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Ho-Lee-Fuk ago

Guillotine action at 7:00pm. ...oh wait we are still all weak faggots.

YogSoggoth ago

Speak for yourself, ... Oh, I am so sorry, I just realized you drive a Dodge. I can't apologize enough.

Ho-Lee-Fuk ago

heh. Ford actually but Yeah, I hope my point comes across. As a whole we need to harden up to this shit and stop letting this nonsense happen so freely. The cops should be hauling ass to get to these fuckers before the mob of patriots find them because of they do then the offender is just torn to pieces... That is where we need to get to.

YogSoggoth ago

I hear that defeatism talk all over. My Mama and Papa never raised me like that. Fastest engine was a 427 Ford in the day. Most folk will say that is a chevy engine. The big deal about the side oiler blocks was that it was an excellent method for Ford to get the FE engines to be reliable at the high rpms that they were running them at. The side oiler moved the main oil supply down to the main bearing area. That's why the plugs are there from the drilled passage to the main bearing. The none side oiler versions, which was the majority of FE blocks, had the main oil supply go up by the camshaft and then back down to the mains. This caused a differential in oil pressure between the main bearings which actually feed the rod bearings and the camshaft- lifter area. The cam shafts, lifters, and rocker arms got plenty of oil in these engines. The issue is most pronounced at high rpms, ie. above 4000rpm.

Before the side oiler blocks, increasing the oil pump pressure or flow did not increase the oil flow proportionately to critical areas in the bottom end to the levels needed. The side oiler blocks also introduced the cross bolted main caps which dramatically increased the rigidity of the block assembly. This was particularly critical for high rpm applications.

Now keep in perspective that the side oilers were designed specifically for a high performance application such as auto racing to solve a very common problem. The Pontiacs, Buicks, and Oldsmobile were notorious for suffering from this same issue and some jokes were made about these three not getting any oil at all.

Now if I were to have the standard non-side oiler blocks in my boat, I wouldn't worry about it. Crusader used both or it might be more correct to say that Ford supplied both, seemingly at will. Maybe someone else knows some more about the internal reasons but I suspect it was a matter of what was available.

If you have side oilers great, you have something to brag about. The side oiler blocks are made out of a slightly better alloy but I doubt most boat owners would notice an actual significant difference in life of the engines. Other issues in the marine environment are usually the limiting factor such as maintenance and usage.

One thing I do see people make the mistake of is that assuming all Crusader Ford FE engines were side oilers and are extremely valuable. Only some Crusader Ford 427s were side oilers.

If I were to be looking for a block to rebuild, I would prefer the side oiler, only if it was in equal or superior condition to the other non-side oiler blocks that are around. I would not be paying a very big premium for it for just a marine application unless it was going to be a stroked version. If I were going to be going to a stroker engine in an FE Ford, I would be looking into aftermarket blocks.

I think the primary driving force of the desire for the side oiler blocks are from the Cobra crowd wanting original stuff for their cars.

Hope this helps answer your query.

Ho-Lee-Fuk ago

Got the 7.3L PSD diesel in mine actually. 275k miles. Smokes a bit at start but not bad. Bed is pretty much shot and that model had (imho) colossally poor tie-downs. So I am going to get an aluminum stake bed I think. Right now I have one of the gas tanks where the sender took a shit and so the needle flops all over the place. Not all that bad because my model has the dual tanks with the switch. So I run the tank with the broke sender down quite a ways then switch to the other before fillup again.
Now I have 4:10 gears and a 5 speed which most people don't like all that much but I am a huge fan of the 5speed. Not such a fan of the 4:10 gears though. I don't tow much or pull hills with a load so it is pretty much unnecessary. I want to get one of those fancy electric lockers for the rear and switch to a higher gear for a bit better mileage and the ability to actually use first gear for something other than pulling stumps out of the ground or doing truck tug-of-war. Neither is really my cup of tea.

The front had been hit by the previous owner and so I had to rebuild the front clip. I havent replaced the condenser so the AC is broke but its almos never hot here so I have little worries on that end. Got some nice tires on it and hand stitched a steering wheel cover. Overall the truck is a beast. I haul rough cut Doug Fir piled as high as it will go and it takes it like NOTHIN'. I like it.

I need to build something to place the bed when I get the replacement though... Never seen a bed swapped before so that will be interesting.

ESOTERICshade ago

Got the 7.3L PSD diesel in mine actually.

I had one of those. Good motor.