cheap 393 build - worth it?
 

k fellas im just a poor college student but i can pull this together with what i have

393 crank, 351w rods and 302 pistons
gt40p heads
trickflow street intake
E cam

my question is would this be worth building?

i dont really want to spend all this cash and not see that much of an improvement over my 5.0 or if you guys had any other suggestions that would be nice too - thanks

Ok, you all mixed match parts that won't work together, what engine block to you have? We need more specs.

i have a spare 351w block and i wanna build a 393 stroker

i was thinkin of using gt40p heads and a trickflow street intake
i can just use the tranny i have now which is a B&M AOD
out back i have a 9 inch detroit locker with 3.70:1 gears

haha sorry sometimes my mind wanders and i dont complete my thoughts ..i have problems

You're not going to gain much other than a really low powerband and lots of torque. That induction combo is a ton too small for a 393.

Problems you'll run into: new oilpan, hood clearance (cowl needed), new headers, you need a 351W lower intake, and you'll have to convert the block to hydraulic roller with a different cam, or go to a link-bar style hydraulic roller lifter.

ok thanks bro ill just stick to modding what i have

BUild the 393. I would look at a different intake, but you can get a kit with good rods, good crank and pistons from ebay for 800 bucks. Thats cheap horsepower

k now im getting confused one says no and one says yes haha

what intake do you suggest? i havent seen much in terms of intakes for 351's ..it would be kind of hard to find one off a 351 lightning in a junker but i do think edelbrock makes one

For a 393 I'd be tempted to put a TFS-R on it, or some form of box intake. You don't want to choke off those cubes with a tiny short runner intake.

And a 393 will cost you a fair bit more to make work than a 302-based engine, due to the size differences in lots of areas, and the difference in lifter setups you'd have to use to go hydraulic roller.

dont you lose torque with those box intakes? ...well its a 393 i should be able to pull trees out of the ground with the torque its gonna make anyways haha ;)

Exactly :D

I've just started gathering pieces for my 393 project :cool:
If you want to run a hydraulic roller, the best way is to get your hands on an F4TE block. This has the taller lifter bores and is tapped to accept the lifter retainer, stock link bars, and roller lifters.
I've got a decent set of GT-40's that have been worked on by Fox Lake. They do flow enough air to support 475 N/A horsepower so I will use them for now but they will be upgraded at a later date. They may not be ideal, but these heads will make more power on a 393 than on a 302-'nuff said. I'm not a fuel injection guy so I'll run an RPM air-gap manifold and won't have to worry about long runners choking things off. As far as headers go, there are enough other mustang guys out there wiling to buy a used set of headers so it's pretty easy to dump them off, then just buy a new set. I'll probably try and trade the cam to someone who's bought too big of a cam for their 302 but we'll cross that bridge later.
If you can't find an F4TE block, don't be afraid to just use a hydraulic flat tappet cam, there's nothing wrong with them and you can still make big numbers.

well i have EFI right now in my 68 and i kind of want to retain the fuel injection ..its a little different and people are like ..what the **** is that when they look under the hood ..im guessing the F4TE is a 94 truck motor? if i can read the numbers right i hope haha

For a 393, I would rather use an old 69-74 block and run a solid roller cam. And a flat tappet cam is fine for more mild conditions. I am not knocking the flat tappet by any means (I have one myself) and they certainly don't get the credit they deserve. But why build such a beast and put a weenie bumpstick in it? Just my .02.

Why bother using weenie cams in a small motor like a 302 that needs to rev to the moon in order to make anywhere close to what a basic 393 would?
If anything, the weakest cams are the hydraulic rollers. In order to get one of these to run high rpm's you need titanium retainers, beehive springs, an a custom ramp rate. With a flat tappet hydraulic, you can run 7000 rpms with a street friendly valve spring. With a solid roller, you're replacing your valvesprings at every third oil change and having to adjust your rockers every oil change (or 20 drag strip passes). This is fine for a race car but but sucks for a street car. Go to the corral and ask Buddy rawls what he thinks of flat tappet hydraulics.

He'll tell you they're junk too. What you look for in a high rpm application is mechanical lifters...either roller or flat tappets. Solid rollers can be configured for "street" profiles requiring a rather mild spring, and tight lash settings that don't need to be adjusted for up to around 7000 miles. Same goes for solid flat tappet, which is also great for the street, and perhaps more reliable than a roller which bearings get beat to death with low rpm idles that most street engines run to get some mileage.

I think your info is a little bit confused...

Okay, I did go a little overboard, but trust me, I'm not confused.

With a street 393, there's no need to put in a solid roller or solid flat cam. It makes more sense to the average street guy to build a motor that will have a power peak below 6000. Heck, most people build their 5.0L this way and yet the 5.0 is only going to produce 75% of the torque of the 393. Get my point?