Cam Timing with Milled Heads

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robsMarkVIII

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This is a question for people who have built Mod motors. I have read that you should not mill the 4 valve heads any more than .004 due to cam timing issues. What about adjustable cam gears to put cam timing back to spec. Have any of you done this? I have built several pushrod motors and used adjustable cam gear to get the cam where I want it in the power band.

Thanks for any opinions and help with this.
 
Took my heads and block to my machinist today to be checked out. He is one of the best aluminum head machinist in the state of Ohio. I will post results and what route I will take.
 
Thanks for the link Chris, that is exactly what I am going to do. I am worried about the condition of my heads. My engine looks like it was severely overheated. My machinist may be able to weld them and resurface them. Have to wait and see what he says.
 
Going with forged .030 pistons and h-beam rods. Not going crazy on this motor. I want to drive it. I have a Tbird SC that is my race car. The Mark will see the drag strip from time-to-time and that is the reason for the good pistons and rods. Thanks for the link, good reading.
 
Well, my machinist is under the weather and won't be able to do anything with me engine for at least two months. I found a nice 01 Cobra motor for a good price and I am debating what to do. The 01 has C-Heads so don't know if it will swap into my 97 without a lot of trouble. Any of you done this swap? Thanks for any info.
 
c heads alone make it a better swap, add your h beams and forged slugs, you would have a good base if you wanted to use a power adder at a later date.
 
Fordnut

What is your opinion on the oil pump in the mod motor. I have read that they have failed because the gears are made of the sinter powdered metal just like the rods. Don't want to build this thing then have a oil pump failure.
 
I did some reading on this issue and what I found was if you keep your rpms below 7000 it shouldn't be an issue(stock engine and pump hasn't been removed). Also with the engine build take the rotating assembly and get it balanced. Oil pump also needs to be centered on the crankshaft, if it is off any vibration will cause the gears to start rubbing the case and crankshaft leading to failure.
Hope this helps people with future builds.
 
I also did some reading about the C-head. I think there is a way to run this head with the B-head intake. From what I have read the C-head is a better head due to the flow velocity. Now with that said where can you get some cheap C-heads? The Continentals from 99 to 03 have the C-head with a dual port intake. Under the intake the Continental has an adapter that mounts its intake that looks exactly like our IRMC plate. I found some C-heads on a 2000 Continental close to where I live and I plan on getting them. I will post updates with pictures as soon as I get the heads.
 
i don't know anyone who has tried the b intake to c head adapter.
i believe the mach 1 and similar intakes are quite good, and most people just use those.
 
chris2523 said:
i don't know anyone who has tried the b intake to c head adapter.
i believe the mach 1 and similar intakes are quite good, and most people just use those.
Click to expand...

If you can use your existing intake it would cost less, most of the Mach1 and Cobra intakes cost $400.00 and up.
 
Its better to make a plan and stick with it.

If its a PD blower then c head is the ticket, if you found a 01 cobra that is short a
intake, forget any b head intake... save for the PD parts... if you don't have the patience or pocket book
hit the stang boards hard for a good c head intake, like Chris said its a cheaper part of the build.
Half of what makes a c head attractive for N/A street is the intake that goes with it.
If its N/A then now is the time to kick around cams.

But you have to decide.... which way you go dictates the rest of the build.
 
Well let me explain what my goals are for the present.
1) get my mark viii to run mid 8's in the 1/8 and mid 13's in the 1/4. I run pro class at my local drag strip and I want a back up if my Tbird goes down. My Tbird is way faster than that runs high 7's and low 12's.

2) make the build as inexpensive as possible and extract all the performance I can from current set up

With this said I did a lot of reading on the mod motor and I can achieve the goals outlined without forced induction. The Mark engine can put down 400 whp and live. After that you need forged rods and pistons,
go above 600whp and you need a forged steel crank.

3) I located a 22,000 mile 97 Mark engine locally, I went and picked it up yesterday.

Modification

A) take rotating assembly and get it balanced
B) install windage tray and a Cobra dampener (the Cobra piece is heavier and will absorb more vibration) this will allow higher rpm.
C) port exhaust manifolds out to 2.5" and install 2.5" full exhaust.
D) 3500 stall converter and 4.10 gears
E) 42# injectors with lightning MAF with matching electronics (E85 fuel)

All the above is for now if I want more I will go with forced induction later.
 
New engine IMG_20141231_133006.jpg

IMG_20141231_133006.jpg
 
Nice find!
Your goals are achievable.

My thoughts...
Cobra intake....
Cobra intake cams... degreed.
03/04 termi exhaust manifolds with steering shaft mod and x pipe
stall convertor
J-mod trans
4:10s trac lock
one piece drive shaft "a must"
Green top fuel pump
Dam good tune with a x cal to data log
That should put you there.

Inexpensive and a Mark usually don't go together.
Unless your name is Frank...:p
 
Did some measuring today and the driver side exhaust cannot be ported to 2.5" The passenger side can be ported out. I am looking at a set of exhaust manifolds from a 03 Mach 1. The driver side looks like it can be ported out to 2.5" It also looks like it can be used on our cars. I can't believe that Ford made one manifold over 2.5" on one side then choked the other side at less than 2" this will cause a bad imbalance of power from one side to the other. This is bad for the engine.IMG_20150102_115706.jpgIMG_20150102_115451.jpg

Attached two pictures of the driver side and passenger side exhaust manifolds. The driver side isn't even 2" on the outside, the passenger side side can be opened up to 2.5" I will update when I get some Mach 1 manifolds.

IMG_20150102_115706.jpg


IMG_20150102_115451.jpg
 
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