First off, I'm new to the site, Ive found quite a bit of info on here and figured I would get some use out of joining. So hello to everyone.

Now, I have a 1995 F-150, a little rough, beat up and whatnot, that I want to do a mild build to the motor to make a little bit of a sleeper out of it. Im just talkin cam, headers, pull the heads off get them redone, gear driven timing set, just a rough list. Im not the most experienced guy when it comes to motor building, but ive had a hand in enough projects to have a good idea. Im a quick learner and can figure most things out by myself as well so what I dont know, I can figure out with a little help. Im just looking for the best way to build a 5.0 in a half ton truck to have a little more power than it does now. But doing so keeping it simple and not spending $5k on a motor thats going in an $1,800 truck.

Like I said, its got a 302, and an E4OD tranny (that I hope to replace with a 5 speed before too long). So if anyone has done a similar build with good results I would like to hear about it, or if you have any advice at all I would appreciate it. Thanks.

 

I would really take a look at a crate engine (short block/long block).....by comparison, even if you take the low end parts routine, machining & parts will run probably close to $1800, plus you assembling the block & no warranty. The crate either long/short block is much less overall $ and then you can just add a piece or two (such as cam, etc) as you want for the same $ plus have a warranty.

 

Thanks, I didn't even think about that. Ill look into some of those options, any advice on a decent crate motor? Haha sorry, like I said, I've just helped build a couple motors, never been the guy that's buying the block and everything.

 

gofastparts.com is located in redlands calif, their web site is crap but their prices & service in the past has been excellent- they carry mostly oem crates ranging from stock to wild.

 

as far as crate engines go you could get an assembled short block and top it off with your choice of heads, cam, etc.

 

Look on CL , you should be able to find some GT 40 heads , you can find an HO cam for cheap , that with some LT headers it should run good , you have a 95 , should be MAF so you can run what ever cam you wan't ....Gears are an other thing the 5.0 likes.....Lew

 

Step 1: Make Geometry Work For You

If you're looking for a broader torque band, go with the KB276 piston and a set of 400 SBC rods (5.565-inch center-to-center). The piston is made for the Windsor head and the larger Chevy wristpin (0.927 vs 0.912 diameter). This combo requires a quick turn of your crankpins to the SBC diameter (2.100 vs 2.123 diameter) and narrowing the big end of the rods to fit (any competent machine shop can do that).

The result is a 1.855:1 rod:stroke ratio. For reference, this is almost exactly the same rod:stroke ratio used in Ford's 360 Truck and 361/362 passenger car engines (1.854:1), which had very broad torque curves. For further comparison, the 351M has a very broad torque band, thanks to its 1.880:1 rod:stroke ratio. The (non-Boss) 429 also has a reasonably high 1.840:1 rod:stroke ratio. The 221/260/289 Ford had a 1.798:1 rod:stroke ratio. In the FE family, the 332 and 352 had rod:stroke ratios of 1.982:1 and 1.869:1, respectively.

The 302 SBC used the 5.7-inch rod (in a taller block) for a 1.900:1 rod:stroke ratio; it was probably the best small block Chevy ever built -- as legendary among Chevy fans as is the 289 among Ford guys. The long rod will reduce friction in your engine (lower side loads on the pistons, and the SBC journal diameter gives slower bearing speeds for equal rpm), contributing to power production, longevity and fuel efficiency. The higher rod:stroke ratios are able to produce equal levels of power with smaller ports than their short-rod counterparts.

Step 2: Head Games

In terms of total improvement, you will be hard pressed to beat a set of unmodified AFR 165-cc heads. If they're too pricey (~$1440 delivered, in my area), a set of Edelbrock Performer heads for the 302 are about $250 cheaper. Those are the only "out of the box" heads I think are worth considering if you truly want more power than stock (other heads offer similar weight savings, though).

If that's still too much money, look for a set of E7TE castings; they're decent, but if you're looking for more than stock power, you'll probably spend close to the price of a set of aluminum heads getting the iron ones reworked and you still won't have the heat dissipation characteristics, flow advantages and light weight of aluminum.

Step 3: Camming It Up

Cams are less expensive than heads, but the idea is to make everything work together as a package. Since you're not looking to spin the engine 7000 rpm to make peak power, it makes sense to do the heads before swapping the cam. With under 310 cubic inches of displacement, stay below 220 degrees at 0.050-inch tappet lift with roller (hydraulic or solid) tappets if you're running on the street; if you aren't using roller tappets, stay below 210 degrees at 0.050-inch tappet lift. Those numbers may seem small, but anything bigger will put you into the "garage queen driven on weekends" category -- and go past those numbers by 20 degrees, and you've got a "trailer queen," towed to the track and back to your house. For a truck, you could easily reduce those maximums by 10 degrees and still have a very healthy 5-liter, especially with aluminum heads.

For the roller-tappeted 5.0, the smallest Voodoo-series camshaft by Lunati is their number 61010, which seems surprisingly large for a cam that satisfies their advertising claims ("Lunati's Voodoo series of Hydraulic Roller camshafts deliver more area under the curve than any other series of Hydraulic camshafts. This means more throttle response, quicker acceleration, more vacuum, better efficiency, combined with maximum horsepower and torque! Hydraulic roller, good idle. Excellent HO replacement type camshaft. Will work with factory Mass-Air type computers without modifications. Excellent torque and HP gains thoughout the RPM range.") I DO NOT recommend that you simply purchase any camshaft off the shelf before consulting with the grinder, especially in cases of changed rod:stroke geometry.

Closing Recommendations

A set of shorty headers having 1.5-inch primaries should be adequate; stainless is very good, stainless with a ceramic (or similar) coating is probably best. If it was mine, I'd use a thermal wrap around each header tube (advice on exhaust wraps is at this link).