This is going to be really fun! A 1984 LTD Crown Victoria P72 is coming home shortly. Really sweet bone stock detective car. Has a 351W. Many factory upgrades over the civilian car. But it absolutely has to be able to shake the ground. And incinerate some 15" tires. 300HP and 400TQ should do that. Any thoughts on proper and reasonable combos? Not looking for $2000 cylinder heads...
In reply to SPG123 :
I think you lost where this thread was:
https://grassrootsmotorsports.com/forum/grm/ford-351w-in-a-police-crown-vic-ltd/180706/page1/
Nitrous.
Typical Ford junk of the era. Heads and intakes are the best bang for the buck.
The heads on that 84 are probably some of the worst. Good heads are a must. We're not talking about breaking out a grinder and porting, they're just awful. 9.5:1, cam in the 225/235 duration range with a 110-112 LSA, full length headers, dual 2.5"
You could port some GT heads and get there pretty easily, but you'll be stuck with whatever chambers they have. May need to replace pistons to get enough compression.
E7TE heads IIRC have 65cc chambers which should get you 9.5:1 with dished pistons (depending on the dish)
Post info on what heads it has on it now (when you can). That isn't as easy as it sounds unless you're lucky and there is a casting number under the valve cover. Ford liked to put their casting numbers on the bottom of the head. So helpful.
I got free E7TE heads for my Challenge 351w but torn if spending $40 on junkyard GT40 heads wouldn't be better. If not Challenge I'd do GT40 no question.
In reply to Stampie (FS) :
Exactly my thinking. Next question being would the P heads work? as most "GT40 heads" out there are really probably P heads. Maybe three bars vs 4 bar... Assuming that 84 vintage 351W is not a roller motor and that heads designed for those will not simply bolt on my non roller block.
P or X heads would be lovely things.
It's been a minute since I built a Ford, but I don't recall compatibility issues with roller/flat blocks and heads. Depending on the head you sometimes need offset rockers to clear the pushrod holes.
In reply to SPG123 :
Any head will bolt on once drilled for 1/2 inch bolts but the P heads will probably require special headers which seem to be expensive. Not sure if the Explorer manifolds will work in your situation.
Won't be a roller cam.
I think a set of P heads with explorer manifolds is what I'd go for on a budget. With a bit more to spend, you might be able to find a cheap or used set of P head compatible shorty headers. Dual plane intake, vacuum secondary carb, then choose your cam last, according to the rest of the combo and your choice of rear end gear.
I love these.
I drove a 79 panther LTD from 86 through 2000. I went through three different engines, final combo was a 40 over 302, competition cams 260H, performer, Holley, Headman shorties, H pipe with a cross over, the obligatory three chamber flow masters, and a set of ported E7TE heads with crane roller fulcrums. It had a wide ratio C4 transmission to compensate a bit for the 2.26:1 rear end.
I think ARP makes head studs that are 1/2" on one end and 7/16" on the other for mix n matching short deck heads with tall deck blocks. Not a cheap solution (and maybe not possible to do studs in that engine bay), but quicker than drilling.
Curtis73 (Forum Supporter) said:I think ARP makes head studs that are 1/2" on one end and 7/16" on the other for mix n matching short deck heads with tall deck blocks. Not a cheap solution (and maybe not possible to do studs in that engine bay), but quicker than drilling.
I had forgotten about those studs.
Customer mentioned that their boat had a 351w. Figured this was a good place for 351w porn.
You can get aluminum aftermarket heads for $1000 all day long on eBay.
It looks like AFR has a $1200 option now too. I saw them fit $589 each on eBay just now.
No Ford iron head is worth a darn without lots of work. The GT40 is the best but by the time you upgrade the valve springs for good ones, you get real close to the cost of aluminum.
And you take about 70 lbs off the front tires on a nose heavy car.
In reply to AnthonyGS (Forum Supporter) :
I agree, but he's talking about 300 hp. That can be done with bone stock E7TE heads and a cam in the 220s.
And I can't imagine valve springs costing $1200.
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