hey guys, could someone please tell me all the differences between the romeo and windsor 4.6 and 5.4 cylinder heads? I do know that the romeo heads use girdles and the winsor caps, but what else and is there a better of the two????
Thanks!!!!!

 

anyone? and is there a good aftermarket intake available right now for a 2v 5.4? I havent been able to find one......

 

"Romeo" engines are so-called as the plant they are built in is the Romeo Engine plant in Romeo MI. These are OHC or DOHC "modular" engines in 4.6, 5.4, & 6.8 V10. They share the (too small) bore size, pistons, and several other components. They are always electronic control engines in stock applications. They are as wide as a battleship, wider even than the here-to-fore widest engine you can imagine, the old FE based 427 SOHC.

Aftermarket:

http://www.sullivanperformance.com/Y.../newsfeb04.htm

I know there are carb manifolds for the 4.6 (latest Hot Rod mag has an article) not sure about the 5.4. Google search it and spend all day looking. No distributor, but dizzy drives off the one of the cams have been mentioned.

"Windsor" engines, from the Windsor, Ontario engine plant, hail back to the early '60s when the 221/260/289, then 302, and in 1968, the 351 came to be.
The "Windsor" designation was needed as this was the time (flame alert) when Ford was unable or unwilling to make up it's mind about a then "mid-sized" V8. There was already an FE based 352. Then the 351W, then the 351 C or "Cleveland" (as in Cleveland, OH), and then another, the unloved 351M for "modified", perhaps as in being a destroked 400. All share the same bore and stroke. Few, if any other parts interchange. When the smoke cleared, the 302 and the 351W lived on into fairly recent history. Here's where you get lucky. There are more go-fast parts for these engines than any other Ford engine, except maybe the now-pre-historic but resurgent FE.

And so you can make anything you want from a 302 or 351, up to a 427 firebreather, or, from the 302, a 500hp screamer.

Nothing interchanges between Windsor and Romeo engines.

As for heads, once you pick a flavor you like, you can find probably find heads that do what you want for either series.

Which one is better? If your vehicle came with a W, W is best. If it came with a Romeo, R is best--imo, because that's what fits and your performance and upgrade dollar goes to performance and upgrade, instead of rewelding motor mounts and trying to figure out an exhaust/cooling/accessory drive system.

Did I answer your questions?

If I was wrong on any point, one or more better minds will pounce on the point like crazed badgers and post a correction.

 

I'm not a crazed badger...

Oddly, the serial number code for the Romeo engine is "W"...go figure (it's like the 8th or 9th digit in the VIN). I think the Windsor is "6" or something like that....

As for comparisons, I've got a Romeo 4.6 in my '02 Econoline and it gives decent performance with light loads, great economy for the weight of the vehicle. I don't think any of the Windsor info on the earlier engines is what the guy is looking for. There may be more performance parts available for the Romeo, because that's what's in Mustangs (all the aluminum block 4.6's are built in Romeo), but there's probably not a big difference. Likewise, all of the 4.6 modular engines will run for hundreds of thousands of miles, so no worries there.

George

 

Thanks, yes, 4.6 parts are easy, but what about 5.4? Anything going on there other than Ford GT crate engines?

 

cool, lots of info hey guys, but what are the differences between MODULAR windsor and romeo heads???
jw, can I bolt a 4.6 intake on 5.4 heads??? I know I prolly wouldnt want to because of smaller port sizes, so I really dont even know why im asking, but could I????

 

It appears some Romeo engine parts are made in Windsor now, but the Windsor term does not apply to any modular/Romeo engine.

I think this site talks about what hits and what fits.

http://www.musclemustangfastfords.co...tch/index.html

From the same mag as above. See their tech site. I couldn't find part 2, maybe you can.

http://www.musclemustangfastfords.co...est/index.html

 

I got to thinking after my last post. Since modular engine/engine parts are made both at the Romeo plant and the Windsor plant, are we seeing deja vu all over again--that parts from one factory are different than the parts from another factory? Or one builds the standard parts vs. the other the hi-po?

Thanks,

84ttb, is that what you're driving at? Differences between modular parts produced at different locations?

 

I think Windsor does mostly truck motors, both 4.6 and 5.4, whereas Romeo does some truck engines (like in my van) as well as the 4.6's for the Crown Vics, all the aluminum block 4.6's (Mustang, Explorer), and the GT40 supercharged 5.4. I live in Detroit, probably within 30 miles of both engine plants.

Here's a great article on the diffs--not as much diff as the 351W, 351C, and 351M of the old days, but I also wonder why the hell Ford doesn't just standardize--gotta drive their parts departments NUTS...

http://www.babcox.com/editorial/ar/eb40228.htm