Hey guys I have a 1982 f350 with a 351 Windsor that is currently out and I'm trying to build it up for heavy towing \ long trips and I'm trying to figure out what camshaft I need to get and what upgrades I should do. Anybody have any suggestions?

 

Welcome to FTE.

What transmission / rear gears dose the truck have?
When you say "heavy towing" what weight we talking about?
Have you given any thought of a motor / transmission upgrade to a 460 if the weight is "heavy"?
Dave ----

 

it has a 351 Windsor currently at the machine shop getting bored 40 over and I'm planning on pulling a camper and a car around at the same time so a combined weight of about 10 to 11000 lbs . I cant find anything on the rear gears but it has the t18 trans

 

Do you mean carrying a slide in camper and pulling a car? The combined weight is meaningless. Probably an F350 will carry a typical camper and with the T18 you're going to be able to pull a small car behind. You might be doing 3rd gear up a grade. But seems doable to me. If it's me I'd probably go with a stock cam.

 

alright then any suggestions for a carb? My stock one is toast?

 

351 stock cam will work and what I would go with myself.
I dont think you gain anything going with a RV cam but check with the shop on what they have to say.
It also would not hurt to call Summit, Jeggs or any of the cam manf. to see what they have to say also.
The more information you can get the better of picking something that will work the best.

I do got to say that is a lot of weight plus the truck for a 351 to be moving.
If you live where it is flat not too bad but if in the mountains it will be a slow go.
Dave ----

 

A nice upgrade would be a 4 barrel intake and small 4 barrel carb. Holley or Edelbrock around 500-600 cfm. Whichever brand you choose to run.

You may tend to start thinking about full length headers also. They do help also but I do not think the fit issues make it worth it.

 

Yep, call Summit or Jegs. Also, my local auto machine shop knows what would work well for your set up too. There should be a tag on the rear diff with numbers that will tell you what gears it has.

Here's my trusted shop, Eastwoods Auto Machine - Homepage

 

The big question:

Have you previously been driving this truck in the planned configuration, i.e. with slide-in camper and towing a car? If so, were you satisfied with it? Or is this a new project to you, with no idea how it will handle the weight?

I have a 351W in my F250HD 4x4 with the T-18 transmission and 3.54 axles. It is a camper special with 8600 GVW. We regularly haul a slide-in camper and flat tow our CJ-2A Jeep. The truck and camper together come close to the 8600 GVW, and the Jeep adds about another 2500# of towed weight. The stock 351W handles it all just fine. It's certainly not a powerhouse, but it will cruise all day at 70 MPH with no trouble. Steeper grades definitely slow it down, so we often have to drop down to about 55 MPH in third gear. Generally, if the grade is steep enough for a truck lane on the right, that's where we will be. We don't hesitate to take this combo into the mountains, but you do have to be patient.

The engine has the stock cam and 2bbl carb. I'm not well versed on different cam options, but if your builder suggests one, an RV cam may not be a bad idea. No idea if that will have much effect on emissions testing, if required in your area. I have toyed around with the idea of converting to a 4bbl carb, but the need for extra power hasn't been a major concern.

 

I recently got it and it ran awful someone had it hooked to an electric fuel pump with no regulator blew every ring and I bought it, drove 2 hours to get it home going about 75 and parked it cause it wouldn't stay running at slow speed I can't find a tag on the rear end I looked but didn't see one I'm getting all the machine work done now but nearly everything had to be replaced

 

Next step to find gears, jack up the rear of the truck, tranny in neutral, Mark the driveshaft at 12 o'clock, and a tire at 12 o'clock. Rotate the driveshaft one time and count how many times the tire turns.

I think that's how its done.

 

Gotcha. This is a brand new project to you, with no experience of how it should run.

The certification label on the driver's door jamb will have a code for the axle ratio. Details here:

https://www.garysgaragemahal.com/axle-ratios.html


If planning to keep the electric fuel pump, some important safety precautions and other details can be found here:

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...tallation.html


When you get your new engine ready to fire up, here are some VERY important details about lubrication and break-in:

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...brication.html

 

The 3.54 diffy would be best for fuel mileage. But on grades you might be able to stay in 4th gear with a 4.10