First and foremost, I want to thank everyone here for their support when I have asked questions regarding my truck. I deeply appreciate the help and do not take it for granted. This is going to be a longer post, in hope that I can relay enough information to get a good idea of what parts to purchase to achieve what I want to, with my engine build.

I grew up with this truck, and it was given to me from my father when I was 16 years old. Im 29 now. I am an Army veteran, and have a decent VA pension coming in from my injuries in the service to facilitate this build. I am not afforded the ability to ask local machine shops for this advice because I currently live in Germany, because of the military. My truck is currently stateside with my father. My plan is to have the parts shipped stateside and then I am going to take a trip back stateside and ill get it all done. I want to get the truck done before I finally move back stateside in 2019. I know a bit about working on my truck, and automotive mechanics in general, but I am at a loss when rebuilding a motor. This advice will help me learn a little I am sure.

Anyways...

My goal for my 1980 Ford F100 SB Flareside 2WD is to have an extremely impressive 0-60 time (acceleration), while keeping my C6 and my 3.73 gearing (I do not want to go to any higher gearing), looking for more torque over HP I presume? I want to replace the top end of my current engine, an engine swap is not something I want to do at the moment.

The Engine and transmission currently in the truck are a recently rebuilt (in 2014) original, factory installed 302W, that has since been bored .060 over and a C6 transmission (which the truck did not come with). The specifics about the "performance" parts that were installed by the machine shop were not given to me, so I cannot give a clear answer to what these parts are, unfortunately.

What I do know is that it has forged flat top aluminum pistons with valve reliefs, rebuilt "factory heads" (I don't have any info on them) with a "Speed Pro" mild cam (no info here either), aluminum intake manifold (unknown) with a Holley Street Avenger 4 Bbl 600 CFM w/ vacuum secondaries (garbage, given me nothing but headaches from day 1). I also have an MSD Ignition 6201 6 Amp Ignition Control Box, MSD 8202 Blaster 2 Hi-Performance Coil, MSD Wires, Cap and Rotor. Stock distributor with vacuum advance. I currently have stock exhaust manifolds, however I had 3 inch exhaust installed from the manifold back, exiting right behind the cab with flowmasters.

Also, the truck is registered in a county that does not require me to have a SMOG check done. So I do not require any emissions equipment, unless federally mandated. (Cats) I do have Factory A/C and it DOES work, and I would like to keep it that way. I know (maybe?) some heads may not take the brackets for accessories as well as others.

The Transmission is a stock (rebuilt) C6 without a stall converter (BOO), and I have 3.73 gearing with an Auburn Gear LSD that I am very happy with.

Needless to say, even after all that, the engine is still a boat anchor. It still only makes 154.8 HP and 173.3 ft lbs. Raising the gearing helped, but I am still not impressed. I presume this is because of those horrendous stock heads! I had the truck on a dyno, here are the results.





Dyno curve

Here is what I want to replace/get. Maybe I forgot something, Ill love to hear suggestions.

1. Aluminum or Cast Heads
2. Intake manifold
3. Carburetor
4. Camshaft
5. New Stall Converter (designated RPM by camshaft)
6. Transmission cooler
7. New Ignition (if necessary)
8. New Distributor (if necessary)
9. New Spark Plugs, wires, etc... (if necessary)
10. Long tube headers
11. High-flow cats

What would y'all suggest? Feel free to ask me any questions and I will answer to the best of my ability and in a timely manner.

Thank you again!

 

You are losing 30% through the drivetrain with an auto trans so your flywheel numbers are a bit better at 205hp and 225tq, but that is still pretty terrible considering that even the stock heads you have there are capable of making 250-275hp. The exhaust manifolds are an obvious choke point, they really are pretty bad on these motors so definitely get some headers for this. You mentioned a 3" exhaust from the manifolds, that isn't dual 3" is it? If so that is WAAAY too big for any 302 cubic inch build so I'd suggest either going to a 3" single with a 2.5" Y or a dual 2.5" system.

Now what to do with the motor. The first thing to know is that this is a smog era motor so the heads have hugh combustion chambers.. could be as large as 70cc. All stock this motor would have about 8.3:1 CR, you have improved that with flattop pistons but not a whole lot, so your new heads should have the smallest chambers you can get. A set of AFR185s with 58cc chambers would be a good choice IMO, that should bump compression up into the 10:1 range which will help make more torque, this motor needs all the help it can get in that regard because pretty much everything you do to get more HP weakens low rpm grunt.

With that head 400+ HP is totally possible and it won't take as much cam as you may think, for example dyno sims suggest that something like a Comp XE268H would accomplish that and still produce a respectably broad powerband that would work with a 2500rpm converter.

Now the only caution I will put up here is that while the stock 302 bottom end is typically pretty stout this mid '80s copy is the weakest that was ever offered, both earlier and later blocks are stronger but all of them have 2 bolt main so the two main enemys are high rpms and boost. High rpms is 6000+ in this case, you will be OK with an occasional romp up there but if you want something that can live up there indefinitely then you need a more serious shortblock.

 

Good advice from Conanski. I would only suggest one more thing really, ditch the Flowmasters because they are not a performance muffler. They have a nice unique sound, but don't really flow well.

 

What is a good performance muffler in your opinon?

The Flowmaster that I got looks like it had a straight through path, flanked by their resonance chambers. So I think they flow pretty well.

 

Thank you Conanski for the reply.

I was aware that I was losing some power in the drivetrain, and its nice to know that the engine is pumping out at least over 200hp. The truck originally came with a C4 transmission, but a series of events caused my C4 to get switched with a C6, which I guess is a blessing, since I have read that the C6 can handle more torque as compared to the C4. Correct me if I am wrong. I figured that the numbers were pretty lousy when I got the results from the dyno, and through my reading I had a feeling it was these smog era heads.

So, as for the exhaust.. When I had the truck on the dyno, it had the stock H-pipe with a single 2.5" pipe going all the way to the rear of the truck. Basically stock.

Well.. The gentlemen at the dyno told me that I should put dual 3" pipes with headers. SO.. I had the stock exhaust removed and had 3" dual pipes from the manifolds back installed. The exhaust shop did a fantastic job with it, and recommended some long tube headers as well, but I did not have the funds at the time, and I was going to get them put in at a later date.

I am going to get some long tube headers for sure, and its good to know that, that is one of the choke points. However, should I get long tube headers with a 2.5" collector and run the dual 2.5" pipe instead of the dual 3"? Its a real bummer that I spent that money on the 3" pipe, but live and learn.

What long tube headers would you recommend? I heard hedmen headers were a decent brand. Also, SDDL-UP, thank you for the reply as well. What would you recommend for the mufflers? I guess flowmaster does a good job with their marketing team because I though flowmasters were decent, better than the generic stuff at least.

That covers the exhaust , now on to the motor. Thank you for the info on the combustion chambers. I was under the impression, the larger the chamber the larger the displacement, thus more power. Oh how I was mistaken! Its good to know that the pistons I have help at least a little, I did not want to have to replace them. So the better the compression ratio, the better the torque, and I am totally ok with running premium fuel (higher octane). I will look into the AFR185s heads. Now, If I am looking for a set of heads with the smallest combustion chambers, as long as they are made for the 302W, I do not have to worry about valve clearance, since the pistons have the valve reliefs right? Also, any headers made for the 302W would fit aftermarket heads, right? I want to make sure I don't make the mistake of buying parts that do not pair together. That would be a disaster.

Are the MSD ignition, MSD coil, stock vacuum advance distributor OK? I know raising the compression may require shorter gaps on the plugs, right? I read that somewhere.

This is all getting very exciting when you say that the AFR185s head is totally possible of making 400+ HP, without a super crazy cam. However, to make numbers like that I would have to get a new intake and especially a different carburetor wouldn't I? I will look into the Comp XE268H, and am excited to hear that, that cam would work with a 2500rpm converter. I really want to get a stall converter. Do the heads dictate what cam you can get? I don't have a lick of knowledge about how those two pair.

That Holley I have now has given me nothing but headaches from the start, and also the gentlemen at the dyno laughed when they saw it, so I guess its garbage? They told me the machine shop that put my engine together in 2014 just unpacked the carb and installed it, and did not even bother putting the right jet size. I had a TON of hesitation when I first got the truck back, and it was due to the jet size. They replace the jets before they ran the dyno. I also have NO IDEA what kind of intake I have, there are no markings on it whatsoever. It would be a bummer to have great flowing heads and the choke point being the intake.

Thank you again for letting me know about the caution with the engine. I do believe the block I have was cast in '79, since that is the year the truck was built, September '79 I believe. anyways, Either way, I don't plan on romping it very often at all past the 6000+ RPM, since I mainly drive the truck on side streets, very rarely on the highway, and have no plans on boosting either. Maybe I would take it to the Drag strip every now and then, but I would never even consider taking it to a road track.

 

Conanski, I found these, are they the parts that you were talking about?

Heads:
Brand: Airflow Research (AFR)
Manufacturer's Part Number: 1388
Part Type: Cylinder Heads
Product Line: AFR 165cc/185cc/195cc SBF Renegade 20 Degree Street/Strip Heads
Cylinder Head Style: Assembled
Cylinder Head Material: Aluminum
Intake Valve Diameter (in): 2.020 in.
Cylinder Head Finish: Natural
Combustion Chamber Volume (cc): 58
CNC-Machined Combustion Chamber: Yes
Intake Runner Volume (cc): 185cc
Exhaust Runner Volume (cc): 68cc

Camshaft:
Brand:COMP Cams
Manufacturer's Part Number:31-242-3
Part Type:Camshafts
Product Line:COMP Cams Xtreme Energy Camshafts

The Xtreme Energy XE268H camshaft is great for the true Street Machine equipped with a 2200+ stall torque converter.
(This hydraulic flat tappet camshaft will fit Ford 289 and 302 engines from 1963-1995.)

Camshaft Specifications:
- RPM Range: 1600 to 5800
- Valve Timing: 0.006
- Lobe separation (degrees): 110
- Intake Centerline (degrees): 106
- Valve Lash: Hydraulic
- Duration: Intake 268/Exhaust 280
- Duration @ .050" Lift: Intake 224/Exhaust 230
- Valve Lift: Intake 0.509/Exhaust 0.512
- Lobe Lift: Intake 0.319/Exhaust 0.32

 

Yes that would be my suggestion. Dyno shops like giant exhaust systems because it guarantees no restrictions which produces the biggest HP numbers, but it totally kills exhaust gas scavenging at lower rpms which kills torque output.

Headman ad Pacesetter fit these trucks best.

Should be good but the cam plays a part too so you should always check for clearance when building the motor.
Yes.

Does your MSD have a rev limiter function? If so setting it for 5500rpm would make it pretty much fool proof.

 

I run DynoMax mufflers myself and like them. On another site I frequent a guy picked up 30+ HP on a 650+HP big block Chevrolet I think it was. I'm not saying the Flowmasters are a "bad" muffler, they are just not as performance oriented as the name would indicate.

I like Hooker headers myself, a little nicer, cleaner bends and collector than the Headman headers.

Heads and camshaft - that's 80% of you performance right there. Get those right and you can fine tune the other things later.

 

I thought I would share an update on where this build is now since its been a couple months. So, after much consideration from what y'all have said here, and spending quite a large chunk of change , I purchased quite a few parts, and now the we are putting it all together. The truck should be done and complete by March 22nd... should. Here is the list of parts I got:

- AFR 185s with the 58cc combustion chambers, Part # 1388
- COMP Camshaft, The Xtreme Energy XE268H, Part # 31-242-3
- Hedman ELITE Headers, silver ceramic metallic, 1-1/2" tube dia, 3" collecter, full length design, Part # 89358
- Edelbrock Performer RPM Air-Gap intake manifold, Part # 7521

I also got some other miscellaneous stuff like a transmission cooler, got a new wood board bed kit from classictruckbeds.net, got the brakes fixed (I had warped front rotors and cracked brake shoes in the back), and got the A/C working.

Now before I get some flack, yes, my truck is in a shop right now getting all these parts installed because of the reasons that I had mentioned in the first post.
I asked the shop about a new torque convertor with a 2200+ stall and they said that they would have to see how much power the motor would make before making a purchase. Also, he had mentioned on installing an electric pusher fan in the front to help cool things down better than the belt driven fan.

Now that I have spent all this cash on these parts, I hope to hell that they install without any major setbacks. When I called the shop today they had said that they are going to start working on the truck Thursday and start seeing if everything I bought would fit with the truck. Now I cant say for certain that the these are the pistons that I had installed back in 2014 when I had it rebuilt, but from the pictures and from what I can remember, these are the pistons that I most likely have.

Sealed Power 273AP60 - Sealed Power Cast Pistons

Pistons, Cast, Flat, 4.060 in. Bore, Ford, Set of 8

From what I have been reading here on this site, the valve reliefs should be large enough for the AFR heads, and I am hoping to hell that the valve clearance is good. I believe that would be the only major issue that could possibly happen with this build.

I am really nervous and excited to get to see the truck March 22nd. Thats when I am flying out to California for a few weeks to visit family and of course see my truck. I am going to stain and install the bed boards myself, so at least I get to to do something myself . It will be a nice vacation, and to be honest I am fishing for some encouragement that the money I just forked out is well spent, and that it should pair together. Hope to not be disappointed this time around, because with the last rebuild in 2014 I was incredibly underwhelmed.. Thanks again for all the advice!

 

 

It is xtra important to finish hone one of those blocks with a torque plate.