[philminotti]

Hi Al-

Getting back to your original premise of wanting to build an FE as your first build- go for it! I built my motor from the bare block on up, and I had little more than tinkering experience on small block fords. You're a machinist, so you're ahead of where I was right out of the gate.

I started by reading everything I could, including books by David Vizard, Tom Monroe, and Rick Voegelin. Although Steve Christ's book is often criticized for inaccuracies, it does cover many basic pitfalls of FE assembly. Old posts on this web site as well as on feforum.com are invaluable. Barry Rabotnick's book is getting rave reviews although I haven't read it myself.

Getting all your parts from the same vendor does make some sense but isn't crucial. Every single clearance and tolerance needs to be checked…you know that far better than me, I'm sure. I got my block, heads and cam from KCR, my rotating assembly from Barry and my bell housing, clutch and tranny from Brent. Everything needed at least some "massaging" and sometimes more. Yes, the FE can be a PITA with regards to certain issues, rear main seal and intake manifold sealing coming to mind, not to mention valve train geometry, top end oiling, and on and on and on. I had my intake off THREE times before I was happy.

I strongly suggest running a finished motor in a test stand before dropping it in a vehicle. Trust me on that one.

A lot of mystique surounds the proper assembly of this motor, but most of it is just doing your homework and not being afraid to take something apart and redo it. I freely admit that I stood on the shoulders of far more experienced people than myself, many of whom frequent this website. (Looking at you, Rick L!)

Damn the torpedoes, and full speed ahead!

And BTW, ignore everything, and I do mean everything your hear about how great solid lifters are and how they sound like angels singing in the Vatican and go with hydro rollers. You won't regret it.

Phil