EFI conversion question

[Teddyzee]

They changed to roller cam mid 90's, you may want to Google the year.

 

[Snoranger]

All 351W were roller ready blocks as of 1994. Not all 94+ 351w had a roller cam, a lot were still flat tappet.

 

[nicholas.galligan]

ok, I think i'll go that route, and as long as I keep the cam profile close to a stock 302, such as what is recommended on oldfuelinjection.com, with valve lift under.500 and lobe sep 114 degree or higher? I found some on jegs for pretty cheap with lifters and they specifically state the firing order of 13726548

 

[nicholas.galligan]

Thank you everybody for the much needed information, i've got the cam and lifters taken care of. my next question is i want to go with a cold air intake, but I'm not sure which brand or from what model and year of ford 5.0 to go with. Any suggestions? Also any info on roller rockers, i've read a couple of post so i'm going to go with the 1.7 roller rockers, but this truck is going to be a daily driver and I've heard there can be some concerns with aluminum rollers. Any info on these roller rockers , or can anybody suggest a quality affordable set? And i'm not to sure what kind of mounting the rocker arms had in the 79 thunderbirds or what size, would anybody have a clue, tired googleing it but came up empty handed. thank you

 

[shane96ranger]

I think your intake is going to have to be custom. Look at Teddyzee's build, I really like his. You can probably get close with a 5.0 Explorer intake if you use the elbow. I have an elbow and throttle cable bracket available if you want to go that route.

I have aluminum 1.7 rockers made by Crane Cams, they are actually OEM 93 Cobra pieces. I haven't had any issues with mine. If you buy good arms, and not chinese crap, you should expect the same results.

Sent while I should be doing something else

 

[nicholas.galligan]

alright, thank you very much. Does anybody know if the stud mounts i'll need are 7/16 or 3/8?

 

[nicholas.galligan]

Another question, I bought a hydraulic flat tappet 351w camshaft now will I need to change the distributor gear to a steel gear, or do I go cast iron? thank you

 

[shane96ranger]

Probably cast iron. I'd ask the cam manufacturer though.

Sent while I should be doing something else

 

[Diggerauditor]

You can use the keepers for the roller setup in a non-roller block but you still need special roller lifters. OEM roller lifters will not work even with the spider because the lifter boss is shorter than the roller block, and the lifter will rise too high and release all the oil pressure. You will need retro roller lifters to use the roller cam in a non-roller block. Someone chime in and correct me if I'm wrong. I'm old so I sometimes get confused....lol. It would be easier to get a roller block. I'm getting my exploder 5.0 in a couple weeks. Found 3 in the JY just waiting to be pulled. BTW, they all have GT40 heads.

 

[Snoranger]

You can use the keepers for the roller setup in a non-roller block but you still need special roller lifters. OEM roller lifters will not work even with the spider because the lifter boss is shorter than the roller block, and the lifter will rise too high and release all the oil pressure. You will need retro roller lifters to use the roller cam in a non-roller block. Someone chime in and correct me if I'm wrong. I'm old so I sometimes get confused....lol. It would be easier to get a roller block. I'm getting my exploder 5.0 in a couple weeks. Found 3 in the JY just waiting to be pulled. BTW, they all have GT40 heads.

No need for that, you are correct.

 

[Mac]

All flat tappet cams were cast iron. Believe that can be traced back to using the cast iron tappets. That as mentioned would require the cast iron gear. Nice chart from the FRPP catalog on what gear to use with which cam and ignition system (shaft dia changes). Believe that if you are using a '79' motor, it might have the pedistal mounted rockers that mount with a 5/16" bolt. Change from stud mount was made in 78 1/2 so that still leaves a question as to what might be on those heads, when actually built/cast.
Dave