LARIAT 85 Posted December 17, 2020 Share Posted December 17, 2020 I am interested in upgrades that may make the engine more reliable or durable, but I figure sticking to something close to a stock configuration is probably best for truck-type performance. I mean, Ford must have known something about how to put together a truck engine when they built these things in the first place lol. They did! I love the 351, and as you may have noticed I have a little bit of regret in not swapping one into my truck. It's not that I don't love my 302, but I do have a little bit of 351 envy. I was to ever do anything with my engine again, I'd swap in a roller block 351 with the serpentine belt drive, and do some mild power adders, but leave the stock E7 heads on it. Carb, intake, ignition, and nice flowing exhaust. Done. Anything spent above and beyond that (for me) would be the point of diminishing returns. A nice 600cfm 4bbl and dual plane intake, along with a mild cam and new timing set. Get a custom curved DSII distributor from Scotty at Parkland Performance, and better flowing exhaust and you'll be golden. You built your 302 for the same reason I built mine up: it is the engine we already had. Besides, who needs a 351 when a 302 can do THIS: Did anybody watch the video? Listen to that little 302 sing! It sounded like a stock car when it was wound up and beat that Hemi at the end! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rusty_S85 Posted December 17, 2020 Share Posted December 17, 2020 Did anybody watch the video? Listen to that little 302 sing! It sounded like a stock car when it was wound up and beat that Hemi at the end! Video you posted is that of your truck? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LARIAT 85 Posted December 17, 2020 Share Posted December 17, 2020 Did anybody watch the video? Listen to that little 302 sing! It sounded like a stock car when it was wound up and beat that Hemi at the end! Video you posted is that of your truck? No. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rusty_S85 Posted December 17, 2020 Share Posted December 17, 2020 Did anybody watch the video? Listen to that little 302 sing! It sounded like a stock car when it was wound up and beat that Hemi at the end! Video you posted is that of your truck? No. Ah ok was going to say sounds good. Im still trying to decide on exhaust size for mine since I still need to buy a aftermarket Y pipe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lima Delta Posted January 15, 2021 Author Share Posted January 15, 2021 That is exactly what did. Minus that I have an aftermarket efi and different ignition system now. This is when I first put it together. E7 heads, roller block 351w (which also came stock with a thinner and metric piston ring package), 5.0 HO roller cam, Weiand dual plane intake, Gaterman roller lifters (don’t mess with Melling or sealed power, their roller lifters are junk), and few other things. Perfect truck motor. Took a buddy for a drive that daily drove a warmed over 12 valve Cummins at the time, his reaction - “this thing pulls!”. Tons of torque Hi all, Just wanted to update this thread and add a question. I finally found some E7 heads here locally for a decent price, but it did take a bit of digging to find them. In any case just waiting now to get everything back from the machinist. A question came up when talking to the machinist, and I need to make a decision fairly quick. My original plan was to go with stock, dished, low-compression pistons. This was mostly because the pistons and cylinders in the engine core looked good and I thought they'd just need cleaning up. One of the cylinders has some pitting though, so they're being bored out now. The machinist thinks I should go with flat top pistons, but I'm not sure I want to boost the compression... I'll be using stock recurved DS2 ignition with this Edelbrock cam and an Edelbrock timing set: https://www.edelbrock.com/performer-plus-camshaft-kit-for-small-block-ford-351w-v8-2182.html I want to use 87 octane gas; I'll be taking the factory retard out of the cam timing; the mechanical advance will be set up for an earlier advance; I'm leaning towards removing the EGR system; and the engine will be for towing and will be subjected to heavy loading. So what do you think, will the extra compression using flat top pistons under those E7 heads have me flirting with pinging or detonation troubles considering my plans? Lucas Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
old55pete Posted January 15, 2021 Share Posted January 15, 2021 Hi all, Just wanted to update this thread and add a question. I finally found some E7 heads here locally for a decent price, but it did take a bit of digging to find them. In any case just waiting now to get everything back from the machinist. A question came up when talking to the machinist, and I need to make a decision fairly quick. My original plan was to go with stock, dished, low-compression pistons. This was mostly because the pistons and cylinders in the engine core looked good and I thought they'd just need cleaning up. One of the cylinders has some pitting though, so they're being bored out now. The machinist thinks I should go with flat top pistons, but I'm not sure I want to boost the compression... I'll be using stock recurved DS2 ignition with this Edelbrock cam and an Edelbrock timing set: https://www.edelbrock.com/performer-plus-camshaft-kit-for-small-block-ford-351w-v8-2182.html I want to use 87 octane gas; I'll be taking the factory retard out of the cam timing; the mechanical advance will be set up for an earlier advance; I'm leaning towards removing the EGR system; and the engine will be for towing and will be subjected to heavy loading. So what do you think, will the extra compression using flat top pistons under those E7 heads have me flirting with pinging or detonation troubles considering my plans? Lucas I have 10:1 flat tops in my Bronco. That small thing by it's self raised my gas millage to 21 from 19. That one small change helped with low end power for take off while towing and yes, it still runs on 87 octain pump gas. With everything you have done, it would be a flat shame to put stock 8.5:1 pistons back in it IMHO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rembrant Posted January 15, 2021 Share Posted January 15, 2021 Hi all, Just wanted to update this thread and add a question. I finally found some E7 heads here locally for a decent price, but it did take a bit of digging to find them. In any case just waiting now to get everything back from the machinist. A question came up when talking to the machinist, and I need to make a decision fairly quick. My original plan was to go with stock, dished, low-compression pistons. This was mostly because the pistons and cylinders in the engine core looked good and I thought they'd just need cleaning up. One of the cylinders has some pitting though, so they're being bored out now. The machinist thinks I should go with flat top pistons, but I'm not sure I want to boost the compression... I'll be using stock recurved DS2 ignition with this Edelbrock cam and an Edelbrock timing set: https://www.edelbrock.com/performer-plus-camshaft-kit-for-small-block-ford-351w-v8-2182.html I want to use 87 octane gas; I'll be taking the factory retard out of the cam timing; the mechanical advance will be set up for an earlier advance; I'm leaning towards removing the EGR system; and the engine will be for towing and will be subjected to heavy loading. So what do you think, will the extra compression using flat top pistons under those E7 heads have me flirting with pinging or detonation troubles considering my plans? Lucas Do you know how many cc's the dish is in those dished stock pistons? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lima Delta Posted January 15, 2021 Author Share Posted January 15, 2021 Do you know how many cc's the dish is in those dished stock pistons? No, I don't. I can't seem to find any solid references either. I've read anywhere from 13-20cc. The pistons that were in there weren't stock (they were 30 over), but had stock-looking dishes in them. Never thought o bother measuring since I had planned to reuse them. Lucas Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lima Delta Posted January 16, 2021 Author Share Posted January 16, 2021 I have 10:1 flat tops in my Bronco. That small thing by it's self raised my gas millage to 21 from 19. That one small change helped with low end power for take off while towing and yes, it still runs on 87 octain pump gas. With everything you have done, it would be a flat shame to put stock 8.5:1 pistons back in it IMHO Well I'm tempted to go with the flat tops for sure. I was hoping to get some experience from people who have a similar set-up. Just to be clear, are you running a 351w in your Bronco? What cylinder heads are you using (stock cast iron, or aftermarket aluminum)? Thanks, Lucas Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
old55pete Posted January 16, 2021 Share Posted January 16, 2021 I have 10:1 flat tops in my Bronco. That small thing by it's self raised my gas millage to 21 from 19. That one small change helped with low end power for take off while towing and yes, it still runs on 87 octain pump gas. With everything you have done, it would be a flat shame to put stock 8.5:1 pistons back in it IMHO Well I'm tempted to go with the flat tops for sure. I was hoping to get some experience from people who have a similar set-up. Just to be clear, are you running a 351w in your Bronco? What cylinder heads are you using (stock cast iron, or aftermarket aluminum)? Thanks, Lucas With the exception of the cam and pistions, My Bronco is a stock 5.0/ 302 EFI. Not that it really means anything to this conversation, I build my own dirt track race engines and have been for the last 25 years so I do have some engine building experance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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