Horsepower Q's
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Horsepower Q's
What do you think my 82 351 puts out?..........re-built, bore .30 over, performer intake, 4 barrel 600 CFM carb?. Just ball park, WHat did the 82 351 put out stock? I read 149hp........is this right?. sounds weak.
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'82 was the beginning of the end of the dark ages. 149 sounds low for a 351, but it's not impossible.
On your rebuild, did you increase compression? Cam? Exhaust? Head work?
If you just put the Performer and a 600 carb on top of the stocker, you could be up to as much as 175 horse....
On your rebuild, did you increase compression? Cam? Exhaust? Head work?
If you just put the Performer and a 600 carb on top of the stocker, you could be up to as much as 175 horse....
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From: Virginia
A truck engine is not about horsepower numbers, it's about torque numbers. It takes torque to get a heavy load moving. As an example, put a higher revving mustang engine in it that has higher horsepower numbers, and you will be disappointed in it's performance using it as a truck.
Posting Guru
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I read that the 82 351we put out 180hp @ 3600 rpm and 285 ft lbs torque @ 2400. You should have at least 200 hp now . A good cam, head work or heads, higher CR and headers could double that. A 302 made 130hp in 82, so I'm sure the 50 extra cubes made more than 15hp.
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4 barrel or 2bbl originally? If it was originally a 4bbl, I doubt you gained more than 5hp. If 2bbl, 20hp could be possible.
Big gains won't come unless you at minimum change the camshaft/exhaust and probably increase airflow through the heads. What you want to stay away from in a truck is a 'peaky' engine, so stay away from narrow lobe separation and lots of overlap as they will tend to make power at higher rpm in a narrower range (there are exceptions, though, you can do one or the other and still probably have decent low end grunt).
For compression increases, expect 10% gain for 8:1 to 9:1, 15% gain for 8:1 to 10:1, 18% for 8:1 to 11:1, etc. The higher in compression you go, the less you gain, so I honestly wouldn't go much over 9:1 compression as it'll just cost you more at the pump without much more power.
What are your plans for the truck? If you want a mud bogger or stop light to stop light racer, it'll be vastly different than a tower/hauler or rock crawler type vehicle.
Big gains won't come unless you at minimum change the camshaft/exhaust and probably increase airflow through the heads. What you want to stay away from in a truck is a 'peaky' engine, so stay away from narrow lobe separation and lots of overlap as they will tend to make power at higher rpm in a narrower range (there are exceptions, though, you can do one or the other and still probably have decent low end grunt).
For compression increases, expect 10% gain for 8:1 to 9:1, 15% gain for 8:1 to 10:1, 18% for 8:1 to 11:1, etc. The higher in compression you go, the less you gain, so I honestly wouldn't go much over 9:1 compression as it'll just cost you more at the pump without much more power.
What are your plans for the truck? If you want a mud bogger or stop light to stop light racer, it'll be vastly different than a tower/hauler or rock crawler type vehicle.
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Joined: Jun 2006
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From: Ottawa, Ontario
If you still have the stock cam you didn't gain much, install something like the 351HO cam(or any aftermarket RV cam), a decent exhaust with anything but the stock manifolds and that motor should produce about 250hp... and 350 ft lbs TQ.
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From: Nutter Fort, WV
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A truck engine is not about horsepower numbers, it's about torque numbers. It takes torque to get a heavy load moving. As an example, put a higher revving mustang engine in it that has higher horsepower numbers, and you will be disappointed in it's performance using it as a truck.
I have a 345whp "mustang" engine going in mine. While i do expect it to be less spirited than the mustang was, I doubt I'll be disappointed. The engine made mad torque as well. And I can always gear it to help out.
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