ok guys, i've got my 81 f-150 w/ the 4 spd 4x4 w/ a 3.0:1 ratio in the back (believe it or not!)...my beloved 300 has had a hard life and as a result, not much power to her anymore and even less oil pressure...(valves tick louder than the radio can play!) i'm looking around and beginning to gather parts for a new motor and kindof decided how i want to do it. i wanna bore it over about .030", 240 head, mallory ignition, 4 bbl intake, headers, and some sort of holley carb.

a few things that i need advice on is which cam i should go with (i know u've all read this question a million times). i was looking around on clifford's site and studyin up on comp cams too, but am undecided.

also, i would like to get away from the hydraulic lifters...i think i read somewhere that there was a chevy set that would fit(shame shame, i kno), could anyone direct me to where i could find a set of those? is it even a good idea?

i'm also open to other suggestions...perhaps i should look into beefing up the bottom end? crank, rods, pistons??? gear ratios?? i primarily want to use this pickup for general farm work, 5 wheel trailers, but still want some ump on the streets...u kno, to kinda show the punks driving around in their "hopped up" rice grinders lol...i kno i won't beat alot of the v8's out they're, but i'd sure like to make them worry a little!

thanks guys!

 

Stay with hydraulics. No advantage to solids here, just adds maintenance.

Check this build.

1958 Mercury M100 4x2 - '58 Mercury M-100 & Panel

 

i'm not really afraid of maintenance, i just am tired of my valves ticking and there's nothing i can really do for it

that is a sweet 300 btw!

 

New, clean hydraulics with proper oil pressure should be quiet. Solids start to clatter when needing adjustment. Gummed up hydraulics tic like mad.

 

You need more gear in them there axles, especially if mpg isnt a major concern, just wanting a farm truck.

Im usually all for a daily driver that can haul *** but in your scenario, Im thinking build the truck to be the farm truck you need and like it or hate it for what it is, get a car if you need to be fast.

 

MH is right. Plan your build for grunt work. Strip the engine to bare block, crank and head. Have the major parts hot tanked and magnafuxed, ultra sounded if available. Stick with the stock head, but port-n-polish for improved flow. Don't get radical with the cam but stick with hydraulic vs mechanical lifters you shouldn't need to rev into an rpm range to justify them. Cloyes timing gears set to straight up will help a lot as well. Sealed Power hypereutetic's for pistons will do the job nicely. A good 2v or small 4v carb should be more than enough for the roll. Switch to EFI exhaust manafolds with cleaned up runners or shorty headers. An 11" quality clutch, if manual xmsn, is a must. At least 4.11 gears, LS rear and selectable locker in the front, should do nicely for putting the power to the ground.

Since you got a '99 as well, build it into a race truck if you really want one. If your really wanting something different, find a 300 powered full size Bronco and build it as a tough trail and race truck.

Just my 2 cents.

 

Meh, I don't know buddy.....I'll let you run it against my 69 when you get it done.

All kidding aside, I like what these guys are telling you!!!! Build for torque (is there any other way to build an inline??) and you won't be dissapointed. I think you might soil yourself if you jumped to a 4.10 rear gear right now!!! I know what you're planning to do with it and I'd say go to 4.10 if not 4.56!!!! Also, nothing to fear with hydraulics. I'm not sure what's out there for adjustable rockers but (even with non-adjustables) with new, good lifters and the preloads set right it'll be nice and quiet....except for that exhaust roar!!! If you can go with adjustables I would......it was one of the best moves I made when I built my 390. They're much easier to get the preload right than with non-adjustables!!!

$.02 from an FE guy!!!
-Jake

 

Ordinarily I wouldn't respond to another "how to get power thread", but this one actually has some new material in it. It doesn't hurt that I get another opportunity to say that Clifford sucks.

Clifford sucks. If you have any literature from them you should set fire to it and put the fire out with a bucket of ****. That said, your cam selection should be based on your head flow numbers. Try to find a performance shop in your area with a flow bench and get some numbers from 3 or 4 cylinders in your head. If the exhaust flows 75% or more than the intake in your lift range run a single pattern like a Comp 260 or 268. If the exhaust is 70-75% of the intake, look hard at the level 2 or level 3 grind from Crower. Any of the above grinds can be used with 1.7 rockers without problems and if it was my truck I'd go for the 268 or the level 3. If your exhaust flow is less than 70% of the intake flow look at the offerings from Crane. Using 1.7 rockers on the Crane cams will require some expensive valvetrain mods since they put the lift well over .500.

Why the hell would you want to get away from hydraulic lifters? Hydraulic liftes are a gift from God and there is no reason not to use them unless you are planning on winding it over 6500 rpm on a regualar basis. No Chevy lifter that I know of fits the 300. You are thinking of the rockers. FWIW, the lifters of the 300 and the SBF are the same.

A good prep of the stock parts is all that's needed. ARP makes rod bolts and a head stud kit. They probably have something on their shelf that would work on the mains, but it isn't listed in their catalog. For pistons I would run a nice hypereutectic.

 

Clifford sucks. If you have any literature from them you should set fire to it and put the fire out with a bucket of ****.

lol!!!! i'll take that as a no on the clifford cam lol!

thanks for the input!

 

Another thing that I forgot to mention the first time is that the cam you choose might be ground to be installed straight up with standard timing gears. If that's the case you will be wasting your money on an adjustable timing gear set. Check with the cam grinder to see if their cams are ground advanced for that reason. I know the Crane cam is, not sure about the others.