hey guys. just joined here. i have no idea what to do and where to start.

let me begin by saying that i bought the truck from a guy down in phoenix, and he had already fitted 2.5in magnaflow true dual exhaust and the truck also does not have a catalytic converter. up here in flagstaff, they dont require emissions so its OK.

other than that, the truck is bone stock. the 351W in it has 111,000 original miles.

i dont know what is a waste of time and money and what is not. so some advice would be greatly appreciated! my goal is just to get more meat out of it. HP and TQ wise. would prefer not to spend a lot of cash, but all suggestions are welcome.

thanks

update: i got a professionally done fuel system clean at sears (i work there as a college job) and its defiently improved the throttle response, but not enough

so this is my next step..how's everything look? right parts and such? im new to this world.

MSD Ignition 8482 - MSD Distributor Cap and Rotor Kits - Overview - SummitRacing.com

Summit Racing SUM-853011 - Summit Racing® High Output Ignition Coils - Overview - SummitRacing.com (MSD one is out of stock)

Taylor Cable 74258 - Taylor Spiro-Pro Spark Plug Wire Sets - Overview - SummitRacing.com

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/HED-89420/

 

I've always found that a fast and cheap way to get more HP and Torque out of a used vehicle, is to run Fuel System Cleaner through it once, usually brings it back to life a little bit, then invest in a K&N Cold Air intake, usually a little over 100 bucks for the kit. With a 351 you should get 2 mpg better, a little more torque, and faster throttle response. Cheap and easy.

 

Just curious but are you not happy with the factory power ive never driven a 351 truck

 

yeah, im planning on doing the fuel system clean and the k&n cold air intake. i was also thinking of doing headers and cam. worth it or no? what about performance chip?

oh im happy, i just want more power. but driving a good condition stock 351W is great. they really scoot.

 

If it still has the stock exhaust manifolds on it i would put long tube headers on it , the stock manifolds are very restrictive , a good tune up and advance the timing a few degrees....Lew

 

Skip the CAI and simply substitute an intake snorkle from an I6 truck and an aftermarket drop-in filter, then you'll have a true "cold air" intake. Add 1.7 rockers and longtubes or even shorties if you don't want to hack up the rest of the exhaust and you'll see noticable gains. Also do what is called a 6 liter tuneup(why is it calld that anyway?) which includes a high output coil, wires, plugs gapped a little wider, and a timing advance, this is also good for a noticable boost under the right foot.

 

It's called the sixlitre tuneup because it makes your truck feel like it has .2 more liters! J/K it's called that because a member on FSB forums with the screen name Sixlitre came up with it. It's basically just a good tuneup. Replace the stock ignition parts (coil, cap and rotor, and wires) with good high quality aftermarket stuff. Here's a couple of good links to threads on the 351 for mpg upgrades:

ignition upgrade and timing bump (no 56K) - FSB Forums

The ULTIMATE better MPG thread! - FSB Forums

 

nice suggestions, thanks a lot guys

 

update: i got a professionally done fuel system clean at sears (i work there as a college job) and its defiently improved the throttle response, but not enough

so this is my next step..how's everything look? right parts and such? im new to this world.

MSD Ignition 8482 - MSD Distributor Cap and Rotor Kits - Overview - SummitRacing.com

Summit Racing SUM-853011 - Summit Racing® High Output Ignition Coils - Overview - SummitRacing.com (MSD one is out of stock)

Taylor Cable 74258 - Taylor Spiro-Pro Spark Plug Wire Sets - Overview - SummitRacing.com

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/HED-89420/

 

A 2* or 3* timing advance over stock helped my 94, gas quality and altitude will limit how much you can advance with out pinging

 

i use purely conoco (basically union 76), shell, or chevron. also mobil. use 87 octane.

i am going to do the timing advance for sure.

 

Long tube headers will really help wake it up, both power and sound. As said before, the K&N is a waste of money.

 

headers are definitely worth it. but a cam is a little extensive to just get some snort out of it. a bigger cam wouldnt be worth it unless you wanna start a rebuild on the whole motor. a lot of times, if you put a bigger cam in a motor with over 100,000 miles, it wont take it very long and youll start breaking internal parts. Thats whats always happened with my motors anyway. A performance tuner would be a good substitute for a cam though if you can find one for cheap.

 

You haven't been working on this era truck long have you?

The few tuners that are available are really not worth the cost. Do the sixlitre tune up and headers. If you still want more pep then look at swapping gears in the diffs. Anything more then that and you'll have to start rebuilding.

 

well long tube headers require a hack up of the exhaust so i was thinking just to get shortys to avoid that. is the performance loss minimal?