philly4lyfe

I have a few questions about which direction to take my new project.

I am purchasing a 1968 fastback from a guy who is abandoning the project. I am looking for suggestion on which way to go for my power train.

First I'll give you some background. I have basic mechanical skill but no training. I have changed brakes, rotors and installed a cold air intake on my car but nothing major. I am willing to learn as I go and can dedicate some time but not a ton.

The car comes with a 1978 351 windsor. The guy says it is in working order but he planned to machine it to a 357 and rebuild it. It is already torn down to the block. It comes with GT40 heads as well. It is converted to a manual and already has a clutch cable.

Based on the research Iv'e done, I planned on either mating it to a tko 500/600 or t56 if I can find one for a reasonable price.

I am a spirited driver and may take it to the track for fun but no drag racing. My other car has about 300 HP and based on that I probably want to be in the 350 range. I will use it as a weekend driver.

So my question is should I convert the 351 to a roller? How much would this rebuild plus transmission and adapters cost? Is it better to find a junked 2001+ GT and take the engine and 3650 tranny or t56 if I can find a cobras as a setup? For me in order of importance are reliability, performance, fuel economy.

Thanks for your help.

jsimmonstx

If you're gonna rebuild the engine, converting to a roller cam is a no-brainier. As far as the heads are concerned, you'd be better off with aluminum. Edelbrock, trickflow, or afr (in order of cost), are probably your best choices. As far as rebuilding the engine, consider doing a stroker. With a stock block, the absolute best bang for your buck is a 408.

For the transmission, you can get a proper t5 that is rebuilt to handle a lot of power for about $2k. A TKO may require you to mod your trans tunnel, and a t56 will DEFINITELY require you to.

philly4lyfe

I have read that taking you 351 past 390 may cause the block to be too thin, especially post '74 blocks which are supposed to be lower quality. ANy thoughts on this?

I'm looking to get about 350 HP with the ability to upgrade. I've heard a t-5 may not be able to stand up to this whereas a stock tko can take a pounding. Reports are that a tko will fit but may require a different mount.

jsimmonstx

Actually, stock blocks are good out to 408. Any bigger than that, and you should consider a Dart or Ford Racing block.

There's a place that makes rebuilds T5s to take 450+ horsepower/torque. The benefit is that it's still in a T5 case, meaning no trans tunnel mods are required.

fastbackford351

You should do whatever your wallet can handle. Yeah, roller blocks and aluminum heads are nice, no doubt, but the flat tappets and gt40's work just fine so I wouldn't get all twisted up about that.