Thread: 355 build help

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alright i have a 54 ford with a 239 y block. its a boat anchor. i wanna build a 355that i can really have some fun with and be reliable.i would like to keep the cost under $4k. im thinkin about getting a short block, and then going with some vortec or afr 195 heads ( leaning towards the afr). ive been looking around and the afr heads with the right cam and intake, carb setup should put me around 425 hp ? is that a good estimate ? also ive never put together a motor before. so any recomendations on short blocks, as well as other parts are appreciated. thanks guys.

Originally Posted by greengrenade

alright i have a 54 ford with a 239 y block. its a boat anchor. i wanna build a 355that i can really have some fun with and be reliable.i would like to keep the cost under $4k. im thinkin about getting a short block, and then going with some vortec or afr 195 heads ( leaning towards the afr). ive been looking around and the afr heads with the right cam and intake, carb setup should put me around 425 hp ? is that a good estimate ? also ive never put together a motor before. so any recomendations on short blocks, as well as other parts are appreciated. thanks guys.

Look through these 108 different dyno builds, then ask any questions you may have. Generally speaking, for a street driver, twice the intake runner volume should equal the cubic inches of the motor. Or put another way, half the cubic inches should equal the intake runner volume. Round the 355 off to 360 and bolt on a set of 180 heads in other words. Race motors will take more head than that, but you want to keep it civil if you are building a street motor.
http://www.ryanscarpage.50megs.com/combos1.html
When you scroll to the bottom of the page, click on the orange bar for the next set of combos....

Putting a 355 Chev is going to be a pain as you will blow a lot of your $$ making it fit.A 5.0 Ford or 351W Ford can be bolted in with over the counter mounts for engine and transmission that will set you back about $70 total ,I have helped a lot of guys with this swap and have pictures and part numbers on file available via email also stout crate motors that will fit into your $4K budget.A C4 or AOD will fit right on your stock '54 crossmember with no mods needed.First pic is 5.0 in my '54, pic#2 is AOD on stock '54 crossmember.

x2 for the 302 ford, i bought a roller shortblock at the local junkyard for 70 bucks, tore it down mic'd everything all it needs was a good hone job set of rings and bearings. i traded a hood, for a set of "runner" heads am coming in at 9:51 comp traded a set of explorer exhaust manifolds for a set of brand new foxbody headers. fords are alot cheaper then they used to be.

i will be in this 302 motor under a grand and itll still run high 12's and be completely streetable.

Another thought is with 400HP plus you will need to beef up a transmission that can handle it,more expense, also the '52-54 Fords have a very shallow rear wheel well so unless your go a narrowed 9" (more $$) you won't get much of a tire in there to handle the HP. Figure another $3k needed in your budget minimum.A '54 Customline weighs in at 3240 pounds with a 239 Y-block a 5.0 weighs almost 180 pounds less or 90 pounds less than a SBC,less weight is like free horsepower.A goal of 300-350 Horsepower will make it within your budget of 4K for an SBF and transmission.

very true, i will be pushing around 315 to the tires for under a grand. and in a 2500 car thats fun

i was looking around over on the hamb to see if anyone had done a sbc in this year ford. not much info. the guy i bought the car from already had a new aluminum radiator in for a 302 swap he was going to do. i want to do a 4 or 5 speed too. also im doing a bag setup this winter so the rear will be getting swapped and all the wheel wells changed etc. the only reason i wanted to do a sbc was the amount of power i can get for low cost. plus parts seem to be allll over the place for chevys. so what all is involved in fitting a chevy? the guy who is helping me with the 4 link for air ride does skilled fab work so im sure its nothing he couldnt handle

wow. thanks for the list of setups man. 12,13,14,79,80,96,97 were along the lines of what i was thinking. there are some other nice setups on there though. awesome link !

Don't know where you are getting your info,parts for a 5.0 or 302 Ford are just as common as SBC parts there are plenty of Ford sites on the web full of classifieds,pick up a Summit catalog and see for yourself check out Edelbrock or Trick-Flow head prices.So here a a few simple facts,the SBF can be put in a '54 with over the counter mounts as stated above,a SBC will have to have mounts fabbed,your Ford uses a Front sump oil pan as do SBF Fords they used front sump pans in Mustangs and Broncos for years ,SBC's are rear sump will not clear your Fords crossmember and steering linkage,SBF has front mounted distributor,SBC's are rear and an HEI will interfere with the firewall so you will have to use a small Mallory or MSD with a small cap,location of SBC's oil filter requires a very short filter to clear frame in Ford.no clearance problem with a SBF.Then there is the steering box clearance,but if you really want a "belly button" motor have at it.

Originally Posted by greengrenade

wow. thanks for the list of setups man. 12,13,14,79,80,96,97 were along the lines of what i was thinking. there are some other nice setups on there though. awesome link !

Stating that you have a 4K budget,it is interesting that that site does not post prices HMMM? Here is more fun for you this link is for a shop in Phoenix over 36 years in business,the parts used are posted,and you have plenty of choices,not only that the prices are posted and you can actually hear these combos run on the site.www.tuffdawgengines.com

ill take that statement back actually. its not that parts for the fords are hard to find. there pretty much just as easy as the chevys. the chevys seem to be a tad cheaper ( not much ) but i like the versatility of all the sbc. everything is interchangable. if i wanted to go to a 383 in the future it wouldnt be hard. if i did a 302 and wanted to go up to say a 351 windsor in the future, it wouldnt be as cheap or easy to do as the sbc. its not a big difference but its enough to keep me on the sbc idea for now. also a lot of those combos i pointed out had some pricey parts included. i would plan something SIMILAR but maybe toned down a notch for now and cheaper to work with. i am also leaning towards the chevy because ive found a few m21 muncies locally for decent prices. i was talking with a guy on the hamb that said a chevy II oil pan would work. still searching for info. and the steering box is another issue im looking for info on. im just looking for as much possible info as i can soak up right now. thanks for the response jeff. i think you actually gave me a lead on a few intake manifolds over on the hamb for my 239 ? thanks for all your help man

start with a 351 then, you can stroke up to ungodly numbers like 451 or something

can anybody give me some good links to setups for a 351. im gonna start searching for info now. i really wanna keep it under $4k. what kind of power can i get for this money ? reliability ?

OK,we really have to get you thinking "Ford in a Ford" so here are some places to educate you: www.sbftech.com this site is HARDCORE SBF Ford, you can learn a lot there it is a "NO B.S." forum do a lot of reading there.Also www.fordmuscle.com,great info in tech archives and forums,www.network54.com/forum/11947/ Now if you really want to make some massive torque and power see if Tech Inspector still has the Dyno-Sim numbers He did on an F.E. Block Ford several months back for a guy named Jeff (not me), the F.E. big block Fords are actually one of the easiest to swap in your '54 you just flip the stock big block mounts and set it in place,due to the port placement in the heads there is actually more exhaust clearance than the small block.For some info on a 351W & '54 Ford build with lots of pictures check out HAMB member "desertdroog".

cool thanks man. i actually love the f.e series motors. before i got my 54 with the y block i was really looking for anything with a 390. awesome motors. and i usually am all for keeping a ford in a ford. i just figured it would be easier to do a sbc swap. im only 18 and still learning so i kinda want to keep it simple since this is my first time doing all this stuff