Are you getting your moneys worth?
Purchasing a turnkey ready engine is no doubt a big investment. The notion of buying a long block and building up it yourself to save money can sound tempting. In some cases if the person has enough mechanical experience in assembly and tuning than maybe so but this is the minority not the majority. Too many times have we had seen people wind up ruining an engine. There are plenty of reasons why, here are few of them: The ignition timing was set wrong, the fuel settings we’re too rich or too lean causing internal damage, Mismatched parts causing oil, vacuum, water or fuel leaks. Installation fitment, Vibration problems No start or no spark conditions, etc. Pay a little more or a lot later still holds true. In our opinion it’s only way to go. There are companies that advertise a ready to run engine but really aren’t. No carburetor, no injection system , no manifold, no water pump, no fuel pump, no fuel lines, no pulleys, no distributor, no wires or spark plugs, no flywheel, no thermostat housing, no instructions, no power. You get the point. It's all in the details. We’re proud of the extensive testing that is done with all our live run engines. See below……
THE FOLLOWING IS A LIST OF ITEMS THAT WE TEST FOR DURING
THE LIVE RUNNING OF YOUR ENGINE, REMEMBER YOUR ENGINE WILL BE INSTALLED ON OUR
TEST STAND AND SET UP TO RUN JUST LIKE IT WOULD BE IN YOUR CAR. THIS MEANS A
RADIATOR, FAN, EXHAUST SYSTEM, ETC. ARE ALL HOOKED UP, THE ENGINE IS THEN
STARTED AND RUN FOR 45 MINUTES, EVERYTHING IS ADJUSTED, CLOSELY MONITORED, AND
VIDEO TAPED, WE CHECK THE FOLLOWING.
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# 1 OIL
LEAKS CHECKED |
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# 2 COOLANT LEAKS CHECKED
ALL FREEZE PLUGS AND BLOCK DRAIN PLUGS WATER PUMP AND GASKETS
HEAD GASKETS INTAKE MANIFOLD AND GASKETS
THERMOSTAT HOUSING AND GASKET ALL HOSE CONNECTIONS
# 3 FUEL LEAKS CHECKED
FUEL PUMP AND LINES , CARBURETOR
ALL FUEL LINES FITTINGS, AND CLAMPS
FUEL FILTER
# 4 VACUUM LEAKS
INTAKE GASKETS ALL MANIFOLD PIPE PLUGS
DISTRIBUTOR VACUUM ADVANCE INTERNAL ENGINE VACUUM LEAKS
POSITIVE CRANKCASE VENTILATION SYSTEM
# 5 THROTTLE RESPONSE
500 RPM TO 1500 RPM
1500 RPM TO 3500 RPM
3500 RPM TO 5500 RPM
TEST FOR ANY THROTTLE HESITATION
# 6 IDLE QUALITY AND CARBURETOR
ADJUSTMENTS
ADJUST IDLE MIXTURE SCREWS ADJUST FAST IDLE MECHANISM AND SPEED
CHOKE OPERATION ADJUST IDLE SPEED
# 7 OIL PRESSURE COLD AND HOT
TEST OIL PRESSURE DEAD COLD, USUALLY AROUND 75 PSI AT 2000 RPM
TEST PRESSURE AT 100 DEGREES
TEST PRESSURE AT 190 DEGREES
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN COLD AND HOT - HOT OIL IS USUALLY AROUND
20 PSI LOWER, THIS IS PERFECTLY NORMAL.
# 8 COOLANT TEMPERATURE TESTS
CHECK TO BE SURE ALL AIR POCKETS ARE REMOVED FROM BLOCK
CHECK WATER PUMP FOR PROPER CIRCULATION
TEST FOR ANY EXTERNAL LEAKS
CHECK TEMPERATURE AT ALL 4 CORNERS OF ENGINE
TEST FOR PROPER BLOCK AND HEAD COOLING
# 9 VIBRATIONS
EACH CYLINDER IS BALANCE TESTED
FLYWHEEL IS CHECKED FOR PROPER APPLICATION AND BALANCE
HARMONIC BALANCER CHECKED FOR PROPER APPLICATION
CHECK FOR SMOOTHNESS THROUGHOUT RPM RANGE
# 10 DISTRIBUTOR TIMING
ADJUST INITIAL TIMING THIS IS DONE WITH VACUUM ADVANCE OFF
CHECK AND ADJUST CENTRIFUGAL ADVANCE WEIGHTS
CHECK AND ADJUST VACUUM ADVANCE
CHECK FOR PROPER ADVANCE AT 3000 RPM, USUALLY 35 DEGREES WITH VACUUM ADVANCE
DISCONNECTED
# 11 STARTER AND FLYWHEEL
CHECK FOR PROPER STARTER MOUNTING BOLTS
CHECK FOR PROPER ENGAGEMENT OF STARTER INTO FLYWHEEL
CHECK STARTER DRAW ON HOT ENGINE
CHECK FOR TRANSMISSION ALIGNMENT DOWEL PINS
CHECK FOR PROPER CRANK PILOT SIZE, OR INSTALL PILOT BUSHING
# 12 EXHAUST PORT TEMPERATURES
THIS IS IMPORTANT, PORT TEMPS SHOULD BE SIMILAR. A COOL PORT COULD MEAN A TIGHT
VALVE, CROSSED WIRE, VACUUM LEAK, WEAK VALVE SPRING, ETC.
CENTER EXHAUST PORTS USUALLY BURN HOTTER, THIS IS NORMAL
# 13 GENERAL NOISE LEVEL
WE CHECK FOR NOISY VALVE ADJUSTMENTS OR MISALIGNMENT.
ENGINE FACTORY SPENDS A LOT OF EXTRA TIME HERE ADJUSTING AND ALIGNING THE VALVE
TRAIN TO WORK IN PROPER HARMONY, WHICH RESULTS IN YEARS OF DRIVING PLEASURE, AND
MORE POWER.
# 14 OPTIONAL ITEMS WHEN PURCHASED
ALTERNATOR OUTPUT, SYSTEM SHOULD CHARGE AT 14.2 VOLTS
POWER STEERING PUMP, WE TEST FOR PROPER PRESSURE AND LEAKS
WE CHECK FOR AIR CONDITIONING COMPRESSOR PULLEY AND CLUTCH ALIGNMENT
SERPENTINE BELT AND V BELTS ARE CHECKED FOR PROPER TENSION AND ALIGNMENT
# 15 OVERALL APPEARANCE
EVERYTHING IS CHECKED FROM THE OIL PAN TO THE AIR CLEANER
PAINT, PACKAGING, PROPER WARNING LABELS ETC.
BY NOW YOU MUST BE THINKING THAT’S A LOT OF THINGS TO CHECK, YES IT IS, IN TOTAL
IT TAKES US ABOUT 5 HOURS TO HOOK UP, TEST, ADJUST, AND VIDEO TAPE EACH TURN KEY
ENGINE. BUT WE DO IT BECAUSE WE KNOW IT IS THE ONLY WAY TO SEND AN ENGINE TO OUR
CUSTOMER SO THAT THEY WILL HAVE TOTAL CONFIDENCE ON THAT PRODUCT BEFORE
INSTALLATION. THESE ENGINES ARE BEING SHIPPED WORLDWIDE SO IT PROTECTS US AS
MUCH AS IT PROTECTS YOU. Seeing is believing look over our photo gallery
http://www.mustangengines.com/Engine%20Galary.htm of photos of
recent customers See this link to see what our Engine Packages include
http://www.fordcobraengines.com/Engine_parts%20list.htm
1-800-704-5385