First year for roller motor 351

Does anyone know for certain the first year for the roller motor 351? And were there differences among them?

I've searched around but I find conflicting info...isn't it always that way?

Thanks,
Don

I'm not sure either Don, but I think it may have been 88 or 89, which ever year the 351 went fuel injected. I had an 87 carbed 351 out of an ex highway patrol car that wasn't a roller cam so I'm thinkin in that direction

I thought it was in 1994 pickups and vans (351 blocks with an F4 part number prefix by the start motor).

jnorth8 wrote:

I thought it was in 1994 pickups and vans (351 blocks with an F4 part number prefix by the start motor).

From what I read it was 96 that they started. Seems odd but...




I'm just going to convert mine to solid roller.

So you have all confirmed what I found elsewhere LOL!!

I'm asking because I was thinking of doing a 331 but now I'm thinking about doing a 393 but I want a roller motor to start with. I also read that you can use the roller lifters from a 302 to turn a non-roller 351 into a roller motor. Has anyone else seen this or done this??

I'm thinking I can sell my 302 after I build the 393 and pay for a good portion of it.

Thanks again!

Don

its started in 94. thats why they are stamped f4te blocks. the catch is early f4te blocks didnt have roller cams, even though they were machined for it. but dont waste your money, peo0ple want too much for them. get a 69-74 if you can. the earlier the better really. you can just drop in a set of retrofit hyd roller lifters when you get the motor built. thats what i did.

I've pulled two of them from 1995 vans. A buddy had a 1994 Lightning which had the roller compatible block with the tall lifter bores and the drilled and tapped bosses for the spider, but it had a flat tappet cam with regular lifters.

-Mike S.

You can't just drop in Ford roller lifters. For that, the lifter bores need to be longer, and there are a couple of flat places in the valley that bolt down the "spider," which is a big, eight legged piece of spring steel that holds the lifter tie bars in place. Of course, that's pretty much what Mike S. just said.

There are a few companies that make roller lifters in pairs, with tie bars between them that keep the lifters from turning. Those, you can drop in any block. I've never had the need to use them, but I've heard good things about them.

Hope this helps.

Later,
Mike.

thats what i have aug and i love them.

Cool, thanks for the insight! I'll look for the earlier block and go for the tied rollers.

I'm really psyched on this 393 thing...I'll post up pics once it starts.

Don

Hey Don,

The early block with retrofit roller (link bar type) lifters is a good idea and will work well, but those lifters are EXPENSIVE!

http://store.summitracing.com/partdetail.asp?part=CCA-8931-16&autoview=sku

If you want to do this for reasonable bucks - and who doesn't these days - I would search for a '94-'96 roller 351W block, which you should be able to find at a salvage yard in a truck or van. You'll be bucks ahead using the Ford roller setup, and if the engine has less than 150K and is reasonably clean inside, you likely won't even have to buy new Ford lifters - just soak 'em in carb cleaner overnight, rinse, and prime with oil.

-Mike S.

thats a good idea if you can find one. up here the salvage yards want 200 for regular 351w blocks and 800for f4te blocks. sometimes you will get lucky but ther are so many ford guys that they have swamped the marke and the prices went up.

Around here, most of the yards are U-pullit self service type, and any V8 from any car or truck costs the same regardless of what it is - so you just find one and yank it. The last two I pulled were $200 and $225 for long blocks, from two different yards.

-Mike S.

TealP51 wrote:

Around here, most of the yards are U-pullit self service type, and any V8 from any car or truck costs the same regardless of what it is - so you just find one and yank it. The last two I pulled were $200 and $225 for long blocks, from two different yards.

-Mike S.

must be nice, last time i tried that some guy was arguing saying "dis onez special mo moneys fo dis onez"

I'm going to call around and see what I can find. I also posted a craigslist ad looking for a roller long block. One question I have is, will all of the accessory brackets form my 302 fit or will Ihave to get 351 specific parts?

Thanks,
Don

P.S. Holy crap on the cost of those lifters!

the brackets should fit, what all acceries are you planning on using?

Only the alternator, going to move to manual steering this spring and no A/C soooo it should be simple...yeah right LOL

Don

Piece'o'cake.

-Mike S.

Hi Don,

You probably done this but googling "351w fox swap" or something similar will give you lots of info. There does seem to be a lot of things that add to the price: 28oz imbalance flywheel, unique shorty headers, double sump oil pan and pickup tube (I think a C.Vic pan is supposed to work), unique brackets and pulley spacers if you use a serpentine belt, steel distributor gear if you use a roller cam, intake manifold and fuel system upgrades for an EFI system, possible hood clearance issues.... My wife never believes me anymore when I mention that a modification should be a simple bolt-in deal.

But I'll agree with you a roller-cam 351 is a cool project.

I know there are lots of misc items. I did google the swap thing. It's always great to get insight from the people here though.

My hood has a cowl on it so I should have the clearance. I have to do some research on the serp thing. I had a 94 pick up with the serp setup so I should be able to track down the needed items through that as well.

If this all works out...and I know it will...I want to do a dual quad intake. I had tri-poer on my FE in my Fairlane and now I want to step up to the 2x4.

I never tell my wife a swap is simple until it's done and then I lie.

Don

I like tri-power better. I like that the main carb is centrally located, and I like that, when you mat the throttle, your carb gets 2/3 bigger, not just 1/2 bigger.

I loved the tri-power. It ran like a raped ape. The sound was awesome and the old FE responded so well. I had mechanical secondaries instead of vacuum and I'd ported the CJ heads and ran Hooker headers. I've always liked multicarb setups and so now it's got to be a dual quad since I've done the tri-p.

I bought a cross ram intake late last year but I'll never turn the motor at the RPM's needed as is. I've read about ways to add epoxy to the interior to improve airflow at low RPM so maybe one day. With the intake spacers it may end up on the 393.