Oversteer Garage

To start with we purchased a blueprinted and balanced short block, and I assembled the engine in my high school auto shop and finished up in our garage.  Parts were assembled using Redline synthetic assembly lube and 30wt Pennzoil, Permatex Ultra Black RTV, and wrenching to torque specs.  I suggest reading everything you can find.  One particularly helpful book is “How To Rebuild Small-Block Ford Engines,” by Tom Monroe (HP Books, 1989).  I also recommend an “Exploded View Illustration Manual” for your model year.  There were lots of things that had to be worked out to make the parts work together.  If you’re interested in similar combinations, the information below might help you avoid some of the trouble I had (but no guarantees implied for this information)..….

We lived in a very small town, and most of the stuff was mail-ordered.  For most parts I list the source we used.  From my experience, I’d say you can count on about 10-20% of the stuff you order being wrong, and another 10-20% will be backordered (sometimes for a verylong time and sometimes even after they tell you its in stock).  Lots of mail order companies charge your credit card even if they backorder your parts.  I didn’t list sources for the Ford Racing (formerly Motorsport) parts, which you can get lots of places (prices seem reasonably consistent from different sources).

Quick Engine Specs:

Shortblock:  DSS Racing Bullet 306
Heads:  Trick Flow Twisted Wedge
Camshaft:  Lunati Roller Cam #51017
Intake:  Edelbrock Victor EFI
Fuel Injectors:  Ford Motorsport 30lb/hr
Throttle Body:  BBK 70mm
MAS Air Meter:  Pro-M 76mm meter calibrated for 30lb/hr injectors
Ignition:  MSD 6A box with Billet Distributor
Cooling:  Northern two-row radiator, high-flow aluminum water pump, Ford Taurus dual-speed fan
Exhaust:  Hedman longtubes with Magnaflow X pipe and mufflers
Transmission/Clutch:  Tremec TKO 5spd with Centerforce Dual Friction Clutch

Power:  325 HP @ 6500 RPM and 317 lb/ft @ 4500 RPM (rear wheel dyno numbers from carburated configuration, TBD on EFI)

Specific Details:

Rotating Assembly:

Short block was purchased from DSS Competition Engines http://www.dssracing.com/ Bullet 306 Short Block (see also “Windy City Bullets,” Super Ford magazine, June 1999 pp. 44-49).

• Block: Race-prepped production (1985) 1-piece rear-main seal, roller-cam block; thermal cleaned and stress relieved; Magna Fluxed; threads chased; mains checked and corrected; precision bored 0.004 smaller than final bore size; torque-plate honed to proper RMS finish in Sunnen CV616 to final bore size;  C.B.N. deck equalized, oil galleys tapped for thread-in galleys, deep-seat freeze plugs installed; and Federal Mogul seamless cam bearings installed.
• Crank: Race-prepped production crankshaft; thermal cleaned; shot peened; Magna Fluxed; precision ground; leading-edge oil-scooped mains; chamfered rods; and electronically balanced to racing tolerances.
• Rods: Race-prepped factory forgings 5.090-inch long; shot peened; Magna Fluxed; straightened; CNC Diamond resized with ARP WaveLoc rod bolts; and balanced to racing tolerances.
• Pistons: Custom forged 0.030-inch over (4.030-inch bore for 306 cubic-inches with stock 3.0-inch stroke); 2-valve-relief flat top; CNC flycut specifically for Trick Flow Twisted Wedge heads; and balanced to racing tolerances.  Piston-to-wall clearances set to 0.0015 to 0.002.
• Rings: Sealed Power / Speed Pro moly rings.
• Bearings: Federal Mogul / TRW bearings.  Rod and main clearances set at 0.0025 to 0.003.
• Vibration Damper: Fluidampr Model #FLU-715221 with 50-oz counterweight (34-oz-in unbalance) for late-model 5.0L Ford small-block V8; 4-bolt crank pulley pattern; 6 5/8-inch O.D.; 12.9 lbs (engine only “sees” a 10.4-lb rotating weight because of Fluidamprdesign).
• Flywheel: Ford 30-lb. 157-tooth 10.5-inch cast-iron flywheel with 50-oz-in unbalance, part #M–6375-B302
• Pilot Bearing: Roller pilot bearing from Danny Bahn (DB) Performance Engineering in Rosemead, CA (626) 571-7126.  Danny Bahn has an awesome yellow ‘66 coupe you may have seen in Hot Rod and Car Craft.
• Pressure Plate and Clutch: Centerforce http://www.centerforce.com/ Dual Friction 10.5-inch pressure plate and clutch disc package specifically for late model small-block Ford with Tremec TKO 26-spline input shaft, part #DF161048; centrifugal assist diaphragm pressure plate for stock pedal effort at low speeds but 90% of the clamping force of the Ford Racing heavy-duty pressure plate.
• Bellhousing: McLeod #8660 Explosion-Proof Bellhousing; for 6-bolt small-block Ford from Dark Horse Performance; includes engine plate; mounts for T-5 or Tremec.
• Throw-out Bearing: Ram part #485 for early-model small-block Ford with mechanical (pre-cable) clutch linkage, from Summit Racing.

Motor Mounts: Ford NOS.

Heads: Trick Flow Specialties http://www.trickflow.com/ Twisted Wedge Street Heads part #TFS–51400003; A356-T61 aluminum; CNC machined; 2.02/1.60 intake/exhaust valve diameter; tungsten-alloy valve seats compatible with unleaded fuel; special manganese-bronze alloy valve guides 0.500–inch O.D. by 2 inches long; Viton valve seals; 170 cc high-velocity intake runner with port opening 2.0-inch high by 1.20-inch wide; 66 cc exhaust runner volume with port opening 1.50–inch high by 1.25-inch wide; 61 cc Twisted Wedge combustion chamber rotating the intake and exhaust valve angles to unshroud the valves and move them closer to the center of the cylinder bore while moving the spark plug closer to the bore centerline; heads grooved for FelPro LocWire O-ring gaskets part #1006; Ford Racing ARP l70,000-psi head bolts with 1/2-inch shoulder on 7/16-inch bolt model #M-6065-C289, lubed with Form-a-Gasket bolt sealer on threads and ARP assembly lube on washers, torqued in three steps in the prescribed sequence to 70 ft-lbs.  The upper row (in the rocker arm area) was then torqued to 80 ft.-lbs.; air injection ports in front and rear of heads plugged.

• Compression Ratio: Estimated at 10.0:1.  This is based on the DSS Racing claim of 10:1 compression using their flat-top pistons and a 58-cc combustion chamber which was reduced by decking the cylinder headers .020.
• Valves: CNC profiled, one-piece, non-magnetic stainless steel with hardened tips; 2.02/1.60–inch intake/exhaust valve diameter; 11/32-inch stem diameter; 0.260-inch tip height; overall length 4.960-inch intake and 4.980 exhaust.
• Valve Springs (upgraded): 1.460-inch diameter single coil with damper; 125 lbs. @ 1.780-inch installed height; open pressure 376 lbs. @ 0.600″ lift (420 lbs. per inch spring rate); maximum recommended lift 0.600 inches.
• Retainers: Chromemoly steel, machined for 7-degree locks.
• Locks: 7-degree machined steel.
• Rocker Studs: 170,000 psi tensile strength; 3/8-inch top thread, 7/16-inch base thread.
• Guide Plates: Carburized steel for 5/16-inch hardened pushrods.
• Tappets: Ford Racing hydraulic roller lifters part #M-60500-R302 used with Ford Racing roller cam conversion kit part #M-6253-A50.
• Rocker Arms: Ford Racing 1.6:1 aluminum needle-bearing roller rockers for 3/8-inch stud mount, part #M-6564-A351.
• Rocker Stud Girdle: Trick Flow Rocker Stud Girdles, part #51400701.
• Pushrods: Lunati custom-length 6.750-inch long hardened 5/16-inch diameter part #82704; heat treated, carbonitrided chromemoly with one-piece swaged ends; length optimized using the Trick Flow recommended procedure.

Flow Bench Numbers from Trick Flow (at a pressure differential of 28 inches of water):

Camshaft: Lunati http://www.lunaticams.com/ part #51017 hydraulic roller cam, Grind #RRN1-218-228; advertised duration 276 degrees intake, 286 degrees exhaust; duration at 0.050 inch tappet lift 218 degrees intake, 228 degrees exhaust; 108-degree intake-lobe centerline, 112-degree lobe separation; lift with 1.6:1 rockers is 0.536 inches on intake and 0.536 inches on exhaust; exhaust opens 50 degrees Before Bottom Dead Center (BBDC) and closes at -2 degrees After Top Dead Center (ATDC); intake opens 1 degree BTDC and closes 37 degrees ABDC; late model 5.0 firing order (same as 351W).

Timing Chain & Sprockets: Performance Automotive Warehouse http://www.pawinc.com/ premium double-roller timing chain and sprockets part #515; 3 key ways; used with 2-piece fuel-pump eccentric.

Cooling System:

• Timing Cover: Remanufactured ’67 289 cast aluminum; with new front crankshaft seal from NAPA part #18546.
• Water Pump: Milodon aluminum high-flow pump for early small-block Ford (passenger-side inlet) part #16230 from Performance Automotive Warehouse.
• Pulleys and Drive Belt: March Performance http://www.marchperf.com/ V-belt clear-coated polished-aluminum underdrive pulleys selected to mate late-model 5.0 4-bolt Fluidampr with early-model small-block water pump (passenger-side-inlet) and early alternator; 3-sheeve crank pulley to allow later re-installation of the air conditioning, March model #1547; single sheeve water pump pulley #1552; single sheeve alternator pulley from PowerMaster.
• Radiator: Northern Radiator from Summit Racing.  Added drain petcock and temperature sensor bung.

Lubrication:

• Oil Pump: Ford Racing high-volume oil pump #M-6600-D2 with Ford Racing high-strength oil-pump shaft #M-6605-B302.
• Oil Pan: Canton 7-quart baffled, front T-sump, street oil pan part #15-610, with pickup part #15-611, one-way-screen windage tray part #93, and crank scraper part #20-83.

Ignition System:

• Distributor: O’Reilly’s remanufactured distributor for 1990 Ford Mustang. Part #30-2892 (steel gear). Bosch Ignition Module. Cap and Rotor from NAPA.
• Electronic Ignition: MSD-6A multi-sparking capacitive-discharge ignition.
• Coil: MSD Blaster HVC coil PN 8252
• Plug Wires: Ford Racing 9-mm Wire-Wound Custom Ignition Wire set part #M-12259-M301 with MSD Spark Guard dielectric grease PN 8804 in boots; low-resistance; silicone insulation and boots; cylinder numbered; TDP Pro Style Wire Separators part #TDP-9577 used to separate wires to cylinders that are close to each other in the firing order.
• Timing: 14° initial advance.

Induction / Fuel (EFI added in 2007/8):

• Intake Manifold: Edelbrock Victor EFI with 11.75″ runners; part #EDE-2945.
• Throttle Body: BBK Power-Plus 70mm Throttle Body; part #1501.
• Mass-Air Meter: Pro-M 76mm meter calibrated for 30 lb/hr injectors.
• Fuel Injectors: Ford Racing 30 lb/hr injectors. Part #FMS-M-9593-B302.
• Fuel Pump: Holley In-Line electric fuel pump.  Flows 67 GPH with max 100 PSI.
• Fuel Filter: Earl’s Performance 35 micron filter with -6AN fittings. Part #230106.
• Fuel Line: Stock lines didn’t cut it so upgraded to 3/8” aluminum tubing from front to rear from reproduction fuel tank and fabricated fuel sump with weld-in 3/8″ NPT fittings.

Exhaust:

• Headers: Hooker Competition full-length part #HOO-6901; 1 5/8-inch tubes 28 inches long, with 3-inch O.D. by 8-inch long collectors; bung welded in passenger-side collector for Edelbrock Air/Fuel Ratio Monitor O2 sensor; Earls Pressure Master Header Seals part #29D03A and Collector Seals part #29D10Z with graphite foil inserts and aluminum retainers; 3/4-inch Stage 8 locking header bolts part #8913.
• Exhaust Pipes: 2 1/2-inch pipes with mandrel bends, from Flowmaster; Dr. Gas X-pipe.
• Mufflers: Flowmaster Delta Flow 40 series mufflers.  Have special internal baffles to quiet interior resonance, while maintaining good outside sound and loudness.

Dyno Results (carburated engine):