First drive: new 331 etc.

[SoCalCruising]

It's been a while since I last did an update on the 331 I recently built. Here are the pertinent components:
HD Sportsman 302 block, .030 over, decked to 8.195"
Scat 9000 crank (41 lbs), I-beam rods (polished/lightened to 548gms), Mahley pistons (418gms), ATI Superdamper
Rollmaster billet timing set, FTI custom cam, Eaton hyd roller tappets, Smith Bros. pushrods (6.300" intake/6.350" exhaust)
AFR 185s, 7/16 ARP studs, MEI rockers, AFR guide plates, FIT spec'd and supplied dual springs, and FTI supplied seals
DUI distributor, Taylor 8.2mm wires
Stealth intake (hand ported to match AFRs) and Carb Shop Stage 2 750dp (no spacer), 11" K&N Extreme filter assembly (2" high filter, 3/4" raised base)

At the same time I installed a T-5(z)/Pro 5.0, aluminum flywheel, dual friction clutch (cable actuated), Aluminum drive shaft, 9" Currie (w/ 3.70s, TrueTrac, 31 spline axles), rear discs (Explorers), 8" power brake booster (w/ vac can), and 68 CobraJet fuel lines.

The motor was finished a while back, but the rest kept me from driving it. Particularly, my Duog's Tri-Ys, which I otherwise like very much, would not allow me to route the cable clutch into the bellhousing. I had Joe at DeAnza Muffler in Riverside modify the header so I can now drive the car. That was yesterday. Joe is the best exhaust guy in my area and does most of the hot rods in town. He's the guy that Ray Flugger (Flowmaster founder) took his 64 Comet to just before Power Tour when his exhaust system wasn't working right (Flowmaster is also in Riverside). Joe modified it for him. I just say this in case you live in SoCal and are looking for a good exhaust guy. He did my header for $75.

Now for the good stuff: After about 20-25 miles of driving the car under load (mildly accelerating, backing down, etc. and going up hills), I got on it a bit. I slowed down to 20-25 mph in 2nd and fed fuel until I was at WOT. As soon as the secondaries kicked in I lost traction. Same in 3rd, but for not as long. The motor seems to be getting some ring seal I plan to get it dyno tuned later this month. I'll post the numbers.

I still have some things to do, but the preliminary drive was pretty nice. I hope to be at Knott's in April and at the Show and Go in Riverside in May. If any of you are there, please look me up. You should be able to find me from the thumbnail of the car - it's the only GT-badged car with forrest green/bright gold stripes that I've seen. Most others use a less bright gold and the factory green color which has more yellow in it. I'm the balding guy in the lounge chair

 

[iskwezm]

Joe is the best exhaust guy in my area and does most of the hot rods in town. He's the guy that Ray Flugger (Flowmaster founder) took his 64 Comet to just before Power Tour when his exhaust system wasn't working right (Flowmaster is also in Riverside). Joe modified it for him. I just say this in case you live in SoCal and are looking for a good exhaust guy. He did my header for $75.

I thought Flowmaster was in Santa Rosa????????At least thats where it was when I went there


Who put your Explorer disc on?????I just got another set and forgot if they need to be modified for a 8".

 

[MunchE]

Sounds like a great car, how much power do you think it puts down? I doubt my car will be ready by Knott's, but I'll be sure to look for yours there.

 

[MustangMatt1966]

pictures!!!

 

[SoCalCruising]

ISKWEZM: You're right. I got confused with K&N, which is Riverside. Sorry.

MunchE: From the start, I said (to myself) if I get 350 RWHP, I would be satisfied. I think it could go as high as 375, given the combo, but I would have had to do everything right, and I'm not counting on it. I'm just too inexperiienced with this kind of motor. I really wasn't going for max power - I would have used a Victor Jr. and more cam duration if that was the case. I asked FTI to have the power peak at 5800-6000RPM, which should match up with the ported Stealth and 1 5/8" header primaries.

 

[MunchE]

ISKWEZM: You're right. I got confused with K&N, which is Riverside. Sorry.

MunchE: From the start, I said (to myself) if I get 350 RWHP, I would be satisfied. I think it could go as high as 375, given the combo, but I would have had to do everything right, and I'm not counting on it. I'm just too inexperiienced with this kind of motor. I really wasn't going for max power - I would have used a Victor Jr. and more cam duration if that was the case. I asked FTI to have the power peak at 5800-6000RPM, which should match up with the ported Stealth and 1 5/8" header primaries.

Yeah, building for max power seems like it ends in tears far too often. I am in the same boat as you where I just wanted a nice powerful drivable engine. How much duration are you running on that 331? It seems like people's opinions run the gamut up into insanity but a lot of guys are getting good results on cams that aren't so wild.

But I am sensitive, I hear my combination needs bigger heads, more cam, more intake, more carb and more everything all the time.

 

[SoCalCruising]

Except for the fog lights, which I took off, it looks like this. I don't have engine pics.

 

[MustangMatt1966]

Except for the fog lights, which I took off, it looks like this. I don't have engine pics.

niceeeeeeeeee

 

[SoCalCruising]

The cam is custom and there's a tendency among FTI customers not to post the specs. I will say that the intake duration is in the low 230s and the exhaust is 6 degrees more. LSA is where you would expect, in the 110-112 area. I don't know what ramps he uses, but the lift is what you would expect from an Extreme Energy-type cam. I hope that gives you an idea of what's in there. The cam is installed at a spec that depends on car weight and where you want the power to peak. I have never heard a bad report on Ed Curtis (FTI) and would recommend him for a cam. As always, they're about $75 more than an off-the-shelf cam, but, in the scope of things, finding hp for just $75 is a good tradeoff.

 

[D.Hearne]

I think you'd have found that a Ford Z303 hyd. roller would have given you compareable performance for much less money with your intake/carb combo. It did in my 331. Power in mine came on at 1500 and pulled like a freight train to 6500. The new (but bought second hand) Z303 cost me $115 (shipped) and I ran it with 1.7 rockers on my Canfield heads. I was pleasantly surprised at how streetable mine turned out also. Idled at 600-700 rpms, and got 16 mpg without overdrive.

 

[SoCalCruising]

It's hard to argue with you when you're that satisfied. I'm glad you are happy with your cam. The Z303 has less duration than mine, so it should be more streetable. I'm not arguing with you, or with your cam choice. When I got mine, I was a little surprised that it had as much duration as it has, given my request for max power at 5800-6000RPM. I'll see if that's where it peaks when I get it dyno'd.

 

[D.Hearne]

Didn't want or mean to start an arguement, just that many who tout custom cams tend to make it seem as though off the shelf ones are lacking something so they pass on them. I really thought the Z would have been a radical one, based on Ford's description, but I think the dual plane and the 3 small 250's tamed it some. I went with the Z cause it was the biggest & cheapest one, but as I said, I was pleasantly surprised with it and glad I didn't go bigger, durationwise. Lift with the 1.7's is .587, which is plenty for my taste.

 

[SoCalCruising]

My main concern was not to have you think I didn't respect your choice. Yeah, that's plenty of lift, and your duration increased a bit, too. I've read that Central Coast Mustang uses a lot of the Z cams with good results. They don't install them straight up, but I forget how they do it.

 

[69Rcode_Mach1]

Sounds sweet, enjoy driving that, thing I bet it pulls hard.

*sigh* Now I need to get mine done.

 

[SoCalCruising]

Looks like you're just a 9" chunk from having most stuff ready. Is the motor built?

 

[69Rcode_Mach1]

Looks like you're just a 9" chunk from having most stuff ready. Is the motor built?

Everything is ready to go except for the tranny. I got screwed on it, was supposed to be a T-5Z turned out to be a box of metal. So now I am doing the G-force kit and it is taking longer than I would have liked. It was supposed to have been done in a couple months now its going on 2 years. Starting to get depressed, I really miss driving the Mach.

 

[jcode68]

Congrats on getting across the finish line. I am doing a similar build - 347 (see sig), new T5z, new gears for 8" rear (unless I convince myself to drop the coin on a 9" swap) and am real close to firing her up for the first time. I'm psyched to hear you talk about the tourque, that is exactly what I am looking for in my package. I hope you can post some engine pics soon. You can hit the link in my sig for pics of my project.

 

[mtbdoc]

Sounds like fun! I am negotiating with an engine builder, and hope to have something exciting to present down the road a few weeks/months.

I think that highly specific cams for a N/A application are more crucial than forced induction motors. A little more boost covers a multitude of sins. Ed certainly has a great rep, and he's doing some work in the GTO / LSx community as well since he bought a goat.

jcode68, I wouldn't worry about a 9" behind a T5. My understanding is that 8" will handle more than the T5 will.

 

[SoCalCruising]

Joe cut the primaries from cylinders 5 & 7 a couple of inches short of the "Y", and the secondary pipe in front of the final "Y". I got a "Y" fitting from Doug's, so Joe re-routed 5 & 7 into the new "Y" and connected it the secondary pipe. The primaries are now slightly shorter so that the secondary could be routed inside of the cable (close to pan), and the "Y" was reoriented vertically to create more clearance. All in all, it wasn't too difficult and the routing is only slightly changed. There isn't much clearance for the cable, so I will run double or triple sleeves over the cable. Should be okay.

 

[SoCalCruising]

blkfrd: I will probably meet up with some guys from M-Detail and caravan with them. Bruce at M-Detail has been very helpful to me in counciling me on what to do and what not to do on the car. I didn't always follow his advice, but I didn't stray too far. He will probably bring his early coupe. It has a very nasty 377 with a full rack of Webers on it. You can't miss it.