FirstCoastCobraClub

Ahhh...the "crows foot". My father who also worked in the engine shop at the Dayton airport also had a set of those. He gave them to me well over 50yr ago and I also think I have picked up another set over the years.
Still waiting for the chance to use one......the option just never seemed to have entered my mind all these years....

Agree that they’re rarely used, but very necessary, as in this case, where nothing else will work…

Hi Mike, I’m blown away by your progress this past week! It’s looking awesome! BTW, what’s a “crows foot”? I don’t recall you ever mentioning that tool.

It’s just an open end wrench with no handle, just a square drive, good for getting into tight areas where a regular wrench won’t work.

Live and learn! Thanks!

Waiting on some parts to complete the coolant hose install. While waiting, I didn’t like the two -10 remote oil filter hoses I made with 45 degree fittings, so I remade them with 90 degree fittings. Much nicer install now, and should allow a cleaner routing for the coolant hoses.

I reshaped the dipstick tube and made a bracket to support the unit using the rocker cover bolts. I’ll have to fill the oil pan with six quarts of oil to see if the dipstick is deep enough into the pan to register properly. If not, I’ll be making another change…

The dual remote filters and the hoses will likely hold another few quarts of oil, so that will factor into it, but initially I need to establish the correct oil level in the pan. Once I know that, I can prime the oil system by rotating the pump with a hand drill to circulate oil through the entire system. At that point I’ll add oil to get back to the proper level on the stick.

Finalized the last of the coolant hoses today. Now to fill the system and pressure test it for leaks.

I also replaced the three Weatherpack connectors going to the stop/tail lights on the rear clamshell with an eight pin Deutsch connector. Much better…

Lookin' good. It's the little tidy up details that makes things look great....a little here and there and the total package comes around.

Agreed Ken, thx.

Today I primed the oil system and topped off the oil level to the add 1 qt line. The system now holds 8 full Qts from empty. 6qts in the pan and 2 qts in the twin remote filters (2.5 cups) and hoses. No leaks noted so far.

I also finished routing the vent line from the rear of the intake manifold to the top of the expansion tank. I filled the cooling system with approximately five gallons of water/antifreeze mix. Also no leaks noted, but that’s just static state. I’ll pressure test it next, but the real test will be under running conditions which is not far off…light at the end of the tunnel gents…

Today’s word: Exasperation

It was a two-steps-back day today. Went to pressure test the cooling system and immediately saw a geyser squirting from the front left corner of the intake manifold. Tried re-torquing the stud nut at that corner, but no such luck…

So, drained about a gallon of coolant and set about removing the manifold. Apparently, the Fel-Pro 1262S3 gaskets, which match the x303 heads very nicely, have overly tall rectangular water ports that are not completely sealed by the intake manifold…

The Ford Performance gasket M-9439-A50 (ordered) looks to have a less tall, more square water port that will hopefully solve the problem.

Stay tuned…