69' coupe build, jumping off the cliff again, advice needed

[Blinkrazy 10]

Alright, I've had the car for going on 4 years, built slowly and I've had to go back through things I'd already done due to my initial inexperience.:euro:

 

I've contacted some friends of mine that have just finished building a couple 240sx drift cars to help me finish my body work. Mostly tieing sheet metal together and I might add a partial roll cage if we go crazy:thumbup1:

 

So that saves what would have been 2 grand from the quotes I've gotten, and now I have some extra cash I'm looking to put toward finishing up this monster.

 

Goals? Nasty road race machine! Why? Because, Racecar! I have contacted my machinist and we've discussed building my 351 mild/wild to be able to run at 5000+ for extended time and still make a decent power curve so here's my first question:helpsmilie: what is my best cam option to pair to a performer intake, ~700 carb long tubes and ported iron heads?

 

I know this won't be a 500 hp high rev monster but I figure 1 hp to engine cube is realistic and the rest of my help will come from weight reduction and maybe I'll have her down to 2700 lbs after its all said and done.

 

Secondly, I have a 9 inch in the rear with 5 lug disc breaks all around, I plan to keep the rotors and replace the lines/discs/and pads, but is there a cheap upgrade? Maybe cobra calipers or new edge gt calipers? Also I was thinking of doing the Shelby drop? Before I went full coil overs, I'd like to try to keep it stockish suspension so, what are my definite areas that need improvement?

 

I have a new sway bar and I'll do both montecarlo bars and possibly flsfc's to tie the body together, any other advice would be greatly appreciated!

 

I tried to give y'all a good idea of where I'm at in this journey, sorry it's so long but ask any questions if I left something important out, thanks- Jimmy

Edited December 5, 2012 by Blinkrazy

[Blinkrazy 10]

Come on guys I know y'all have some opinions out there!

[Blinkrazy 10]

Ok I'll ask a few specific questions then,

 

Is it possible to run a higher compression ratio and be able to use e85?

 

Ok if not, what cR should I have the machinist attempt to build my engine to?

I don't plan on stroking it yet but I'll be doing pistons, what are your suggestions?

 

What is a good cam/spring combo and should I be looking to upgrade anything else I'm forgetting?

[Endeavour32 10]

Ok- I'm going to give you some information that I feel is important. I wouldn't be asking such questions on a forum that you really have no idea who any of us are. If there is one thing I have learned, it's that forums are great tools but when it comes to the questions you are asking you are better off seeking a professional. If this were a marine engine I know exactly who I would send you to. What I would do is seek out a professional custom cam designer and then ask him these questions as the camshaft will dictate all of the questions you are after. If you want you can call my marine cam guy he maybe able to help you or send you in the direction of someone that can help you. If your building a roller cam engine a custom cam is usually about the same price as an off the shelf one. In my opinion its a no brainer what to do. Also if your engine builder isn't able to answer these questions for you, find another engine builder. The difference in price from the best to the worst is not much. I would be asking who is the best engine builder in your area and then go seek that guy out.

Edited December 7, 2012 by Endeavour32

[Klutch 17]

Ok I'll ask a few specific questions then,

 

Is it possible to run a higher compression ratio and be able to use e85?

 

Ok if not, what cR should I have the machinist attempt to build my engine to?

I don't plan on stroking it yet but I'll be doing pistons, what are your suggestions?

 

What is a good cam/spring combo and should I be looking to upgrade anything else I'm forgetting?

 

Running E85 involves more than just compression ratio. While it allows you to run a higher compression, you must also have a carburetor and an ignition curve set up for E85.

 

If you're going to run gasoline, I think 10:1 compression is good, practical goal. It will give you good performance without any pinging/pre-ignition challenges.

 

To achieve the 10:1 compression, run flattop pistons, then mill the heads to get the right size combustion chamber. On a wedge engine, popup pistons can create pinging/pre-ignition. But be sure to discuss it with your machinist. He likely has experience with this.

 

FYI, I built a '69 351W that had closed chambered heads. The factory pistons were dished and resulted in a 9:1 compression ratio. I installed flattops and ended up well north of 10:1. This created pinging problems. So, again, take extra care to get the compression ratio right.

 

Of course, cam choices are infinite. I like the Voodoo cams from Lunati. They have a lot of off the shelf grinds readily available. I hear much talk of custom cam grinds. Typically, I am unimpressed with most custom grinds. All too often, I think the machine shop just wants to make money using their cam grinder. So, unless your machinist is some kind of cam wizard, I wouldn't bother with a custom grind. Alternately, you could request a custom grind from some place like Bullet Cams. They actually have a lot of experience. Be sure to decide what compression ratio and what rear gear you're going to run. The cam grind depends heavily on the compression ratio and the rear gear.

 

For suspension, I think you'll be fine running the factory control arms with a Shelby drop. Also have the front suspension aligned to Shelby specs and run good quality shocks like Bilstein, KYB or Koni. Install a 1" anti-sway bar up front. (Anything bigger is likely too stiff.) Out back, make sure your leaf springs are in good condition and run a 3/4" anti-sway bar. Roller spring perches are also a good idea.

 

If you want to get serious with a track suspension, talk to someone like Open Tracker. They have a lot of experience with setting up Mustangs for road racing.

 

Good luck and don't forget to have fun!

[LoneWolf2U 136]

Best advice I can give you is to build the car as a package.

Everything need to work togeather to get the best out of it no matter what.

A poor mix match of eng/trans/rear/susp will turn into a money pit fast.

My car is built oldschool, All period correct parts except the full roller rockers that we used in high school working a part time job.

While I love the rumble of the soild lifter cam, My wife hates it when I let it idle across a parking lot. The cam lope gets her girls bouncing like Pakrat's advatar.:laugh:

[stangme428 33]

Best advice I can give you is to build the car as a package.

Everything need to work togeather to get the best out of it no matter what.

A poor mix match of eng/trans/rear/susp will turn into a money pit fast.

My car is built oldschool, All period correct parts except the full roller rockers that we used in high school working a part time job.

While I love the rumble of the soild lifter cam, My wife hates it when I let it idle across a parking lot. The cam lope gets her girls bouncing like Pakrat's advatar.:laugh:

 

sounds like a win win to me Mach1Rider:thumbup1: who could ask for more, a lope cam and visual entertainment...?

[Blinkrazy 10]

Thanks for the replies guys, sorry it was so broad of an intro I don't mean for my questions to seem completely sporadic.

 

I plan to build this engine before I have money to put toward the diff which leaves it open for discussion. 3.55 or steeper and I'll have a 3200~ stall, too high, not high enough? Let me know your op.

He said he was going to pull a cam card for me so I'll be able to see what he's thinking, but in the meantime,

 

Hypotheticals are with the edelbrock 7182 cam to match my intake,

I'll do lifters push rods rocker arms. What do you recommend for springs? Mine are fairly new as are my heads are refurbs.

 

With what I believe are 68cc heads???, if I have him work on the heads what is the usual expected gain? What kind of change have y'all seen and are there any rules of thumb you wish you would have known?

 

Main reason behind the engine talk is I want to make sure that this builder isn't using cheap parts compared to what I can supply for him to install. I haven't used him before but he is recommended by a few people around.

 

I definitely plan to have my components match, can you give me some tips and advice so I can be able to understand the direction he wants to take my engine. I understand the basics of engines and assembly but I'm bad with the numerical side.

 

Last question, I know your tired of reading my ramblings but I really do appreciate any help,

 

How would you build this motor?

 

Thanks again, Jimmy