[ScotRod]

I am researching the build of a 1976 351windsor block, and I am looking for some advice.
The engine is going into a 1970 F100 with 3.03 three speed manual, and an 8.8 inch rear with 3.55:1 gears. The truck is currently running the original 302.

I am looking for really good torque- in the 400lb ft range and somthing like 360 hp. While I am at it I am going for the absolute best mileage on 89 octane fuel possible. I am looking for roughly 9.0 compression to keep away from detonation.


The plan is to punch the block thirty over, and add a stroker kit by Eagle to bump her up to 392 cubic inches. It is getting forged pistions and rods, an Edelbrock preformer RPM air gap intake, and a 625 Road Deamon carb breathing through a K&N

I am having trouble picking a cam and heads.

I have been leaning twards the TFS twisted wedge heads, Aluminum with 170 cc intake runners and a 2.02 inch intake valve.
The other option is the Preformer RPM heads, which I know little about.

The camshaft is a big question mark. As I am running a manual transmission and this truck is my daily driver mileage and low end torque are big concerns. I also have the joy of driving in some pretty ugly winter conditions so a decent idle is a good idea.

I am thinking the Comp Cams Extream Energy XE250H camshaft- 206 212 duration at .50 inch lift is a good choice.

I am going to run roller rockers to help keep the valvetrain in top shape, and lose some friction and wear.

My general theory for this beast has been go for the best flow I can get out of my breathing assembly, and reduce friction as much as possible, and use the camshaft to keep the mileage in check.

I should have also mentiond that I am running a 2 1/4 dual exhaust system with 1 5/8 inch primaries on long tube headers.




Any advice you experianced wrench twisters have would be very much appriciated. If anyone with a desktop dyno program is willing to pull the specs for me that would be really cool!
Thanks.
Scott McGee

 

[Max Keith]

400 hp 351W

I have the engine you are describing; parts as follows:
351W 30 over, 9.4:1 compression
Out of the box Twisted Wedge heads
Camresearch solid lifter 230/235 degree @ .050" .510/.515" lift.
Edelbrock Performer Intake
600 CFM Holley carb
1 5/6 primary tube headers
Mallory Dual point distributor and coil
Dynos at:
Closed exhaust:
394 HP @ 5500 RPM
416 Lb Ft @ 4000 RPM

Open Exhaust:
412 HP @ both 5500 and 6000 RPM
433 Lb Ft @ 4000 RPM

This is a real engine which I own, and runs on 89 Octane gas.
Going with a 3.85 stroker crank will seriously enhance your lower end torque, and the peak hp would be similar, with all else being the same, but at about 500 RPM lower.

Forgot to mention, I have Crane 1.6 roller rockers. I was going to put 1.7's on it but Camresearch told me that due to the narrowness of my lobe separation, and the lobe center on the intake, I would run into valve piston contact.
This cam has 106 degree lobe separation.

I would recommend if you are going to run a hydraulic cam, go with Comp Cams XE262H or XE268H, or a similar grind. The XE268H is very compareable to my solid lifter job with the exception of lobe separation.
Rule of thumb on cam selection. Comparing a solid to a hydraulic: A solid lifter cam requires 10 degrees more duration than does a hydraulic to operate in the same given power curve.

One other thing. My carb is a home brew.
I am running an 1850 series 600 CFM body on an 83310 series 750 CFM base plate.

I hope this gives you some good starting references.

By all means go with the Twisted Wedge heads. You dont have to have special valve reliefs in the pistons as long as you stay under .520 lift, with flattops. With any other heads using 2.02/ 1.60 valves, you will have to have valve reliefs to run them.
I contend that Twisted Wedge heads are the best bang for the buck.

If you have any questions about my setup, feel free to ask.

 

[firestone]

I am sure that the trick flows will get you the numbers that you are looking for, I just want to present you with a little more info. I have 2 articles below that have AFR heads in them. One compares the AFR 185's to the trick flow 170's. Another is a 393 build up with the AFR 185cc heads that made a lot of hp and torque. The Trick flows are $1,225 out of summit, and the AFR's are $1,374 out of Jegs. The AFR heads are fully CNC ported and the trick flows are as-cast.

http://airflowresearch.com/articles/article67/A-P1.htm

http://airflowresearch.com/articles/article64/A-P1.htm

Adam

 

[Max Keith]

351W

The only problem with the AFR heads, with the 2.02 valves you will have to have special valve reliefs cut in the pistons.
The "bracket" Twisted Wedge heads, which have some porting work done on them are about $100 more from Summit. The brackt heas flow considerably more numbers than the out of the box heads.

I read the tests and I noticed that the AFR heads had been ported out where the TW's were out of the box. Not exactly a legitimate test in my opinion. They should have used the Twisted Wedge bracket heads for the test to be straight up on it.

 

[ScotRod]

Thanks a ton,

Max, I was wondering what kind of mileage you get with this engine, and what you get it in, other than that I am really starting to like my creation.
Any further criticisism welcome!

Thanks again
Scott McGee

 

[Max Keith]

351 W

The engine is currently sitting in my garage looking for a new home. The car it was in was a 2700 lb, Pro Street 57 Anglia on an Alston Gasser kit frame. I was running a 5.14:1 gear so my mileage was about 5 per gallon, when I kept my foot out of it and off the wheelie bars.
I am attatching a picture of my car with the hood off. I sold the car back in Feb, to get a dr bill off my back.

I would say that driven normally and with typical street gears, a person could get 12-14 miles to the gallon in a pickup, depending on the cam and how they drove it.
Gas mileage wasnt a criteria in putting this car together. Embarrassing every Bow Tie in the county was.

I was able to turn 12.00 in the 1/4 at 120 mph, turning 7200 RPM at the far end.

Had I built this to be a more docile street vehicle with a taller rear end, I would have gone with a cam with a little more lobe separation, around 109-110, instead of the 106 thats in it.

 

[ScotRod]

So, say I run the small cam 206 212 with 110 degrees of separation- the web page itself advertises that it is an excellent mileage cam with great bottom end torque, 3:55:1 gears and I keep the RPM around 2700, on the highway is 18mpg a possibility?

I have this little problem where it is my daily driver, and I am going to be in school for a while- so I need to be able to afford to drive it.

 

[Max Keith]

gas mileage

With a pickup truck and those gears, I doubt very seriously you can expect to get 18 mpg out of it, even with a stock engine. I would say that if you get 15 or 16, even with the stock engine, and you may well be able to get as good of mileage with this engine as a stock one, that would be doing good.

I think that would be a good choice of cam though.