I gotta ask...why is it that I can make about 420 HP (closer to 440 HP uncorked) with a 331 that has fully ported 351w heads that makes usable power to nearly 7000 and he can't make 400 HP with a 351 with the same heads?
My cam is not radical either.
I know of someone who has a 393 or 408 with ported DOOEs and he is making somewhere in the 440 HP range. There is so much more to a street/strip engine making good power than heads with big ports.
Got a dyno slip? What compression ratio are you running? Pump gas? What cam are you running?
Care to share with the class?
I didn't say 400 HP couldn't be done, I said for a rookie porter I wouldn't guarantee he would make that much and that he would do better with aluminum heads. Do you disagree?
Those numbers seem too good to be true.... why does your combo make 100hp more than thousands of other identical (from the sounds of it) builds?
Sounds like a wicked build and I bet it's fun to drive. Not everyone would want to use that cam on the street.
And you are topping 400 HP right at the peak over 6,000 rpms. Most people run their engines between 2,000 and 5,000 rpm - so I wouldn't tell someone else to expect 400 HP from a build like this. If they put a lower duration hydro cam with under 0.5" lift in the engine and keep it under 6,000 - they probably won't see 400 HP from 352 cubes. Maybe with a 408 stroker they would come close.
What I've seen is it's typically not that easy to get significantly over 1 HP per cube on a pump-gas, pushrod engine with cast iron heads in the "normal" street rpm range. That is the main reason why I told the original poster not to count on 400 HP from a 352 cubic inch engine with iron heads. You might bolt on a set of 351C 4V heads and do it with the right parts, but everything would have to be just right.
Yes there are at least a half dozen aftermarket aluminum heads that could easily make 400hp on a 351W.
However, I wouldn't count out the stock heads so fast. The 1969 Muscle parts catalog had an article in it where they built up a hot 351W using parts out of the catalog. Starting with an 11:1 4bbl engine they added a hotter cam (with ancient cam technology), the C90X intake, a Holley carb (I think 650cfm, again out of the catalog) and headers (which may have been the only thing not in the catalog) and made around 340hp IIRC. Maybe someone has a copy of the Muscle Parts catalog they could reference??
Now if you removed the thermactor bump and gasket matched the exhaust ports and installed 1.9 intake valves with a good multi angle valve job and installed a modern hydraulic roller cam, and modern electronic ignition, I'd bet you could get 400hp. You may not consider them "stock" heads with that much work, but my money says it wouldn't take anything radical as far as port work goes. You would probably also need to convert them to screw in rocker studs, so it would be cheaper to just start with aluminum heads in the first place. If you're into the "correct" look though, I'm sure it CAN be done.
I think that's about as basic as a porting job could be on a SB Ford head.I dunno, thats a hell of a port job.
Also, from what I've heard (not that its holy law or anything), most of the modern cam designs don't increase peak power so much as drivability at lower rpms, expanded power ranges, better torque curves etc. They'll drive better and go faster because they make more power across the board, but if you're just wanting a big peak # some people wills till tell you to go with the old school designs. Compcams, for example, lists the benefits of the Xtreme Energy cam line over its Magnum/High Energy lines as better fuel economy, better low end torque/drivability, etc while 'maintaining' high rpm performance.
Again though, just what I hear.
I think that's about as basic as a porting job could be on a SB Ford head.
The High Energy line is 1979 Technology (I don't consider that modern, but still a good design and way ahead of what was available in 1969). The Magnum came later; late 80s or early 90s I believe. Xtreme energy is even more recent.
It seems everyone has their own definition of what a "radical" cam is. I want it to idle all day at 1K or less, have a broad torque curve, and still hit decent top end numbers. The roller cams (and lots of cubic inches) give you the best blend of everything IMO, but you do have to pay for it.
The stock cam in '69 was a puny little wheezer compared to most modern performance cams. I don't know the specs on the "Muscle Parts" cam in 1969 but typically they added a bit more lift and a lot more duration.
i think the muscle parts cams had the same specs as the "LeMans" or "GT-40" 289 cams. i think them somewhere, let me see if i can find them
I think that's about as basic as a porting job could be on a SB Ford head.
The High Energy line is 1979 Technology (I don't consider that modern, but still a good design and way ahead of what was available in 1969). The Magnum came later; late 80s or early 90s I believe. Xtreme energy is even more recent.
It seems everyone has their own definition of what a "radical" cam is. I want it to idle all day at 1K or less, have a broad torque curve, and still hit decent top end numbers. The roller cams (and lots of cubic inches) give you the best blend of everything IMO, but you do have to pay for it.
The stock cam in '69 was a puny little wheezer compared to most modern performance cams. I don't know the specs on the "Muscle Parts" cam in 1969 but typically they added a bit more lift and a lot more duration.
Very good article in the Fall Engine Masters for anyone looking to put together a 351. It should be on the local stand.
A shop builds a stock stroke 351 with basically out-of-the-box AFR 205s, a solid flat tappet cam, and the performer rpm manifold, and it makes 536hp at 6,500 rpm on 91 octane.
They do some trick manifold porting and have a custom ring pack and some other little tricks, but even if the average shop put it together and the combo only made 500hp, pretty stout for a basic package.
Very good article in the Fall Engine Masters for anyone looking to put together a 351. It should be on the local stand.
A shop builds a stock stroke 351 with basically out-of-the-box AFR 205s, a solid flat tappet cam, and the performer rpm manifold, and it makes 536hp at 6,500 rpm on 91 octane.
They do some trick manifold porting and have a custom ring pack and some other little tricks, but even if the average shop put it together and the combo only made 500hp, pretty stout for a basic package.
I haven't seen anything about budget, transmission, or rear end gears in this thread.
I also haven't seen a bump for S B F t e c h . c o m....
Budget - Next to nothing (Less than $2k)
Trans - currently a PA C4 might get an AOD though.
Rear - 3.80's
We use cookies and similar technologies for the following purposes:
Do you accept cookies and these technologies?
We use cookies and similar technologies for the following purposes:
Do you accept cookies and these technologies?