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May 10, 1998 |
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Q: Eric Dodd wrote: Let me explain the current situation. This summer we have the annual truck and tractor pull. Last year I participated with the cruiser, and placed #2. Behind a '97 Ford Ranger. This year I am looking at doing the best I can, with a little upgrading. I already put a new header on. Since it seems it would be stupid to put the 2F in without a good rebuild, I'm looking for a way to get a little more power out of the F. And hopefully be able to use the parts for the F on the 2F rebuild. What do you think would give me the happiest results with power? New Cam and lifters (What kind, RV? stock? brand?) Weber 38/38 (You know anyone selling one used?) High Power Coil (pretty cheap, will probably do this) Other suggestions for the quick easy power for the F. A: There are a limited choice of cams on the market. Clifford makes two. Isky *might* make one. Man-A-Fre sells a reground unit with different specs than factory. Unfortunately all of these move the powerband up just a little. In an engine which is stock except for the cam, this is a debatable change. To really see the improvement out of a aftermarket cam, you need to improve the breathing and the exhaust. If I had to pick one change, it would be to ensure good carburation(since my first pick would be headers, and you already have that done). Jim C insists that the factory carb (later years) will flow just as much as the Weber, and provide better partial throttle peformance. I have seen no reason to disagree with that. When you get right down to it, the F and 2F engines are kind of a "package" situation. Any one mod (exhaust, intake, cam, compression) will only result in a fraction of the improvements that that same mod will contribute to the sum of all of them done together. For example (and these numbers bear no relation to reality, they're just for illustration): 10% improvement from a header 10% improvement from increased compression 70% improvement from all of it done together. These mods dovetail so tightly that any one will only give a little bit of the possible total. Of course the carb can be swapped to the 2F after you are done using it on the F, and most (all?) of the aftermarket cams will work in both engines, so it could be swapped too. Q: Eric Dodd wrote: In your reply about getting some more power out of the 2F you mentioned using high compression pistons. I know that Man-A-Fre sells them. Are they the best? Are there any other sources? A: There are at least 2 or 3 different manufacturers of pistons for the F/2F engines. I have not bothered to figure out which distributor sells what, or what other manufacturers may be out there. I am looking into the possibility of having pistons made by a custom manufacturer who supplies racing concerns. Supposedly they will be comparable in price to the going retail retail rate, and will allow for larger overbore of a block. It is a low priority for me right now though. For the low RPM, and relatively low power of even a modified 2F, the piston is not as critical a component as it is in a high rpm racing mill. To be honest, I prefer to mill the head a little, or swap an F head onto a 2F block to get compression boosts, rather than replacing the pistons. A higher compression piston normally has a larger and irregularly shaped dome, which to some degree at least will interfere with effecient flame propagation in the combustion chamber. Plus if you don't need pistons due to an overbore anyway, you can avoid the expense. And it is easier to find "stock" replacement pistons on sale than it is to find the high compression ones. Send your questions to Mark at cruiser@rockcrawler.com |
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