Are there any difference's in blocks for the 300cid years of production? Can you use any block to build either a carbureted or efi engine?


Brian

 

I'll answer your second question first: Yes - with maybe a few mods.

The first question is more intricate, and maybe you don't really care about the details as long as you have the answer to your second question. But here is a list of things I know of that have changed through the years. Some of these revisions I learned about on here, others from studying blueprints. It is by no means a complete list. Many manufacturing and material changes have occurred through the years not outlined below.

- Thrust bearing size increased in the main cap around '66

- Main cap dowel pins removed

- OD of cam bearing inserts was revised in the mid-'80s for manufacturing ease

- water temp boss added to rear left side [edit: This may not be true as I relied on sketchy info here.]

- dipstick tube was moved to pan (boss on block remained unmachined)

- clutch equalizer arm bosses were not machined on later blocks

- mechanical fuel pump opening was deleted on EFI blocks - the boss remains

- I think a boss was added to later EFI engines for the knock sensor

I had a six cylinder counterpart engineer who had development responsibilities for the 300, similar to my responsibilities as the 302 dyno guy, but I lost track of his contact info. If I ever find him I'll ask to interview him so his wealth of knowledge can persist amongst us less knowledgeable enthusiasts.

 

Thanks FF that pretty much answered my questions so I guess there should be no problem bolting EFI heads on an early block, do you know what year the extra boss was added for the temp sensor?


Brian

 

To be clear on knowledgeable 240/300 enthusiasts, I always thought of it as You and Us, but now I know there is "that guy", then "you", then "Us" lol.

And yes, it would be great to have a sticky with all the info that could be gleaned from "that guy", the 300 walking knowledge encyclopedia!

 

No one 'buddy knows all about any engine family. Its just too enormous of a task to follow every aspect of a developmental project - even to keep up with an existing engine family. I certainly don't have a thorough knowledge of "my" engines. But this guy can certainly shed light on certain dynamometer development projects that went on re the 4.9L. I hope to meet up. The frustrating thing is I tracked him to an adjacent county from where I live, but our paths have not crossed and the trail is cold.

 

FTF, no offense intended. I am definitely on the lower end of 300 knowledge, and what I do know comes mostly from you and others here on FTF. I guess I just thought it comical that there is someone out there that knows more in certain areas, but I understand what you mean. You're like the old stock broker ad on TV of when they speak, everyone stops and listens.

My apologies Sir.

And yes, it would be great to have a reference to what he knows. These great old engines are 20 yrs old for the newest one and I, for one, would hate to see some of the little and big things lost knowledge-wise, no matter how insignificant it seems right now.

 

no worries fljab - its all good

 

My current 300 is a 95 EFI short block with a 72 carb head. I used 360 pistons and needed to loose some of the excess compression or I would have used an EFI head.

Using an EFI motor with a carb requires an electric fuel pump unless you want to go through the trouble of machining the boss on the block where the mechanical fuel pump would go.

 

360 FE pistons? What did CR end up at with the carb head?

 

Don't remember the exact ratio now. I will say that I needed to give up a tiny bit more though and used it as an excuse to unshroud the valves and change the combustion chamber shape a little. I ended up with 81 cc chambers and it works fine at 5000' but I had to trim the advance back a couple degrees when I got below 3400' elevation. A month in North Dakota at about 2800' elevation worked fine that way but leaving it set as is and using mid grade fuel would have been better.

Another member here has an old build thread discussing the 360 piston setup.

 

Thanks for the info