I'm going to need ongoing forum support during my engine install.
Below are some pics of the car as of today.
Picking up a 509 Merlin crate engine Saturday morning at Carlisle outside of Gate 2 from a forum member.
Within the package deal are a bunch of stuff I will need to do the install.
Alittle about the cars upgrades...
VanSteel double offset TA's
Cross-drilled rotors
VBP o-ring calipers with EBC performance pads
All SS brake lines
All SS braided hose fuel lines (8an feed, 6an return)
Reinforced welding on frame
Front strut brace
VBP performance plus suspension system (front and rear composite leafs)
Super large front sway bar
Used TTII aluminum rims
Jeep box steering
Hydroboost brakes
Killer electric lights
Corbeau GTSII seats with harnesses
80 vette tilt/tel column
Rebuilt 4spd muncie with upgraded internals
Rebuilt diff with new toms 3.73's / spider gears / billet main cap / radiused edges / springless
3" half shafts from Ft. Wayne
toms half shaft loops (not installed yet)
Drag Vette drive shaft loop.
And lots of other stuff.
Wish I could afford a good 6spd but the engine has sucked my bank account dry. In the future the car will get fender flares, paint job and six speed.

 

First question, where do you guys mount your electric fuel pump?
I've seen a few on the rear cross member, any pics or advice?
How do you wire that thing up?
Any pics of how you mounted the regulator near the carb?
Where do you mount the high flow filters? before and after the pump?

 

Note: Mods, anything to do with me and an engine will get technical. Once i get it installed the onslaught of technical questions will begin.

Second question...
This is the engine....
Bill Mitchell didn't use very good high temp paint and I don't like the ford blue. I will POR-15 it chevy orange this week once its home.
Engine only has 200 neighborhood miles on it and 6 passes under 6k rpms at the strip.
How do you recommend I get the old blue paint off? I'll tape up the exhaust ports so nothing gets inside.
What prep should I do before applying the orange paint?
Never painted a block before.
Any advice is welcome.

I know you like pics...enjoy!
Pics are shown with tach drive distributor and merlin single plane intake, both have been replaced with HEI distributor and RPM Airgap for hood clearance.

 

By the way, I'll be in the grass parking lot right outside Gate 2 at 4am Friday (6hours). If anyone wants to stop by and shoot the sh*t feel free. I'll be there with my pops and brother. Same spot the past 8 years. Just look for a blue 85 Dodge Dakota long bed next to a silver saturn ion. We'll have a tent and canopy up right along the fence line. You will be able to see us from the port-johns inside the fairgrounds.
Stop by and chat. We go walk some isles and come back to relax then go back for more.
Ever since this office job I can only take a few isles at a time...I think I'm just young and lazy. I'm the balding young guy.
I'll be buying the engine at noon on saturday right outside Gate 2 on the paved road. I brought my engine hoist to do the transfer from pickup truck to pickup truck. Stop by to watch me run around like a chicken with my head cutoff. Once I have the engine I'm heading back home to jersey.

 

Ok I have a Few things to toss in here:

Fuelpump Mounted Passenger side by door near crossmember I believe I mounted mine to the cross member have to look been a while... I will take pics if I can find the space and time to get it this weekend...

Wired it to Fuse box free keyed spot ....

Actualy put the Regulator right next to the pressure gauge then carb...

Filter is out back Tapped into the line after the tank Will take some pics... have to unpackage the car ... under covers while house is being worked on..

What town are you in?? i am across the river from Rutgers Stadium

 

Lot's to digest there.

First, if I had seen all those pics before, I'd have said the Merlin was a no-brainer...

Why not mount the pump on the pass side of the frame near the diff x-member, since that's the side the feed pipe is already on? On my SA, I put a nice looking little switch with a pilot lamp on the lower dash panel under the steering wheel, which controls a hidden relay. Power for the switch and relay are tapped to an ignition-on source. The relay in turn powers the pump and the backlight in the pressure gauge visible under the cowl of my L88 hood.

Check out VHT's System at http://www.vhtpaint.com/system. Includes strip, prime, color and clear. Hate to admit, but I painted a Buick BB of mine Ford blue once. Was in a rush, and had just done some 302 SB Ford heads, and the can was there...

 

Those Merlin 509 motors are a nice motor, particularly for the money imo. I almost got one instead of my sb 427. What are the cam specs on yours? Didn't know they came with a roller cam, thought it was a flat tappet. How much hp/tq?

Color: I kind of like the blue, but it does need a strip repaint.

Fuel pump: My sump isn't ideal, but here are some pics of what I recently did.

 

Thanks. I'm thinking of mounting the Mallory pump and filter like described near the rear crossmember in front of the tank.
I'm near Livingston, Montclair and the Caldwells. Probably 30 minutes from Rutgers, I was at Stuff Yer Face on Saturday night on Easton Ave.



I like this relay idea. I'll have to see what IGN slots I have open on the fuse box. I used one already for my HEI tach conversion. Since I'm already running a battery cutoff switch I could use the fuse box as the signal wire for the relay and run the power from my cutoff switch. Anything happens, I'm hitting that cutoff switch anyway. Thanks for the ideas.

I'll check out the website. I bought the POR-15 engine paint at Carlisle as it was the same price but I saved on tax. It would be a pain if i had to strip the blue paint off.

Yeah, the Merlin block design is what really hooked me. Its a great foundation to anything I can throw at it. The crate engine comes from Bill Mitchell with a hyd flat tappet. Dyno'd from Bill Mitchel shows peak HP of 579 at 5800rpm and peak torque of 599 at 3600rpm. The roller setup was added later on. Probably freed up a few hp too and moved the rpm band up a notch.
Cam Specs:
Crane Hydraulic Roller
Lift: 0.610/0.632
Duration: 234/242 degress @ 0.050

If the blue was solid and didn't need a repaint I might consider keeping it but its faded on the front from the cam swap fluid transfer. With all the attention to detail I've done to the car so far, I might as well make the engine nice and perrrrrrty while its out.

You've got a nice setup. I considered doing the sump style like you but fitting it was an issue. Thanks for the pics.

 

Congrats on the acquisition! I look forward to seeing the completed project. BTW, this motor will look so much better when it's orange...

Steve

 

I'm confused why wouldn't you disclosed the backspacing measurements? That threw me off a bit, what does one have to gain or lose by revealing that information?

I'm not really interested myself, but that comment peaked my interest

 

Heads up on the jeep steering box and the big motor getting along as neighbors. Did you have a fat block in there before? It will be tight or you can do the Norval mod to the frame. I just went back and looked at yout profile, you have a big block. The one you are buying is it a tall deck or physically the same outside as your 454?

 

The previous owner use to receive inquiries into his custom backspacing #'s and whatever his reasons were he wouldn't give them out; personal or business related, I'm not sure. So he asked that I promise to not disclose them either. I loved the look of the wide tires on my car so I agreed. I only posted that comment to avoid any confusion or unanswered PM's.

The merlin block is the same size as a GM 454. All GM 454 components are compatible with the Merlin block. I didn't have the jeep box in there before so I can only hope everything fits together. No tall deck, the Hooker sidepipes fit the merlin block fine, I might have to tweek the headers a bit to clear the jeep box but we'll see.
I agree with your concern.
If only the steeroids were made with stronger brackets I would have gone that route and avoided this potential issue.

 

I also found it of interest the don't ask don't tell regarding the back spacing measurements? Even the explanation doesn't clarify the Colonel Sanders like secret recipe. I'm looking at changing to 17" on my 81 Vette and am needing info regarding spacers or adaptors and if so what size. Any info available? Thanks

 

Why not run a Manual fuel pump? No need for wiring and no noise
This is what I am running on my Merlin. I was running a Barry Grant, pump was louder than engine

 

I can't imagine the secret either. I put 18 inch with a 4 inch back space on mine. I could have also went with 3 1/2 back space because of the larger diameter. I just finished lowering the front end a little today and have not taken a photo yet. I am not a fan of tires sticking out of the body. I had 275's and went back to 235's

 

If only the steeroids were made with stronger brackets I would have gone that route and avoided this potential issue.[/QUOTE]

I think if you stay with the jeep box you will be happier in the long run. You'll get her done!

 

Also a good idea to wire in that cheap switch that shuts the fuel pump down unless there is oil pressure. Good safety device. Looks like a great project and sorry I missed you at Carlisle.


Bill

 

My 295 50's tuck under the fenders really well imo. They are on 15X9" wheels with a 5 3/16" bs. Have some minor frame mods above the trailing arm pockets, offset trailing arms and a 1/2" shortened spring (1/2" on each side). Sorry to get off topic.

 

And/or, use an ignition shut off for when oil pressure is lost so there's no delay while fuel pressure bleeds down.

 

If only those racepumps weren't so darn expensive. I beleive you also had to run a regulator with the racepump right? even more $$ and I'm tapped out. The seller included the mallory electric pump, mallory regulator, 2 mallory high flow fuel filters and all AN fittings to match my lines in the purchase price so I couldn't turn that down or not use it. Maybe a mechanical piston type pump like your racepump will be in my future but right now my bank account is screaming to end the agony.
Thanks for the suggestion.

Both great ideas. How would you go about wiring this up? I still am running the stock oil pressure gauge which does not have a sending unit. Where can I find a switch to know when oil pressure is lost?

My belief is the previous owner of my rims was considering a business venture with the custom measurements of the rims and therefore did not want to disclose the exact measurements.
My tires stick out about 1 inch from the fenders, I do have about 1-1.5 inches inside b/w the tire and frame rail. I am waiting to get all the weight in the car and an alignment before I worry about tire overhang. When I go to paint the car in a few years I want to do fender flares.