88 wagon question

[queeque]

does the 1988 colony park have a roller cam in it?

[1987cp]

If it's a 5.0 (and I think they all are by that point), you betcha. I'm pretty sure all 5.0 Panthers used them starting in '86, if not '85. Lowpo roller motors are a great foundation for relatively easy upgrades like bolting on the heads, cam, intake and throttle body, injectors, and computer from a Mustang or Lincoln Mark VII. Those are the main parts that differ from a lowpo to a H.O., aside from the forged pistons. I want to say guys have had success with swapping only the heads and intake while leaving their stock cam, injectors, and computer in place, but you'll have to check the 5.0 tech section for more details on that. Similar info is available in a different format from another site called CoolCats.net, which is where I first started clearing up my questions about HO engines.

Anyway, keep close to a factory-produced combination and tuning headaches can be kept to a minimum, though ButtSlappingPirate's suggestion to use 289 heads (which have smaller chambers for more compression) is an interesting one. If the engine needs rebuilding, you can choose exactly the pistons, etc. to do just what you want.

[87DeuceVic]

All EFI 5.0's do

[OVERKILL]

All EFI 5.0's do

Nope. The F-series and E-series EFI Windsors used flat tappet cams up until the mid 90's.

[1987cp]

Right, but at least for the '93-up (?) 351W trucks, I'm told they used a roller block with a flat-tappet cam, so it's still easy to take out the block and install a factory-style roller setup. Were the flat-tappet fuelie 5.0 trucks also based on roller blocks? That'd be kewl, because then we'd know one more place to get seasoned 5.0 roller blocks.

[OVERKILL]

Right, but at least for the '93-up (?) 351W trucks, I'm told they used a roller block with a flat-tappet cam, so it's still easy to take out the block and install a factory-style roller setup. Were the flat-tappet fuelie 5.0 trucks also based on roller blocks? That'd be kewl, because then we'd know one more place to get seasoned 5.0 roller blocks.

It was at least 93, might have been 95, and yes, the 302's from 85 or 86 and up, are all roller capable, even if they are fitted with a flat tappet bump stick.