I degreed the cam today, it went in at 4 degrees advanced which should be fine. When the engine was built I remember the machine shop had ordered 5/16 x .105" pushrods for it but when I looked today they were Comp Cams 5/16 x .080". I am guessing they were changed when the 11R heads went on as they likely required a much shorter pushrod. Somehow I don't think they are up to the challenge of this cam's ramp rates and a lot of boost. They were probably marginal with the F-303. I had been considering upgrading to 3/8" pushrods but now it appears that it will be required.

 

I've been eyeing the Trend pushrods. Probably give them a call when I'm ready for my new set.

 

I was looking on Summit and all that was available in the length I will need were Crower, Manley or Trend. Trend has the soonest shipping date and I think the best quality so I will likely buy them. If their pushrods are as good as their wrist pins it should work out well.

 

I had a few minutes to work on the 327 today. I wanted to order the pushrods so I checked the pattern on the valves and found the pushrods I have are .200" too short so 7.15" it is. I also checked to valve spring seat pressure since I will need more seat pressure for this cam and they were not in that great of shape. Most were down to around 150# seat and there isn't enough distance to coil bind to shim them. Naturally the retainers I have won't work with the springs I need so new retainers too. As GT-358 said in his thread most PAC springs are back ordered until mid December so it will be a while until I see them especially with the Christmas backlog at the border around that time.

 

I just checked my Summit order and the valve springs have gone from mid December delivery to mid January which really sucks.

 

I decided that January delivery for my parts wasn't that great so I called a buddy of mine and he checked the warehouses. One warehouse in Detroit had everything I wanted and it was slightly cheaper too. I ordered everything through him and canceled my Summit order. Parts should be here next week. PAC 1222X valve springs for the 327 with the correct retainers and spring seats and 1255X beehives for the 388. The 388 was floating the valves above 6300 with the Comp 935 springs so going to the beehives will save around 40 grams of weight with the same 185# seat pressure. The 1222X will give the 327 around 180# on the seat which should work OK for that Crane cam since the 11R heads have lighter 8mm valves and 1.27" diameter springs.

 

It is kind of like Christmas here if you wanted PAC products for Christmas.

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I found some time and reassembled the 327. It is all buttoned up and ready to in the car. I put the new PAC 1222X springs on and was pretty disappointed in how far off spec they were. My 11R heads have an installed height of 1.800" so I ordered springs with a seat pressure of 180# at 1.8". According to the PAC chart 1.75" installed height should give around 200# which would leave 185-190 after break in. Unfortunately 180# of seat pressure was only achieved at 1.73" and 200 at 1.69-1.70". 1 spring was so weak I had to go to 1.665" to get 192# which is pretty iffy since that is .060" off coil bind. If it sags at all after spring break in it will have to be replaced. I checked the pressures with a bench tester and an on head spring tester and they were within a few lbs of each other. I am hoping the 1255X springs are better.

Next I have to find out why the transbrake isn't working and decide what to do with the brake booster. The booster is, as far as I know, the original from 1982 and I would like more room to work when the engine is in the car. Apparently the 1993 Cobra booster is the way to go but I also have a MM brake booster eliminator kit sitting on the shelf which could be used instead to make lots of room. Still debating what to do. LMR has new manufacture Cobra boosters but it would probably be over 300USD by the time it is at my doorstep. I 'might' be able to get one from a rebuilder here but they are listed on all the websites as 'check local store for availability' which probably isn't a good sign.

 

On the 79, it had manual brake adapter and pedal with the BBF. It was fine for that. But with the turbo SBF, I wanted more braking power. I ended up putting a97-93 V-8 Mustang booster on it. I called up MM and they fixed me up with the right prop valve, MC, and rear brake stuff. Night and day difference.

 

Most of the people I talk to about no booster say something similar which is why that kit is still sitting on the shelf.

 

The Cobra booster takes up more real estate than the GT booster but they can still be had for a decent price.
Rock Auto, 195.00 cad.I picked up one from them a while back, they are great to deal with for the most part.
https://www.rockauto.com/en/moreinfo.php?pk=4389462&cc=1134076&pt=1884&jsn=530&jsn=530&jsn=530

 

One other deal is to get a hydra boost set up out of a newer mustang and hook it up with this kit.
https://www.maximummotorsports.com/Hydroboost-Kits-C720.aspx

 

I don't have a power steering pump so a Hydra-boost is out. Thanks for the link to the Cobra booster, I will look into it.

 

They have gone up, I think I paid 150 or so for mine a couple of years ago.

 

I am looking at converting to a drivers side alternator to get more clearance for the turbo. I see Breeze Auto makes a kit but 150USD plus shipping and duty for a piece of aluminum and a few bolts and spacers seems excessive. After mocking it up today it seems pretty straight forward to make a couple of brackets from steel plate to see if it works the way I want it to.

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I changed the pushrods and guideplates over to 3/8" on the 327. The midpipe on the turbo kit wasn't fitting as well as I wanted so it was reworked too. I still need to find out why the transbrake isn't working and then the car can get reassembled.

Old and new pushrods:
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I've thought about doing this but was concerned the pushrod holes in the heads would be to small and end up a pinch point and rub thru.

 

You had me a bit concerned here however I checked this morning and while there isn't a lot of room there is still 1/16" or a bit more at the tightest point I could find which is on the intake pushrod. The exhausts have more clearance. There will be some pushrod deflection of course but also some oil for lubrication and the 3/8" pushrods should have a lot less deflection than the 5/16" that I had. This cam is only 552/563 lift with moderate ramps, the possibility of rubbing could be greater with more duration and faster ramps.

 

This stuff arrived. Now I can replace the transmission cooler lines. It is currently push-lock and the hoses by the transmission where it sees the most heat are soft and squishy.

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