Ford Aluminator Crate Engine?

I have a GTS and am wondering if anybody has considered replacing the 351 with the new Aluminator 5.0 crate engine. I am doing NASA weekends and the price of the race gas is crazy. I've talked with a couple people about retuning the 351 to use pump gas but it doesn't sound too encouraging. Having an engine that only gives away 20 or so HP and has a warranty really appeals to me. Has anybody looked into the process? Are there any major hurdles? All thoughts are welcomed.

Lonnie

I have a GTS and am wondering if anybody has considered replacing the 351 with the new Aluminator 5.0 crate engine. I am doing NASA weekends and the price of the race gas is crazy. I've talked with a couple people about retuning the 351 to use pump gas but it doesn't sound too encouraging. Having an engine that only gives away 20 or so HP and has a warranty really appeals to me. Has anybody looked into the process? Are there any major hurdles? All thoughts are welcomed.

Lonnie

Lonnie, I have raced against a late model Mustang 302 that has a very trick Ford Motorsport race engine and 6 speed sequential fitted. It is very fast but seems fragile as I have seen it grenade a couple of times.

In the Panoz the sheer size of the engine would be an interesting fitment hurdle. I have not tried measuring one up but suspect it would be a tight fit.

If you decide not to go down the Aluminator path, don't be tempted to down spec the fuel you use in the 351. I tried using 98 octane (NZ) unleaded in my car (610hp 369 stroker combo) and stopped after having big probs with valve guide wear. I reverted to 100 octane Avgas and problems went away. Over here I pay $3 per litre for it but its cheaper than pulling the heads every 10 race hours to do the guides.........!!

Kel.

Kel, was the valve wear as result of no lead, like my MGs? The little bit that I have been able to learn is that the aluminator would be a really tight fit. Really tight! Those big heads seem to be the problem. It would be nice to have foam cnced or 3D printed to full size to play with. Thanks for the reply.

Lonnie

Kel, was the valve wear as result of no lead, like my MGs? The little bit that I have been able to learn is that the aluminator would be a really tight fit. Really tight! Those big heads seem to be the problem. It would be nice to have foam cnced or 3D printed to full size to play with. Thanks for the reply.

Lonnie


Hard to say in the end Lonnie as I did not have time to make one change at a time. So we changed the heads (from Brodix CNC to custom ported Edelbrock Victor Juniors), fuel from 98 unleaded to 100 octane leaded Avgas and oil from Royal Purple 50 weight to Red Line 40 weight. The wear to the guides was extreme and was destroying a set of guides within around 10 engine hours. When we made the changes valve train geometry and the sweep pattern on the tops of the valves remained the same so it was one of the other factors causing the problem.

Between those changes we nailed the problem but jury is out on which was the cure. We had a championship to contest so could not afford a repeat issue!

Yes when I have looked at the Coyote engine the top end seems to be enormous compared to my 8.2" deck Windsor stroker combo. Not sure what they weigh but as you say would be a tight fit.

Kel.