Boingk

Throw a Holset 35 on her, turn it into an absolute weapon. These are cheap and come with a wastegate actuator, too. https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/HX35W-3960478-Turbo-for-1970-212-Commins-96-98-Dodge-RAM-2500-3500-6BTZ-5-9L-12V/163110864480?hash=item25fa2a4660:g:LDEAAOSwBfRbA7r7

Mate the only legitimate way to lower the height to an acceptable level is by adding a supercharger, or perhaps a turbo and intercooler. Just sayin'.

Haha, holy hell! That's insanity. I suppose these things were originally in 2.5t cars, whats a kilo or twenty more?

I'll go 22 - 690

22.7kg?

Very tidy. I'd love a wagon with those seats, and the 302 reminds me of my mates - he got it for a few hunge from a local bloke who had it in the yard for 20 years. We tore it down and miked it up... and low and behold its on the tight side of factory clearances. WTF? Huge score!

Nice one. I'm doing the same with my ute, sell the bits and throw the eight in. Also a shame, but hey we're in it for the thrills.

22kg 150g

Slap it together and feed it the gas mate, she'll be right. *cracks open VB longneck* SEND IT!

Looking good from the photos, honestly that crank seems fine at least how I'm seeing it. If you can't catch a fingernail on any of the scratches they should be okay to use. I linished mine with some strips of 1200 grit and WD40, not sure if it even did anything but they look and feel okay so I'll take some measurements and chuck it back in. The real nightmare was my crossflow... that thing was hammered and the crank looked very much less than ideal but again no fingernail catch so I slapped it in, ran 20W-60 and spun it up to 6,000rpm. Still holding 50psi oil pressure, too.

3.45 with a standard stall would be a bit of a hoot, but if it were mine I'd rock 2.92s and go a bigger stall. Power when you want it and still cruise when you need to.

Shouldnt need the manifold shaved unless you're taking a fair bit off the heads and block. I had 10 thou off my 351 heads and didn't worry the manifold at all.

2V opens? Got a good set here if you get stuck. They'd need freight, would be about 50~60 bucks, but would do a good deal on them for you mate as otherwise they're just sitting in the shed. I'd still run the closed, compression and quench be damned. You're after a torqe-monster everydayer with a bit of mongrel when you lay into it, am I right? 10 to 10.5 to 1 should be fine with the 302C heads even if they do function as an 'open' with the deck height. If you're higher than that I'd be worried, but as it is you should be okay. Just don't crank the overall timing too crazy and you'll be fine.

It'll be 12:1 if you had an 8cc dome, but with the dish it's 10:1. For a 'best case' scenario with that same combo and an ideal stock spec 67 though height, minus a max of 7 off after cleanup, so 60 thou piston to deck, you're looking at 10.5 to 1 compression.

Righteo, so 4x4 stroke and bore with a range of 67 to 80 thou down the hole, a 78.8cc head and 40 thou gasket... ... youre looking at a best case scnario of 9.17:1 and a worst case scenario of 8.96:1 with 80 down the hole. A closed chamber 302 head at 58cc gives you a range of 11.3:1 to 10.96:1 with the same deck depths. If you have 8cc dish pistons its more like 10:1 with a 58cc head and 80 thou depth. What pistons you have will govern what you want to run, but I'd be going with the 302C heads regardless. 10:1 is going to open up your camshafts a lot better than 9:1, it'll go better and be easier on the juice, too. Weiand intake and E-907-P here we come! - boingk

Hey mate I ran standard (fresh) springs and rockers for my camshaft and it was fine. Its nothing massive, about equivalent to the 'states 351C Boss Mustang motor actually. The ramps on that particular cam are very gentle, too, at 310 degrees advertised for 219@50 so probably nothing more than about 110lb spring closed and 280ish open. I think that is about what they recommend, too. I wouldn't go roller unless you want to mess with the ratio or you have to buy some anyway. Retainers I'd be tempted to go aftermarket, even a cheap set would probably be better than old stuff. Match the diameter to your springs and you're good to go. Mind you, you could temper the original ones.... hmm...

Generic picture, the actual cam is a hydraulic flat tappet. I used the standard cheap Elgin replacement lifters, too, worked just fine.

Hey mate good progress. If you're going with the open chambers you want the piston as close to the deck as possible while achieving desired compression, up to about 10:1 or so. Good info on the intake and camshaft, I'd also recommend the Elgin E-907-P I had in my 351, similar to the Crow you mention just a bit more meat. That thing just pulled everywhere and was a hoot to drive, decent economy as well. Here's a link: https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/ELGIN-Performance-Camshaft-E-907-P-for-Ford-351C-351M-400-V8-505-505/263326307722?epid=227443570&hash=item3d4f78958a:g:KP0AAOSwqhlc-nEZ&frcectupt=true - boingk

Would this help for the sticker mate? https://cgfordparts.com/ufolder/fordpart.php?number=DF763

Most hyd cams will just need a standard cast gear. Check with the manufacturer though.

Hi-res photo of the sticker, as flat as possible in orientation. Measure for size and include the measurements in the photo you send. Make sure they're the right sort, eg metric or imperial. Surely that will get you sorted.

Also, if you're looking at pistons... you know the 351C is almost identical, right? The 400 has a 0.9753 pin and the 351C has a 0.912" pin. You could get the rod bushed, or have the piston reamed to the right size. May end up cheaper than a crazy bespoke set - ask your machinist. Like this thing: https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/SPEED-PRO-020-FLAT-TOP-HYPEREUTECTIC-PISTONS-SPH555CP-020-SUIT-FORD-351C-V8/162024943750?epid=868136172&hash=item25b9707086:g:xA0AAOSwbeBdVfhV:sc:AU_StarTrackExpress!2880!AU!-1&frcectupt=true The comp height is 1.645 as well, which would help. Most of the cheaper ones for the 400 seem to have a 1.630 height. - boingk

From experience, go the lowest overbore you can. You never know what you'll run into, and if there's a core shift or thin wall, or even a casting defect you'll be better off the less material you remove. If the bore is 7-ish over and the pistons 1 under you'll get 4 thou wall clearance. Sure, its not ideal, but you could easily do a light hone and chuck it back together with new rings and bearings. If you want to keep it I'd see if they do a 20 over piston. If thats an option see what they do in the basic rebuilders specials and go from there. Like you said before, even if they have a dish on them we have the luxury of the magic 302C head to help boost compression.

Yep, do the math. Easiest way is to chuck it together with crank, liberally lubed bearings and a piston, then measure the height to the deck surface when at TDC for that cylinder. Then measure the deck height for that piston. Then compare it to the one you are looking at. Now calculate the rest and you're good. If you don't have a calculator for it I'd highly recommend an app called 'Virtual Dyno', the icon is a black-faced tach with a yellow bar at the bottom. Its about $1 but works nicely. Its modelled off the desktop 'Dyno 2000' with a few tweaks by the creator to get it closer to real-world results. If you don't want to do that just PM me and I'll have a shot for you. - boingk

Loving the D.