Turning a 351W stock short block into a performance street and off-road engine
Rebuilding a tired 351 Windsor in a 1990 4x4 Bronco seemed like a great idea, as we watched the steam rise from the engine compartment from what we thought was a cracked cylinder head. The plan was to simply leave the engine in the Bronco and swap out the cylinder heads for a higher-flowing, performance set that may gain us an additional 20-30 horsepower.
The Bronco was set up as a rugged pre-runner style truck, with large fenders and a cool push bar/light bar up front. By adding more power to the 351, it would allow the Bronco to handle steeper terrain and provide the extra torque needed to power through some deep sand and mud.
We knew that a good set of cylinder heads that can increase the port velocity, matched with a performance camshaft that can provide power from 1500 rpms thru 4,000 rpms, would provide enough horsepower and torque to accomplish our goal.
With the wide variety of products available, we decided to look for a component package that would make it easy to select the right combination of parts. Holley’s SysteMAX offers pre-tested power combinations that seemed perfect for our 351’s upgrade.
After contacting Holley, they recommended their SysteMAX aluminum cylinder heads part number 300575. The SysteMAX heads offer out-of-the-box performance gains, as the heads are cast with a 165cc intake runner volume, a raised exhaust port and 17-degree valve angles. These design characteristics on the cylinder head provide for increased cylinder flow and combustion, resulting in improved horsepower and torque over the factory cylinder heads. When used in conjunction with a camshaft that can take advantage of the SystemMAX’s flow characteristics even more horsepower and torque can be made. The SysteMAX cylinder heads also come with ARP Rocker studs and 2.02-inch intake and 1.60-inch diameter exhaust valves placed into a 63cc volume combustion chamber.
To help us with the cylinder head swap, we acquired the help of South Coast Speed & Sound who specializes in performance, audio, styling and video upgrades for a variety of trucks and cars. After towing the Bronco to South Coast Speed & Sound we began to remove the factory cylinder heads that were indeed cracked. To our dismay however, the cylinder heads were not the only thing that was damaged. The intense heat from our engine failure, also managed to crack the block as well, which required us to rethink our entire plan.
Although it would have been easy to scrap the entire Bronco at this point, we felt that we should check out the possibility of a replacement short block, and bolt all of the factory accessories and the rest of the Holley SysteMAX products onto it to achieve our goals. So our next step was to locate a quality, remanufactured 351 W short-block, which led us to AER Manufacturing in Carrolton, Texas. AER Manufacturing operates three facilities in Carrolton and builds Original Equipment, remanufactured engines for Ford, General Motors and Nissan.
The company also specializes in Ford high-performance engines as well as Ford’s family of passenger car and truck engines, making them an obvious choice for our short-block replacement. Our 351 Windsor short block was shipped to us and features high-quality OEM components, including the block, crank, connecting rods and Hypereutectic pistons. The AER short-blocks are all built to OEM specifications and any known defects, large or small, are repaired during the remanufacturing process.
With a new short block and cylinder heads in hand, we also decided that it would be beneficial to upgrade the camshaft with a profile that would optimize the flow characteristics of the Holley SysteMAX cylinder heads. After another call to Holley, we found an appropriate hydraulic-roller camshaft, Lunati #510A2 that features a healthier profile for additional horsepower, but also maintains quick ramp speeds to rapidly open and close the valves so that velocity and torque can be maximized.
Many of the pieces of the original engine would be used on the new AER short-block. This included the factory belt drive system and the factory intake manifold. Although it would have been easy for us to bolt all of the items together, we felt it would be beneficial to have a Ford specialist help us bolts all of the pieces together to ensure that they will all work with the factory fuel injection system.
Tom Bender of Bender’s Automotive specializes in Ford engines and with his help, the 351 W came together. Bender Automotive provided the necessary labor and skill to bolt on the Holley cylinder heads and install the Lunati Cam. It was soon evident that his knowledge of Ford engines that the roller lifters required installing a new Lunati hydraulic roller retro kit that features a factory-style retainer to the lifer valley of the block.
Once the engine was assembled and the factory fuel injection manifold was placed on top, the engine was ready to finally go back into the Bronco. According to Bender, the 351W should be cranking out around 350 horsepower and nearly 400 lbs.-ft of torque. We weren’t able to test the 351 on the dyno, but we’ll be sure to put the Bronco on a chassis dyno at a later date to see the results.
Holley
1801 Russelville P.O. Box 10360
Bowling Green, KY 42101
www.holley.com
AER Manufacturing
P.O. Box 979
Carrollton, TX 75011-0979
972-418-6499
South Coast Speed & Sound, Inc
1746 W. Katella Ave. #1
Orange, CA 92867
714- 628-0400
Bender’s Automotive
747 E. San Bernardino Road
Covina, CA 91723
www.bendersauto.com
626-332-3022
 We began our build by using a set of Holley's SysteMAX cylinder heads. |  We matched the cylinder heads with a Lunati hydraulic roller camshaft that would give the engine additional torque and horsepower at lower rpms. |  The roller lifters required the use of a lifter retainer retro kit, that allows the use of factory style retainers to the lifer valley of the block. |
 Once we figured out that our block was cracked, we opted to use a remanufactured short block assembly from AER Manufacturing. |  The Holley SysteMAX heads features a 165cc intake port and 17 degree valve angles. This should give our 351 plenty of additional power at higher rpms, without limiting the velocity needed to produce bottom end torque. |  Bender's automotive installed the Lunati hydraulic roller camshaft into the AER short block. |
 In order to accomodate the new Lunati hydraulic roller lifters, a Holley retro kit had to be installed by drilling into the lifter valley to screw the lifter retainer bolts into the block. |  Here's what the lifter retainer looks like installed with the new cylinder heads bolted on. |  A set of Lunati alumium roller rockers were also used to control the 2.02 intake and 1.60 inch valves. |
 The engine was then buttoned up and outfitted with the factory intake manifold. Bender's automotive says that the new combination should work with the factory fuel injection system and provide just under 400 lbs.-ft. of torque and around 350 horsepower. |  Our 351W was taken back to South Coast Speed & Sound where it was detailed and place back into the Bronco. We can't wait to get it running again and to test out the new found performance. | |
