Build a 441 Horsepower Ford with 2CarPros 347 CID Small Block Parts Combos

When Ryan Lavacot was in high school, he and a friend decided to work on the 302 cubic inch small block in the 1981 Bronco owned by the friend’s mother. Considering it was the first engine either one had ever touched, there was a pretty steep learning curve. They eventually got it running again and learned a lot in the process.

Fast-forward 15 years. Ryan owns his own shop and his friend now owns the Bronco. The 302 was in desperate need of a rebuild, so Ryan got the job and turned the little Ford into a 347 cubic inch stroker that put down 441 peak horsepower at 5,700 RPM and 438 lbs.-ft. peak torque at 4,700 RPM on the dyno. That ought to put the spurs to that Bronco.

You can see the entire engine build on the 2CarPros YouTube channel, and many of the parts used to do it in our 2CarPros 347 CID Small Block Ford Parts Combos.

Short Block
On teardown, Ryan found bent pushrods on cylinders two and three, indicating the engine had hydrolocked at some point. The rod and main bearings were toast, the camshaft and lifters were glued to the block with varnish buildup, and the timing chain was so sloppy Ryan could slide it right off the sprockets.

Ryan managed to get everything unstuck and removed, then sent the block to the machine shop for a .030 inch overbore and clearancing for the 3.40 inch stroke forged crankshaft included in the Eagle Specialties rotating assembly. The assembly also includes Eagle forged H-beam connecting rods, forged MAHLE flat top pistons, file-fit plasma-moly rings, and rod and main bearings. The rods were weight-matched and the entire rotating assembly was balanced before installation.

Ryan used Summit Racing’s cam timing calculator to help him choose a camshaft. He went with a Summit Racing™ Classic Series hydraulic flat tappet cam rated at 218°/228° duration @ .050 inch and .471 inches of lift. The cam makes excellent low and midrange torque, making it ideal for the heavy Bronco.

The oiling system features a Dorman replacement steel oil pan for a 1980-96 Bronco, a Summit Racing™ standard pressure/standard volume oil pump, and a Melling oil pump pickup. The Summit Racing™ Billet Steel Timing Set comes with countersunk set screws, so Ryan had the stock cam thrust plate machined to accommodate them. Ryan chose a Summit Racing 35 GPM electric water pump for dyno testing; he’ll convert to a mechanical pump and a serpentine accessory drive when the engine goes in the Bronco.

Other parts in the combo include a Ford Performance Parts harmonic damper, an ARP oil pump driveshaft, and a Fel-Pro rear main seal.

Top End
Ryan pitched the stock cast iron cylinder heads for a pair of AFR 185cc Renegade aluminum heads. They have CNC-machined 185cc intake and 68cc exhaust runners, CNC-machined 72cc combustion chambers with 2.02 inch intake and 1.60 inch exhaust stainless valves, and 1.290 inch valve springs rated to handle .600 inch of valve lift. Ryan added a set of 1.6 ratio Summit Racing™ Aluminum Roller Rocker Arms. The bent-up pushrods were replaced with Summit Racing steel pushrods.

The 302 came from the factory with a heavy cast iron intake manifold and a Motorcraft two-barrel carburetor that were (barely) adequate for the engine, let alone one sporting 347 cubic inches. Ryan pitched them for a Summit Racing™ MAX-efi 500 fuel injection system on a Summit Racing aluminum four-barrel intake manifold. The throttle body-style EFI system can feed engines making up to 600 horsepower and vastly improves idle and throttle response compared to a carburetor.

The ignition system features a Summit Racing™ Ready-to-Run Billet Distributor. It has a high-output magnetic trigger for accurate timing, a CNC-machined billet aluminum housing, and a polished steel shaft with sealed bearings for stable operation through 10,000 RPM. An ignition box like the Summit Racing™ Multi-Spark CD Ignition is required if using the distributor with an aftermarket EFI system. Other ignition parts include a Summit Racing™ High-Output Coil, 8.5mm ignition wires, and Autolite Copper Core spark plugs.

Gaskets and Fasteners
You can’t build an engine without gaskets and bolts, and the 347 is no exception. Ryan used these components to keep the fluids and compression inside the engine:
• Fel-Pro Performance Cylinder Head Gaskets
• Fel-Pro Performance Intake Manifold Gaskets
• Fel-Pro Timing Cover Gasket
• Summit Racing™ Oil Pan Gasket, 1-piece
• Summit Racing™ Valve Cover Gaskets
• Trick Flow Valve Cover Studs
• ARP High Performance Main Cap Bolt Kit
• ARP High Performance Cylinder Head Bolt Kit
• ARP Oil Pan Bolt Kit
• ARP Balancer Bolt
• Summit Racing™ Stainless Steel Intake Manifold Bolt Kit

Completer Parts
This combo includes some of the small parts required to finish a small block Ford like Dura-Bond timing cover dowels, ARP carburetor studs, a Dorman thermostat housing, and a Summit Racing™ 180° thermostat. Ryan used a Summit Racing sender extension to make sure the Standard Motor oil pressure sender cleared the engine block. The combo also includes an OTC bearing and seal driver kit to press the rear main seal in the block and a Summit Racing balancer install/removal tool to press the Ford Performance Parts harmonic damper on the crankshaft. Rounding out the combo are Permatex Ultra-Slick assembly lube, a Summit Racing oil filter, and a Summit Racing engine oil dipstick.

CHECK OUT THE 2CARPROS FORD 347 PARTS LIST