Rebuilding an engine on a budget

[hobbyturnedobsession]

Ok well I'm going to finally pull the front end apart this weekend (pics when I do, I promise this time) and the engines coming out for a rebuild. I want to do something that wont break the bank but makes the truck have a little more than stock.
What I've got in mind:

The federal mogul kit with cast aluminum pistons (rebuild kit) with moly rings
The comp cams top end kit which includes the lifters, cam timing chain and gears, valve seals, valve springs, and a few others
The tune up pack with ngk spark plugs FRPP spark plug wires wire loom and the summit dist. cap & rotor
MSD coil
High volume water pump (the cooler the engine the more hp out of it)
Can I get a few more simple ideas since its apart? I'd love an intake manifold but 600 can wait until I get it running again.

[philofab]

An E303 roller cam upgrade does wonders.... as does GT40 cast iron heads.

The Gt40s are quite cheap and don't add much if your going to have the stock heads rebuilt.

[Dust]

"the cooler the engine the more hp out of it"
Actually, if you are running the OE Ford injection the above statement I have seen, in the past, to be incorrect more often then not on the Dyno. I agree with the part selection 100% but not for the stated reason.

[Agilt]

I'm assuming 351 and fuel injection(speed density)?

If so, the e303 won't make the SD happy at all, you need to stick with a cam with 114* lobe separation ideally. Sometimes you can get by on 112* but it seems to be a case by case basis.

As philo said, you an often pick up a set of GT40 iron heads cheap.


Find a good local machine shop, tear the block down to the shortblock and haul it to them and have them break it down and inspect the block for wear. If the block needs work, have them do the tanking, overbore and assembly of the shortblock and then pick it up and hang the rest yourself.

If you get a set of heads used it'd be good insurance to install a new set of springs and seals to go with your cam so you don't have any issues with overworked springs. The 5.8 intake is the real choke point on the ford trucks

[BajaBronco13]

I blew my engine in my bronco and instead of rebuilding that engine I was lucky enough to have a spare engine sitting in my garage from another project. I'm hoping this engine runs for at least a couple of years.





You may want to look for a used engine in your area if you want to keep it way low budget.

Chris

[Polarcub]

Not to steal the thread but what intake would be a good choice to compliment the above additions on a MAF 351?

[hobbyturnedobsession]

I pulled off the front clip which makes getting to all parts of the engine alot easier. I'm sticking with the stock water pump because I just bought it maybe 8 months ago. Thanks for the replies, I'll look into a set of gt40 heads. I'm thinking about taking it to a place in victorville called thunder works when I get the engine out. Break it down to the short block to see if there's any scarring on the block itself before I make a final decision on anything. The lobe separation of the cam ive got my eye on is 111.

Heres the cam part number from summit racing : K35-235-3

[Agilt]

I pulled off the front clip which makes getting to all parts of the engine alot easier. I'm sticking with the stock water pump because I just bought it maybe 8 months ago. Thanks for the replies, I'll look into a set of gt40 heads. I'm thinking about taking it to a place in victorville called thunder works when I get the engine out. Break it down to the short block to see if there's any scarring on the block itself before I make a final decision on anything. The lobe separation of the cam ive got my eye on is 111.

Heres the cam part number from summit racing : K35-235-3

Is the truck speed denisty?

[BDKW1]

Make sure you put a new oil pump in, prefferably a high pressure unit. The Melling high volume ones tend to hit the pan. Nothing a little sanding on the corner of the case and a few well placed hammer blows wont fix though......

[SteveG]

Definitely change the oil pump. I don't see a need for a high-volume or high pressure pump, though. The stock pumps keep up just find and don't overload the already weak oil-pump drive. I know of many damn fast and powerful small block Fords on stock oil pumps. My recommendation is buy a GOOD stock replacement and run it.

[johncharlesb]

A new non-Chinese stock pump is fine, or can be blueprinted, or you can go with an aftermarket HD pump with reasonable (stock) pressure and volume.

A high volume pump will put all the oil in the valve covers after extended high rpm use; this will starve the bearings after the pan empties. There are people running Clevelands at 8500 with stock pumps. They are bushing out the lifter bores to prevent oil starvation and usually running an extra quart in the pan. High pressure pumps can cause the same problems as high revs requiring tightening up valvetrain clearances, massaging return passages, and/or installing pushrods with smaller diameters to restrict oil flow.

[hobbyturnedobsession]

http://www.rebuilt-engine-blocks.com/en ... _FORD.html
After some debating yet again (I go back and forth wayy too much) I found these guys, and for the price of the long block with the warranty, how can I really beat it? Or am I crazy?

[Agilt]

http://www.rebuilt-engine-blocks.com/en ... _FORD.html
After some debating yet again (I go back and forth wayy too much) I found these guys, and for the price of the long block with the warranty, how can I really beat it? Or am I crazy?

Definitely new oil pump, no need for high volume/pressure though. I run a stock melling in mine that I pulled apart and made sure there were not burrs or sharp edges inside, rounded the ports a bit with a grinding bit, flushed it out real good and sent it to the machine shop for them to bolt on. I also run a ARP shaft which is probably overkill but 20 bucks is cheap insurance just in case a stock one would have died.

This one would be better if you get a long block from that company

http://www.rebuilt-engine-blocks.com/en ... _FORD.html

The roller block is worth the extra 200 bucks and opens up your cam choices a lot. I'd still try and see about getting some slightly above stock E7 heads if you are willing to spend a bit more money. (Modifying or adding hipo parts might kill the warranty they have though, I'm sure they also have a "racing=warranty void" clause too which could include a lot of stuff)

Also a set of 1.7 pedestal roller rockers are cheap and a good add-on if you're keeping pedestal mount heads

[hobbyturnedobsession]

But will it mount up to my e40d trans, will my intake mount to it will my oil pan mount to it, will my headers mount to it will my distributor mount to it, will everything mount up the same? that could cause me a major mistake

[convoy]

I was in the same boat a few years back. I finally came to my senses and figured I would rather have the 3 year / 100,000 warranty from Ford and save money with a simple Ford Motorsports reman. IMHO If the stock 351w is running perfectly with a few reliable bolt-ons it's a decent engine to have.

[philofab]

But will it mount up to my e40d trans, will my intake mount to it will my oil pan mount to it, will my headers mount to it will my distributor mount to it, will everything mount up the same? that could cause me a major mistake

All E4OD trans from a 300, 302, 351W all have the same pattern. GT40 heads can have problems with some headers. 351W intakes will bolt to any 351w block. 302 intakes are different.

[hobbyturnedobsession]

so it wont matter that the 94 - 97 is a roller motor then? and if im planning on not putting a cam in it after does it matter that much?

[convoy]

The roller motor will cause less drag on the cam, thus equalling slight better fuel economy and HP. So no it will not matter if you upgrade to a better cam or not. Really the stock cam is decent it's the heads that are robbing your power.

[philofab]

so it wont matter that the 94 - 97 is a roller motor then? and if im planning on not putting a cam in it after does it matter that much?

The late model blocks are the same... the spider mount bosses are there weather or not it has a roller cam. Even the stock roller cam is better than a stock non roller. Does not matter if you plan on changing it. You can add a roller cam to a non roller motor with a new cam, lifters, pushrods, and a spider. If the block is not machined you can drill and tap the holes in the intake valley very easily.

[hobbyturnedobsession]

so if i were to get the roller long block would everything including the ecu run fine in the truck because its currently a non roller?