If you are not going to shave the towers then I would assume you'd have to use the stock cast manifolds...........................so, when working on the heads I'd port the cast exhaust also................there was a trick we used a lot of years ago when racing SS classes..............it it/was called "Extrude Honing", and this could be done with to the intake, heads, exhaust headers and although it's not going to give a large HP increase it will help. http://boneheadperformance.com/extrude-honing/ So, if you are going to use a stock motor/heads/intake/carb I would go the extra mile and really go through the block, blueprinting the block by grinding the lifter galley, smoothing all oil return holes, doing some priority oiling work, porting the oil pump inlet, have the block align honed, deck'd, rebuild the stock rods and use ARP rod bolts, I'd use studs on the mains and heads. If you had the money............rollerize the cam bearings, have a special blueprinted cam made. Us the best 351w heads, 69/70 4V heads or take other ones and port, polish, put screw-in studs and roller rockers with guide plates....................................................the key to making HP is in the details. Tuning.................you can only do so much with a motor that has limited air intake and exhaust.....................and yes, tuning will help..........but it will be limited. Also the chassis................CalTrac rear suspension, remove the front swaybar and replace all of the rubber bushings with aluminum, heim/rod ends.............especially in the front end which will allow it to move without much resistance, using a subframe connector.................................. Truthfully, putting the motor together to exacting tolerances, getting the right converter/trans/gears and setting up the suspension is the key, kind of building a race car from scratch..................which is what you would be doing..................just not using mega bucks to do it..............IMHO
I also looked into this... I was very excited until I found the price list. I thought I remembered it being cheaper? Aluminum 8 Cylinder Intake (Carburated)-$535 8 Cylinder Cast Iron Heads- $1375 8 cylinder Exhaust Manifold (Iron)- $745 <-- (I'm guessing for a pair?)
Wow, if those are the prices today I'd just buy some aluminum heads and paint them, same with the intake.............and have some one-off headers made for the car..............if you could. In 1972 the intake cost around $100, the heads were like $250 and the cast exhaust were $125........................it was expensive back then, but when you were looking for 1/2mph or a .10sec it was cheaper than the alternative, and everyone was doing................kind of like keeping up with the neighbors next door. So, to put it in perspective with inflation; $100 in 1972 is $550.00 in todays dollars $250 in 1972 is $1374.00 in todays dollars $125 in 1972 is $742.00 in todays dollars
I simpler stock looking build would be a 8.2 deck 347 with a set of Ford Racing N351 steel heads ported and milled with a Vic Jr intake. Will run 11's easily all day long; could easily be a 10:90 car if the chassis is something like a calvert set-up and still be a daily driver at say 2800lbs
they used to be cheaper.. but their demand is still quite high and can literally charge whatever they want to for their patented process. My Infiniti Q45's intake(sectional design) cost me over $800 to have done including shipping.. and the last Airgap I had done for a customer who was gung-ho about tossing his cash at them paid about $550 to purchase the intake(from them as they give you a $100 price break that way too) and have it done up with smoothest finish.. including shipping cost. for most parts/builds.. the gains are just not worth the cash, IMHO.
heres a suggestion. why dont you build a 65 289 221 hp engine to NHRA super stock rules, you can either use cast iron heads, or the NHRA approved aluminum heads, any 4bbl intake, an autolite carb, roller cam, approved pistons, aftermarket rods, then you can run the car as a NHRA SS GT car, it would probably cost you as much as an elaborate 351w for pure stock, but you would be able to run a class. Duane
Hi Tim, I have a 351W bored .040 over and stroked .600, which gives me 421 cubic inches. I have heard you can go to 427 with this block. I have Edelbrock heads with the small valves and Tubular Automotive headers with 1.5 in. dia tubes. It also has a Comp roller hydraulic cam with a mild grind. Anything other than a roller is a waste of time and money. This car has run a best of 12.71 @108 mph. I agree with most of what olerodder says. Attention to details is very important. I have not cut my sping towers at all. A 351W with iron manifolds will NOT fit without cutting the spring towers. Tubular Automotive headers work with a little tweaking of the tubes with a hammer that doesn't really hurt the performance. I believe Crites also makes headers for this conversion. I believe your goal is attainable if you get everything working together. You'll need a good ignition(I run complete MSD), a good converter(about 2800 stall) and good rear end gears(about 3.50 to 3.91),and Cal-trac Bars will help. Good Luck, Lee "THE MAV" Richart
Very, Very Nice. Are those CalTrac's lurking under the rear? Would love to see pictures of the engine bay with the 351 and uncut towers. Wishing mine were not cut!!!!!
Duane there is a 70 Mav I looked at and seriously considered for a SS/GT build. Was actually looking at the 1968 302 4V with the Holley carb and a Jerico clutchless
A 351 WILL fit with cast manifolds. Had one years ago. Used '70 manifolds, tight but they worked. Later manifolds are bulkier, and even later ones have those weird ridges on them making them even more bulkier.
Here's a few random thoughts; possible stroker to 393 heavily ported c9oe heads Stealth intake, blasted & painted worked autolite 4100 carb ported exhaust manifolds roller cam (specs to be determined) roller rockers 2500-3000 stall 3.55 gears in the 8" slappers or a pinion snubber- later prefered because you can't see it front swaybar removed duraspark ignition(I'm sorry, but at this power level I feel all msd is a waste of money) and this one isn't for sure, but since these cars never came with dual exhaust I'm thinking a 3" single. Hey the lt1 f-bodies done ok with a single system, and I want it to look like a stock resto, or at least a survivor. Might cave & run duals though, everybody does on old cars even if it wasn't stock.
