My ERA 428FE started to knock tonight

[patrickt]

Originally Posted by egreaves20

Yes, that’s where the motor was sourced and built back in 1995. I have all the original paperwork, showing a $6500 build price back then. Can they do everything or do they want just the motor?

I would not immediately assume the motor needs to be pulled. In fact, it might not be as serious as you would first think. I know that Joe is fond of using original Ford rocker assemblies for "mild" FE builds. It might just ease your mind a bit if you removed the spark plugs, removed the valve covers, and then turned the engine over by hand, via the crank bolt, with a ratchet wrench and pipe/jack handle. Watch the valve train assembly and look for broken/bent components, like springs, bent rods, broken rockers, etc. If you drove it home "clanging," then turning it over a few times with a wrench is not going to hurt it any more. Then, once you've done that, you can decide on the next step. Remember that FEs, especially with the original Ford rocker assembly, can sometimes bend a push rod, or break a rocker, when they're just sitting alone in the garage.... and it's not a terribly big deal when they do. Mostly, it's just a nuisance fix.