windsor torino build ideas?

[barnym17]

First I'm a bowtie guy kinda new to the blue oval,my little brother has a very nice 73 he wants to upgrade wimp at the moment.Catch is parameters are car weighs 4000lb,a/c, power steering ,power brakes,stock converter etc.Of course he wants his cake and eat it to big power with nice manners cruising. My thoughts are stroke it pick some good heads ,get a cam from Mike and build for low to mid rpm torque instead of shooting for big horsepower bragging numbers.
He isn't exactly equipped to hammer it anyway his last one the first time I drove it with him in it was the first time he ever felt the secondaries open lol.Any tips? I am thinking get torque high and flat as I can in the range he will use around town and merging on the freeway with 70 mph speeds,kinda like Mopar did with the cross ram setup put the power where he will use it.

[mag2555]

And what is your little brothers wallet like?

The trans will need be on the least rebuilt, but also beefed up .

[barnym17]

wallet is decent sized,I'm thinking he will never turn it over 4000 to 5000 rpm and to be honest stock it is rated at 138hp if I get to 300 at the crank he
probably would be pretty well satisfied and be enough to scare him lol.If it will push him back in the seat some,sound decent and run on 93 it will meet my goals.

[barnym17]

With a sbc no problem but not sure if Windsor needs after market heads or just some clean up?I'm pretty sure cam and compression requirements will be similar or would restrictive Windsor heads need to have more aggressive cam specs?I do not want to get real aggressive cam wise due to power brakes vacuum needs and ac.I am thinking stroke it and use cubes and a mild cam to get the heavy pig moving.Almost like build for pickup camper hauler.

[BillK]

wallet is decent sized,I'm thinking he will never turn it over 4000 to 5000 rpm and to be honest stock it is rated at 138hp

Thats net HP. Probably around 200 (?) dyno if I had to guess. Put a set of flat top pistons in it to get the compression up and a mild cam and 300 should be easy. Add a decent set of heads and it should make close to 400.

[forphorty]

Have you considered a 460 ? I bet a stock /near stock 460 would be cheaper than doing a stroked Windsor.

[NebrRex]

The Windsor heads up thru '76 had the 1.84/1.54 valves. If using the Factory dished pistons the heads can be milled .030 to bring compression up to '69/70 specs 9-9.5/1. Gasket match the exhaust with headers. Small cam with 210*/215* @ .050 and 114/116 lsa. All 351Ws are 2bbl except the 69/70 Mustang and '84/'85 HO pickups.


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[ClassicComp]

What engine,rear gear and trans does it have now?

[travis]

Definitely need to determine what gears are in it. 2.75's was very common in these cars.
If your ok with 300hp, the stock heads can be made to work ok with some porting. Much beyond that, you need an aftermarket head...or a shit ton of porting, bigger valves, etc. Not worth the effort and money at that point in my opinion.
9:1 compression, some light porting/blending on the stock heads with a good valve job, a performer 2181 intake with a 600-670 cfm carb of your choice, a cam around 216@.050 on a 110 lsa, headers, and dual 2 1/4 or 2 1/2" exhaust makes a great driver with a slight lope, more than enough vacuum, works well with a stock or very mild converter, and even works great with 2.75 gears. These are strong from idle-5000 rpms. I've built several like this for pickups and heavy cars and they work great.

[KnightEngines]

+1 for a near stock 460.
Balance, 9.5:1 comp, bit of a cam, 850 on an air gap dual plane.

Will pull tall gearing & low stall speed converter, be well mannered & idle like a happy kitten.

[barnym17]

Not sure on gear yet he is going to get me cruise rpm now at freeway speeds so I can figure gear he is 100 miles away.Current specs as I know them -351 Windsor,rebuilt 6000 miles ago before he bought car.Engine builder was well known Ford guy here but unfortunately he has passed.So at the moment I have no idea on compression cam etc.Do not know if possibly has decent pistons already finding out is on agenda.
It is currently equipped with performer intake,600 Holley dual exhaust.
The 460 idea is out this car survived the xenia tornados in the 1970's and has a documented history he wants pretty stock look.

[barnym17]

Definitely need to determine what gears are in it. 2.75's was very common in these cars.
If your ok with 300hp, the stock heads can be made to work ok with some porting. Much beyond that, you need an aftermarket head...or a shit ton of porting, bigger valves, etc. Not worth the effort and money at that point in my opinion.
9:1 compression, some light porting/blending on the stock heads with a good valve job, a performer 2181 intake with a 600-670 cfm carb of your choice, a cam around 216@.050 on a 110 lsa, headers, and dual 2 1/4 or 2 1/2" exhaust makes a great driver with a slight lope, more than enough vacuum, works well with a stock or very mild converter, and even works great with 2.75 gears. These are strong from idle-5000 rpms. I've built several like this for pickups and heavy cars and they work great.

Sounds about what he desires.

[cgarb]

A stock Windsor with very mild porting on factory heads, a dual plane aluminum intake and a 4bbl carb will make that goal. If it were mine, I would build a dish piston 393 stroker with a small set of aftermarket aluminum heads. That should net over 400hp easily and make good torque to move that big car along. Sounds like you want a driver, so keep the camshaft on the small side and it will be a fun little tire burner for sure.

[barnym17]

Yep a driver and all I have been building for years are race gas sbc drag and circle track,Kinda what was thinking use cubic inches to meet his goals and since a set of good heads can be painted Ford blue they should pass the looks test.

[71vette]

351 or 393 with the AFR 185 cnc street heads. Cam from mr. jones. Tall dual plane, good exh, etc. But I would also swap in a 4r70 trans and gear it accordingly. If budget dictated a choice I would do a new top end & cam on the existing short block (assuming its healthy enough) and install the 4r70 and appropriate converter and gears.