351W Setup

[mrfomoco]

Hey guys just a quick question. I have a basically stock 351W but since its no longer my daily driver, I'd like to modify it just a tad. I know I want to go with a roller cam and roller rockers, and I'm going to port and polish my heads, have them cut for 1.94/1.60 valves and a 3 angle valve job. It has a 600 cfm edelbrock performer carb and edelbrock intake. I will be going with headers, I believe they are part number 6901 from Hooker, but could anyone help me on that? I have a T5, so past headers I have tried won't fit past the clutch linkage. And the car is a '70 Mach 1. I'm wondering what kind of power gains I will get from this setup, the car is in the neighborhood of 300hp right now.

Thanks,
Jan-Morgan

 

[bnickel]

if you use a cable clutch conversion from www.moderndriveline.com you shouldn't have a problem with the headers. just the heads alone should get you around 325-350hp with everything else being the same, throw in a different cam and those numbers will change dramatically depending on the cam. got any specs for the cam you plan on using?

 

[fastcoupe68]

spend the extra money and get Super Comps from hooker a way better fit and you wont have a problem with your z-bar clearances

 

[mrfomoco]

Yeah the specs on the cam I'm most likely going to go with are 230/236 @.50 and 513/513 with 1.6 rocker. Its a comp cams hydraulic roller; cam grind number = XR276RF-HR.

 

[Max Power]

Unless you are doing a lot of the head work yourself, you may find that aftermarket heads will flow better and not cost any more.

 

[mrfomoco]

You really think so? I will be porting and polishing the heads and intake myself, and I've been told that alone will save me in the neighborhood of $400. I would like to put a nice set of aftermarket heads on, but fordmuscle.com's write up of porting and polishing stock heads with a competition valve job and bigger valves states that they outflowed the edelbrock rpm heads and were within 5% of most other aftermarket heads.

 

[Max Power]

If you port em yourself, and know what you are doing, then maybe that will work out. Remember you need hardened seats, larger valves, new guides, screw in studs, and a valve job. Quite often that can cost you $500 or more alone, depending on the valves.

If you buy aftermarket, all that stuff is new, you have aluminum that runs cooler, and you lop off 50lbs a head or so.

You might even save money by buying iron darts or something.

 

[mrfomoco]

Well I visited the machine shop today, and he said $175 to cut it for bigger valves, $175 for a competition valve job, $50 to resurface them, and $125 to machine them for screw in studs. He told me to take them off and bring them to him and he'll disassemble them for me, hot tank them, and mark them for the porting and polishing and show me exactly what I need to do, and then just bring them back after I do that and he'll do the rest. If you guys think this is a bad deal then let me know, but to me, it sounds pretty reasonable.

 

[brianj5600]

Does that include valves, springs, seals, studs, guide plates, locks and retainers? If it is $525 plus all this, it is not a good deal. I doubt upping the valve size will really help on a 351 head, on a 289 head yes, 351 already has ok size valve for a home ported, first attempt head.

 

[mrfomoco]

I respectfully disagree with you on that one. 1.84 intake and 1.5x?? exhaust ports are sad at best. If you talk to people about early sbf they will tell you anything to do with getting the engine to breath better is where you need to start. And no that does not include valves, springs, retainers, locks, studs, or guideplates.

 

[Max Power]

If that $525 does not include all the parts mentioned, then your are looking at $800 dollars or so, with amatuer porting. I would buy some nice heads. They will flow better out of the box anyway. JMO...

 

[bnickel]

check out www.powerheads.com they have cnc ported heads with new valves, springs, retainers and locks with screw in guideplates for about 700 bucks

 

[Edbert]

I'll second the opinion to move to aftermarket aluminum heads. That cam is too big for those valves AND those runners, no port matching will overcome that..

 

[mrfomoco]

So aftermarket aluminum heads it is. Trick flow is the way I want to go. But still if you go to fordmuscle.com you can read their flow tests. Home ported and polished 351w heads with 1.94's and 1.60's outflow the Performer RPM heads.

 

[Max Power]

Crap, I got to page two and I have to subscribe! Gimme the numbers!!!!

 

[brianj5600]

So aftermarket aluminum heads it is. Trick flow is the way I want to go. But still if you go to fordmuscle.com you can read their flow tests. Home ported and polished 351w heads with 1.94's and 1.60's outflow the Performer RPM heads.

If it was only that easy. I have done a few sets. There is alot of satisfaction, but the time it takes vs the money it saves. I would rather work a little overtime to make up the money difference for new tech aluminum heads. Plus I know my porting was not as good as the new stuff.

 

[fastcoupe68]

there is just no way to justify using stockcastings if you have the money to buy aftermarket heads, period.

 

[mrfomoco]

But, if you don't have the money, and it outflows the aftermarket heads then whats the price for being lazy? I take it back, I'm going with my stock heads, the aftermarket ones have single springs, and its an extra 100 bucks for dual.

 

[67GTCOUPE]

You are MISSING THE POINT.

Go with brand new Aluminum heads!

1) Saves 75 to 100lbs!!! That equals free horsepower equivilant.

2) Maxed and I mean Maxed out modified stock heads flow where the aluminum aftermarket heads start out of the box! Now, give the Edelbrocks a simple cartridge roll with a dremel.......they start to walk all over the maxed stockers......need more....simply port and polish them.,...see where I am going?

I have had machinists who I was going to get to mod my 351W heads tell me not to, and just go buy aluminum heads! Now what does that tell you?

 

[mrfomoco]

I keep going back and forth between the aftermarket ones and staying with my stock ones. Yall make really convincing arguments that make me want to spend the extra 4 or 5 hundred on the aluminum ones.