Project: 1967 Ford Mustang GT500
“Eleanor”
Status: Completed
History
and Facts
The 1967 Ford Mustang GT500 Eleanor is a fictional car from the 2000 remake of the movie Gone in 60 Seconds, starring the one-and-only: Nicolas Cage
The car was designed by Hot Rod illustrator Steve Stanford and custom car designer Chip Foose and is named after the movie.
It's the only Mustang to ever receive star title credits in a movie.
Engine Rebuild
STATUS: COMPLETE
Engine Rebuild
with Tyler
-
ONGOING TASK
-
JULY 2024
-Removed suspension supports
-removed radiator
-removed carburetor and nitrous system
-removed the A/C compressor from the engine to avoid needing to refill the system later on
-removed headers, bell housing bolts, and engine mounts
-extracted engine
-removed front drive system
-removed intake
-removed oil pan and valve covers
-inspected rocker arms and valve tip angles and wear patterns
-inspected cylinder walls before disassembly
-removed rockers, lifters, and cylinder heads
-inspected details like lifter orientation and freeze plug orientation to get a clue of how much care was put into the engine when it was built in 2007
-removed distributor and noticed the date of 2021. All other parts and sealants in the engine show that nothing else was touched since 2007
-removed lifter retainer plate and lifters
-lifters showed wear patterns and contamination pitting. New ones sourced.
-removed rod and piston assemblies one by one inspecting for burnt or broken rings after stamping numbers on each rod respective to each cylinder
-found oil leaking from harmonic damper, new one required. Removed damper
-every rod bearing showed signs of high heat due to poor oiling
-removed the oil pump
-removed water pump and timing cover as one unit
-removed main caps and main bearings showed the same signs as the rod bearings. The crankshaft showed no major damage. Simple polish on the journals required
-removed pilot shaft bearing and rear main seal
-removed freeze plugs and oil galley plugs
-deburred common locations for cracks to start
-used a carbide and opened up oil drain back holes in the block
-optimized flow between the pump and oiling system of the engine with carbide
-leak-tested valves. 6 out of 8 intake valves leaked and didn't seal properly. Exhaust valves didn't show leaking but once disassembled, carbon was imbedded in valve seats
-fully stripped heads of valves, springs, and shims
-cleaned and polished valves so they're ready to be reseated
-sourced all parts needed to rebuild the engine
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-Received and inspected block, heads, and flywheel from the machine shop
-Checked main cap and bearing alignment, found that main caps do not align properly.
-Shifted around main studs to try and alleviate the issue. Main cap girdle highly recommended
-Found main cap girdle that will work best for this application given the stroke of the engine and past experience with brand
-Removed old piston rings and cleaned top/sides of pistons
-Installed side freeze plugs in engine block
-Checked main and rod journal sizes on crank and filled out respective portion on build sheet
-Filled out misc sections of build sheet such as cylinder bores, camshaft specs, and piston dimensions
-Filed new steel piston rings to safely support a max of 150hp shot of nitrous
-Installed new piston rings on pistons and tested fitment in prep for installation at a later time
-Installed crank in block and torqued with oil in specific locations to check thrust clearence.
-Rotated crank in block to feel for any tight spots or possible issues. None found.
-Cleaned up #3 cylinder exhaust valve guide to ensure free and uniform movement
-Lapped valves and checked seating on passenger side cylinder head (Cylinders 1-4)
-lapped valves on the driver's side cylinder head (Cylinders 5-8)
-cleaned exhaust ports of built-up carbon with cartridge rolls (didn't modify port shapes)
-installed new valve seals
-assembled heads with new valve springs
-cleaned cylinder walls after machine shop to remove any micro contaminants that would prevent new rings from seating properly
-installed rod and piston assemblies and torqued
-installed rear cam plug
-installed camshaft
-modified camshaft retainer plate to work with new timing chain setup from Howards
-installed timing chain
-cleaned new lifters and pre-lubed
-installed new lifters, keepers, and retainer plate
-installed all oil galley plugs and sealed with anaerobic flange sealer
-modified new oil pump to run high volume and high pressure based on what was found during initial disassembly and bearing clearances
-installed cylinder heads and rockers.
-adjusted pushrod guide plates for the ideal rocker to valve tip placement
-adjusted all rockers for a half-turn preload
-removed main cap studs and mocked main cap girdle
-modified main cap girdle and installed
-adjusted oil pan slightly to work with the girdle
-installed oil pan and sealed outside of oil pan gasket area with fipg consistent with how it was done when it was first built
-serviced timing cover
-installed timing cover
-trimmed intake gaskets around water jacket ports
-cleaned intake manifold
-added 8.5qts of Pennzoil platinum 5w30 including the amount to fill the oil filter
-pre-lubed engine
-installed distributor and pre-timed for easier startup
-installed a new water pump
-installed new harmonic damper
-installed valve covers with a dual layer with steel core cork gaskets
-pre-routed new spark plug wires
-installed 80% of front drive system (a/c compressor is still hooked up in the car)
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PartsDual Valve Spring Set
TFS-16927-16
QTY: 1.00
Gas Ported Piston Ring Set
SUM-GP404015
QTY: 1.00
Racing Freeze Plug Set
SUM-G1583
QTY: 1.00
SBF Race Main Bearing Set
SUM-1432HS
QTY: 1.00
SBF Harmonic Fluid Damper
PFS-90006
QTY: 1.00
SBF Ford Distributor Hold Down
MRG-9860
QTY: 1.00
High Flow Oil Pump
MOR-22153
QTY: 1.00
Rod Bearing Set
KGB-CR814SI
QTY: 1.00
Billet Double Roller Timing Set
HRS-94310
QTY: 1.00
SBF Oil Pan Gasket
QTY: 1.00
SBF Rear Main Seal
FMS-M-6701-B351
QTY: 1.00
Ford Performance Spark Plug Wire Set
QTY: 1.00
SBF Engine Gasket Set
FEL-27091
QTY: 1.00
SBF Valve Cover Gasket Set
FEL-1645
QTY: 1.00
SBF Exhaust Header Gaskets
FEL-1415
QTY: 1.00
SBF Intake Manifold Set
FEL-1262
QTY: 1.00
SBF Head Gasket
FEL-10112
QTY: 2.00
E3 SBF Spark Plug
ETP-E3-106
QTY: 8.00
Camshaft Bearings
CLE-SH510S
QTY: 1.00
Valve Stem Seals
AFR-6612-16
QTY: 1.00
Dual Valve Spring Set
TFS-16927-16
1.00
Gas Ported Piston Ring Set
SUM-GP404015
1.00
Racing Freeze Plug Set
SUM-G1583
1.00
SBF Race Main Bearing Set
SUM-1432HS
1.00
SBF Harmonic Fluid Damper
PFS-90006
1.00
SBF Ford Distributor Hold Down
MRG-9860
1.00
High Flow Oil Pump
MOR-22153
1.00
Rod Bearing Set
KGB-CR814SI
1.00
Billet Double Roller Timing Set
HRS-94310
1.00
SBF Oil Pan Gasket
1.00
SBF Rear Main Seal
FMS-M-6701-B351
1.00
Ford Performance Spark Plug Wire Set
1.00
SBF Engine Gasket Set
FEL-27091
1.00
SBF Valve Cover Gasket Set
FEL-1645
1.00
SBF Exhaust Header Gaskets
FEL-1415
1.00
SBF Intake Manifold Set
FEL-1262
1.00
SBF Head Gasket
FEL-10112
2.00
E3 SBF Spark Plug
ETP-E3-106
8.00
Camshaft Bearings
CLE-SH510S
1.00
Valve Stem Seals
AFR-6612-16
1.00