How To Rebuild Your Ford V-8 351C-351M-400-429-460.pdf - Index of

To ensure that your hood will fit at installation time, trace around the hinges for later reference. I'm using machinist's soap-stone here.
With the front hinge bolts removed, finish removing the rear bolts and lift the hood off. Don't forget to disconnect the engine-compartment
light if your vehicle is so equipped.
Before immobilizing your vehicle,
clean its engine compartment, engine and
transmission. Remove as much dirt and
grease as possible. The most effective and
simplest way of doing this is with a can of
spray degreaser and high-pressure water.
If your car is running, take it to a car
wash and just follow the directions on the
can to soak the grease and dirt before
spraying it. Or, use their car wash degreaser
if one is available. Otherwise, do it at
home with a garden hose. Take fair
warning: what's on your engine ends up
under the car afterwards, so act accordingly.
After you've finished your engine, it
may not look new, but it will be a whole
lot easier to work on.
With your engine and the surrounding
area clean and everything ready to go, I'll
explain how to remove the engine pointby-point.
Fender Protector-Put a fender protector,
or a suitable facsimile over both fenders
to protect the finish. This also makes the
fender more comfortable for leaning on,
and your tools won't slide off as easily.
Battery-If you have a standard transmission,
remove the battery and store it in a
safe place. Otherwise, disconnect the
ground cable at the battery, but leave the
battery in place because it will come in
handy later on. Disconnect the coil-todistributor
lead-the one coming out of
the center of the distributor cap, or the
distributor-to-amplifier lead.
Remove the Hood-If you have an engine
compartment light, disconnect it first.
Before loosening the bolts, mark the hinge
locations relative to the hood. Do this by
tracing around the hinges on the hood
with a grease pencil, some chalk or a
scriber. This will save you the trouble of
readjusting the hood after you replace it.
A neat method of guaranteeing a hood
goes back in exactly the same position
that is was before its hinge bolts are
loosened is to drill an 118-in. hole up
through each hinge and the hood inner
panel-don't go through the hood! To reinstall
the hood, bolt it loosely to the
hinges, insert an ice pick or an awl through
the holes to align it, then tighten the
bolts. The result-perfect alignment.
Remove the front hinge bolts and
loosen the back ones while supporting the
hood at the front. A helping hand comes
in handy-you on one side and him on the
other. Remove the back bolts and lift the
hood off. Place it out of the way where it
won't get damaged. Stand it up against a
wall, and to ensure it won't fall over, wire
the latch to a nail driven in a wall stud.
Another trick is to put it on the roof of
your car. Protect the paint or vinyl top
by putting something between the hood
and the roof. Use this method only if
your car or truck will be parked inside
out of the wind.
Remove the Radiator First-Turn your
attention to the fan and radiator. Removing
the radiator provides more access
to the front of your engine for removing
the accessories. This also prevents the
radiator from being damaged during engine
removal. One little nudge from the engne
as it is being pulled can junk a radiator.
The first impulse is to remove the fan
before the radiator, but ths is a sure way
to remove skin from your knuckles. The
core fins put a radiator in the same family
with a cheese grater.
PLAN AHEAD
It's very tempting and easy to "go
crazy" disconnecting everything in
sight without regard to where things
have to go later on. Don't rely on your
memory. Even if there are only 5
hoses there are 120 ways they could
be installed, and 119 are wrong! Mark
all the items you disconnect such as
wires and vacuum hoses. Wrap masking
tape around the end of the wires or
hoses and make a little "flag" for
writing where the ends go. Put similar
flags on the connection itself so you
can get it all back together. Put your
camera to use. Periodically snap some
pictures of your engine from a couple
of angles as you disconnect things. A
picture is worth a thousand words.
Finally, use tin cans or small boxes for
the bolts, nuts and washers. If your
engine is loaded with accessories, you'll
find it especially helpful to label the
containers as to the particular unit
the fasteners were used with.