I just bought a 1986 mark 7 lsc 5.0 ho thats what it said on top of motor no reason to think otherwise when I pulled intake I discoverd motor had been replaced and I had a roller block no roller cam since then I have found a few ho's but am affraid I will get burnt again the only idea I came up with was to pull distributer and put a scope in to look at lifters someone said the gear on end of cam should look different on the ho motor does anyone know if that is true and what should I look for since I don't own a scope and can't find anyone with one does anyone have a better idea thanks Mike

 

**** on the HO, if you've got a roller block swap in an XE262HR cam and some decent heads and you'll run circles around an HO. For that matter, a flat tappet XE cam smokes anything Ford put in a so-called HO. Don't waste your time chasing 25 year old parts that weren't worth a damn to begin with.

 

I agree on the comments above for the most part and will add that your car should have come with a HO though it would have been the '86 version with the crappy E6 heads so the motor you have now may be better. I'm guessing the car is SD and not MAF too right? If that's the case then a cam swap would certainly make a big difference but you'll want an SD friendly grind like the XE264HR-14 or similar. Your car is also very likely to be crippled with a rediculous axle gear ratio and simply swapping to 3.55-3.73 would vastly improve performance. FYI.. the best way to ID a roller motor is to remove a valve cover and shine a light down the front lifter hole(may have to remove the rocker arm), if you see a dogbone around the lifter it has a roller cam.. though the only way to know for sure it's a HO is to measure lift. If the motor looks to be untouched and it has a HO intake(confirmed by looking under the 5.0 HO plate on top of the intake where you'll find the letters "H.O." cast into the intake cavity) then there's a good chance it has a HO cam.

 

Good to see you back, posting good advice, Baron!

Where have you been for the past few months?

 

Moving, working, remodeling, and neglecting my trucks...