dbgrigsby93

As much as I wish I had an original, numbers matching '71 boss, I don't. This engine is for my '73 Mach I which had a Jasper rebuilt 351C 2V, so I'm currently sitting on '72 Cobra Jet 4 bolt main 351C block and a set of original cast iron quench chamber 4V heads. My intention for this engine is that it will be streetable and perform like the original boss 351. So yes, I am planning to run solid lifters and somewhere between 10.5 and 11 to 1 compression. Below are some questions I have that should help me out with this project.

I would like to get the crank shaft, pistons, rods, harmonic dampener, etc as a kit. What are some good companies to look into that sell kits and what are the best brands for pistons? I've heard good things about Keith Black pistons, but what do you all think?

Let's talk about lifters and push rods. What are the best brands for lifters and push rods and what are the best materials for running solid lifters?

What materials and brands are best for springs, valves, rocker arms, etc? Keep in mind that the original boss had .491 inches of lift on the intake and exhaust valves. I'm shooting for about the same or maybe closer to .500 inches.

Are companies like Mustangs Unlimited good for buying engine components? I have trusted them and CJ Pony Parts for all my sheet metal for the restoration and other body/interior components. Mustangs Unlimited sells piston kits to build the entire bottom end but are they reputable for things like that?

Mechanical fuel pump or electric fuel pump? What are the pros and cons of each?

Thank you all for your help with answering some or all of my questions.

69mach1377

Iron heads and that CR could be an issue depending on octane available and cam choice...recall the leaded fuel available around 1970.

dbgrigsby93

I'm fully expecting to run lead additive. As far as I have found, there aren't any aftermarket Cleveland heads that top the original cast iron. The original 11:1 compression ratio might be a bit ambitious if I want to run 93 octane but 10.5:1 should be doable.

racer_dave

Eagle makes some really good cranks/rods etc... I run their stuff in my race engines and never have a problem. The machine work is dead on.

Valvetrain stuff I get through COMP cams. Again, 30 yrs racing never had a problem. I don't pick cam grinds. I call COMP with the engine specs, car specs and track specs and let them tell me the options.

Pistons- Keith Black is fine, so are Ross or CP.

That said, there are a lot of great companies out there, so others are sure to chime in with their opinions too. Decide what you want, what you need and what you can afford and then balance it out. I tend to over build engines because I don't want to worry about them if the RPM gets higher than expected during a race.

69mach1377

CHI seems to make great C heads that are aluminum. There might be another, but the Edelbrok ones did not flow significantly better than ported stockers.

dbgrigsby93

At the advice of racer_dave, I looked for a good rotating assembly kit made by Eagle but all I could find were stroker kits. However, Summit did offer these two rotating assembly options from SCAT with a timing chain to match:

http://www.summitracing.com/cart/quote/1171760

I'd appreciate some opinions on these options. The biggest difference I see between these two kits is that one is externally balanced and the other is internally balanced. Which is better for a high RPM street car?

Also, there is a disclaimer at the bottom of each page saying that certain pieces can be swapped for others. It says you can trade in H-beam connecting rods in place of the I-beams. Which style is better for higher performance?

barnett468

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no, no, no, no, no,

i would buy the parts separate because scat uses 2618 pistons.

eagle or scat crank . . cast is fine . . forged is better.

i prefer internal balance but then you need to buy a flywheel or get your weight machined off . . easy deal.

if you do not need an original looking damper, i would buy an ati . . otherwise, just buy a durabond sfi rated damper.

mahle or je pistons . . both are 4032 high silicon, low expansion.

have the block decked so the pistons are .002 - .004 below the surface.

scat or eagle forged rods.

screw in rocker studs with guide plates.

any one piece push rods with an .080" thick wall.

beehive springs with titanium or tool steel retainers . . titanium springs if you're rich.

howards lifters with the oil hole in the bottom

light weight manley stainless valves with hardened tips .

comp endurance roller rocker arms.

melling standard volume oil pump but install a high pressure spring . . take the pump apart and clean it or buy a blue printed pump or blueprint it yourself.

arp oil pump drive

rollmaster timing chain set with the german chain . . do not buy anything else.
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racer_dave

go to eagles website. Jegs/summit only stock a few kits that are popular with the drag crowd. The Eagle site has everything, or call them. I use their forged crank and H beam rods.

Definitely get an SFI rated balancer per Barnett. I love the ATI but it might be overkill for the street.

barnett468

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the ati will reduce crank flex and dampen vibration better than any other so your engine might have a hair less vibration with one . . yes, as racer dave says, it is overkill and imo, more important to use on stroker engines, but they are very cool . . same brand as some nascar guys use but they use a 3 ring type.

barnett468

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ok . . guess what . . eagle doesn't make a cleveland crank AND scat does not list one on their site but they obviously make them so, if you want an internal balanced crank, scat makes one, just tell summit you want the part number and price for the crank only.

here is the external balanced forged crank.

http://www.summitracing.com/search/p...rder=Ascending

if your not going to run at 6500 rpm all the time, these are a killer deal

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/sl...view/make/ford


otherwise, i like these too.

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/sr...view/make/ford


heres the rods or use the scat rods that they done list but do have.

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/es...view/make/ford

another option is buy either scat kit and have them substitute the pistons you want . . the other pistons i would use is the probe FPS but they are $100.00 more than the ones i listed and are the same thing.

heres the chain set . . if you get the crank line bored, you may need a different chain

http://autoplicity.com/1799455-rollm...400m-with-shim

here is the orig pos boss intake




i would use this blue thunder one . . it is bad to the bone and looks very similar




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