Hey guys I got a couple of I need some answers to. Any help or input is appreciated. So, I've got a 86 F150 4x4 with a 351w and im wanting to do some cheap engine mods. I was wondering if the E7TE or GT40 heads will just bolt on with no problems, and im planning on an edelbrock performer intake, long tube headers, and I need to know what would be the best cam for this setup. I want a cam that ill be able to hear but nothing ridiculous. So thats what I got please help me out fellas. Thanks.

 

E7TE's will go, but that can't be said of GT40's. That's because there are several GT40 heads, some of which have much smaller combustion chambers. So small in fact that your compression ratio would cause at least pinging on pump gas if not detonation.

Here's a thread that discusses heads a bit: E6 Heads To E7

Here's a link to one of my threads discussing porting: Porting. Don't miss the last post in the thread where I sum up the results.

Were it me, I'd seriously consider Thumper's heads, cussed and discussed in the first thread. IIRC, he starts with E7TE's and makes significant improvements.

As for the cam, I ran a Comp Cams unit that started producing torque at 600 RPM, which is where you want it on a truck. Loved it. But, if you want to hear it then you may need more cam, which will raise the point at which it comes in, which makes you have to wind it.

So, before recommending anything, please tell us what you plan to do with the truck, what tranny it'll have, and what gears and tires.

 

Thanks for the reply that helps alot. As for what im gonna do with the truck, I would like to just keep it a good streetable truck that I can take fishing or what not. Its got a C6 which im gonna keep and 31 inch tires and im not sure of the gear ratio its stock with a 9 inch rearend and as you mentioned I dont wanna cam where I have wrap it out to get it to move. Any suggestions are appreciated. Thanks

 

What I did was the Edelbrock, Holley 600 or 650 (can't recall), RV cam and 1.73 rockers. I had long tubes and true duals but the combo didn't really pull as expected until I switched to shorties and added a crossover ("H"). The problem with most aftermarket cams is their power band tends to be pretty high for "normal" use in a truck.

Good luck,
- Jeff

 

Several thoughts. First, if you are interested in MPG see my latest posts on Rusty. You might change your thoughts about the 31 inch tires and the Holley carb. Just swapping a 1406 Edelbrock in place of a 1460 Holley gained 2.0 MPG, and swapping 30x9.50 tires in place of 31x10.50's got another .35 MPG. As of today that 351M is turning in 14.6 MPG on the highway. And, it will run, although I don't know what cam is in this engine.

As for a cam for your engine, I ran a Comp Cams XE250 in my 351W with a stock 2bbl intake and carb. With the ported heads it would turn the tire (no limited-slip) from a stop and wound up like it had a 4bbl. The XE250 starts making torque at 600 RPM, and it works very well. I highly recommend it.

 

Get a torque/towing/RV cam.

It's got more lift than stock, and a hair more duration, but it is designed to keep your low end torque (or improve on the low end torque) while still letting the motor breath a little bit better than stock, due to the higher lift.

The biggest thing is, you can go (to a point) up on lift, but keep the stock duration or even a little more duration (not too much though!), and the motor will liven up a good bit. Go too big on duration and you'll start to lose your bottom-end torque for high RPM power, it'll start to idle more and more like it's ready for a drag strip, and you'll start to have lower vacuum at idle. For a daily-driven vehicle or even a vehicle that's for towing/4x4 use/hauling, I would recommend a cam one or maybe two steps above stock size.

You could always go for a set of aftermarket heads.

 

Thanks guys that helps out a lot.

 

Another thing about the GT-40 heads is that they'll have to be drilled in order to accept the larger head bolts of the 351W.

Good heads, but there is a little prep work that needs to be done.

 

If you go with E7 heads I'd look at the Comp Cams Extreme Energy Cams. They give you a little extra lift and duration on the exhaust.

 

Comp Cams 4x4 grinds are specific to heavy trucks.As stated above short duration with more lift.As soon as you start getting a choppy idle(more duration),you'll move the power band up in the RPM scale.