I've got a '83 F150 extended cab with a stock 351w, C-6 trans, and 3.55 gears. The only upgrades over stock are the performer intake/600 vac sec holley and Mallory HEI distributor. It still has the iron manifolds and single (non cat) 2 1/2" exhaust with a giant truck muffler, the "awesome" D9 heads :roll: and a factory rated 8.3-1 compression. This truck was factory rated at a whopping 139hp with the stock 2bbl...I'm guessing I am up to about 141 hp now :roll:
Money is very tight right now, but I need to make some performance upgrades as this thing is just horribly underpowered (truck weighs 5100 pounds). I found a very good deal on a pair of E7TE heads and a stock 5.0 HO roller cam. I am a long time Chevy guy, so a lot of Ford stuff is new to me. Here are my questions...

1) From what I found the E7TE heads have a roughly 62cc chamber versus the 69cc chambers on my D9 heads (this is a good thing). Does this sound right? What size do I need to drill out the head bolt holes to so I can bolt them on the 351w? I will be porting the heads, but retaining the stock valve size.

2) Of the top of my head, the specs on the stock 5.0 HO roller cam are something like 210/210@.050, .445/.445 lift, with something like a 114.5* lsa and no advance ground in. Does that sound right? Should I install it 4* advanced? Will the '83 mechanical fuel pump eccentric bolt up to the front of the cam? Will the stock 351w cam retainer work with the HO roller cam? Do I need a different timing chain set for the roller?

3) I have no intentions of tearing down the shortblock at this time. My understanding is that to run a non reduced base circle (retrofit style) cam, I will have to use a set of retrofit type tie bar linked roller lifters, instead of being able to use the factory rollers. Is this correct?

4) Will I need to change the distributor gear to work with the roller cam?

5) I do plan on upgrading the exhaust. Will the factory '87 stainless steel mustang headers fit a truck? I know they aren't perfect, but they have to be way better than the iron manifolds that are on it now.

If there is anything I am missing please let me know. Thanks!

 

The info you have gathered so far agrees with everythign I have. The head bolt holes have to be 1/2" for the 351. Concentrate most of your porting on the exhaust side of the heads, grind the air injection hump completely flush, blend the bowl into the port, and open up the port to the gasket surface. On the intake side I'd suggest cleaning up the bowl area and blending it into the port but otherwise leave it alone. The ports on this head are small but the intake manifold ports are probably even smaller(depending what one you use). Open up whichever one is smaller to the dimensions of the other, don't open both to the gasket dimensions. These heads are really too small for this motor but they will still produce 300hp with the right cam, so the port design isn't total garbage.

The eccentric, retainer, and timing set are all the same. That cam may be better than the stock one but it will require custom pushrods and the expensive linked roller lifters($500). You'll get more power from a non efi grind flat tappet frankly, and you can still use the stock pushrods. All totaled you may save $400+ by going with something like the Comp XE262-H10 COMP Cams 35-238-3 - COMP Cams Xtreme Energy Camshafts 0.500" lift is no problem for the stock springs.


If you do use the roller then yes you will need a steel drive gear.

They will fit the block but the exhaust will have to be custom since the exits are in different places. They may also present interference problems with the firewall, frame, or driveshaft. Truck specific headers are less problem and longtubes provide more gains than shorties, so why not if you're doing custom exhaust anyway.

 

139 HP ..Thats awesome..LOL...Yeah a stock 351 w wont get out of its own way...But a good set of long tube headers & exhaust will help...I would go with the flat tappet cam like Conanski recomended...Save money & better cam...That & ported heads & good gearing should be alot better..Lew

 

Yeah those smog era motors were pretty dismal, my father had a '78 E150 with the 351w in it and I have never seen a bigger turd, drank gas and couldn't hold speed on a flat highway.

 

...Yeah in the smog years nothing was any good.Even the mustangs... Z 28s...corvettes...mopars...put your foot in it & nothing ..Seems like everthing started going down hill in 73 & didnt start to pick up till the later 80s...Lew

 

[quote=compman;7324100]I've got a '83 F150 extended cab with a stock 351w, C-6 trans, and 3.55 gears. The only upgrades over stock are the performer intake/600 vac sec holley and Mallory HEI distributor. It still has the iron manifolds and single (non cat) 2 1/2" exhaust with a giant truck muffler, the "awesome" D9 heads :roll: and a factory rated 8.3-1 compression. This truck was factory rated at a whopping 139hp with the stock 2bbl...I'm guessing I am up to about 141 hp now :roll:
Money is very tight right now, but I need to make some performance upgrades as this thing is just horribly underpowered (truck weighs 5100 pounds). I found a very good deal on a pair of E7TE heads and a stock 5.0 HO roller cam. I am a long time Chevy guy, so a lot of Ford stuff is new to me. Here are my questions...



4) Will I need to change the distributor gear to work with the roller cam?

You WILL need a compatible steel gear to be compatible with your factory roller camshaft. And, your advance curve should be set up to work with your new engine combination.
If you decide to get a new distributor, consider our custom curved Duraspark Distributor built with our new Full Length Oil Impregnated Bronze Bushing. The full length bushing improves timing stability and spark scatter. If stock appearance is not an issue, take a look at our one piece D.U.I. Distributor. Whether you choose the Duraspark or the D.U.I., we curve each on a distributor machine based on your engine combination. Please see them at:
http://performancedistributors.com/forddistributors.htm
Also, there is now an excellent installation article on the D.U.I. Distributor on the Ford-Trucks.com site at:
https://www.ford-trucks.com/article/idx/0/358/article/DUI_Ignition_Installation_In_A_Ford_351W_V8.html