Hey all, like the title says, rebuilding an early 351w and would like some direction on a few things. Have a '69 Grande that I purchased back in 2016. Block is a '72, heads are '70 D00E, C4 trans, 3.23 rear gears, Edelbrock intake and 1406 Carb (electric choke, 600CFM). Have a 1405 rod/metering kit to tune the carb for better performance. The goal is a mild rebuild with something that responds better while maintaining reliability. Future modifications would be an AOD conversion and 3.53 gears.
Have the heads off and at a shop, tearing down the bottom end to bring to the same shop. Received a quote of about $1100 for reworking the heads with bigger valves and proper port and polish. Currently looking at a set of Trick Flow Twisted Wedge heads (same P/N as in https://www.hotrod.com/articles/ccrp-1302-six-budget-ford-heads-that-work/) for close to the same price without rockers.
Want to convert to a hydraulic roller setup and am looking at a conversion kit from Comp Cams (https://www.compcams.com/xtreme-energy-218-224-hydraulic-roller-cam-for-ford-351w.html).
If the cylinders have to be bored out I'd like to go to a flat top piston with valve reliefs and bump up the compression to 10:1 or better. Could use some direction here on piston choice/brand as I'm finding misleading information between sites. Have picked a piston set just to find that it isn't for my year block and deck height.
Lastly is the distributor. Had a vacuum advance on it with points. Converted the points to Pertronix and changed the coil. Dist was not stationary while engine running, seemed like it was "walking" a bit and think it best to replace. Have not decided on brand/model and do want to retain vacuum advance. Leaning towards an HEI style, but not set on it.
Appreciate the help, this is my first rebuild and want to do it the right way.
Have the heads off and at a shop, tearing down the bottom end to bring to the same shop. Received a quote of about $1100 for reworking the heads with bigger valves and proper port and polish. Currently looking at a set of Trick Flow Twisted Wedge heads (same P/N as in https://www.hotrod.com/articles/ccrp-1302-six-budget-ford-heads-that-work/) for close to the same price without rockers.
Want to convert to a hydraulic roller setup and am looking at a conversion kit from Comp Cams (https://www.compcams.com/xtreme-energy-218-224-hydraulic-roller-cam-for-ford-351w.html).
If the cylinders have to be bored out I'd like to go to a flat top piston with valve reliefs and bump up the compression to 10:1 or better. Could use some direction here on piston choice/brand as I'm finding misleading information between sites. Have picked a piston set just to find that it isn't for my year block and deck height.
Lastly is the distributor. Had a vacuum advance on it with points. Converted the points to Pertronix and changed the coil. Dist was not stationary while engine running, seemed like it was "walking" a bit and think it best to replace. Have not decided on brand/model and do want to retain vacuum advance. Leaning towards an HEI style, but not set on it.
Appreciate the help, this is my first rebuild and want to do it the right way.
