The SBF 306 Engine Build - Updated 09/25

[fastgtfairlane]

Re: The SBF 306 Engine Build - Updated 02/29

paul your getting pretty badass with the power coating :thumb:

 

[Paul]

Re: The SBF 306 Engine Build - Updated 02/29

I'm refining my skills a little bit with each piece I coat. Right now I'm blasting my transmission case. I'll post before/after pics when I'm done.

*edit*

Here's the main transmission case before:

Here it is blasted:

I think I should be able to coat the case tomorrow. Maybe the inspection plate too so I have a complete set-up.


*update* My flaming river steering shaft showed up too! It's a little rough but it'll look good as new when I'm done. Plus it was cheap. :thumb:

Paul.

 

[94Pro-5.0]

Re: The SBF 306 Engine Build - Updated 02/29

wow paul everything is looking great!

one question; where did you order your new idler and power steering pulley from? are they chrome or any finish different from factory?

 

[Paul]

Re: The SBF 306 Engine Build - Updated 02/29

Idler and PS pulleys came from Wazee. Alternator pulley came from Aeromotive.

 

[5litrarag]

Re: The SBF 306 Engine Build - Updated 02/29

Damn that coating looks great :thumb: How much do you charge? :coolsmiley:

 

[Paul]

Re: The SBF 306 Engine Build - Updated 02/29

Damn that coating looks great :thumb: How much do you charge?:coolsmiley:

I'm not sure yet. I may end up doing some stuff for people, but I don't know if it would be worth the shipping charges plus my fees for people to send me stuff.

 

[Paul]

Re: The SBF 306 Engine Build - Updated 02/29

Okay, a little update. I spent about seven hours yesterday beadblasting and powdercoating. With the exception of the top plate, my T-5 case is completely powdercoated in light grey metallic.

Here are some pictures of the main transmission case prepped and ready for powder, and then powdered right before I put it in the oven.

Here's the inspection plate prepped and ready for powder, and the final product.

And here's what I worked all day to get. :khobra:

I'm going to swap the guts from my existing T-5 in this case, and I'm going to try a few key upgrades to make it a little more durable too. It has about 130,000 miles on it so I'm sure it could use a refresh at this point.

I'll be out in the garage the rest of the day trying to get my upper intake and valve covers prepped and coated. I'll post pics of my progress later tonight.

Paul.

 

[94Pro-5.0]

Re: The SBF 306 Engine Build - Updated 03/02

looks good. what kind of upgrades will you be doing to the transmission?

 

[Paul]

Re: The SBF 306 Engine Build - Updated 03/02

I'm getting a cluster gear support plate for sure. Then I'll talk with my friend who knows something about these to see what other upgrades make sense.

Paul.

 

[94Pro-5.0]

Re: The SBF 306 Engine Build - Updated 03/02

I'm getting a cluster gear support plate for sure. Then I'll talk with my friend who knows something about these to see what other upgrades make sense.

Paul.

where do you get a gear support plate? this is the first i have heard about this. is it easy to do and worth it? i'll have my tranny pulled back out by wed so i may do something to it if its beneficial and reasonable

 

[Paul]

Re: The SBF 306 Engine Build - Updated 03/02

http://www.astroperformance.com/product_info.php/manufacturers_id/29/products_id/300

No idea how difficult it is to do. A friend of mine is a pro at it, and he's going to teach me how to rebuild T5s.

 

[97vertstang]

Re: The SBF 306 Engine Build - Updated 03/02

beautiful work :thumb: i really like ur powdercoating!!!!!

 

[Paul]

Re: The SBF 306 Engine Build - Updated 03/02

Okay, so today I started prepping my upper intake for powdercoat. All that work brought back nightmares of when I did this for my other motor. My hands are literally numb from the vibrating sander and all of the various implements of destruction used in this process. I'm sure they will ache like hell tomorrow.

So, everybody knows (or at least I do) that TFS intakes look like shit. The '80s logo and shitty casting quality and finish of their stuff is an atrocity. Ford accessory brackets have nicer castings that TFS junk. With that in mind, I do my very best to make the TFS manifolds (yes, plural) that I have on my cars look a little better.

Here's what my upper intake looked like this morning:

Then after grinding and sanding for literally EIGHT HOURS this is how far I've gotten.

Here is the epic mess left over after such an adventure. I decimate sandpaper. By the way, clamp-n-sand sandpaper... as opposed to stick-n-sand... is the shittiest idea since Ford gave up pushrods.

I still have a lot of the intake to smooth out with 100 grit. Then I'll move to 150, then 220 before it's ready to be beadblasted and powdercoated. I'm trying to come up with some type of color scheme or something to do with the upper. I'd prefer not to do the whole thing in one color - I just don't know what to do with it yet.

More to come.

Paul.

 

[Black97GT]

Re: The SBF 306 Engine Build - Updated 03/02

Here is the epic mess left over after such an adventure. I decimate sandpaper. By the way, clamp-n-sand sandpaper... as opposed to stick-n-sand... is the shittiest idea since Ford gave up pushrods.

LMAO!

Everything is looking awesome man! You're making me want to get into powder coating...definitely looks like a lot of work. The results are worth it though!

 

[Brian95SVT]

Re: The SBF 306 Engine Build - Updated 03/02

WOW MAN!!!!!
everything looks AMAZING!!
can't wait to see more pics!

 

[94Pro-5.0]

Re: The SBF 306 Engine Build - Updated 03/02

http://www.astroperformance.com/product_info.php/manufacturers_id/29/products_id/300

No idea how difficult it is to do. A friend of mine is a pro at it, and he's going to teach me how to rebuild T5s.

thanks

i sure would like to be able to romp on the car a bit without worrying about breaking the tranny




that intake looks awesome. Did you do the same to the silver vert but polished it instead of poweder coating it?

I have heard of a powder coatting that looks like chrome, or polished aluminum, that would look cool for the upper

 

[Paul]

Re: The SBF 306 Engine Build - Updated 03/02

The intake on the silver car was milled on top with a 10" face mill. The fixturing surface on the end was milled off, as were the casting ports, and the vacuum ports under the manifold were milled out. Then all the holes were welded up. After that was done, I spent about three weekends sanding it. Then it was professionally polished - but it actually polished through in one section and the surface was wavy. I had it welded back up, then re-surfaced and polished again. After that was done, it got copper coated four times, and two coats of chrome.

I easily have 100 hours and $1000 in that upper intake. It is definitely one-of-a-kind.


You can buy "chrome" powdercoat, but I don't think I want another polished-looking manifold. I'm kind of thinking of a gunmetal gray/ultra mirror black two-tone thing right now. I suck at Photoshop otherwise I'd play with it.

Paul.

 

[94Pro-5.0]

Re: The SBF 306 Engine Build - Updated 03/02

The intake on the silver car was milled on top with a 10" face mill. The fixturing surface on the end was milled off, as were the casting ports, and the vacuum ports under the manifold were milled out. Then all the holes were welded up. After that was done, I spent about three weekends sanding it. Then it was professionally polished - but it actually polished through in one section and the surface was wavy. I had it welded back up, then re-surfaced and polished again. After that was done, it got copper coated four times, and two coats of chrome.

I easily have 100 hours and $1000 in that upper intake. It is definitely one-of-a-kind.


You can buy "chrome" powdercoat, but I don't think I want another polished-looking manifold. I'm kind of thinking of a gunmetal gray/ultra mirror black two-tone thing right now. I suck at Photoshop otherwise I'd play with it.

Paul.

damn, thats a lot of money in an upper manifold


that 2 tone idea should look badass. i wish i could afford all of the powder coating stuff, it looks awesome :thumb:

 

[Dalamar]

Re: The SBF 306 Engine Build - Updated 03/02

Nice work Paul.

I easily have 100 hours and $1000 in that upper intake. It is definitely one-of-a-kind.

Nothing like custom, that's sweet.
What's the copper coating for?

 

[94Pro-5.0]

Re: The SBF 306 Engine Build - Updated 03/02

i think it makes the chrome plating smoother. I know when they do tripple chrome plating they do a layer of nickel, layer of copper, and then chrome, so i think 3 layers of copper would look very nice