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351 Ford Engine Edelbrock Bolt On Upgrades - Power & Style: What A CombinationBolt On Ponies With Edelbrock From the September, 2008 issue of Street Rodder By Jim Rizzo
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Our 351 Ford engine was no... Our 351 Ford engine was no slouch to begin with, but we gained quite a punch with the addition of some great-looking Edelbrock components and some tuning expertise from the guys at Vrbancic Brothers Racing. We STREET RODDER staffers are always looking to check out the best the street rod aftermarket has to offer-a monumental task in a world chock-full of awesome offerings for anything in the street rod realm. This time around, we set our sights on putting together a 351 Windsor crate engine for one of our many project vehicles. The engine assemblies from Ford Racing are pretty stout on their own, but like any self-respecting rodder, we guys can never leave well enough alone. That said, we talked the pros over at Vrbancic Brothers Racing into giving us a hand adding some bolt-on horsepower to our already respectable crate engine, because you can never have enough horses! This particular SBF has been tweaked a bit already, and it had already measured in at a very respectable high of 281 hp @ 4,500 rpm with an aftermarket cam, intake, and carb upgrade. To see if we could improve on this, and to add to the engine's eye appeal, we hit the Edelbrock Web site and did a bit of shopping. Good looks, affordability, and bolt-on horsepower have always been a hallmark of Edelbrock, and that's why we chose to update our latest STREET RODDER project engine with a few relatively easy bolt-on upgrades-specifically, a pair of #60259 Edelbrock Performer cylinder heads, a #75814 intake manifold, and a #18134 800-cfm carb-that would likely add some muscle as well as good looks, due to their highly polished finishes. As we had hoped, the Edelbrock upgrade coupled with the Vrbancic Brothers expertise netted us even more power than we had hoped for. How's a gain of nearly 100 hp and 46 lb-ft of torque grab ya? It was a pleasant surprise that left us not only extremely pleased but with a powerplant that's destined to add a lot of enjoyment and reliability to this latest project vehicle. That said, take a look at the installation and testing that went on one afternoon at one of our favorite dyno facilities.  All it took was a pair of...  All it took was a pair of Edelbrock cylinder heads, an Edelbrock aluminum intake, an Edelbrock carb (plus some ARP head bolts and Totally Stainless fasteners), and a few hours work to gain an impressive 100-plus horsepower from our Ford Racing 351 Windsor. Not too shabby for an affordable and quick upgrade, to say the least.  The first step was a minor...  The first step was a minor teardown. The guys stripped the old intake, carb, and stock cylinder heads and prepped the gasket surfaces for the new Edelbrock components.  While the SBF was readied...  While the SBF was readied for the new components, George Vrbancic started un-boxing and inspecting the shiny new Edelbrock items and making sure all the needed gaskets and hardware were ready, as well. These guys are real professionals and build some of the highest-horsepower race and street engines you could imagine.  The Performer cylinder heads...  The Performer cylinder heads (PN 60259) we chose are designed with highly efficient ports and state-of-the-art combustion chamber shapes. The quality features of Edelbrock Performer heads include threaded inserts in rocker studs and exhaust bolt holes for superior strength and durability, along with manganese-bronze valve guides, heavy-duty valve spring assemblies, and they're port-matched for excellent flow.  The Edelbrock Performer RPM...  The Edelbrock Performer RPM heads we used are designed for street high-performance use and are interchangeable with original equipment small-block Ford cylinder heads and offer "out-of-the-box" bolt-on performance with no additional porting required-the #60259 heads we used have 60cc chambers, 170cc intake port size, and one-piece, swirl-polished 2.02 intake and 1.60 exhaust valves. The performance range for these heads is 1,500-6,500 rpm for great throttle response, as well as top-end horsepower. The intake and exhaust ports are CNC-machine "matched" and have been designed for maximum flow velocity, especially when matched with the Performer RPM intake manifold we chose. Keep in mind, though, these heads are designed to use 1/2-inch head bolts; 289-302 engines use 7/16-inch head bolts, so you have to use Edelbrock head bolt bushings with integral washers #9680 and Edelbrock head bolt kit #8552, or stock or ARP 7/16-inch head bolts on the Windsor's little brother.  We also decided to use Edelbrock...  We also decided to use Edelbrock head gaskets, because they feature excellent sealing and conformability, which is a real plus when it comes to sealing on new engines. Another plus is they don't require the engine to be warmed up in order to seal and release clean, with no sticking when and if the engine needs to be disassembled. And, of course, we followed the correct torque sequence and specs.  Here's a shot of our SBF with...  Here's a shot of our SBF with its newly installed heads. As an aside, we did stick with the cam that was previously installed-a Lunati Voodoo camshaft #61001 with a 0.483 intake lift and 0.499 exhaust lift and 256/262 duration-a good, streetable choice for a responsive street rod engine of this sort.  With the heads and valvetrain...  With the heads and valvetrain installed, the next step was bolting on the new Edelbrock intake. We used a set of Lunati #84160s. These rockers are stud-mount, CNC-machined extruded aluminum alloy in 1.6 ratio and feature needle-bearing trunnions for reduced friction.  Any gasket can create a seal,...  Any gasket can create a seal, but a good gasket can do it with less clamping force, and for a longer period of time. Edelbrock's gaskets are not only manufactured from extremely high-quality materials, but they're also designed specifically to fit the company's intakes and cylinder heads, so there's no chance the gaskets will interfere with the operation of either component. These gaskets also work with most stock cylinder heads and intakes, aluminum or cast iron, as well as other aftermarket components.  Next came the awesome-looking...  Next came the awesome-looking Edelbrock Performer RPM Air-Gap intake. The company's EnduraShine process has a high-gloss shine that rivals chrome plating in luster, making the intake not only a great performer (hence the name, I guess) but a great-looking one at that.  Dave made quick work of the...  Dave made quick work of the install, lowering the manifold into place and torquing it up in a matter of minutes. I should also note that the Performer RPM Air-Gap manifold was designed for '69-and-later 351 Windsors (with Edelbrock heads or modified OEM heads) that operate in the 1,500-6,500-rpm range, which is just what we were looking for.  We (actually they, since I...  We (actually they, since I didn't do squat except take pictures) then re-installed the Ford Racing water pump and March billet pulleys in anticipation of loading the engine onto the dyno cart for testing.  Once on the cart, and hooked,...  Once on the cart, and hooked, plumbed, and wired for the dyno, the guys unpacked the ignition system we'll be using. We chose one of our favorite systems, a PerTronix Flame-Thrower billet distributor, a Flame-Thrower high-performance coil assembly, and a set of Flame-Thrower plug wires.  With the oiling system primed,...  With the oiling system primed, the new PerTronix electronic distributor was dropped into place and a couple of final adjustments were made. The PerTronix Flame-Thrower distributor comes with a selection of advance limiters, allowing the maximum mechanical advance to be limited to 20, 16, or 12 degrees. The guys set this one for 12 degrees and used the lighter springs to bring the timing in sooner.  The guys filled the SBF with...  The guys filled the SBF with oil and installed the Edelbrock Thunder Series 800-cfm carb prior to the ignition install. Like all Edelbrock carburetors, the Thunder Series carbs are factory calibrated for out-of-the-box performance, having been factory flow-tested and preset. We also went with the EnduraShine finish to match the intake.  The guys used a bit of elbow...  The guys used a bit of elbow grease to prime the engine, ensuring the upper end was adequately lubed before it was fired up-something we should all remember to do before starting a fresh engine.  Ready, set, go. With all the...  Ready, set, go. With all the i's dotted and t's crossed, George fired up this baby, let it warm up a bit, and proceeded to make a series of pulls. Man, not only does this Ford look good, but it sounds awesome, too.  The Edelbrock heads, intake,...  The Edelbrock heads, intake, and carb netted us a max of 371.4 hp and 393 lb-ft of torque at 5,000 rpm! That's well more than what I'd expected, and a huge gain over the engine's prior configuration-proof that you can not only dress your small-block to kill with a few select bolt-ons but add a huge dose of horsepower, as well.
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LS1 Carb Swap - Tech
Buying a crate drivetrain package off the showroom floor and slipping it between the framerails of...
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