For the Ford guys

[highway]

We are Cal, and to add to the comfusion; the 3.8L V6, while being of a Cleveland base, has a completely seperate housing for the timing chain/distributor drive/fuel pump mounting.

Yeah, they are a pain to get the front cover off of, too. The front cover is bolted to the oil pan!

[CAL]

We are Cal, and to add to the comfusion; the 3.8L V6, while being of a Cleveland base, has a completely seperate housing for the timing chain/distributor drive/fuel pump mounting.

I think I vaugely remember that from my stint in the engine shop.

The W was close to a brilliant motor, but had some issues.

Needed more nickel content 4 bolt main block, better oil system and a wider bearings and it would have been better than a SBS, notwithstanding it was a lot lighter, it had a lot more room inside for a stroker shaft, and a small chamber that could make gobs of compression.

Mine came out to 13.75:1 with out even trying. I could have easily gone to 15 16:1 and run alky if the block wouldn't have split in half.

[CAL]

Yeah, they are a pain to get the front cover off of, too. The front cover is bolted to the oil pan!

That was ford thing that most of the were like that.

[whale392]

Tell me about it Matt! And to completely add to the WTF of the 3.8L, the early (83-86) blocks and the later (87-up) blocks cannot be interchanged as the lower drivers side mounting holes and entire cover were narrowed and relocated........also the pan rail bolt holes are quite different. The timing cover also has a smaller distributor drive hole in the later cover, making expensive machining a must to run it in a carbed set-up. Also, no Fuel Pump boss on the later covers, making Electric fuel pump a need in a carbed app. (ask me how I know this!)

Hey Ben.......hitting information overload yet?

Edited April 24, 2010 by whale392

[Ben]

Tell me about it Matt! And to completely add to the WTF of the 3.8L, the early (83-86) blocks and the later (87-up) blocks cannot be interchanged as the lower drivers side mounting holes and entire cover were narrowed and relocated........also the pan rail bolt holes are quite different. The timing cover also has a smaller distributor drive hole in the later cover, making expensive machining a must to run it in a carbed set-up. Also, no Fuel Pump boss on the later covers, making Electric fuel pump a need in a carbed app. (ask me how I know this!)

Hey Ben.......hitting information overload yet?

LOL, YEP! I can tell the difference now though!

[highway]

LOL, YEP! I can tell the difference now though!

Yeah, with the links CAL posted, at least you can see the "snout" I was talking about on the C and M blocks.

[whale392]

You are right Cal; to me the SBF had a better head design and a beefier bottom than the SBC of the same era did.

I am building up a 10.5:1 306cid with ported GT40Ps right now for my 91GT Mustang.

[James Flowers]

Tell me about it Matt! And to completely add to the WTF of the 3.8L, the early (83-86) blocks and the later (87-up) blocks cannot be interchanged as the lower drivers side mounting holes and entire cover were narrowed and relocated........also the pan rail bolt holes are quite different. The timing cover also has a smaller distributor drive hole in the later cover, making expensive machining a must to run it in a carbed set-up. Also, no Fuel Pump boss on the later covers, making Electric fuel pump a need in a carbed app. (ask me how I know this!)

Hey Ben.......hitting information overload yet?

That is one thing Ford never worried about interchangeable parts between their engines. They love to change things. That is one reason Chevy engines are so popular ease of parts interchange over the years.

[Guest promodmerc]

That is one thing Ford never worried about interchangeable parts between their engines. They love to change things. That is one reason Chevy engines are so popular ease of parts interchange over the years.

Plus them Chevy's are always breaking down. The more parts they sell the cheaper the parts are

[sfhess]

Fuel Pump is on opposite sides.

Fuel pump is basically in the same location on Clevelands and Windsors. Cleveland fuel pump has a vertical bolt pattern, Windsors are horizontal.