I'm wanting to rebuild a 351W to reach between a NA 400-500HP. Ive worked on plenty of mustangs replacing everything from brake systems ('68) to heater cores and lower intakes('96), however I am somewhat new to the workings of the internals of an engine. Im looking for a book that can explain rebuilds/performance rebuilds of small block fords and at the same time give detailed definitions of the importance of timing, cranks, cams, lifters and rods, etc. I have searched on line and found many different books. However, I have not found many that have been written recently. I need the book to cover all years of rebuilding to include roller block(94+) and non-roller blocks(69-74). Here are a few titles I have found: Ford Engine Rebuilds HP1531 by Smith, Even; Ford Windsor Performance by Martin, Isaac; How to rebuild small block ford engines by Monroe, Tom.

If you have used them or read them over, let me know what you think. Also what I want might not be covered in just one book. That’s fine too, let me know what your recommendations are. I understand that I wont be doing the boring of the block myself but i will be helping pick the set up and I would like to at least know the workings and what produces more power before I walk in blindly to a machine shop. Thanks for you help guys.

 

http://www.mre-books.com/smallblockfrd/

I liked this book for my introduction to Ford's.

 

Do they include all the torque specs?

 

I bought a book on building a small block ford stroker engine and was totally disappointed on the info in it. I searched for a while before deciding on this one. Since you are going to spend money anyway, I would consult a builder you trust and buy parts from them. Then you should be able to receive some good advice. As far as engine assembly techniques, you should be able to get a quick rundown from your guy. I personally haven't done any business with Fordstrokers.com but his customers are like a cult following. He must be doing something right.

Much like you, I want a N/A 450ish fwhp motor for my 65. I have built engines before but it was a long time ago. I didn't want my first engine in 20 years to be something like that so I am assembling a practice budget engine. I hope to learn any mistakes on this one instead of the engine I really want.

You can learn a lot over at sbftech.com just don't use terms like velocity or torque down low or some may automatically classify you an embicile. You will need 10 posts to get to the good info on engine theory.

If you have the dough, time and patience do it yourself, your best bet would be to buy a kit from someone like fordstrokers.com and build it yourself. Get a top and bottom end package so that your components are matched. Make sure to ask what exhaust, intake and carb you will need to reach your goals and double check you have the funds and engine room do to that(header clearance mostly). BTW, they may recommend a 302 stroked to 347 to get the hp you are looking for, especially if your goal is in the low 400 range.

Also, most performance engine builds use ARP fasteners in the critical areas. These torques specs are often provided by ARP.

The nice thing about buying a package from a builder is that more than likely he has built it before and knows what to expect both performance wise and any foreseeable build problems. I am hodgepodging a budget build and have found my world products windsor senior heads are rubbing on the pushrods. My air gap intake ports are kinda too small for the intake ports on the heads and porting them may not get to where they should be. Its the kind of crap like that which is invaluable when buying complete deal from one guy. Plus, when you spend $5k with a good company they will spend some time with you solving any problems you have. You have to buy the parts anyway. Might as well get them from one place.

Good luck, have fun and spend a lot of time researching before you spend any dough. It will save you cash and frustration in the end.

One other thing, 400 plus hp is a lot for these 40 year old unibody cars. Welded in subframe connector, 9" rear ends, traction device, a stout transmission and good brakes are must for a build like this. I see $10k in your future if you haven't got a lot of this done already.

 

I have had the old Tom Monroe book for many years and I highly recommend it..It doesn't really cover high performance builds but it is an excellent source of info on older smallblock fords and is a great read for someone like yourself just getting into engine building.......I have another called "how to build big inch ford small blocks" by George Reid that covers the basics of building a more modern smallblock..

 

I think so, but it has been a while since I have actually seen it.


TQ specs I think are even in the FAQ here on m/f...

 

Tom Monroe book is good. In my copy, Tom does not mention installation of required oil galley plug under intake manifold. I don't know of any other issue w/ his book.

 

If you want a good book that will tell you everything you could ever want to know about performance and components, get "4 Stoke Performance Tuning" By Graham Bell. It won't tell you how to actually assemble an engine, but it will tell you how to avoid building something with lackluster performance, and how to get the best REAL WORLD performance out of an engine combination.