Okay guys, first time posting in the smallblock forum, I'm usually in the '80-'86 and '87-'96 truck forums. Long story short, I'm restoring a 1980 F100, which is going on an '85 frame with an EFI 302 in it. Plans were to make it a nice sleeper and build a mild 427 stroker for it, convert it to MAF and have a nice, reliable large displacement EFI engine, so I bought a 351w block and assorted parts for a whopping $75. Sold a pair of headers that were thrown in for $80 so made 5 bucks on the whole deal. Only things not included were the stock 351 crank, intake, and oil pan.

Anywho, the block has an E4AE casting number, which I've established means it was cast in an '84 mold, and the date code is 7L26, which should mean it was made November 26, 1987, correct? I'm figuring this block was originally installed in an '88 pickup truck, not that it matters now, but is there any way to tell exactly what it came from? So far it seems to be in overall decent condition, only problems I see are a bit of rust in the water ports and one bolt broke off where the timing cover bolted to the block. No cracks, no warping that I can see, cylinders don't look worn or scored. Some of the internals had been left outside thought it seems, all the pistons were pretty nasty and went to scrap, so did the lifters. Everything else seems to be in okay shape, but will probably be replaced anyway.

One main question I have before you guys have a field day, is the cam. It looks almost perfect. Stamped in the end of it is "HMV-260-2", "Crane", and "44-09-94", tried searching it, but couldn't get much useful info on it, anybody have a clue? If not then any suggestion on cam selection?

Now then I'll ask the experts in this build, I'm 19 years old and have never built a stroker. Only done stock rebuilds. So, for those of you that have built a 427 stroker, or any 351 stroker variant for that matter, how much work am I looking at, costs, things to look out for, that sort of thing? I'm not looking to build a wheelstanding 1,000hp drag truck, or risking the motor grenading on me, but a nice, slightly overpowered engine that'll surprise passengers of a big heavy truck when they're thrown back in the seat. Any helpful insight and/or suggestions is more than welcome and much appreciated.

 

I haven't built a stroker but it's no different than any other engine in that the cam should be the last thing you decide on after you have acquired all the other parts.. especially heads and intake. An engine will make 1hp per cubic inch without trying too hard(not reving over 5000rpm) if it has sufficient airflow which in this case means you should be looking at heads that flow as least as much as an AFR185, but for the sake of cost effectiveness and because saving a few pounds doesn't really matter in a truck you could use iron heads like those from RHS or Dart. As for getting a start on this get your stroker assembly and then take that and the block to a machine shop and have them prepare it, that way they can do any clearancing necessary and make sure you have a solid bottom end. Pistons you chose will depend up the heads you get, you're not going to want(or need) 10 or 11:1 compression but chamber volume of the heads will dictate what size piston dish will be needed.

 

What are your plans to tune it once you have it assembled and installed?

 

Hadn't really thought much about that honestly, so suggestions are welcome. I know these old EEC IV systems pretty darn well, but I've never been so far as having to modify or tune them. I'm not totally dead set on running EFI, but it would be nice and I'm favoring it. And Conanski, that's some valuable information, much appreciated. I'm not looking for super high compression, just a slight bump, and I don't need a screamer that'll spin over 6k RPM. It'd be nice if it's capable of doing so without flying to pieces, but I do not intend to push it that hard. Definitely don't want to spend a huge amount of money on this build, but it's definitely in my interest to make sure it's built right, the first time, even if that means splurging in some areas.

 

What transmission do you plan on using? What MAF ecu are you going to use and are you looking to tune it yourself or have it done professionally?

 

Go check out the Ford Muscle forums, lots of good info on strokers plus dyno numbers, etc.

 

I'll have two on hand, there's an AOD in the donor truck I'm using to rebuild mine, or there's a freshly rebuilt C4 in my '80 now. Haven't decided on an ECU yet, haven't really looked that hard honestly. Like I said, it's still up in the air for now. I'd like to do a MAF setup on it, but it'll ultimately come down to price and availability of components. If I do end up going that route, I'll probably have it tuned professionally. I'm sure I probably could do it myself, but I don't have much patience for it.

 

You can use a factory MAF harness and ECU to make you combo run. However, a stock air meter and throttle body are going to be too small for a 427, so you will need to look at aftermarket pieces, new or used.
Something else to consider is the oem intakes for a 5.8 are going to be too small for a 427 so, again, aftermarket on those as well. Used intakes will be less than new but you're still looking at a few hundred for those also.

The good thing about the transmissions you have to choose from is that you can go EFI or Carb without any issues.

 

That was one reason those transmission choices came about, plus I like the reliability and foolproof function of the older ones. As far as the intakes go, would a stock 5.0 flow enough? And if so, does anyone make a 351 lower that matches the ports of the 302 upper? I'd really love to make it look like an ordinary, bone stock engine just for chuckles, but if it comes down to it I'll go the aftermarket route. I already figured the TB and air meter would be too small, hadn't thought about the intakes themselves though.

 

No. You will have an engine with big block displacement so it'll need big block sized cylinder heads and intake. I mean.. if you were to use one of the stock small block intakes like the GT40 the motor will run but it won't make the kind of power it is capable of making. And the GT40 would be the better option among stock intakes but the 5.8 lower portion is hard to find and expensive when you do and it doesn't look like a stock truck intake either so what's the point. Guys have ported the stock 5.8 lower to match the 5.0 truck upper but that is still restrictive on a properly equipped 5.8 and nowhere near what a 427 needs, which is a TrickFlow R series Intake with a 90mm throttlebody.

 

Well, guess it wouldn't hurt to get a little fancy with the intake. I thought maybe the large ports of the 5.0 truck upper would be sufficient, but now that I've done a little more research I see your point. I've also heard the Cleveland style heads flow better than the Windsors, any truth to this? I've seen it done before, but I'd imagine I'd be limited on piston choice due to the canted valves. Plus wouldn't that put my power band at a higher RPM?

 

The Cleveland style heads do flow better than the Windsor heads of the same vintage; late 60's through early 70's. But there are at least a dozen modern Windsor style heads that flow better. Making a Clevor will require machine work and a special intake manifold, and I think it's only made for carburetors, or throttle body injection.

 

You won't find any EFI intakes for cleveland heads either and a standard windsor intake won't work.

 

With 427 cubic inches under them.. No. You have to keep reminding yourself you're essentially building a big block here.. just in a small block wrapper.