Bare with me for a moment here...

MufflerBearings69

So I know I was already asking about the 302 rebuild, but having a 351w core also I keep throwing the idea around. Major extra investments would be the EFI intake manifold (and having bought new injectors and all carb'ed isnt an option) and possibly have to get an oil pan and pickup to put it in, at least as I understand it.

The 351w is flat tappet cam. I have NO desire to spend a fortune going retrofit roller. Id not be spinning past 6k anyways, and figure the gain of roller wouldnt be worth it. flat tappet camshafts arent that pricy so picking one up is minor...

28oz imbalance bothers me none- have a good balancer and a new flexplate that will mate my AODE to the 351w.

I keep hearing this BS about building a 347 out of a 302 and that it would be better than a 351w, but of course they are without supporting evidence. thats also a minimum of 900 bucks extra off the bat for a rotating assembly and if I am going to spend an extra grand I would rather have a 393 Twisted Evil

So I come here, to the land of mostly bowtie guys, to ask if anyone has an opinion on any major downfalls of the 351 windsor, or any reason it wouldnt be worth the time...

coppergmc · Posted: Thu May 21, 2009 11:04 pm Post subject:

You get the 393 from the crank, stock 351 rods, and 302 pistons I think. That shouldn't be too bad. I'd probably balance the whole thing and replace the rod bolts. It would be great if you already have some good heads. If they would have had affordable AFR heads for the sbf when I was younger, I'd still be driving a Ford.

What does it take to run the stock roller lifters in the sbf?

MufflerBearings69 · Posted: Thu May 21, 2009 11:50 pm Post subject:

as I understand it, and I havent looked too deep into that yet, the problem is more of a base circle thing. As in the lifter bores are shorter and the roller cams for a conversion have a smaller base circle to keep the lifter down in its bore. I see link bar style lifters being sold for the conversion and thats more money alone than I care to add to be roller, at least for now...

clay · Posted: Fri May 22, 2009 6:06 am Post subject:

We have put a hydraulic roller in an early 351 block. It's not that bad. There is a retrofit kit that includes the dog bones and the sheetmetal spider that holds them. That's about all you need other than a set of stock lifters. However there is a lift limit. I'll try to look tonight but there are three or four cams that Trick Flow sells for the SBF's and the largest one they sell is right at the limit of pushing the oil relief out of the lifter bore. I think hood clearance is also an issue on the 94 - 95's also. Clay

MufflerBearings69 · Posted: Fri May 22, 2009 7:59 am Post subject:

Yes, hood clearance is a pain- I have a cobra hood which opens things up a bit but still may fall short. I was definitely considering whether the k-member could be modified to set the engine down any further...

Trick flow's stage 2 cam is what I thought would be right for this combo- these heads (according to manufacturers specs anyways) fall right in the area of what TF high ports should flow.

coppergmc · Posted: Fri May 22, 2009 10:07 am Post subject:

You can always go with the 1.7 rockers if you think you need the lift. I was thinking that the roller lifter tray that Clay was talking about wouldn't be a big deal. That is probably the way I would go so you don't have to worry about flat tappet crap. I take it that you are running the TFS heads?

af2 · Posted: Fri May 22, 2009 4:49 pm Post subject:

Boy, I know why I like Chevys!!! Laughing

clay · Posted: Fri May 22, 2009 9:06 pm Post subject:

Actually it's cheaper to retorfit a hydraulic roller in a Ford than a Chevy. Now the weird part is where they put several different firing orders on a SBF cam Rolling Eyes

. Another plus, the Ford's already have a method of controlling cam thrust location that can be a little bit of a pain on an earlier Chevy. Clay

MufflerBearings69 · Posted: Sat May 23, 2009 1:52 am Post subject: