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SN95 Chris' 351w Swapped 1995 Build Thread Profile - SN95 Mustangs

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Well, I finally started working back on the car on black Friday, after taking about a month off to relax a little.

I got the MM caster/camber plates and coilovers installed Friday and Saturday, set an eyeball alignment, then tried to go for a test drive and...

128205269_2925339431122802_5496769068381854944_n.jpg
128686195_2925339437789468_8854268951994337588_n.jpg

...ended up with this.

Looking at how the stock setup works, the stock location springs push down on the control arms with the weight of the car as the tires push back up, pulling the top of the ball joint up. The control arm is "fixed", so that tension helps hold it in place.

Even if the car is jacked up on the control arm, the only weight the ball joint sees that makes it try to come out of the control arm is the weight of the spindle, rotor, wheel, tire, etc. Any aggressive driving would seat the balljoint even more firmly as weight is transferred. The ball joint can't "fall out", even though it could break.

With the coilover setup, putting a jack under the control arm (for example) puts the entire weight of that corner of the car onto the lower ball joint and it's pressed fit.

It appears mine simply happened when I yanked the wheel around, since I never did jack it up. The ball joints have been replaced before, so it's likely just wasn't a perfect fit.

We pulled the control arm off, pressed the one that fell out back in, I cleaned up the grease and grinded the paint away, and we tack welded it in 3 spots. Then we welded the other side in a couple spots as a preventative. I doubt they go anywhere now, but grinding the welds off would allow them to be changed in the future. They're on the list of things to swap eventually anyway.

I drove it last night and then went to get it at lunch today. Feels very planted and reacts really fast to changes in direction. I wouldn't say the ride is any rougher than it was with the Steeda springs and worn out struts. It's really hard to tell too much on the street, but I have noticed I no longer need mid corner or straight line corrections. It feels kind of weird to drive. My Focus needs the rack replaced, so it kind of "drifts" in the wind and bump steers kinda funny, and my truck drives like....well, a 1983 Ford truck lol. Both of those take some minor corrections here and there while driving, and especially going around corners. The Mustang moves instantly when you move the wheel so it's taken some recalibrating there.

I still have some things to do, but I didn't work on the car for over a month there (shame on me).

Still have:
-Strut Tower Brace
-Torque Arm (I think this will change the feel of the car again)
-Stiffler's Jacking Rail and Web Brace (subframes are on, but still need to straighten the whole pinch weld)
-Aluminum steering rack bushings

Other than that, I need to play with the tune. It still runs pretty rough when you first start it up. To get it to run well, you have to let it warm all the way up, shut it off, and restart it. From then on, it runs pretty good. But it still felt last night like the power was turning off and back on really fast. Not sure how to explain it, it would scream a little, then slack off a little suddenly, then kick back on. Really quickly, back and forth.

It felt a bit better today, though, so it's hard to pin down. We're still weighing going ahead and pulling the engine and swapping to a tamer cam and cleaning some things up while we're in there. I've had some persistent oil leaks I haven't been able to fix yet. And the wiring needs some cleaning up. That might be a good winter project, but just depends on my level of motivation and money.
 
Here's the videos from the December 6, 2020 "Hangover Event". In most years, there's an awards banquet on Saturday night, people drink, then race the next day. So they call it the "Hangover Event". No banquet this year, obviously, but still had the for-funsies event.

I was telling my friend Jack, one of the guys riding me with me on a couple runs, that I was struggling in the front section with letting off the gas and coasting to the next turn, versus tapping the brake and jumping back on the gas again. My cousin, Mike, was using his left foot to tap the brake and go around some of those elements, and he consistently turns better times. Not sure how much that section is really worth though. I think in my day to day driving I'll start practicing control with the left foot. My cousin just lifts the gas ever so slightly and taps the brake at the same time, that way his foot is perfectly in place to jump back on the gas, without having to find the pedal and time it so carefully.

I also had an issue on Run 6 where the front bolt holding the seat to the track came out. It scared the crap out of me and ruined that run. But I was still able to put it out of my mind and turn some decent runs.

The car as a whole did feel more composed with the majority of the hard parts now installed. We adjusted the Watts Link back down to the neutral position beforehand. We didn't have a lot of front end grip. I might experiment with taking off the front sway bar, since that is what Jack Hidley from Maximum Motorsports predicted would happen anyway. But, the tires look like slightly corded slicks now, it was pretty cold, etc. so it's hard to want to make major changes based on this event. In the afternoon we dropped the pressures down from 32, which was faster on the old setup, to 27 out of the gate (truthfully, our trusty air tank leaked all our air out...no way to air back up since I didn't have the cigarette lighter pump). We had much more grip in the 27-30 range than we did at 34 or 32.

Now I have my work cut out for me in the offseason. Some things I want to get handled over the winter:

-Install the torque arm. Hoping to knock that out this week. Things keep coming up and getting in the way.
-Modify the strut tower brace to fit. Also hoping to have this done this week.

-Pull the engine to:
--Fix oil leaks. It's leaking at the rear of the oil pan and on the harmonic balancer. And maybe at the PCV valve. Basically it leaves a couple nice puddles anywhere you stop it.
--Install the oil dipstick. I don't have a dipstick in the engine currently because the one they sent with the oil pan doesn't clear the headers. When I pull it out, I'm gonna mock up the header and then modify the oil tube as needed to make it fit. Having to drain the oil to check the level is a real PITA, but necessary because of the oil leaks.
--Install the AC delete pulley and remove the compressor. Maybe do some, er...customization (ok, fine, "grinding") to the stock bracketry before painting them up or having them powdercoated. I decided to hold off on the Race Doctor brackets for now, they're nice, but that money is better spent elsewhere, like safety stuff and money for the trip to Circuit of the Americas in April. Polishing/painting/grinding some weight off/etc will be better for now.
--Run the oil gauge and coolant lines through the firewall.
--Clean up all the engine bay wiring and relocate the factory fuse box to behind the fender. The fuel pump and engine ECU are controlled with toggle switches inside the car. So I need to reroute the wiring for those.
--Detail the engine. I kind of rushed the 351w swap, and I'm not very satisfied with how the engine bay looks. I'm a tad embarrassed to pop the hood. Wires everywhere, dirty, oily, etc. Time to clean it up and be proud of popping the hood.
--Install the mechanical gauge cluster. I have a gauge cluster that fits into the factory location, with Equus mech gauges. I just haven't installed it because it's hard to get it in a good location and run all the wiring and things with the engine in the way. So it's a good chance to install that. Finally having an oil pressure gauge will be nice lol.
--Check cam out for excess wear, relash valves, etc.
--Stuff like that

-Weight loss wise:
--Trying to lose some pounds myself. I probably have the biggest impact on the weight of the car.
--Remove any of the smog stuff that's left.
--Remove the ABS block and install proportioning valve.

-Get the fuel line situation resolved. A couple years ago, I switched from EFI to carb. Since I had an Aeromotive A1000 fuel system flowing a ton of fuel, I had to install a much larger return line than the -6AL. I used some rubber hose that's 5/8". It's just running underneath the car right now, which I don't care for. It could be a real mess on track if it rubs something and get's punctured or something.

I want to focus this winter on getting the parts that are just sitting around installed vs buying more/different stuff. And fixing the basic issues like oil leaks and things. We fixed enough of the main issues the car had with the expensive hard parts, so it's time to fix the basic maintenance issues and get all the installs finished.

My cousin, Mike, and I are gonna split the cost of new tires right out of the gate, so we're currently looking at:
Falken Azenis RT615K+ $195.00 4 $780.00
Falken Azenis RT660 $238.82 4 $955.28
Dunlop Direzza ZIII $262.11 4 $1,048.44
Bridgestone Potenza RE71R $276.57 4 $1,106.28
BFGoodrich G Force Rival S 1.5 $329.22 4 $1,316.88

All in 275/35/18. Mike really liked the BFGs on the T/A, but he was more limited on options with the 315s. He also thought the Falkens were really good this season, too. So it'll be a tough decision with some arguing back and forth lol. We did get about 120 runs out of these. The event where we understeered all over the place did the most damage to the fronts. The rears still have tread, the fronts are gone.

The car has really gotten a lot better, and me along with it. In the first half of the season, even after we got the new tires, I was lucky to go a day without spinning out, much less a whole weekend. I haven't spun out the car since probably....August? Before all the new parts, so it was definitely me getting better, but it's gotten even more controllable and composed with the new parts.
 
Welp...this is gonna put a damper on my season. I was using my time off work Thursday to pull the engine to seal some oil leaks and things, as discussed above. We decided it was the perfect time to go ahead and refresh the engine.

134706543_2957569934566418_3241436482715270402_n.jpg

My cousin thought the ring gaps may be a little loose and wanted to go through it. Well, he was right. The ring gaps were .035"ish.

But that was less of a problem than this...

134623842_2957569941233084_6691277796230385062_n.jpg
134716663_2957570231233055_88437384111046479_n.jpg

The beautiful Keith Black hyper must've decided 2020 wasn't the year for him, and cracked under the pressure.

I'm just really glad I pulled this apart on New Years Eve. This would have been a really crappy way to kick off 2021, but it's a fairly fitting way to end 2020.

On the plus side, I spent my New Year's tearing down the engine to see what I had left to help me plan the next steps. When I got home, I started looking at finances. I'm really wanting to buy my first home this year, so I have to be careful what I do. BUT the way my job works, we get a fairly average base pay, and a decently sizeable bonus check once a year. I knew they overtaxed us on the bonus check and then it got fixed the next year, but I did NOT know how much we were overtaxed. Apparently I paid $10,000 into the IRS in 2020, when I should've owed closer to $3500. So my tax return should mostly pay for whatever I want to do next.

I think the next step is a 408 or 427w based on a Dart block. Forged Scat crank, rods, and Wiseco pistons. This has been on my Christmas wishlist for a while, but apparently Santa can't fit it in his sleigh, because it hasn't shown up under the tree yet. I'll be shooting for 10.5-11:1 compression. I'll need to CC my heads next week to find out exactly what I need and then start getting it in the works if I even dream of making it to an AutoCross before April/May. I'm going to keep the heads I have for now, they're aluminum 200cc with 2.02/1.6 valves and I've just found out they have had some bowl work done that looks pretty good.

I think I'll also be converting to solid roller with a kit from Ed Curtis. FTI is a solid name in custom cams, and the kit is pretty convenient since I don't know toooo much about valvetrain tech and things. I may be able to shop around for better deals and lower prices, but AutoCross kicks back off on March 13, so I don't have a ton of time to come up with an alternate plan. We may not even make it until April.

Anyway, long story short, a nail in the coffin that was 2020, but a decent start to my 2021 finding out I have money hanging around out there that may fix the situation.

Hope everyone had safe and happy holidays (and better luck with your engines and other winter projects, of course). Happy New Year to all!
 
I am planning an engine build after my unfortunate cracked piston in the Mustang.

The current plan is:

-Dart SHP block, 4.125” bore, 9.5” deck height
-Scat Forged Crank, 4.00" Stroke 2.75" Main, internally balanced
-Scat 6.250 H-Beam Rods
-Diamond Forged 2618 Pistons, 1.25” Comp Height (0 deck), 6cc
-AFR 205 Renegade, 72cc chambers
-AFR 8019 Springs (for hydro roller, .650” max lift)
-Morel 5323 Hydro Roller Lifters
-MLS .044” Compressed, 4.125” bore (this lands me at 11:1 comp on the dot)
-Double Roller Timing Set
-FRPP Road Race Oil Pan (has windage tray, baffling, and crank scraper), pickup, gasket
-Melling 10833 High Volume Pump/ARP Driveshaft (planning for an oil cooler down the line)
-Will need to measure for pushrods later, of course
-ARP Head Studs
-Aluminum flywheel and better clutch, FRPP pilot bearing
-Victor Jr Intake
-Holley Sniper 800cfm EFI
-Bullet Custom Cam
-BBK 1-¾” LT Headers, will be 3” pipe back to the rear end, then turned down

Here's my full calculations:
Engine Build Spec.JPG

This will add some weight over the nose, but we are going to try to counteract that by moving the engine back 1". The MM K Member moves the wheels forward 3/4" and the MM control arms add another 3/4". So in total, the engine will end up being 2.5" further rearward relative to the wheels than stock. Obviously, that's not a ton of shift, but that also moves the trans/clutch assembly back too. Might as well do whatever we can and want while the engine is out and on hold.

In addition, I've done my best to do the math on the weight of the rotating assembly, etc. Here's what I have come up with:
Rotating Weight Comparison.JPG

Obviously, it's not possible to get an exact comparison of the weights, and I have ignored things that DO matter, like the addition of hydraulic roller lifters, shorter pushrods, etc etc, but it is nice to see that the approximations of the big things are fairly equal. I am reusing some things like roller rockers off the old engine. With an aluminum flywheel, this engine will be about 10 pounds lighter on rotating weight than the 357 it's replacing.

Speaking of, I found a good deal ($150!!) on CJ Pony Parts for a McLeod SFI Certified aluminum flywheel. This should be a helpful addition in autocross. Some people have had iffy experiences with aluminum flywheels, but with a stroked 427" engine, I'm not too worried about torque or power off the line.

I picked up the LMR ABS delete block. So that will be going on this weekend. That takes about 10 pounds off the nose of the car. I am also going to pick up a Wilwood proportioning valve. The front brakes lock up much faster than the rears, probably because of the 13" Brembo setup in front and the 10.5" stock GT in the rear. This problem was exacerbated by stiffening the car up all the way around.

The AC compressor removal will take out another 20 pounds.
The MM K Member will net me another 23 pounds.
The MAF Racing front bumper takes another 14 right off the nose.

So even though the Dart block is about 30 pounds heavier, I'll still be pulling some weight out of the front, not to mention moving the weight around.

Obviously, with the MM K Member and control arms, there will be some other changes. Bumpsteer kit, sway bar relocation, etc.

Once all the hard parts and engine are back in, the plan is to corner balance the car to get the best symmetrical handling we can.

When all of that is said and done, we should have a much better-balanced car than we had before. Not to mention a ton more power at RPMs more suited to autocross. With a 6800 rev limiter, there will still be plenty of range when we do hit the road courses.

I've reached out to both Kuntz and Craft Performance engines here in Arkansas to do the work. Kuntz has been incredibly responsive and answered the questions I had upfront. Even did some math on the engine out of the gate, quoted me two different cranks to match my budget up to my goals, etc. I asked Craft some questions by email (the same as I did with Kuntz) and then had to call 3 times over the course of 2 weeks to talk to them. Still never got a quote on the shortblock, which is the first thing I need to get this started. Not as good of a feeling as Kuntz gave me, and being comfortable with the engine builder is something I'm looking for.

The plan is to head down one day next week and get them some money to start building it.
 

PatientZero

@restless_performance
825
865
Exp. Type
Autocross
Exp. Level
10-20 Years
Kansas City, Missouri
The proportioning valve won't help if the front brakes are locking up first, they are meant to go on the rear brakes. I have 14" Alcon's with stock cobra rear brakes and rears still lock up first. You need to make sure the rear calipers are even working correctly and then try some different pads.

*edit- I forget, are you running staggered wheels? More tire on the front will also help fix your problem.
 
The proportioning valve won't help if the front brakes are locking up first, they are meant to go on the rear brakes. I have 14" Alcon's with stock cobra rear brakes and rears still lock up first. You need to make sure the rear calipers are even working correctly and then try some different pads.

*edit- I forget, are you running staggered wheels? More tire on the front will also help fix your problem.

It'll be installed in the rear line, yes. No staggered wheels here, 275/35/18s all the way around for now. Calipers are working, pad wear is fairly even on both sides.

The issue is likely stemming from running Raybestos ST47 front pads on 13" rotors up front (with the '00 R Brembos) and stock 1995 GT 10" brakes with ST43 pads in the rear. The staggered pad compounds are pretty common, but most guys are running Cobra rears with the 13" Cobra fronts. The GT brakes have about 10% less rear brake torque than the Cobra 11.65". I want to put more bias in the rear than the factory proportioning valve is allowing for. My thought was that I could help accomplish this by gutting the factory proportioning valve and installing an adjustable one in the rear line, then testing the adjustments until the fronts lock up just before the rear.

In my mind, if the stock brake proportioning on the Mustang is 80/20 or 75/25, etc (I'm actually not sure what it is), then removing the factory prop valve takes me back to 50/50 distribution front to rear (ignoring the differences in the piston areas, brake rotor diameter, etc, that come into play with mechanical biasing, just looking purely at the hydraulic proportioning). Then I can throttle the rear down with the adjustable prop valve until it's closer to 70/30 overall. Do I have this wrong in my head?
 
If you "Gut" the proportioning valve. Would this not cause the front and rears to be combined similar to a single master cylinder system like we had 1966 and before?

You know, I'm not certain on that question...I don't know enough about these cars' braking systems, just what I read. Now that you mention it...that's a good question.

There would still be two separate master cylinder areas, but removing the PPV innards may make them combine. I just don't know.

My '02 doesn't have a factory proportioning valve, it's all in the master cylinder. I didn't realize your car did.

Ahhh yeah, I didn't realize there was a difference between 1995 vs 2002. This is the stock 1995 prop valve:
HPIM0166.jpg

The cap on the front gets removed and the guts get pulled out. Then a normal cap with no hole and an O Ring goes on in its place.

IMG_20130904_111257_193.jpg
 
I finally went and met with my engine builder (I settled on Kuntz Power in Arkadelphia, AR) a few weeks back and gave them the go-ahead on the full build. I'm getting really excited about this part. I was mainly holding off until I was sure finances were going to be where I wanted them, but was also kind of wanting to meet and chat with the builder before giving the go-ahead. This is gonna be a big chunk of dough, my first real, hardcore engine build, and I didn't want to have any second thoughts or regrets afterward. So I needed to meet him and feel comfortable with what we had planned. Thankfully, this builder has a great reputation and the guy I am working with really seems to know his stuff, so I feel good.

He did call last week to tell me he was having trouble getting a set of AFR 205s. His offer instead was for a set of cheaper castings, but that he would do the CNC porting and flow bench work in-house and match them to my intake and exhaust. He thinks he can make a little more power with a larger cross-section/more intake port volume without compromising the lower end power I'm after anyway, something he had mentioned to me before, and that I turned down because I didn't want to pay for more port work and flow bench time on a new set of AFR CNC heads.

But with my timeline of having the car done by early June, I honestly thought it'd be cheaper and easier to get a set of CNC port AFR 205s than it would be to go the more custom route. I'm going his preferred route now, and he's the one with the experience. It will be kind of nice to see the flow numbers on the exact heads going on the engine.

So the current plan is:
-Dart SHP block, 4.125” bore, 9.5” deck height
-Scat Forged Crank, 4.00" Stroke 2.75" Main, internally balanced
-Scat 6.250 H-Beam Rods
-Diamond Forged 2618 Pistons
-Kuntz CNC Ported/Matched Heads, 220cc intake ports, 2.08/1.60 SS valves
-Titanium Retainers
-Kuntz spec'd springs
-Johnson Short Travel Hydro Roller Lifters
-MLS Head Gaskets
-Double Roller Timing Set
-FRPP DRS Road Race Oil Pan (has windage tray, baffling, and crank scraper), pickup, gasket
-Melling Pump/ARP Driveshaft
-.120" Wall Pushrods
-ARP Head Studs
-McLeod aluminum flywheel and Ram Clutch, FRPP pilot bearing
-Victor Jr Intake
-Holley Sniper 800cfm EFI
-Kuntz Cam, 243/255 @.050, 111 + 3 .660 lift
-Innovator West 205 Balancer
-BBK 1-¾” LT Headers, will be 3” pipe back to the rear end, then turned down

Also got another round of suspension goodies on order from my pal Nick at RoadRace1.com (who I highly recommend):
MM K Member MM MMKM-1
MM Steering Rack Bushings MM MMST-6
MM Bumpsteer Bolt Through MM MMTR-3
MM Control Arms MM MMFCA-11
MM Swaybar Relocation Bracket MM MMFSB-51
Universal Sway Bar Bushings MM 9-5168G
MM Pinion Snubber MMPS
MM Solid Motor Mounts MMSMM-1
MM Bumpsteer Gauge

And a few other odds and ends. A stainless engine bolt set from Alloy Bolts, Stiffler's trans crossmember, MAF Racing front bumper bar, stainless brake lines for the rear end, ABS delete block, FRPP proportioning valve, etc.
 
What kind of compression are you shooting for? I assume you're keeping it pump gas friendly? What engine management are you using?

I originally told the builder I wanted 11:1 to run 93 pump and figured we would make the exact cam specs based on that to come up with the right DCR. He took all the info I give him, then told me he wants to go higher on the static CR because he has the cam spec'd out where he wants it in his desktop dyno. I have to admit, the power numbers and curve that he spec'd out look pretty damn good....flat, tons of bottom end torque, horsepower peaking just below 6500, with plenty of useable power up to 7000, which is the RPM range I told him I wanted. With my gearing, and an RPM limit of 7000, max speed in second gear will be around 72mph, plenty fast for the AutoX events I run (we've only hit the rev limiter on one course when it was 7200 (75mph) on the old engine), but still maintaining the bottom end grunt I was lacking with the old engine.

Anyway, DCR will end up being lower than optimal with anything in the 10-11:1 range, so he says we will still be well within the safe margin for pump gas with the cam he has spec'd and a little high SCR. So, basically...I am not 100% sure what I will end up with. I outlined the goal and use of the car pretty clearly, so I'm trusting him on that part to find a happy medium between power and livable compression. Cam specs and their effect on the compression ratio of the engine get a little deeper than my level of knowledge if I'm being honest.

As for engine management, I am sticking with the Holley Sniper EFI for now. We're going to be pretty close to the limit, though...so it may need a better system eventually. When we run it on the dyno, I'll know for sure. The Sniper is 800cfm and Holley says it's good for 650hp. I have a message sent to my tuning guy to pick his brain on whether that Holley-specified limit is because of airflow limitations or fuel limitations with it having (4) 100 lb/hr injectors. If it's a fuel limitation, we may be able to add some fuel pressure. Then again, a 427" engine turning 7000 RPMs might just want more air...but since they're designed to be used in blow-through applications, too, I can't understand why they'd advertise a lower HP rating than what the Sniper could actually handle on boost.
 
I originally told the builder I wanted 11:1 to run 93 pump and figured we would make the exact cam specs based on that to come up with the right DCR. He took all the info I give him, then told me he wants to go higher on the static CR because he has the cam spec'd out where he wants it in his desktop dyno. I have to admit, the power numbers and curve that he spec'd out look pretty damn good....flat, tons of bottom end torque, horsepower peaking just below 6500, with plenty of useable power up to 7000, which is the RPM range I told him I wanted. With my gearing, and an RPM limit of 7000, max speed in second gear will be around 72mph, plenty fast for the AutoX events I run (we've only hit the rev limiter on one course when it was 7200 (75mph) on the old engine), but still maintaining the bottom end grunt I was lacking with the old engine.

Anyway, DCR will end up being lower than optimal with anything in the 10-11:1 range, so he says we will still be well within the safe margin for pump gas with the cam he has spec'd and a little high SCR. So, basically...I am not 100% sure what I will end up with. I outlined the goal and use of the car pretty clearly, so I'm trusting him on that part to find a happy medium between power and livable compression. Cam specs and their effect on the compression ratio of the engine get a little deeper than my level of knowledge if I'm being honest.

As for engine management, I am sticking with the Holley Sniper EFI for now. We're going to be pretty close to the limit, though...so it may need a better system eventually. When we run it on the dyno, I'll know for sure. The Sniper is 800cfm and Holley says it's good for 650hp. I have a message sent to my tuning guy to pick his brain on whether that Holley-specified limit is because of airflow limitations or fuel limitations with it having (4) 100 lb/hr injectors. If it's a fuel limitation, we may be able to add some fuel pressure. Then again, a 427" engine turning 7000 RPMs might just want more air...but since they're designed to be used in blow-through applications, too, I can't understand why they'd advertise a lower HP rating than what the Sniper could actually handle on boost.

The builder says that it's going to be 10.8:1 static. He changed up the cam specs from the first time I had talked to him. Added a little more lift. That checked out, I looked in the previous email and he was shooting for totally different specs. I forgot that he had spec'd that cam based on the previous set of heads, when I was still planning to run those.

I met with him Monday afternoon. He now has my oil pan, intake, a header, valve covers, engine bolt kit, flywheel, pressure plate, that sort of thing. One thing that is a bit up in the air is whether we will use the Victor Jr on the engine. I obviously want the low end power, that's what this whole thing is about, but he's going to do the heads as good as possible, and if the Vic Jr is going to need a lot of opening up to get it to flow, he thinks I may be money ahead by just going to the Super Victor. So, waiting on his recommendation there.

Also talked to my Holley tuner. In his words: "From what I have found, they rated it at the wheels. From fuel flow numbers and duty cycles I've seen. I've found on big blocks or high rpm Small blocks, a swap to the X flow has yielded up to 40rwhp. the super sniper 1250 is great for boosted applications, where the fuel is there, and air is pushed in, but the X flows contoured throttle body and 100+ cfm difference helps out. I dig em. It's a 900cfm vs the 800 of the standard. What ive been interested in doing, is doing some porting on one, and doing a bellmouth entrance to the bores like the x flow / stealth 4500 have. Like a velocity stack. There should be enough meat under there to blend it. The BBF we had that gain on, was showing a big restriction on the top end. Dropping from 103kpa down to 89kpa. Afterward, held 99-100kpa and picked up 40rwhp. Was a 500+ ci BBF with about 650rwhp, and we sprayed 200 on top."

The builder mentioned using a carb on the dyno if I was worried about the Sniper's 800cfm killing power, but I would rather the dyno results be a good test of the power that we actually have once it's in the car, not to mention using the dyno runs to get the baseline tune into the Sniper. If we show a little power loss and the manifold vacuum is higher than optimal on the dyno, that just tells me there's more power to be had in the future with a swap to the X Flow or just going to a Terminator setup. It's definitely not in the budget at the moment with everything else I have been doing.
 

PatientZero

@restless_performance
825
865
Exp. Type
Autocross
Exp. Level
10-20 Years
Kansas City, Missouri
I don't think the Victor Jr or Super Victor is going to give you the power you want down low. We tried a Victor Jr on a LS3(376cu.in) and it was pretty useless under 4000rpm. A ported dual plane is going to be more along the lines of what you want. Hogging out the intake and heads is great for a drag car but what you want is velocity to pack the cylinders. You should be fine with the Sniper, it might be a little undersized so you'll lose some power up top but it will make it really responsive and easier to modulate the throttle when you're on the edge of grip. Whatever intake you decide on it'd pick one that has injector bosses so you could upgrade to port injection in the future with a Terminator or Holley HP. Just my $.02
 
I don't think the Victor Jr or Super Victor is going to give you the power you want down low. We tried a Victor Jr on a LS3(376cu.in) and it was pretty useless under 4000rpm. A ported dual plane is going to be more along the lines of what you want. Hogging out the intake and heads is great for a drag car but what you want is velocity to pack the cylinders. You should be fine with the Sniper, it might be a little undersized so you'll lose some power up top but it will make it really responsive and easier to modulate the throttle when you're on the edge of grip. Whatever intake you decide on it'd pick one that has injector bosses so you could upgrade to port injection in the future with a Terminator or Holley HP. Just my $.02

Most reports I have gotten on the Vic Jr is that it is a little large for good low-end on a 351-357, but does very well for a hot 427. That's significantly more cubic inches. I personally think the Vic Jr will be plenty, and felt like the AFR 205s would be enough, it's the engine builder that is lobbying for more cross-section and around 220cc intake ports. And he wants the intake ports to match up to the heads nicely. I guess we shall see. He doesn't think I will be hurting for any low-end power.
 
OH, and this is only barely car-related, but I'm excited about it, so I will share...since I started dieting, I have lost 23 pounds! Probably half that was water weight from going to a lower sodium/healthier diet, but the racecar won't care whether it was fat or water weight anyway. I started monitoring my blood pressure, and I was averaging about 145/85 until I started meticulously counting calories, watching sodium intake, keeping cholesterol down, no sodas, no fast food, limited alcohol, etc. I've since brought my average BP down to about 130/80 in the past few weeks. Still not great, and I'm going back to the doctor at the end of the month for a physical and bloodwork, but it is a major decrease from where it was.

I'm only 24, but have been obese all my life. Junior year of college I spent a lot of time drinking and eating cheap pizza at the fraternity house. I am a 6'1", large frame guy anyway, so I carry my weight well and most people wouldn't peg me being as heavy as I am, but the fact is that it takes a toll and I NEED to lose it while I'm still young enough to do it (and save my health from the long term effects).

Here's to losing weight so I can go faster 🍻
 
Here's to loosing weight so you can go faster for many years to come!!!

Those heads and intake should flow great. Any guess on when you will have the engine back and making noise??

True! I am excited about it. Engine builder told me a couple weeks ago that everything was there or on it's way, so I am assuming we are on schedule. He knows that I really need/want the engine back by June 1st. The Scat rods were the only thing taking their time, so the builder said we may have to go to a Callies rod. If we're on schedule and the rod issue has been resolved, then dyno day should be in late-May, and I should have the engine back to the shop no later than June 1st.

The engine is going into the car as soon as it gets here. The HOPE is to have the engine back in the car, running, driving, and ready to race, by the June 12/13th AutoCross. The AutoX will be the shakedown run in preparation for Hallett on Father's Day weekend (Mid-America Ford/Shelby Meet). I anticipate SOMETHING will go wrong at the AutoX (it did through most of last season, different issues every time).

That only gives me about 2 weeks to put new K Member (Maximum Motorsports said 60-90 days on March 18th, so THAT might not even be here in time), front control arms, new engine, new accessory brackets, aligned, new exhaust, etc and get it tuned up and running properly. My cousin says there's no way it happens. I maintain that I can do it.

I do not know if I can do it lol.
 

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