Thread: ford build

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i just found this photo, a friend of mine took a whole summer slowly buying parts and building this 302. it was a lack of money issue. the block and crank were bored turned and prepped by a machine shop, he got antsy and wanted to drive it around before summers end. so he assymbled it without resizing the rods and installing NEW ROD BOLTS. as it was on the jacks breaking in the cam after about 20 minutes, it let loose. note the skirt on the piston where the rod smacked it, it also broke the bottom edge off of the cylinder it jetisoned from. and as well put a huge unreparible gash in the newly turned crank. and crammed it into the newly prepped head. if he had just waited to at least cram 50.00 worth of rod bolts in it, he would probably still be driving this car around.

no he torqued them, one rod bolt broke off at the cap. and the other one stretched enough to let the rod slip over the crank. the rods were stock from a 140,000 mile motor and that was the only items he did not have time or money for when he got this brain storm.

The ignorance of youth......

And one of my Dad's favorite saying's comes true again......"If you don't have the time to do it right the first time, when are you going to find the time to do it over?"

And, I would imagine his rationalizing was that the stock rod bolts had worked good for 140K, why would they be bad now????

Originally Posted by Dave Severson

And one of my Dad's favorite saying's comes true again......"If you don't have the time to do it right the first time, when are you going to find the time to do it over?"

And, I would imagine his rationalizing was that the stock rod bolts had worked good for 140K, why would they be bad now????

that sums up the whole situation that led right up to that point!