It's been a big job, this was a dirty engine on the inside, not a lot of wear but the scum and crud in the oil pan told the story of neglect, poor maintenance.  Not much money spent here, we only did the minimum to make this thing run like new and sound good, nothing more.
New timing chain, new gaskets, new rings and a well done valve job and a new set of rod bearings, standard size.  No rebore, no crank grinding, I don't intend to drive this car a hundred miles to and from work every day, I retired 16 years ago, those days are over.
It started fine, ran perfect at slow speed but we soon discovered that the vacuum advance was not working, I bought a new 'pancake' on e'Bay for 12 bucks, the listing said "fits '54 Ford" but I had my doubts, which proved to be correct, it was for the '49 - '53 Fords.  Same thing and fits the distributor perfect but ....  the rod tip and cotter key hole are 90 degrees off, I fixed that by cutting the rod off, turned it and welded it back together.
The trick with that is to keep sparks from going in and burning holes in the new diaphragm, small wet rags poked in prevented that, it came out fine.  I also drilled the cotter key hole slightly bigger, I used a stainless steel cotter in assembly.  I did this installation in the car, not easy but it can be done.
Note my "Ford Interceptor" decals, just a little way of creating conversation, anything for a laugh.
Bottom line:  This engine runs like new and sounds like new, good enough for the girls I go out with, and also for the ones I don't.

Warren
 

 

It looks awesome Warren. Good job on the diagram too. Now just enjoy it.

  Vic Correnti

Thanks for your notes along the way, Warren.
Congrats on gettin' her done!
It's not just what you do, it's how you do it, isn't it?
Many happy miles to you.  Enjoy 'em!   

Regards,


NoShortcuts
a.k.a. Charlie Brown
near Syracuse, New York

Charlie .......  Truth be told I took plenty of shortcuts, if this were a car that I'd be driving a hundred miles to work as I used to, I would have had it re-bored, new pistons, grind the crank and all new undersize bearings but ........  since it's not that kind of duty so we don't soak endless money into meaningless 'stuff' that would never pay off, I simply don't do it.  I cut the ridges out (very little showing actually) honed the cylinders, put in new rings, got a set of new $20 standard rod bearings on eBay and a gasket kit from Summit (the cheapest), put in a new timing chain, not the sprockets only the chain, it fit nice and snug.  Total spent was under 200 bucks.  I have valve grinding equipment, I did that job on the heads, no replacement of guides, they were OK.
It runs like new, sounds like new and uses no oil, not even a leak.  The rear seal Summit furnished in the kit is probably better than original.
Bottom line here is:  A simple overhaul like this will run this motor for well over a hundred grand miles, that's good enough for me.  We've driven this car (from central MN) to KY, WV, MD, NY, CT, PA and all in between in the past, that was with a worn out motor, it took a quart of oil each 500 miles.  We're leaving soon for a trip out west, Medora ND to see the big musical show there, also Roosevelt Park, then up to Williston to tour the oil fields, then to Custer's Last Stand in MT, then the Devil's Tower in WY, then over the Little Big Horn mountains from Sheridan to Greybull WY, then to Mt. Rushmore, the SD Badlands and who knows where else, we got nothin' but time, no time schedule.   I'll bet the ol' 239 will not only get us home again but will do it with a 20+ mpg gas usage, I'm using OD and a Ford-O-Matic rear end, highest ratio, it cruises easily at 70 or more and that's plenty, we'll be in no hurry so will be more like 60.
Yea'... An old HS buddy used to live in CT, we saw him there on that trip east.  He's since moved to where his kids are, in OK, we may drive there also, we'll see.
Anyway ........  thanks for the comment, happy trails,
Warren

What's the engine in - a 54 Ford?  If so, there is a 54 Ford club site you may find interesting (as this site is).  www.1954ford.com


54 Victoria 312;  48 Ford Conv 302, 56 Bird 312
Forever Ford
Midland Park, NJ

Yep, I've belonged to the '54 Ford Club, I do it when I think about it I guess, sort of hit and miss.  We've driven our car a lot, it's been in a lot of states on some long trips, we're leaving on the 22nd for another such trip, this time out west.  We like the 239 because it's very easy on gas, I'm running a Ford-O-Matic rear end (highest speed) and overdrive, which puts it into HIGH gear, at 70 the car is little more than loafing along, not turning the RPM's it would be with the lower speed OD rear end.  I had three parts' cars also, so plenty of engines and parts to choose from.  I've sold a lot of items and have junked plenty at the salvage yard at standard steel prices, there's still one Skyliner up on the hill, it's junk and that one will be gone soon also.  We've got 120 acres but still don't want too much junk sitting around.  The '54 is only one of six other cars we have, most are Fords.   We have a local car club also, that's the fun one.

Keep 'em rolling ..............

warren
 

I ran into the wrong vacumn advance for my 55 and it came from a local parts store and was ordered for a 55,it took going to a few places to get one that was right and if I knew then what I do now I would have used a 57 to 64 distributor.


Butchering up everything I can get my hands on in Dayton Ohio

Warren; If there's anything usuable on the Skyliner, you can likely find someone that will buy the parts..Lots of interest in those models. 


Paul

its nice to see someone rebuild a y on the cheap.you can get all the miles you will ever put on out of this engine.people will spent a fortune on something that will never go beyond a car show.never did make any sense.

That's a good project you're handling.