[DeTomaso] Engine rebuild or New

[Daniel C Jones]

> What's wrong with just replacing the engine with a Ford Racing Parts 351 crate engine that will give you 535 HP, 545 ft/lbs of torque

While advertised at 535 HP, the SAE net rating is 505 HP and 520 ft-lbs with
the recommended (and very tall) Super Victor intake, 850 carb, long
tube headers.
Any Windsor intake that will fit under the stock Pantera engine screen will
give up more power and the typical Pantera shorty headers will lose at least
20 ft-lbs.  The RPM at peak HP is 5600 RPM which is also what the FRPP
literature
says is the maximum recommended RPM which is odd.  In any event, expect it to be
done by 6000 RPM.  With the cam and cubic inches, the 2.02" intake valve Z304
cylinder heads are holding it back.   Be aware that may have to
fabricate headers
to fit the heads in a Pantera chassis.  The Z304 heads are advertised as having
an exhaust port that is raised by 0.8" but other sources say it's more like a
full inch higher.  While the heads come drilled for both the narrow (OEM) and
wide (aftermarket) exhaust bolt patterns, you'll want headers with the wide
pattern to leave room for a good gasket seal.  The 351W Pantera headers I've
seen would not work.

Note that while Ford offers a better flowing CNC version of these heads, the
version used is the standard m-6049-z304da version which flow around 277 CFM
at 0.550" inch lift on the intake and 218 CFM on the exhaust which is a good
50 CFM down on the intake side from the better aftermarket Cleveland heads.
The Z304 heads also require special offset (0.150") intake rocker arms.

Despite being advertised as a Boss 351 block, the Z427FFT engine is based upon
a 9.5" deck 351W, not a 9.2" deck 351C.  None of your Cleveland parts will
carry over.  It is also internally balanced so your 28.2 oz-in flywheel will
not work.   While it will bolt to the motor mounts and the bellhousing,
everything else required for the install will need to be 351W specific so
you'll need a 351W Pantera oil pan and pickup, small cap distributor, headers,
spacer/adapter for the Pantera crank pulley, water pump, fuel pump, etc.
You'll also need to modify your coolant tubes to match the Windsor
intake mounted
thermostat housing and water pump outlet location, fool with the oil dipstick
and other swap related issues.

Shipping weight for the long block is 590 lbs.  Weight savings from the aluminum
heads is offset by the iron race block.   On the plus side, you get a stronger
4 bolt main block.  The block comes bored to Ford's maximum recommended 4.125"
bore size so not much is left for a future over bore.

Dan Jones