1970 F100 CV/Thunderbird

[elgemcdlf]

Thanks. My wife forgot valve seals (you don't really think I was going to say I forgot them do you?). Since we live in a low population area we won't see them until Tuesday. Guess I mow grass until then.

[elgemcdlf]

Got the valve seals today. Dropped 1 of the locks & can not find it to save my life. Ordered another set. A $40 mistake. I will find it when I am done. That is just the way it goes. Got 2 cyls to go putting in the valve springs. Have to pull the brake booster to do the last cyl on the left side. Who's idea was it to put the 460 in anyway?

[elgemcdlf]

Had to make an unscheduled trip to IN & just got back last night. Finished up the valve springs today. I managed to pull the booster from it's mount but not the brake pedal. I got just enough room to do the last 2 valves on the drivers side. For all the youngsters out there I will outline how to do valve springs in the vehicle without dropping a valve in the cylinder. Pull all the plugs first. This makes it easy to crank over by hand. Now take some small rope about the diameter of your little finger & stuff as much as you can into the 1st cyl. Roll the engine over by hand until it locks up. Using a hand crank type valve spring compressor compress the first valve of the cylinder that has the rope in it. Before you get all excited & pull the locks make sure the valve is being held up by the rope. You can do this by pushing down on the valve when the spring is compressed. The locks are most likely stuck/froze in the retainers. Take a large drift or cheap screwdriver & hammer. Put it on the retainer & strike sharply. Remove the lock halves & valve spring. Replace the valve seals, spring, retainer & lock. Now do the other valve in the same cylinder.

When finished with the 2 valves roll the engine back a bit to free up the rope & pull it out. Start over again with the next cylinder. You can also do this with compressed air but I have never trusted that method. I did use the air method once with no problems but I prefer something solid holding the valve in place.

[elgemcdlf]

For all of you just riding the edge of your seats waiting for the answer. It is official. The grille must come out on a bump with a 460 to swap cams if you are doing it with the engine in.

[fbomb100]

For all of you just riding the edge of your seats waiting for the answer. It is official. The grille must come out on a bump with a 460 to swap cams if you are doing it with the engine in.

i just cut my cam in half and use super glue to put the cam back to gether as I put it in..
the truck moves great just as long as you push it..

[elgemcdlf]

My little truck looks so sad with her grille laying on the ground next to her. Weather says 99 today. I will get some done this morning before the heat builds up but do not foresee it running today. Unless the weatherman lied!

[elgemcdlf]

Well it has gotten too hot for me to work on it so I am done until at least this evening. Cam, valve springs, lifters, pushrods, rockers, gear drive are all in & the intake is on it. Rolled it over a few times by hand to make sure nothing is binding. All looks good. I will say I doubt I ever go back to a timing chain after seeing how much tighter the gear drive is. I was hoping to have the distributor in along with valve covers before the heat got to me. At least it is getting closer. Who's great idea was this anyway?

[Heirloom]

Same story here....it was 95 before 8am. I have an E4OD to rebuild today but I'm on hiatus until this evening.

[Alstoyz]

I feel ur pain brother!!! I do HVAC work, and in Texas it'll keep ya busy!!! So when I get home now adays working outside is not on my agenda... A/C and a cold beer is all I want right now!!!

[F100builder]

95 here today...tomorrow is the first day of at least 5-6 in a row of 103 to 106! Oh well. I've got metal work to do on my '70 and I'm going to drink roughly a gallon of water throughout the day. I'll be in the shade for most of it and I can spray the hose on my head every so often. I honestly can't wait!

[F100builder]

I feel ur pain brother!!! I do HVAC work, and in Texas it'll keep ya busy!!! So when I get home now adays working outside is not on my agenda... A/C and a cold beer is all I want right now!!!

I hear that...I'll be looking forward to a few beers this weekend but AFTER I'm out of the heat! I'll start on my 1st one when I start cleaning up my mess and start my 2nd one in the shower!

[Alstoyz]

I measured 111 deg F today on a roof while working on a walk-in cooler !!! I'm 2 old for this sh@* !!!

[F100builder]

Well it has gotten too hot for me to work on it so I am done until at least this evening. Cam, valve springs, lifters, pushrods, rockers, gear drive are all in & the intake is on it. Rolled it over a few times by hand to make sure nothing is binding. All looks good. I will say I doubt I ever go back to a timing chain after seeing how much tighter the gear drive is. I was hoping to have the distributor in along with valve covers before the heat got to me. At least it is getting closer. Who's great idea was this anyway?

Look at it this way...now you can get a fresh and cool start tomorrow morning to button it up and break it in before the heat hits hard.

[Heirloom]

I measured 111 deg F today on a roof while working on a walk-in cooler !!! I'm 2 old for this sh@* !!!

That's part of why I got out of HVAC/Refrig. The sweltering heat on the roof tops is killer and I'm built (insulated) like a walrus.

[elgemcdlf]

Raining here now. Hopefully it will stop soon. I did manage to get the valve covers on, distributor stabbed & everything on the intake hooked up. All I have left is the front of the engine & the grille. After my last heart attack they made me climate controlled. Nothing below 45 & nothing above 85. I don't last long at all when it gets above 80. There is no way I could do 111. I tip my hat to you Al & you too Patrick. At 105 I am afraid the truck would just sit until the temps came down.