F250/Ford 400 build

[Daniel Jones]

> I'll see if I can contact them beforehand to verify their supplier.

You can also call Summit and have them verify the name on the links. I was in Reno once and went to Summit and had them pull a bunch of timing sets and opened each until I found one that had the good chain (FRPP if I recall correctly).

> It seems that roller rockers will increase the cost of the build by quite a bit.

Yes. I recently went through that with a friend. Dave McLain rebuilt the 351C in Mike's wife's Pantera. The cheapest way to get roller rockers were those bolt-down Scorpions but that was outside the budget so the stock rockers were retained. Her engine had the lugged rockers which limit the maximum lift to 0.550" or less but that wasn't a problem with the flat tappet cam chosen.

> I've read claims of an increase of 25 to 30 hp due to reduced friction. I can only imagine that this would also translate into better fuel efficiency at cruise.

Not a chance. I went from 1.6:1 stock rockers to 1.7:1 roller rockers on my daily driver (1987 Mustang GT 5.0L). It did pick a some power (primarily due to the extra lift from the bigger rocker ratio) but I didn't notice any change in fuel economy. The stock Cleveland rocker arms are already 1.73:1 so you won't be picking up any lift from a roller rocker arm swap (that's what the cam swap is for). However, the roller tips should improve valve guide life as they roll over the tips rather than slide.

> The closest to "reasonable" I've seen is in the $400 range...

Note that TFS makes a single plane intake for 351C-2V heads very similar to the Parker Funnelweb. It's $400 new and has injection bosses:

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/tfs-51600113

> Would you surmise that headers would be more or less important than intake?

I'm not sure. Both are important. On a mild 351C-4V we picked up something like 30 HP and 30 ft-lbs going from cast iron manifolds to long tube headers. Also there was a 50 HP difference between the best and worst mufflers. Likewise, we've seen a nearly 50+ HP difference between the best and worst 4 barrel intake manifolds. As far as the carb goes, be aware you can't directly compare the flow rating of a 2 barrel carb to a 4 barrel carb. A 500 CFM Holley 2 barrel carb only flows around 354 CFM when rated at the same pressure drop as a 4 barrel. Plus, a small 4 barrel will have better throttle response and fuel economy (when on the primaries) than a large 2 barrel carb.

> I double-checked and it has 4:10 gears. While I understand that this pickup isn't going to get great MPG, I don't want to handicap it any more than I have to.

Understood. You might want to see if you get your hands on an old copy of David Vizard's gas crisis era "Performance with Economy".

Dan Jones

[Pinhead]

> I double-checked and it has 4:10 gears. While I understand that this pickup isn't going to get great MPG, I don't want to handicap it any more than I have to.

Understood. You might want to see if you get your hands on an old copy of David Vizard's gas crisis era "Performance with Economy".

Dan Jones

I got DV's book on order from Amazon along with Ford 351 Cleveland Engines: How to Build for Max Performance by George Reid and Tom Monroe's How to Rebuild Your Ford V-8 351 C-351m-400-429-460. I read all of DV's writings back when he was active on Gofastnews - and printed a lot of it when he left to try to save the info. The one I remember the most was regarding carb boosters and their effect on atomization.

Some "special" things will be done to the heads, manifold, and carb to increase combustion and thermal efficiency but I would rather not change the subject away from cam profiles in this thread.

Thanks for all of your suggestions thus far!

[Pinhead]

After my recent experience with installing headers on the low-compression 390 in this pickup, I've decided headers will be one of the first things to be installed on a new engine.

I installed a set of Flowtech long-tube headers in the pickup and welded up a pair of 61.5" collectors/secondaries as recommended by Pipemax ("best torque" according to the program). The torque increase was phenomenal down low; it can idle up our driveway in 2nd gear where I used to have to leave it in 1st/low. Judging by the increase in sub-1000 rpm torque, I probably could have made the secondary pipes a bit shorter but it fits perfectly with the work the pickup will be doing (a lot of idling through the pasture feeding cows this winter).

I then built a version of David Vizard's Pressure Wave Termination Chamber and took it for a spin. The box quieted the exhaust down quite a bit, though it's still too noisy by itself (dumping just behind the cab). There was no loss in power or torque that I could tell. I'll be installing a pair of 2.5" Full Boar Single Chamber mufflers (Flowmaster 10 knock-offs) and running the pipes out the back which should make it quiet enough without sacrificing any appreciable horsepower.

The Termination Chamber has an internal volume of 930 cubic inches which is big enough for an engine up to 464 cubic inches. I used three 22" lengths of 4" square tubing (3.75" ID), set up as two-wide with one on top in the shape of an upside-down T when viewed from the end (see attachment). This shape was required to fit between the frame and the divorced transfer case.

[SupStk]

Havent been on the site much lately and just noticed this thread. Used to do some of F400 engines for local ranchers mostly. They made 350+hp and 400+ ft lbs all the way through.

They got mild bowl cleanup and exhaust porting, dual plane intake, headers, a 268 comp cam and roller chain set degreed in. Good valves and k-line guides. The 750 Holley were lots better than the 650s and didn't seem to hurt mpg. They all got 12 mpg running around and a few were claiming better.

Been ages since I seen one in the shop.