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Old Apr 28, 2013 | 11:52 AM
  #1  
taterwuzhere's Avatar
taterwuzhere
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Smile 300 engine build

hey guys!!
so shortly i will pull my 4.9 out to rebuild it since i'm blue smoking. Its in an 86 f150 4x4. I've already put an offenhauser intake with a holly 390 cfm and headman headers on the truck (someone got leadfoot after this and ran the truck a little hard ) With the engine build i want to get the most power possible and keep duribility in mind. At this point for upgrades i'm looking at a cam, roller rockers, and 240 heads. any more recommendations to get more power out of this engine?
 
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Old Apr 28, 2013 | 08:21 PM
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From my research and no actual experience a freshly rebuilt 300 with a Offy dp, Holley 390, roller rockers, 9-1 cr, longtube header, good exhaust, and an isky mile a more cam are good for 225hp and 300ft lbs of torque. Fordsix.com the guys over there can tell you more then me
 
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Old Apr 28, 2013 | 09:13 PM
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There's no real performance advantage from roller rockers but they're probably the spiffiest looking $250 you can put underneath a valve cover.

And to that end, without the need for studs onto which rockers are fitted there's no real advantage to a 240 head if you're going to rebuild the bottom end anyway. You can raise compression with the piston (taller compression height or smaller dish/flat top) or by having the block decked.

Then use the $400 you would have spent on roller rockers and a 240 head to have some porting and a 3-angle valve job done on the head you've got now. Outside of the stock intake/exhaust manifolds the head is the single biggest limiting factor on a 300.

Otherwise some ARP rod bolts are cheap insurance. Spend a little extra to have the rods and pistons balanced, too. And find a machine shop you trust to do all the work.
 
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Old Apr 28, 2013 | 09:59 PM
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What BVA said X2.
 
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Old Apr 28, 2013 | 10:15 PM
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"...and 240 heads..."

All my research shows you'll only need one. Couldn't resist that.

I agree with BVA. But...you can pick up an inexpensive set of used bbc rockers on ebay for about $100, if you have stud type head. The ARP studs for a sbc work, and cost about $55.

Porting will make all the mods work better. Upgrade your ignition too.
 
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Old May 1, 2013 | 07:03 PM
  #6  
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Get some performance valves from SI Valves, and gasket match everything.
 
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