Thought I'd drop a note here.

I've got a Ford Van with a 351. Actually had three vans with the 351 over several years. Anyway, I tow a pretty good size enclosed auto hauler for my motorcycles and fuel, etc.

Would love to upgrade to a new van with the 5.4 or V10, but the thought of doing a stroker 351 is intriguing.

Anyone have some thoughts?

 

HMMMM...

A stroker 351 or a V10? Ya got me. Do what fits your budget. I'd choose the V10 over the V8 though...V8 are just so common. But a VEE-TEHN. ooh mama!

 

Although doing a build-up would be fun, you'll probably get more power with better mileage from the V10. Besides, who doesn't like "NEW" stuff.

 

Dave,
how much were you willing to stroke your 351. a 351 with any stroker kit will surly out perform any triton engine on the market to date but look at the cost , to buy a triton engine used would cost around 2 grand for V8 & V10 upwards of 3K you could get a good start on a stroker kit and not have to do any magor modifications and use the same block trans and other equipment there are a lot of stroker kits out there buyer beware and alot of combos I personally like a 426 cu in stroker from pacific coast stroker motors the motor is checked and assembled and dynoed and papers sent to you most motors ive seen of that type pushed close to 500 hp and one 480 cu inch kit motor had almost 800 hp with carb and the right indution and no triton will ever see hp like that and the 500 hp motors are in every day drivers to some food for thought good luck

 

The real issue is the rest of the truck. None of the money you spend on the gofast stroker mods enhances the day to day reliability of the truck. At some point you will still need a new transmission, alt, PS, brakes, paint, suspension, window cranks, etc, etc, etc, and who knows what else.

 

We thought about doing a 393 stroker. We'd probably do new heads to get some flow, but honestly, I'm looking for pulling torque. Yes, we figured about $3k, and probably a good 100 ft/lbs of torque. With the additional compression, using 302 pistons with stock rods, we'd have a bit more compression that might add a little gas milage with the thermal efficiency.

As for the rest of the van, she's in nice shape. Replaced the rear axles recently, and those seem to last me 120k to 140k miles. Front end hasn't been an issue yet, but I expect that soon. Trans has been very good. We did our mod's to it, and I don't expect problems.

Yes, I could buy a van with a newer style 5.4 or V10, I would prefer a V10 or a diesel (but I'm almost shying away from the diesel for the noise). However, finding a nice van with a V10 or a diesel is not as easy as finding a pick up truck.

Vans are a bit more "exclusive"...LOL!

My last van, 1989 351, went 218k. Same trans, not EAOD. Sold it to a racing friend, and he's still using it. Nice thing about having a relationship with a vehicle for so long is that you begin to know what did or might go wrong. I guess that's why the stroker feels like a good idea. Would love a nice white Chateau V10 Econoline, but try and find one used.

 

While I like both the pushrod 5.8L V-8,and the sohc 6.8L V-10,I would choose the V-10.The 393cid Windsor stroker will make buku power,but it will also cost buku $$$ to build in the long run.The stock Speed Density electronics won't work with the extra cubes& performance upgrades.The 7.3L Powerstroke diesel would be a good choice,but you're talking over $4,200 for that option.The V-10 costs less,and has good power in stock trim.Plus,you can upgrade it for less than the cost of the diesel engine,or creating a 393-inch stroker.I testdrove a(then)new 1997 Econoline in March '97,with the(then)265 horsepower V-10.For a E-350 entended cargo van,it was pretty impressive.The 2002 V-10 has more power.Then again, your 351 in your van could be rebuilt,and warmed over a bit.I had a '93 F-250 regular cab 4x4 with the 351/E4OD/4.10:1 combo,and thought it did a good job pulling.As far as fuel mileage,I don't think a 351 V-8 would get that much better than a V-10/3.73:1 gearing combination.

 

Shop that I work with for racing fuel, and I allow them to work on my cars/van, is pretty capable. Especially, their machinist. We've put some thought in to it all, and we've watched some people doing some strokers in 302's and 351's going throught the shop.

A couple of months a go, there was a 351 in a pick up that had a cam, different FI and the whole nine yards. Worked pretty well, but the idle was cr@p.

But just recently, they did a 302 stroker with stock heads and cam. The 302/351 heads are restrictive, but the combination really worked well. That ability to pull the mixture in and crush it did well. Don't need 500HP, but if we can go from 200 to maybe 270 ft pounds of torque, I think that would help. Probably would be more like 300.

Again, this kit uses 302 pistons, stock rods, replace the crank. We'd probably clean up the back sides of the valve seats to get that nice flow at small valve openings. Might even have the pistons, combustion chambers, and exhaust ports coated to retain the heat in the combustion chamber for good measure too.

 

you would get alot more than 270 ft lbs outta that 393. especially with the right induction. the 94 351 lightnings had 360 ft lbs stock with speed density. so a 393 with a smart towing combo would pull a house down.

 

If you're quoting the book numbers, take off a good 20 to 30 percent. On a chassis dyno, we got 207 ft lbs of torque, so when I state 270 or so, I'm talking real numbers at the rear wheel, not at the crank. I believe that the book numbers on my 351 are 300 ft lbs or so.

Seems as though if you change cams and heads, you loose the idle and good clean response. All I need is torque, don't need a lot of extra HP, goofy drivability, or a severe decrease in gas mileage.

 

The bottom Line... [font color="red" size="24" face="face"]V10!!![/font]

It just sounds sooooo good doesn't it.

 

Ha ! A man after my own heart. I thought I was the loner here surrounded by V-10 pick-up people. I am a 'van-guy' merely out of necessity. My previous van was a 93 E-150 w/the Mark III conversion. A 302 auto was it's motivator. I looked into stroker kits too, lots of them. I finally drove a V-10 in an E-350 and I tell you what, I was SOLD. Sure you could get more HP, and more torque. But that V-10 is a SWEET running mill. The thing I like best is how effortlessly it goes down the road. The V-10 motors up hills in OD without breaking a sweat. No kick-down, nothing. Just smooth, seamless power. I've had diesels in pick-ups, the 6.9 with an ATS turbo, the 7.3 indirect injected and the Power-Stroke. I liked all of them alot. But having to kill the motor when ordering Happy Meals got to be an inconvenience. And here in the beautiful Pacific Northwest, diesel is normally MORE than unleaded. And it takes LOTS of miles to make up for the added expense of the Power-Stroke. I pull a big travel trailer, full of gear, and the van full of kids and gear with NO sweat. I could NOT be happier with my van. The ONLY negative in the whole V-10 saga is the exhaust note (so far). I'm looking into accessory systems now. The RV community has LOTS of cool stuff for the V-10, headers, air intakes, chips, etc.

 

I am into fe stuff, this is my opinion. A v-10 is
as engine that puts out between 410 and 425 ftlbs of
torque. The v10 pulls 9 miles per gallon out
of the show room on the highway!!!! My 32 year old truck with a
rat bagged 390 pulls about 8-10mpg on the highway
regardless of the load,maybe a mile or two less per
gallon. the v-10 is a decent engine if you have a
gas tank the size of the swap bill. Its a newer engine
that hasnt been extensivly tested and improved like the
351 which has been around alot longer. one more thing
the mileage i give for the v-10 is from a
source that claims that a 1970 500cid engine
with a 850cfm 4bbl in a 4800lb car will give
you 9-14mpg,Hah! you can almost watch the needle
drop in 472 under heavy acceleration never mind a
frickin 500!!! thats my 2 cents cause gas
aint cheap over time!!!



Fe power

 

Close the book.

Just got an E350 Super Duty with a Goshen Body. Power Stroke Diesel. Only have a few miles on it. Will put on a hitch a see how it goes.