Hello I am a owner of a 97 f250 hd 351 truck it I'm looking into power mods. I understand my motor is a roller and I want to put a bigger cam in it any electronics that will need to be changed? What cam would be good for low end torque? Also I want to advance the timing. How would I go about that? I know free flowing exhaust helps a lot I am currently running true dual no cats so it's flowing about as good as it can. And also wondering what power mods people are doing to there trucks. Oh forgot to mention I want to run oem heads and I've seen the aftermarket edelbrock plenums for the efi they claim to increase power but they seem like the stock design and they are 600 bucks? Is it worth it? Thanks

 

I'm in the same situation as you, but a 1996 351w in an EB e350 club wagon, 115k.
So far, when replacing the water pump, I fixed the timing chain cover coolant leak with new gaskets and found my timing chain had slack. I didn't want it to fail say at around 200k miles when I could replace it for
So I replaced with a chain and gears found on rockauto, CLOYES 91138Street TRUE for under $40 which allows an 8 deg advance option key slot on the crank gear. This translates to a 4 deg advance for the cam.
This increased the torque noticeably. Now I can chirp the tires on a right turn, the engine is more torquey now for sure even though I live at 6,000 feet altitude. Also the compression went up about 20 psi I tested before and after. Simply because the exhaust valves close sooner on the upstroke.
So far happy with the change. Supposedly in about 1973, most cam's were retarded for emissions and still are. I can't say about the fuel economy because I haven't owned this van for long and the gas tank hoses had a leak I finally repaired.
Of course you have to reset the ignition timing after a chain replacement.
I'm looking at possibly installing some short headers next and then probably calling it done for the lengths I'm willing to go may be the sweet spot for me.
Take care

 

Nope that ended in the same '70s smog era, all of these EFI V8 motors have straight up cam timing from the factory.

Have a look at the Comp cams 35-512-8, no electronics changes necessary.
Ignition timing advance is done much the same as it has always been, the difference is you have to disable computer advance by removing a jumper plug instead of disabling vacuum advance before setting the base timing. Factory base timing setting is 10deg BTDC, try a couple degrees and test drive. The plug you need to remove is in the TFI harness near the drivers side hood hinge on the inner fender.
The Edelbrock truck intake is better than the stock piece... especially the lower section, but I'm not sure it's worth what they charge for it.
Headers flow much better than the stock manifolds.

 

HO cam works well in a 351W and is cheap. Popped one in my pal's F4TE block. That and long tubes will really uncork it.

Budget some fresh valve springs.

Agreed on manifold. It is poor on the 351W but E7 heads are crap too.

 

What is your $$ budget?
I did 3881 intake, long tube headers and compcam 35-510-8, more aggressive than the 35-512-8 I believe.
Also ported the stock E7 heads.
Major gains for me.

If your budget is tight, cam and shorties probably will suffice.

FYI, if your ordering Edelbrock stuff, I'm still waiting for a single head purchased last year November 2020. They moved the warehouse, and zero idea when stuff will be shipped.

 

Dam, you could have walked there, picked it up, in your lil red wagon, and walked back home, and still had motor already together. Good Grief!