Motor Building For Dummies...

[DebosDave'72]

With all the options out there for a motor, is there a simple to understand guide for all the performance options out there? Roller, Rocker, stroker, HO, intakes, exhaust... how does one determine what is best for what they want to do with their bronco? I have been planning on purchasing a rebuilding book, but wondering where I can find other information on all the choices...

sorry for my stupidity in this area...

Dave

 

[bmc69]

Buy a decent 'desktop dyno' program and play with various motor build options. You have to pay a bit more for the best - like DynoSim Pro that we run - but they also have the added feature of allowing direct insertion of specific vendor part numbers like camshafts for instant. Huge parts libraries available and alos include a lot of 'baseline' motors that were verified with real dyno runs.

 

[wildbill]

;D ;D ;D There are a lot of good books out to help you on that. You should think about what you want from a motor look at the specks and go from there. In a bronco I would suggest a 351W motor with a RV cam headers 4V or EFI. The 351W will give you a lot of torque and good HP and the most important part of it longevity. Good luck and have fun. Bill %)

 

[broncnaz]

SA design has a good book or 2 on the subject you can usually get them at the local book store or speed shops they have some good info. But you still have a lot of choices no matter what engine you decide to go with it needs to be built around the cam shaft and the camshaft needs to match your overall gear ratio and driving needs. Call a cam company and get there sugggestion for your vehicle they will also recommend other parts headers intake ect. and should be able to tell you the compression ratio required for the cam ect. These will all affect what parts to buy but are by no means a absoute must except maybe for the comp ratio of the pistons. With 351W or stroker engines you can get away with a wilder camshaft because you will have more torque on the low end. on the same hand you may not have to put much into a 351W as it will make more power from the get go than a 302.
There is no single right answer here but there are a lot of good combonations that seem to work for most people

 

[JaxLax]

'Engine Builders Handbook' and 'How to Rebuild Small-Block Ford Engines' both by Tom Munroe
'How to Build Big-Inch Ford Small Blocks' and '...Max Performance Ford V-8's on a Budget' by George Reid