393 or 408, and it\'s gotta be tough?

I am looking into building a 393 or 408 for use in my demolition derby cars. I want more low end, but need the ablility to use a small block ford. I run 79-91 Crown Victorias and Town Cars, gonna use an FMX trans and a 9" with a spool and 4.11 gears. 30" tall tires. What I need is a combo that can take heat, start easily, and have enough low end to run though the mud and move 4500 lb cars around if need be. Now with that in mind, I think a 9:1 393 or 408 would work, or even 8.5:1 if it's possible, cast iron heads (E7TE?), 500cfm Holley 2bbl on a cast iron 2bbl intake, headers (1 5/8", go up through the hood, 4 into 1 with a 3" collector), thinking a single pattern cam, like a Crane Energizer 266. Can't be too aggressive, I need it to last when hot and come back for more. Also will have a mini starter and an HEI. Am I crazy? Any suggestions?
Now, if I understand right, a 393 is a 351W block, and use a 351M crank, and 351W rods, with aftermarket pistons. Am I correct? What machine work needs done in this instance? How about balancer and flexplate? What about a 408? It'd be a 400M crank and 6.2 rods, right? Is there an OE 6.2 rod? I'm open to all suggestions, want to do this right, but not spend a ton on aftermarket parts...

OK, Powerhouse has the crank for $195, I have the block and rods from an 89 Vic cop car, so am I right in reading I can use that, and then stock 302 pistons? Then I would use the 351 balancer and flexplate and get it all balanced? What would you recommend to get 9:1 or a little less? How about cam, 260 or 266?

<TABLE BORDER=0 ALIGN=CENTER WIDTH=85%><TR><TD><font size=-1>Quote:</font><HR></TD></TR><TR><TD><FONT SIZE=-1><BLOCKQUOTE>
On 2005-12-03 20:13, Iamthe12car wrote:
I am looking into building a 393 or 408 for use in my demolition derby cars. I want more low end, but need the ablility to use a small block ford. I run 79-91 Crown Victorias and Town Cars, gonna use an FMX trans and a 9" with a spool and 4.11 gears. 30" tall tires. What I need is a combo that can take heat, start easily, and have enough low end to run though the mud and move 4500 lb cars around if need be. Now with that in mind, I think a 9:1 393 or 408 would work, or even 8.5:1 if it's possible, cast iron heads (E7TE?), 500cfm Holley 2bbl on a cast iron 2bbl intake, headers (1 5/8", go up through the hood, 4 into 1 with a 3" collector), thinking a single pattern cam, like a Crane Energizer 266. Can't be too aggressive, I need it to last when hot and come back for more. Also will have a mini starter and an HEI. Am I crazy? Any suggestions?
Now, if I understand right, a 393 is a 351W block, and use a 351M crank, and 351W rods, with aftermarket pistons. Am I correct? What machine work needs done in this instance? How about balancer and flexplate? What about a 408? It'd be a 400M crank and 6.2 rods, right? Is there an OE 6.2 rod? I'm open to all suggestions, want to do this right, but not spend a ton on aftermarket parts...
</BLOCKQUOTE></FONT></TD></TR><TR><TD><HR></TD></TR></TABLE>and use a 351M crank, No it would be a 400 crank which would cost you more now on machine work then just buying the crank you came up with.
[addsig]

Go with the 393 lots of torque. Uses 3.85 crank $200 on ebay. Stock 302 pistons and 351w rods. Get it balanced and you should be good to go.

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1966 Stang Coupe Org. 6 cyl. 393 Stroker,Forged TRW's, ARP bolts,Total Seal rings,Balanced rotating assembley,Hedman long tubes, Ported C9OE'S, 1.6 Stainless steel Roller Rockers, Victor Jr intake, Holley 750 DP, Ed Nix Custom .576/.570 256/259 @.050 Solid Cam, Richmond 4.11, Strange mini spool, Modified C4, 3500 stall, Transgo reprogramming kit, B&amp;M Hammer shifter, Shelby lowered, Pro-Comp 6Al system.

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Forthman on 12/6/05 4:04pm ]</font>

Sweet, thanks guys. So I would use the 351W balancer and flexplate right? Found a crank from Powerhouse for $195.

Well you "could" use a 50oz or a 28oz i suppose as you will nedd to get the assebly balanced.
But YES i used my 351w (28Oz) Damper and flexplate on my 393.
[addsig]

OK, thank you very much for the info. I'd hate to either get myself into a cluster, or put together a motor that I'd just scatter in a few runs...

Think Hyperutectic (sp?) pistons will be ok? Is there a particular head casting worth looking for? The base motor is a 1989 5.8 from a cop car...

I think hypers's be ok if not more that a 50 shot of Nos is used.
I ran a season with DOOE's they worked good. They were ported pretty good i thought. This season going with a set of aluminum heads. Vic. Jr knock offs. 210cc intake runners 2.08 /1.60 valves. Thinking these heads will really make it come alive. But i think you could use what ever you can afford as heads are easy to swap. But then the cam should match the heads.. So is a choice thing. I was prepared to run E7TE'S ported heavy. These castings should have been ones that came on your police block.

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1966 Stang Coupe Org. 6 cyl. 393 Stroker,Forged TRW's, ARP bolts,Total Seal rings,Balanced rotating assembley,Hedman long tubes, Ported C9OE'S, 1.6 Stainless steel Roller Rockers, Victor Jr intake, Holley 750 DP, Ed Nix Custom .576/.570 256/259 @.050 Solid Cam, Richmond 4.11, Strange mini spool, Modified C4, 3500 stall, Transgo reprogramming kit, B&amp;M Hammer shifter, Shelby lowered, Pro-Comp 6Al system.

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Forthman on 12/13/05 2:42pm ]</font>

That's what I have for heads. I want to keep as much iron as I can, there are times this motor can see 240+ degrees, no nitrous, mild cam, etc...just need more grunt to push those 4500lb Chevys and Mopars out of my way [img]/phpBB/images/smiles/icon_smile.gif[/img]