piston to valve clearance w/ AFR165 and FTI

[rockin_rick]

Has anyone who used AFR165's with a FTI cam had any issues with piston to valve clearance? What did the clearance measure? Where can I get a solid roller lifter so I can properly clay the pistons?

My setup will be a brand new, ford racing M-6009-B50 short block assy. (from the explorer), Felpro 1011-2 head gaskets, AFR165 #1402 (58cc chambers), and a custom FTI cam. I realize that I need to check this no matter what. But if it's going to be a problem, I'd rather sell the FRPP short block and get a DSS short block assy. I don't want to flycut the pistons, as this would necessitate disassembly of the short block. After all, not screwing with the bottom end is one of the main reasons that I got it.

Thanks,
Rick

 

[Numbles]

Sine your ordering an fti cam anyway why not ask Ed Curtis. He will be able to answer your question better. As long as he has the specs to the cam he made you, he'll be able to tell you if it will clear.

 

[Stangfreak95]

Tell him if you have aftermarket pistons or stock. He'll grind you something that will be OK with clearance for your mods.

 

[rockin_rick]

I've already got the cam, and asked Ed twice via email. The first time I asked was with another question, and he only answered the other. The second time I specifically asked he only told me what the minimum clearances are. I thought that I was clear that I was asking if it would hit or not, but maybe he misread. But it seems more like he's dodging the quesiton. Perhaps he just doesn't want to tell me that it should be ok, only to have me not check (I am going to) and have it hit and then blame him. If it's more than likely that they will hit, I'd rather just get a DSS shortblock instead. I just want to have a good idea ahead of time.

Does anyone that have installed their FTI cam with AFR165 heads have any info on this? What clearances did you come up with?

Rick

 

[GTJake]

I don't think you'll be running a big of enough cam to even worry about it. Plus, they're only 1.9's.

Jake

 

[Killercanary]

I don't remember what my clearances were, but they were close... HOWEVER I'm running a .035" compressed head gasket where as the stockers and most oftermarket ones are around .050" compressed, so that sucked up some of my clearance there. Really, there are SO MANY variables its damn near impossible to tell for sure. If you told Ed in the beginning that you were using a factory shortblock, then you "should" be OK. But do as you say and double check it. MAKE SURE you use checker springs though to check it and don't leave the AFR springs in there when doing it, if you do you will get false readings as the lifter will bleed off and show more clearance than what you have. Ed told me a long time ago about a way to make a solid lifter out of a hydrolic on to use for checking PTV clearance, but I didn't do it that way and I can not help you there. Check it without a head gasket first, then with, and turn the motor over by hand SLOWLY.

 

[red94fiveo]

I don't know why , but I never asked Ed about this either. I guess I just assumed it would be OK. My stuff has already been ordered, so I hope its OK. How hard is it to check piston-to-valve clearance? This is my first haedswap so I've never done it before.

 

[Rootus]

I didn't have any troubles at all. I took an old lifter and welded it up to make it solid, and then I bolted on the head without any gaskets and used clay to measure the clearance. You turn the engine over once, remove the head, and then use a razor to cut across the clay where the valves hit to see what the cross section is. Even without the gasket I had plenty of clearance.

Dave

 

[rockin_rick]

Update for those who care:

My PV clearance was a good .115" valve face to relief floor on the intake and probably about .125" on the exhaust. The clearance from valve edge to relief sidewall was about .070" intake and about .115" exhaust. Plenty

Still, check for yourself - too many variables...

Rick

 

[rb69]

Sorry to jump the post, but I am hopeful that those who had there 94/95 5.0 heads off could tell me how far the stock pistons are down in the hole at TDC.
Thanks

 

[94DreamGT]

I measured mine without the headgaskets and got 0.080" Intake and 0.065" Exhaust. With a compressed head gasket thickness of 0.039", that comes out to 0.119" Intake and 0.104" Exhaust. Recommended minimum clearances are 0.080" intake and 0.100" Exhaust. I knew the exhaust might be close because I have more duration on the exhaust and the lift is over .550". Stock rotation assembly, pistons, etc... My heads are milled as well which made it close.

 

[rb69]

94dreamgt, how far down are the pistons @ TDC? Did you "0" deck your block?
I trying to figure compression ratio on my 95 GT.
Thanks

 

[94DreamGT]

94dreamgt, how far down are the pistons @ TDC? Did you "0" deck your block?
I trying to figure compression ratio on my 95 GT.
Thanks

Dude...I have no idea how far they go down, no reason for me to measure them nor do I know how. Zero deck my block? Got me there too, didn't have any reason to look into that.

Based on a quick rough and dirty calculation, with my milled heads and other items, I figured my compression ratio out to be @ 9.75:1

 

[FastGT94]

How long did it take you to get the stuff from ed? Did you give him the specs of what you want first and then he told you to send the $$? Just wondering how it worked with him

Thanks

 

[GTJake]

I got my cam in two weeks or so. I told him goals and what I wanted and then about a week later he said it was designed. I had to pay before I could know anything about the specs. Then it took probably another week for it to be ground and shipped out.

Jake

 

[rockin_rick]

I got my cam in two weeks or so. I told him goals and what I wanted and then about a week later he said it was designed. I had to pay before I could know anything about the specs. Then it took probably another week for it to be ground and shipped out.

Jake

That was pretty close to my experience. I think it was about 3 weeks from when I mailed the money order to when I had it in my hands.

His website doesn't really spell out what steps you need to take to get a cam. I was confused when I went to order a cam from him. I'd email him your specs and specifically ask him what you need to do.

I would definately recommend having him design a cam for you. If I was doing it over again, I wouldn't hesitate to go with FTI. I've confered with a couple other FTI cam owners with very similar combos, and the cams were more different than I imagined. That definately means that he is really designing the cam specifically for your combo and goals, and not just sending you a general purpose grind.

Rick

 

[94DreamGT]

Jake's and my cam specs are pretty freakin' close...guess that means both of our cars are gonna be pretty freakin' fast

 

[GTJake]

Jake's and my cam specs are pretty freakin' close...guess that means both of our cars are gonna be pretty freakin' fast

Yeah, that's pretty weird....everybody else I've talked to has had really different specs. I was suprised our were so close. We'll see what it'll do this summer...

Jake