Ford Engine HELP...
 

I know your S/SS racers have ways of getting the most power out of your engines, so I turn to you for some expert help...

I have been struggleing to get my car to run the numbers, and really want to race at some divisionals this year. I am working with small blocks for now, and trying desperatly to get the car to run mid 10's so I can run S/ST. seems all of our prior attempts have either fallen short, or didnt last long enough to race.

So far we have tried a mild 306, a well built 306, a 331 stroker, and a mild 347, best we have gone is 11teens. I really dont want to keep throwing money at this anymore, and cant afford to completely switch to a big block yet, or even make the move to put a Chevy in it, which I have seriously thought about lately.

Here is what I still have...

Canfield 210CC heads, that flow 310, a Parker Funnel web for the 302 block, a nice .672/.687 Mechanical roller that will top out at 8000 rpm. Hamberger oil pan for the 302 block, Flexplate, and ballancer. I have a new Glide with a 5000 stall converter, or I have a good C-4 with a 4500 converter. I have several carbs, 650, 750, and a 900. I have been thinking of building a 347 with high compression, and using what I have, but really dont want to try this again only to just fall short of being able to run 10.90's.

Any suggestions?

I have also thought about going with a 351W block and using a 427 stroker kit, but this would involve finding another block, oil pan, and intake.

Re: Ford Engine HELP...
 

Carroll Shelby

Re: Ford Engine HELP...
 

How much does the car weight,seem you should be making enough power. You just may need to get rid of some of that weight.I have ford svo v-6 in a 1984 t-bird that only has 270 cid and i ran super street and had to throttle stop it down to 10.90 it runs 10.08 all out,so i am sure your motor should be able to run the number.

Re: Ford Engine HELP...
 

You should easily be able to run 10's with a 310 cfm head and a 347 with a C-4. What brand of torque converter do you have? What mph are you running with the corresponding et? What is the 60 fts.?

Jay

Re: Ford Engine HELP...
 

what rear end and rpm's in the traps ?

might have to go lower gear ratio...

Re: Ford Engine HELP...
 

Ditch that Parker intake.
They are junk.

That's why they are on E-Bay for $109 brand new.

It's costing you 20 HP for sure.

Re: Ford Engine HELP...
 

Freddie Sounds like it's not so much the engine as the combo itself. You need to give more info, gearing tire size weight RPM ect. I built a "very" mild 347 for my nephew this summer small hydraulic rollercam flat top pistons victor manifoldout of the box holley runs on pump gas with stock fuel pump and fuel system, he street drives it. At the track on street tires with 2500 converter spinning most of first goes 11.70s no slapper bars or anything, so I'd say it's your combo. Joe P.S. this is assuming there is basically nothing wrong with your engine ie. totally wrong cam,carb,or tune

Re: Ford Engine HELP...
 

:) hey freddie...our kids run two super/street-hot/rod ...10.90 fox body cars..one a 347"...other a 358"...neither one is "high dollar"...for sure...they run 10.70's in heat..so not much room for error...but would be happy to go over them.. Equipment wise...if you think it'll help...e-mail me.... vrehotford@bellsouth.net...or call me 704-528-3594...or cell 845-216-5337...drake:)

Re: Ford Engine HELP...
 

See super stock racer John Douglas in Tampa, let him Dyno motor & look at car . He will have you running 10.50 in no time. You may have wrong first gear in trans, wrong rear end gears, wrong tires on rear, wrong drive shaft angle eating horse power, brakes not releasing like they should, etc, etc. If the motor makes 480 hp on dyno it will push 3100# car 10.60 if nothing is wrong in car. But till you know HP.' & torque & where the peak of both are at you have no clue . Is it the car or is it the motor? What is the weight of the car? Does the body flex?

Re: Ford Engine HELP...
 

car is 2950# with me in it, I have a 3.73 gear in it, and using a 28x10.5 tire. Car is mini tubbed and using stock type suspension, Strange coil overs rear, QA1 front end with strange struts. car has a full cage and currently certified to 8.50.

I was having trans issues, most all year and only got a good pass or two, this is why I am switching to a glide. Car just never seemed to launch good, and always seemed sluggish best 60' in the car was a 1.72.

Re: Ford Engine HELP...
 

Freddie looks like you dont have enough rearend gear.I would think you need at least 4.88.

Re: Ford Engine HELP...
 

x2
I'm a four speed guy but I don't think I would recommend going from a 3 speed to a 2 speed glide with a small cube motor. I would maybe talk to Pro Trans or JPT about a tranny and look in to the intake and rear gear. I would also second the post about getting it on a dyno. It might cost you up front but it will save you in the end and you know where your at. Just my .02

Re: Ford Engine HELP...
 

:eek: :eek: 3.73 !!!! :eek: :eek:
You gotta be kidding. You have a small block that is good for well over 8000 RPM and your are using a 5000 RPM converter and a 3.73 gear????? WAY wrong. I would expect to see a converter in the 6000 range and a 5.83 to 6.00 rear gear. What MPH did you go on the few passes you did make? The MPH will tell you if you have enough HP. If you are running 122+ MPH, you have pleny of power, you just aren't getting that thing moving off the line. A 60' of 1.72 speaks volumes. You should be under 1.40 to go mid 10's.

Re: Ford Engine HELP...
 

Best MPH was 119, consistantly 99/101 in the 1/8th.

Re: Ford Engine HELP...
 

if this is the mph you are running then your car is running out of steam, my street car runs 124mph in the 1/4 in 99mph in the 1/8. This is a n/a 331 with a 5speed. You need more gear under this car....ala 4.30-4.56

Re: Ford Engine HELP...
 

I agree, your running out of HP on the top end. Even so, if you had a respectable 60 in the low 1.40's you should be running 11.0's with what you have. Your not going to get there without a lot more gear.
I don't see where a glide is gonna help. There is no reason on earth why you shouldn't be able to get your C4 to live long and work great. There are c4's behind 750+ HP big blocks that do just fine.

Re: Ford Engine HELP...
 

What gear are you guys running in your Auto SS cars? I have had people tell me the 3.73's were great for what i want to run, and yet others say I need at least a 4.30. I know most SS cars make the absolute most out of what they are allowed.

Re: Ford Engine HELP...
 

The PG will absoluteley kill the ets. I cant believe someone told you 3.73's were the way to go. With a 28" tire I would recommend either a 4.56 or 4.86 depending on how high you want to spin it. The other thing that draws a red flag for me is the mph you have seen and I would MAKE SURE the valve springs are up to snuff. Just because you dont hear a audible "valve float" doesnt mean they arent out of control. As others have said the dyno may help but if it's still in the car I would try the new rear gears first WITH a C4. 3.73's had to be killing that poor thing. Hope this helps.
Jay

Re: Ford Engine HELP...
 

Freddie what most are saying is that you need to set up yor car for drag racing and not for the street if you want to run super street,you may even need to change your front and rear shocks and springs,
loosen up that convertor, lean down on that carb.,play with the cam center line, mill those heads, change that intake ect,ect,ect,.

Re: Ford Engine HELP...
 

I can not thank you guys enough for all your help.

My new Engine builder, actually has a old SS motor sitting there he is going to put in my car for me to use till we get mine right. He loves S/SS racing and asked me if I would mind running one of the Gt classes this year instead of S/ST. If I did my math right our 89 GT with a 68 302 4bbl motor should fall into GT/MA. He is also sending out my converter to make it work with his engine. Otherwise he said the car should work fine. I am in the process of changing out the front cross member and a arms now, otherwise the car should be fine.

He is positive we can get at least .10 under the index, to start with at least. I tiold him as long as I can at least be close to the index for the first try I dont care. I am not looking to go out and set records or nothing just want to be able to race, and have fun. Best time I ever had racing was driving a friend of mines old 68 camaro SS/FM car back in the late 80's, we even won class once it was just cool.

Re: Ford Engine HELP...
 

Freddie, if your serious about super stock, get ahold of SSSSA and race with them. I am building a stocker and this is where I will play before hitting div. races. I'm about 45 minutes from Tampa, outside of Dade City, just off of 98, close to Trilby and Ridge Manor. STOCKERS RULE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Rick.

Re: Ford Engine HELP...
 

If you are going to try to run SS, the QA1 front end ( I assume you mean K-member) will have to go. Make sure the interior isn't gutted either. You have to keep the dash, door panels, interior trim, etc.

Like these other guys said, use a good C-4 with a low first gear.

Re: Ford Engine HELP...
 

Chris, yes the K-Member and the lower control arms are being changed back to stock. I never gutted all the interior out of the car, we tastfully lightened certain areas, but retained the dash, door panels, and all interior components. I just have to carpet the rear seat area and the trunk area of the car. I think I am going to put in a new headliner as well, mine is kinda dirty and burnt a few holes in it adding to the cage.

My next question would be what kind of stuff should I plan on packing in the trailer to race at a divisional event? should I plan on being torn down simply because its a new car? I usually carry a set of intake gaskets and header gaskets anyway, but should I grab a set of head gaskets and pan set as well?

Re: Ford Engine HELP...
 

Always a good idea to have everything on hand to pull a head. I wouldn't worry too much about bottom end stuff, it's very rare that they ask for a piston/rod unless you are crazy fast, killing a record, or get protested. I don't think they pay a lot of attention to a "new" car except for safety. If you go 1.30 under on your first pass, that might be different...:eek:

Be sure to have enough removable ballast to adjust your weight to account for scale variations, and make sure the ballast is properly attached, they look for lose stuff.

Make sure you have an easy way to draw fuel for fuel check... that is one thing that is unique to Stk/SS.

I think you'll like stock/SS, especially in Div 2. There are a lot of really nice, friendly guys (and a few gals) in the classes and most of them treat us Ford racers as equals (well almost all are nice, and Fords almost equal :rolleyes:). Most of the tech guys are friendly and helpful too. We won't mention the div director, oops, I just did...

Re: Ford Engine HELP...
 

Bill: thaks I look forward to getting back out there. I am in the process of making sure all my stuff is legal to the letter. just dont want to have any issues at the track.

As for 1.anything under... well I dont see that happening any time soon. I am just looking to hit the index, and maybe a tenth or two under. that would be a big deal to me this first year back.

Re: Ford Engine HELP...
 

Freddie,Get in touch with Smitty he lives in Tampa (ford man,ss/ia) or Mike Pearson he lives in olsmar,I know he can advise you in the right way,Jay Slane

Re: Ford Engine HELP...
 

Thanks Jay, any help at this point is greatly appreciated