javila2468

My 89 HO stock bottom end gave out and block cracked so i had to purchase another block. The issue now is that i forgot to check the ID stamp next to the starter. It reads E63E. I think that will make this block an 86 with flat top pistons. What are my pros and cons over the 89 block that i had? I need to swap over the ac unit, powersteering, idle pulley and alternator...are they interchangeable using my old bracket? Im going to remove the head tomorrow to make sure what i have

javila2468

By the way, my broken block had forged pistons.

mattdel

Apples and apples, my friend. Same block.

javila2468

So then the cams have the same specs? Id rather keep the flat top piston since it creates a just a hair more compression.

mattdel

1982-84 flat tappet HO cam. When Ford reintroduced the 302 as the 5.0 in 82 they chose a flat tappet 351 cam from their existing parts bin. Fortunately, it wasn’t a real bad cam. It was a cam designed for their marine 351 motors. Duration at .006 lift was 260 for the intake and 278 for the exhaust. Lift with 1.6 ratio rockers was .416/.444.

1985-1988 ½ hydraulic Roller Tappet Cam. In 1985 Ford introduced the roller cam to the 5.0 HO. A roller tappet cam has a roller bearing on the tappet so the lobes can have more aggressive ramps. These more aggressive ramps can open and close the valve quicker. This in effect makes the cam act like a bigger cam than it is. A roller cam can produce about the same HP as a flat tappet cam with 10* more duration but retain the drivability of the 10* less duration spec. These are the specs for the 85-88 HO cam:

Duration at .006 266/266
Duration at .050 210/210
Lift with 1.6 ratio rockers .444/.444
Lobe Separation angle: 116*
Intake valves opens: 17* BTDC
Intake valve closes: 69* ABDC
Exhaust valve opens: 67* BBDC
Exhaust valve closes: -19*

(note the valve events are obviously at .006 lift and not the more common .050 lift)

The actual duration specs at .050 vary some from cam to cam indicating some machining inaccuracies and because Ford experimented quite a bit with the ramp rates on the intake lobe during those years. I have found the most common duration specs for 85 and 86 HO cams to be 265/267 at .006 and 210/211.5 at .050. However, one 87 HO cam measured out at 219/212 at .050. 212/212/ and 214/214, specs are not unknown either. A published figure that is often repeated of 204/204 at .050 is wrong.

88-95 HO cam.In mid 88 Ford modified the HO cam with a slower intake ramp rate to reduce valve train noise. The duration at .006 was actually increased to 276*, but since the ramp was so slow the duration at .050 was reduced to about 206*

88 1/2-95 HO specs:
276/266 at .006
206/210 at .050
Lift with 1.6 ratio rockers .445/.444
Intake opens: 20* BTDC
Intake closes: 76* ABDC
Exhaust opens: 67* BBDC
Exhaust closes:-19
Lobe separation angle: 115.5*

Note that the intake valve closes later due to the extra duration at .006 and this reduces dynamic compression and effectively made the stroke shorter. The 85-88 1/2 HO cam is preferred to the later HO cam.

Cobra cams: Cobra cams were based on the HO cams used by the Thunderbird 5.0 HO engines but with the ramp rates made more aggressive. Duration at .050 was 214/214 and the lobe lift was also increased slightly. Used with 1.7 ratio roller rockers the valve lift was .484/.484

javila2468

That very good info...i'm on a budget right now and i was wondering if the e7te heads will fit the 86 block that i have with flat top pistons? could there be clearance issues? i'll be using crane cam roller 1.7 rockers with the e7te heads

Duncan_GT

You shouldn't have any issues. I believe I've seen others run with 1.7/e7's before without any clearance issues. But its always a good idea to check ptv clearance no matter what the set up is

javila2468

finally took off the heads and its a sign of relief that the pistons have valve relieves on them. the heads were actually D80E heads, but i'm just out port out the E7TE's for better flow sign and fly cut the heads enough to where I don't need new push rods and don't PTV clearance issues. The D80E will make me loose compression and the are just like the E7TE's, right?

TrimDrip

I had a set of D80E heads with some pretty big valves in them. As far as flow, the exhaust needed more work than I wanted to put in them. They also had some huge combustion chambers.

If I had a choice and had the heads off, I would look at some gt40s.

javila2468

I just want to get my car back on the road cuz i need a 2nd vehicle. I'm going to build a 408 stroker so i don't want to spend much money on this 302.