I think the functionality of multiple systems working together is what got me into this hobby. most of my projects are always in a state of change as a result unfortunately. i've always enjoyed the plethora of unique ford parts out on the market and the racing heritage with fords.
all the points you made about the 180's is what sold me on them as well. why build a naturally aspirated motor with a 4000 dollar IR intake if you are going to cork it with a 200 dollar exhaust. I do like the look of the Ansa exhaust as I think it is most fitting for a classic pantera and gives it the hot rod look, but performance has always been my interest, so its something i'm willing to sacrifice.
it wasn't until i bought the pantera that i became interested in clevelands, most folks in the mustang world just skip them over to the large windsors and stay with the inline heads because that is what they are used to and more commonplace. i've learned a lot about the cleveland through dan, george, and folks like yourself so it has made the learning curve less steep especially when people share their experiences.
i find satisfaction in making a pushrod ford compete on the street with newer performance vehicles being churned out. I try to share my builds as much as I can, including failings, but I know after I get it running a few locals (non pantera folks) will be searching here for info, and i'd rather they be in the dark to some degree
. its certainly not because i don't want to share with my pantera bretheren.anyway back on topic, here is a picture that i mocked up for fitment before i started taking the shortblock a part to swap the cam and accessories. there is definitely some room in the tunnel for a common vacuum plenum or log. the kinsler setup came with a fuel line arrangement when I bought it used which is nice, but I may re-arrange depending on which regulator I use and where I mount it, so its just hanging in this picture. I may steal the really nice weldon regulator I have on my mustang. The valley plate or 3rd piece isn't on in this picture because I was more interested in seeing how much room I have to adjust the distributor once it was mounted. it was previously on a 9.2 deck windsor using a distributor-less setup using 2 coils from a toyota supposedly. I run an accel gen6 on my mustang and picked up a F.A.S.T. classic system for the pantera which has a harness designed to replace a 5.0 ECU/harness. So I'm going to use a TFI 351w distributor and put on my bronze 351c gear and hope the shaft is the correct length when it gets here. if it doesn't work i found a guy who will sell me a 460 distributor with the TFI onboard locally. I'm hoping next week I can start assembling and degree the cam after I get parts back from the machinist. Then I'll turn my attention to building out the manifold.
There are no injectors installed in this picture, the kinsler setup came with some seimens deka 55lb/hr low impedence injectors that i used in my mustang, but i bought a set of FAST 65's from a member here. with only a 357ci motor and a ported set of early c3's it will be interesting to see if there is enough low rpm velocity to atomize these large of injectors at the lowest pulse width I should run at idle. 65's in theory could support 830 naturally aspirated HP at base 43.5 fuel pressure. I won't be near that and realistically i should step it down to a smaller injector like the 55's which would be better matched, but I'm going to give it a try tuning with them first.
oh and on the subject of failures, don't roll around a fully dressed 351c with a zf attached on a cheap engine cradle or you will bend the studs on the casters
