hey man, im interested in doing a roller cam conversion and i looked up an old thread in which you posted that 88+ 5.0's had roller blocks and what we need is the roller cam, lifters, dist. gear and new pushrods...

https://www.f150online.com/forums/sh...threadid=76897

i have a couple of quick questions for you if you domt mind. first, i can get a used E-303 cam very cheap from a friend, with only 10k miles. as far as the lifters, hes got some hydraulic roller lifters with 30k miles of use, would these be ok to use, or should i get new ones? also, (i just want to make sure since none of the shops around here have done an f150 flat tappet -> roller conversion) the pushrods i need to get are 6.272" long with 5/16" diameter, correct? is there someone i cana contact to make sure this is the right size? also, im gonna put in some roller rockers in too, this wont affect what length pushrods i need, right? so basically i can get the cams, rockers and lifters used for pretty cheap, and then all i will need to buy is the pushrods and distributor gear to do the swap? thanks for the help, i appreciate it!

 

- You will also need the "dogbones".. that is the nickname for the link bar that holds the pairs of hydraulic roller lifters together.

- You will also need the lifter valley "spider" that holds the paired lifters from popping out of the bores by holding down the "dogbones" or link bars. The screws for this are short so you'll have to go to Lowes/Home Deport and find a short screw or cut yours down. Forgot the thread size.. sorry.

Everything from a Mustang of 89 - 93 vintage (and probably upto 87 or 88) will work and will be needed to make it happen. If you go to Autozone for parts just reference you need part X for that engine and you'll be fine. I did this and I too utilized used HR lifters.. mine had like 100K miles though Same for the pushrods. I did not use roller rockers, just factory stamped steel ones on factory E7TE heads. What roller rockers are you going to use? Crane makes a pedastal mount kit to retrofit the factory iron heads, it will work on yours. Coast High Performance makes a roller rocker kit that utilizes a 5/16" stud (stock size). That is very small so if you go to a BIG cam (E303 is not big) than those roller rockers should not be used in MY opinion. It helps that the 5/16" thread is in an iron head and not aluminum but still... The benefit is you don't need to remove the head or tap the rocker hole for larger thread size.. just don't go big on the lift! The Coast High stud mount rockers are pricier due to the custom studs. The Crane rockers are like $220 I think from Summit.. its got a Ford Motorsport part #.

 

thanks for the info JerryK, do you know how much those extra parts cost? can i just get them from any auto parts store? also, im guessing ill be fine with the lifters since they have 30k miles on them right? as far as the pushrods, do you remember what size where the ones you used? thanks for the help!

 

I dont remember any prices but Autozone should have them all. Just tell them you want pushrods from an 89' 5.0 Mustang.. doesn't matter what tranny etc.. You'll be fine w/ your 30K mile lifters. As far as pushrod size I didn't memorize the length but it sounds like you quoted a factory 5.0 Hydraulic Roller pushrod length. Again, order what comes on an 89 5.0 Mustang. The rocker arms if you want the factory style may not be Autozone parts.. same w/ the Dogbones and Spider.. may have to go to the salvage yard or Ford for those. You may be able to pick up a complete mustang longblock that is blown up (worn rings etc) and get all the parts that way cheaper..

Jerry

 

excellent, thanks for the help!!!

 

doh, i forgot one last question (last one i swear). for the distributor gear, exactly which one do i need? just any gear made to be used with roller cams? will the distributor gear from a stock mustang work (something i could find at a junk yard)? thanks!

 

A distributor gear from a mustang (or anything with a roller cam) will work just fine.
You might also look for a complete engine out of a crown victoria. From 89-on they had roller cam engines. I bought a 302 out of an 89 crown vic station wagon(wrecked) for $200. For some reason crown vic parts are less pricy than mustang parts.
Go Figure.
GOOD LUCK

 

You'll need a steel distributor gear (not cast or bronze).

Take care,
~Chris

 

these are stock on mustang 302's, correct?

 

ok so i emailed a guy i met asking him about this roller swap and he told me that on top of the dogbones and the lift valley spider taht i will also need "2 heli coils to put into place for the spider. the holes are there but they are bigger for oil flowback". i have no idea what these are, did you guys use them? thanks...

 

Uh.. dunno what he's talking about. The holes are tapped and threaded already for the purpose of securing the spider. There are other holes in the lifter valley for the purpose of oil drainback from the heads to the crankcase.. those two threaded holes are NOT the ones. In fact they may not even be open to the crankcase!

 

ok, good thing i asked! so forget the "heli coils". i love this website, thanks for all the help!

 

All 1986 and newer GT Mustangs used them. For the record, some 1985 GT Mustangs used them too, but you're safer with '86 and newer.

Take care,
~Chris

 

ok so take a look at this pic (i know its dark as hell):



the valley spiders are the things at the bottom of this pic? if not, anyone know what they are?

 

Those are the lifter link bars or "dogbones".. get it? The Spider is a stamped piece of steel w/ 8 "arms", 4 to each side. Each "arm" rests on top of a link bar (dog bone) which in turn "holds" the hydraulic roller lifters and prevents them from coming up out of the lifter bore. Hope that helps. There is only 1 spider necessary and it is about 12" long by 10" wide I'm guessing when you measure "arm to arm" and top to bottom.

Jerry