What is the best performance piston that will fit into a stock cylinder? What will cam will best compliment that piston? As far as cylinder heads, I hear that AFI's are pretty good.
That's the problem. I don't trust anybody in town with my car. I will have to go to San Diego to a Mustang Specialist. Mustang Monthly had some good tips. They were talking about comp cams, forged pistons. Get me the best bang for my buck fellas. What kind of surgery will the car need if I want to replace the pistons for forged pistons. Can I just use the stock bore size? The reason why I am asking more about pistons is because the they need to be replaced.
reason for my response before was basically if you have to ask such generic questions you probably arent ready to handle the task of successfully assembling a motor.
example: pistons need replaced? why? regardless of why (with the exception of wanting to raise compression) then an overbore is almost a necessity. secondly, forged pistons require larger piston to wall clearance than others, dropping a set of pistons in without machining the bore to fit the pistons and provide the proper piston to wall clearance will result in failure.
seek professional help, or buy a built motor and drop it in. on the other hand do TONS of research, slow down a little and tackle it yourself, but dont even think about skimping on machine work or part quality or you'll sadly be doing it again.
IF YOU CANT AFFORD TO DO IT RIGHT YOU CANT AFFORD TO DO IT TWICE
Buy a crate motor. It's usually a lot cheaper than trying to piece one together when you don't know what you're doing.
If you still want to do it yourself, good! Find a great machine shop that will take the time to work with you on piecing a good combo together to meet your goals. Be realistic. 300rwhp is plenty fast for a street car and is pump gas friendly.
I agree that a crate motor is a valid option, especially when you have limited mechanical knowledge. I still think he should spend plenty of time reading up and researching before pulling out a credit card...not all crate motors are created equally and knowing what peripheral pieces need to be in place, brakes, suspension, gears,steering and transmission are just as important, if not more, than the hp/tq rating of the motor.
This a fun and enjoyable hobby (not cheap, but fun). I spent the last two years just reading up and researching, not that I'm an expert by any means, but my knowledge is far beyond than when I started.
__________________
1968 Fastback: 331 stroker, FTI cam, N351 Heads with a few upgrades, 4r70w w/3600 stall, 9" locker w/3.70 gears
Location: Soviet Socialist Republic of Massachusetts
Posts: 2,513
I 3rd the motion to read the Monroe book. Great information!
And honestly, if you want good engine building ideas, head over the corral.net and check out the 5.0/5.8 Tech forum. You'll need to separate the wheat from the chaff there, but there is some good information on build combinations.
First things first, you need to establish a budget and a goal. Do you want 500 RWHP NA, or 500 RWHP Forced, or 300 RWHP NA, or 250 RWHP NA. $1500, $2500, $3500? These answers are needed to properly answer your question. EFI/Carb is the next question. EFI will likely increase your budget just due to the extra work and parts involved to make the conversion.
I'm going to be around $1.5k into my engine, but I'm doing a budget build to hit 300 RWHP. Part of the low cost has been the ability to find some good deals on fresh blocks that were already machined that came with parts I could sell. If not, I'd be closer to $2k on the engine alone, before headers and stuff and that's with me doing the assembly work but on a block that was already align bored, honed, crank turned, etc. But I also upgraded to AL heads.
And honestly, when it comes to Cam selection, here are the questions you need to ask:
What is the performance goal of the car? High end power (Track/Drag Car) or Low end torque (Daily driver). I know there are some in between, but that will guide your cam selection when it comes to items like duration and lobe seperation. There are tons of guides about selecting a cam for your intended application.
Then you really should try to match your cam's performance profile to the heads ideal operation. Here is where I cheated a little. I knew I wanted Trick Flow TW 170 heads, so I went with a TFS1 cam that was designed with the heads in mind.
And then for heads. Here is where your budget realities will set in. AFR heads are among the most expensive. You'll be looking at around $1500 new for AFR heads assembled. You can get TW170s for around $1100 new. Or you can shop the used markets and usually find some freshly rebuilt ones for about 70% of new. But if your goal is closer to 280 RWHP, you can likely find a good set of explorer GT40P heads for $300. They are iron heads, but they flow extremely well and people are getting 280-300 RWHP with just a little work. Downside is you'll need specific headers (like MAC) that will clear the spark plugs on the P heads.
Piston selection is going to be based on your desired compression ratio, force or NA, etc.
I'm not going to say buy a crate motor. If you have the time to learn, the books will pretty much walk you through the process. Building an engine isn't rocket science, it's just tedious. You need to be precise and take your time.
Get some books and spend some time over on sbftech.com. Read and learn then come back with your questions.
A few basics for you to get started. Size your heads to the size of your engine, your desired rpm range and hp requirements. Selecting pistons will depend on what static compression ratio you want for your build. Your cam is the brains of your engine. Highly consider having a custom cam designer design a cam for you. They will also work with you to help you design your engine build. Ed Curtis and Bullet Cams are two solid companies to look at. If you want to farm the work out to a qualified person, Woody over at fordstrokers.com is a good guy and will treat you right, no worries. But learn some more about the subject first before you proceed so you can talk intelligibly with whoever you work with and can understand what is going on. This will put your mind more at ease.
Budget and performance requirements will drive your build.
I'll 4th the Tom Monroe book. Get it, read it cover to cover three times. I did that when I was 16 and built my first 289 blindfolded.
Not going to get into details, but think of all of those high performance parts in an engine as a system. You need to learn about torque curves from camshaft profiles and what it takes to keep the engine in that range vs. your driving style and how you are going to use the car.
What parts ad strength vs. what parts add HP.
You are basically asking for years of experience in just one post on the internet.
__________________
1995 GT convertible - Laser Red
1995 GT convertible - Black (Son's ride)
1966 GT Fastback under restoration- Code T Red
with White LeMans stripes.
The AutoGuide.com network consists of the largest network of enthusiast-owned enthusiast-operated automotive communities.
AutoGuide.com provides the latest car reviews, auto show coverage, new car prices, and automotive news. The AutoGuide network operates more than 100 automotive forums where our users consult peers for shopping information and advice, and share opinions as a community.
Cams, Pistons, Cylinder Heads... Oh my!!!
