SN95 Engine Refresh Advice Wanted

[Chuckman]

How did you like the tfs1 and GT40’s?

it did its job well, and was reliable. was a low-buck, basic, get it back on the street deal (with the explorer bottom end). made 275rwhp/300rwtq in the heat, ran mid 13's on street tires, never ran hot, other than oil filter o-ring getting stuck and "doubling up" after i painted the block, i never had a mechanical problem out of it in around 4-5 years. just upgraded to some tfs heads that i already had from before after getting my fast daily.

 

[mikestang63]

I would also highly recommend replacing the stock balancer with a good Pioneer, Romac one, I got a Pioneer for around $170 a few years ago, Woody at FordStrokers recommended this one Pioneer 872030

 

[Gearbanger 101]

i guess im the only one who doesnt want to lift a heavy iron head over studs and find bolts easier? weird.

No, you aren't the only one. Not sure how people got it into their heads that "head studs" were the only way to go when building an engine, but it isn't. I'm running ARP head bolts on my 331 with GT40X heads and stuffing 14psi into it via my Vortech S-Trim and haven't had a single issue. So there's no way a plain old set of iron GT40's with N/A motivation are going to be a problem. A set of stock head bolts are fine.