Question-------------------------yes, i am going to use 351w, have found out that a tremec 3550 will bolt up to my system with 3/8" off input shaft. is there a horsepower i should consider to be the limit as far as reliability? Have you heard of engine factory?, or the place that builds for panoz?
Followup To
Question -
am building a'54 panel for a work/play truck. would ford racing craters be a good choice since everything would be new, or would you go with a rebuild say from a reputable place for arounf the same price? i would like to have at least 350 horsepower, truck should weigh in at 5500lbs. thanks
Answer -
Harold-
Depending on which motor you're swapping in, The FRPP (Ford Racing) crate motors are ok so long as it doesn't take any real abuse. They use cast connecting rods and hypereutectic pistons so don't expect them to take as much abuse as a crate motor from a performance shop. And if you're looking for 350+hp, you'll probably need to go with a 351 motor or bigger. The GT40 302-based crate motors top out at 345hp. Ford does offer a stroker 347 motor based on a 302 block, but it's only a short block...no heads, camshaft, etc. If it were me, I'd go with one of the performance shops that sell Ford motors. Better names are DSS (www.dssracing.com), Coast High Performance (www.coasthigh.com), or Wynnespeed (www.wynnespeed.com). All sell 306s (basically a 302 bored over to clean up the cylinder walls) and many stroker kits. Oh...X2C Motorsports is great too (www.x2cmotorsports.com). Theese longblocks might cost a bit more, but you'll certainly GET more and it'll last longer as well as make more power. Hope this helps.
Steve
AnswerHarold-
For a stock block 351 based motor, I'd say the reliable power limit would be about 500-550hp with a strong transmission and good clutch (again, X2C Motorsports makes insanely strong Tremecs). 600hp could certainly be done with reasonable success...heck, I've got a friend with a supercharged 393 stroker motor (351 based) that runs over 700hp...but then again I'm just waiting for that thing to blow. As for the engine factory or whoever builds for Panoz, I don't have any knowledge of them. I do know that Panoz motors are pretty stout motors so I wouldn't doubt they'd hold up. I also imagine their fairly expensive. Hope this helps.
Steve
