Yeah, I think I'm going to have to go for the extra torque of the 351 in order to make driving this F150 fun. But what I save on a 331 stroker kit I'll have to spend on a stouter tranny, 'cause I don't think a T5 will last in a 4000 lb truck and a 351. Even a z-spec T5 rated at 330 ft.lbs. was borderline behind a healthy 302. A decent build of MAF, heads, cam, ignition, headers, and dual exhaust on a 351 will probably surpass that by quite a bit. So I guess a TKO 500 (wide ratio) or 600 (close ratio) would be needed. And those aren't cheap.

But anyway, I searched using 'F4TE' and found a mass of entries, and I have a few questions. The better blocks are the roller F4TE? Those found in '94+ trucks should already have the roller lifters installed? I gather that some of these blocks were used in other years, and other vehicles, with flat-tappet lifters, but that the casting is the same (taller lifter bores, etc) and can be readily changed over to factory type roller lifters. Right?

When did the F4TE blocks start being used in trucks? Were some also used in cars? Other than camshaft, and probably intakes and timing, were there any differences between truck and car blocks, like stronger cranks, rods, pistons? Or were they all pretty much the same? Are all recent 351's F4TE blocks?

I ask because I called around a few wrecking yards to see what was available. Only one guy had any. He said he had 2 blocks from the early '90's but he couldn't say what vehicles they came out of or what the casting numbers were. He said his inventory software did not distinguish that and he was apparently not inclined to go look. They were cheap enough, tho, @ 200 bucks. He's about 70 miles away so I can't get down there until Sat. Is the possibility of them being roller blocks worth the trip or are they likely to be non-roller castings?

I'll appreciate any info.

Rob

 

Hi Rob,
I recently was in the same situation as you, looking for a roller cam 351W engine. This is what I could find in the forums (fora?) and deduce by looking in camshaft catalogs, etc.:

The one and only roller cam compatible 351W block is the F4TE casting.
'94-up Lightning pickups and Cobra R Mustang used this block but with a flat tappet camshaft.
The F4TE block first appeared in some late '93 vehicles and was used till the end of 351 production in 1997.
Other than the Cobra R Mustang, no cars came with a 351 for the years late '93-up.
The casting number is above the starter motor, but with a good light and possibly a mirror, you can read the number without removing the starter.
These engines all came with a nice reduction gear permanent magnet starter, make sure to get it with the engine.
They are 28 oz in unbalance engines, like all other 351s and early 302s (pre-82 or so).

 

Thanks, Beanscoot, that's helpful. A lot of yards won't let you in to look around, so if you don't have a good idea of which vehicle might have the block you're looking for, it's tough. It's hard enough to see the casting numbers to start with. Especially in a junkyard environment. That location is maybe not one of Fords 'Better Ideas'.

I'll search the posts again and read some more, as there are also some MAF and computer factors with the donor vehicle.

I know a regular 351 block can be upgraded to an aftermarket roller cam but they're very expensive and kind of Mickey Mouse looking. I'd much rather locate a factory block, if possible. The reman guys will sell you one but you're never sure of the quality of the parts they used or what they actually did to the thing. Better to rebuild it yourself.

 

You are looking for '94+ trucks only.. you won't find a roller 351 in a car in a junkyard, unless you live near Saleen Motorsports or some other race team. And even then it's not likely you'll find anything but blown motors.
The computer in the donor vehicle does not matter.. unless you need an ECU to match the motor and electronic tranny in your vehicle that is.

 

Thanks, Conanski,

F-series '94 to '97 351w it is, then. Might take me a while to locate one. I live in a rural area so good sources are about 100 miles away. Unless I get lucky.

As to the MAF/ECU thing, I gather that at the least I will need an ECU from a manual or a non-computer auto tranny to replace the one that's in the truck now ('92, 302, E4OD) if I want to convert to a manual tranny. The E4OD is nearly dead and I can either spend a bunch replacing it or spend a bunch on a manual. I'm inclined towards the manual for a number of reasons. But, this is the engine forum.

And I also gather that it would need to be an ECU from a MAF controlled vehicle if I want to convert over from the MAP system that is currently on the truck. This is my first experience with swapping/modifying fuel injected engines, and reading about the various control schemes and their attendant efficiency and precision capabilities has been quite interesting. At the least I will want to do MAF for its improved precision and accommodation of a wide range of engine mods and atmospheric conditions.

Sequential control also has its attractions. The whole bank firing of injectors is ridiculous, on the face of it. Even tho it seems to work pretty good with automatic trannys, I understand that the throttle response is unsuited to manual shifting.

An interesting related article can be found in the Tech article section on CarCraft.com where they 'Wet Flow' tested some heads in order to watch the patterns of the atomized (and not so atomized) fuel/air mixture inside the combustion chamber and cylinder.

I gotta go for now.

Rob

 

Hi Rob, I'm glad you got some useful info from us. Yes, it's much better to get a roller block than retrofit a non-roller one. And if you can rebuild it yourself, that's great since this, presumably, is part of our hobby.
Ford does put casting numbers (N.B.: they are a bit different from part numbers) in awkward places, like the bottom of cylinder heads, and above starter motors. Perhaps it's convenient to read them as they go down the assembly line.