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Trick Flow Heads, Cam, Intake Upgrade - Top End EvolutionFrom the May, 2012 issue of Modified Mustangs & Fords By Mark Houlahan Photography by Mark Houlahan
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1 Digging right in, we removed... 1 Digging right in, we removed the old carb and intake as one unit. We've already drained the engine's coolant and oil, disconnected the battery, and pulled the rusty valve covers and front dress as well. The distributor and wires are new, so they were carefully removed and set aside for reinstallation when we're done. We recouped some money by selling the old intake/carb setup for $150, and later netted a whopping $14.23 by scrapping the stock heads, cam, timing chain, and lifters. Shortly after the earth cooled, modern man started modifying Flathead V-8 engines with upgraded cylinder heads, intakes, and camshafts. Famous names we know of today, such as Edelbrock, Offenhauser, Isky, Manley, Crane, and dozens of others can trace their beginnings back to offering speed parts for the Flathead. It was known in all the speed circles that you could easily double your Flathead's power output with a good set of heads, a new intake with a couple of Strombergs, and of course, a camshaft from one of the greats like Harvey Crane, Ed Iskendarian, Clay Smith, or Ed Winfield. So it went, throughout the history of the muscle car era; upgrading your heads, cam, and intake/induction was an easy recipe for power.  2 Our headers aren't that...  2 Our headers aren't that old either, which helped when it came time to remove them. No rusty bolts and we were even able to reuse the gaskets.  3 As noted in our intro text,...  3 As noted in our intro text, the only tool you might have to rent or borrow is the puller to remove the crankshaft damper. Our full set of Snap-on tools includes multiple pullers so we were covered.  4 With the damper out of...  4 With the damper out of the way, the timing cover and water pump are removed next to expose the engine's timing chain and gears. Today, a lot has changed with the internal combustion engine. Direct injection, multiple runner EFI, factory turbo or supercharging, and so forth often make the traditional heads/cam/intake swap difficult, if not impossible for the home wrench spinner to accomplish. Sure, Ford's modular engines have cylinder head, cam, and induction offerings (we hope to upgrade our 4.6L Three-Valve in Generation Gap some day with such parts), but the overhead cam design means special tools, manuals, and more to get the job done. So it's nice when you open the hood of your classic Ford and still see a traditional small-block between the shock towers sometimes. With our '70 Mustang High School Hauler project, of which we desperately wanted to increase the 302's output, we had giddy thoughts of the proven and timeless heads/cam/intake swap for months now.  5 Since we're upgrading our...  5 Since we're upgrading our valvetrain, there's no need to waste time removing the rocker arms from the heads. Our 1/2-inch impact gun made quick work of the stock head bolts and the original heads with rocker arms were pulled free of the block.  6 The last of the old parts...  6 The last of the old parts to hit the recycling pile are the timing chain set, pushrods, lifters, and the camshaft. We were surprised how worn the cam was with one lobe  7 At first, we weren't going...  7 At first, we weren't going to remove the oil pan, but we noticed it leaking and with being this far into the engine, it only took loosening the Mustang's number two crossmember bolts to allow the pan to come out from under the block. The great thing about performing this revered hardware upgrade is that as long as you stay within the parameters of the parts you're bolting on, it's just that, a bolt-on upgrade. Many of the manufacturers out there have built and tested these parts in similar combinations, so you know going in that purchasing head A, with camshaft B, and pushrod length C that everything will work in concert. In today's sales speak, this is often referred to as a "top end" kit or "power pack," or something of that nature. Besides a crankshaft damper puller tool, the rest of the swap can be accomplished with a standard mechanic's set of tools you already have in your garage, making the swap that much more palatable for you weekend wrench benders.  8 Now here comes the real...  8 Now here comes the real dirty work—cleaning the block. From the deck surface to the front cover and oil pan gasket surfaces (on the block and the components) to tapping all bolt holes, it's long and tedious work. We spent a solid day cleaning everything and prepping the parts we planned to reuse such as the oil pan, timing cover, pulleys, brackets, and more.  9 With our block cleaned...  9 With our block cleaned and prepped for our new top end hardware, it was time to unpack the Summit Racing boxes. Our valvetrain includes Trick Flow's Stage 1 hydraulic roller cam, retrofit roller lifters, billet steel timing chain set, 1.6:1 roller rockers, and 5/16-inch diameter hardened pushrods.  10 Roller camshafts aren't...  10 Roller camshafts aren't dependent on break-in procedures typical of a flat tappet cam, nor do they require any additives or special oils to run. They're a bit more expensive, but not having to worry about Knowing that to upgrade our heads/cam/intake, we'd also be shopping for gaskets, and a few valvetrain parts (the famous "while we're in there" upgrades like roller rockers, and so on), we picked up the speed parts bible, aka the Summit Racing catalog, and started flipping pages. Yes, we still like a printed catalog to thumb through, but even after checking out Summit's detailed website, we couldn't find a complete combo package for small-block carbureted Fords. Sure, it had Summit Top End Pro Packs for Brand X and great packages for EFI small-blocks, but not for those of us still using a four-hole fueler. Fear not, though, as a quick call to Summit's tech line allowed us to put together all the right parts in a custom package. Essentially, we used Summit's TFS-K514-350370B Trick Flow 350 HP Twisted Wedge Top-End Engine Kit, and substituted one of Summit's carb and intake combo kits for the EFI manifold (see Shopping List sidebar for all the parts details). Needless to say, Summit made it easy and we had everything ordered and delivered in two days. It's time to get to work and make some horsepower!  11 It's easy to get the small-block...  11 It's easy to get the small-block Ford camshaft thrust plate installed wrong if you're not paying attention. Thankfully Ford reminds us with the words  12 The Trick Flow billet...  12 The Trick Flow billet timing chain set features a multi-keyway crank sprocket to allow up to 4 degrees of advance or retard. However, to keep this build in the realm of a DIYer's basic upgrade, we're installing the timing set  13 Our timing cover is bolted...  13 Our timing cover is bolted up with new Fel-Pro gaskets, including a new crankshaft seal. Snug the bolts and then use a straight edge to ensure the timing cover is flat with the block's oil pan gasket rail to prevent leaks when the oil pan is reinstalled.
 | While Doing The Trick Flow Heads, Cam, Intake Upgrade we found some tips and tricks to help you out. |
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