll just deal with the headache. I'll also be able to pull the steering column and pedal assembly.
Need to find a stock gas tank to fit between the framerails and possibly a radiator/fan combo to use. Any suggestions on what to keep a lookout for??

On another note, he's got a wrecked Saleen with a 6-speed in the yard with only 4X,XXX miles on it. Said I can have the whole car for $3K just not sure I want to deal with putting a Ford motor in this old truck. I don't know anything about them, wiring will be some one-off headache that few people (relatively) have done and......I'll never hear the end of it from all of my Ford buddies. Hell, the front and rearend are both going to be Ford, why not the engine and tranny too?? I don't know. I'm on the fence about it. Before I get either motor, I need to get a Crown Vic crossmember situated up front. What do y'all think?

11-08-2014, 01:08 AM	#8
t-tung Registered User Join Date: Nov 2014 Location: Corpus Christi, Texas Posts: 97	Re: "Pinché Caliché" '57 StepSide/LSx/CrownVic Well, the motor is alive! Runs strong too. It came with damn near everything replaced on the motor except the starter and the water pump. Bought a new battery, rough checked the timing to make sure it was in the ball-park, checked the oil, coil had power, new plugs and wires had spark, new fuel pump was pumping.... Everything was good except the intake bolts were finger tight. Took it and exhaust manifold off and used some extreme temp copper gasket sealant (for the time being) on them and bolted it back up. After 30 minutes of jacking with grounds, we determined the started is just flat wore out. Hooked up a tow rope to it, started down the road , dumped the clutch and it fired right up. Adjusted the idle and let it purr like a kitten for 10 minutes. It was a good feeling. It was the first time I'd ever heard one of these old motors run in person. Gotta love it. Now we get to yank it out. Found out the yard I'm getting my 8.8 from has 4 running 5.3s. One has been pulled and has no ECU, the other 3 are still in the vehicles. The beautiful thing is, I'm probably going to be able to pick one up for less than half of what I was expecting to pay AND they'll be coming with trannies. I wasn't planning on jacking with an electronically controlled transmission but for the price I guess I'll just deal with the headache. I'll also be able to pull the steering column and pedal assembly. Need to find a stock gas tank to fit between the framerails and possibly a radiator/fan combo to use. Any suggestions on what to keep a lookout for?? On another note, he's got a wrecked Saleen with a 6-speed in the yard with only 4X,XXX miles on it. Said I can have the whole car for $3K just not sure I want to deal with putting a Ford motor in this old truck. I don't know anything about them, wiring will be some one-off headache that few people (relatively) have done and......I'll never hear the end of it from all of my Ford buddies. Hell, the front and rearend are both going to be Ford, why not the engine and tranny too?? I don't know. I'm on the fence about it. Before I get either motor, I need to get a Crown Vic crossmember situated up front. What do y'all think?