I am a newbie to this site, but after doing a LOT of searching, this seems to be the best source of technical assistance on the 'net for Ford stuff.
Here's the deal. I am primarily a Chevy guy but have owned a number of Fords over the years. This weekend I bought an ultra clean, low mileage '83 F-150 XLT extended cab truck that is in VERY stock condition...351w 2bbl, C-6, 3.55 posi, EEC-III (California emmision package), and single exhaust w/cat. The engine was replaced at 58K miles with a Jasper rebuilt stock replacement engine. It has excellent oil pressure and purrs like a kitten. Factory rated power output is pretty pathetic though...something like 139hp@3800 rpms and 278 lbs-ft@2000 rpms IIRC. Gas mileage is attrocious (how can it take so much fuel to make so little power?). The problem is that it idles too high (pulls against the brakes at a dead stop in gear, and tries to diesel when you shut it off), and it runs very lean (with the corresponding lean stumble on light throttle acceleration). There appears to be absolutely no adjustability on this thing for idle speed or timing. All the vacuum hoses and fittings are in perfect shape...I could find no vacuum leaks anywhere (this was my first suspicion). Any idea's on what/how I can drop the idle speed down? I haven't got a tach installed yet, but will very soon.
I'm also playing with the idea of bumping the power level up several notches. The engine is very torquey right off idle...and thats about it. The dinky factory exhaust, tiny cam, low compression, tiny valved factory heads, and 2bbl carb work pretty well together to keep this thing from breathing at anything over 3500 rpms. I've got a set of C9OE 4bbl '69 351w heads left over from a project years ago that I am interested in getting freshened up and using (fresh guides, aftermarket springs, 3 angle valve job, hardened exhaust seats). They should wake things up quite a bit (60cc versus 69cc chambers, 1.84/1.54 versus 1.78/1.46, etc, and bowls blended/short side radius work). Will these early heads bolt on to the '83 block? Many aftermarket intakes state something about a 12 or 16 bolt pattern...whats up with that? Is pretty much any aftermarket intake compatible with the earlier heads? I think these heads will get the compression up in the low 9's. I am looking at also adding a comp cams 275DEH cam, a stealth or rpm type intake, headers and 2 1/2" duals, and around a 2200-2400 rpm convertor.
What about using an earlier electronic ignition setup like the later 70's models used with a vac advance distributor? Can I just add an earlier style distributor to the existing wiring and ignition module? What exactly does the module do anyway?
I know Chevy's (particularily small blocks) inside and out, but know just enough about Fords to be dangerous. Any input would be appreciated.
Here's the deal. I am primarily a Chevy guy but have owned a number of Fords over the years. This weekend I bought an ultra clean, low mileage '83 F-150 XLT extended cab truck that is in VERY stock condition...351w 2bbl, C-6, 3.55 posi, EEC-III (California emmision package), and single exhaust w/cat. The engine was replaced at 58K miles with a Jasper rebuilt stock replacement engine. It has excellent oil pressure and purrs like a kitten. Factory rated power output is pretty pathetic though...something like 139hp@3800 rpms and 278 lbs-ft@2000 rpms IIRC. Gas mileage is attrocious (how can it take so much fuel to make so little power?). The problem is that it idles too high (pulls against the brakes at a dead stop in gear, and tries to diesel when you shut it off), and it runs very lean (with the corresponding lean stumble on light throttle acceleration). There appears to be absolutely no adjustability on this thing for idle speed or timing. All the vacuum hoses and fittings are in perfect shape...I could find no vacuum leaks anywhere (this was my first suspicion). Any idea's on what/how I can drop the idle speed down? I haven't got a tach installed yet, but will very soon.
I'm also playing with the idea of bumping the power level up several notches. The engine is very torquey right off idle...and thats about it. The dinky factory exhaust, tiny cam, low compression, tiny valved factory heads, and 2bbl carb work pretty well together to keep this thing from breathing at anything over 3500 rpms. I've got a set of C9OE 4bbl '69 351w heads left over from a project years ago that I am interested in getting freshened up and using (fresh guides, aftermarket springs, 3 angle valve job, hardened exhaust seats). They should wake things up quite a bit (60cc versus 69cc chambers, 1.84/1.54 versus 1.78/1.46, etc, and bowls blended/short side radius work). Will these early heads bolt on to the '83 block? Many aftermarket intakes state something about a 12 or 16 bolt pattern...whats up with that? Is pretty much any aftermarket intake compatible with the earlier heads? I think these heads will get the compression up in the low 9's. I am looking at also adding a comp cams 275DEH cam, a stealth or rpm type intake, headers and 2 1/2" duals, and around a 2200-2400 rpm convertor.
What about using an earlier electronic ignition setup like the later 70's models used with a vac advance distributor? Can I just add an earlier style distributor to the existing wiring and ignition module? What exactly does the module do anyway?
I know Chevy's (particularily small blocks) inside and out, but know just enough about Fords to be dangerous. Any input would be appreciated.