Yes, Charlie it has.  I have somehow made some great runs that had to endure difficult shifts.  I believe the last run the 258" made destroyed the engine by floating the valves when it jumped out of 2nd gear.  I dissembled the T5 and found a well ground 1st-2nd slider gear and almost no teeth on the syncro.  The Toploader served me well in the 57 pickup, but I thought the integrated shifter and the closer ratio of 3rd to 4th in the T5 would be better.  The Toploader is freshly rebuilt and I have a Hurst Competition Plus shifter that will hopefully make better shifts and get me through the 3rd to 4th gap with more horsepower than I have had in the past.


Charlie Burns Laton, Ca (South of Fresno)







BurnsRacing981@gmail.com

The new cross member is fabed up, now to shorten and balance the drive shaft.




Charlie Burns Laton, Ca (South of Fresno)







BurnsRacing981@gmail.com

I moved all three pedals back 2".  What a great change.




Charlie Burns Laton, Ca (South of Fresno)







BurnsRacing981@gmail.com

The drive shaft is now shortened and I switched from power steering to a manual steering box.








Charlie Burns Laton, Ca (South of Fresno)







BurnsRacing981@gmail.com

The heads are back from Tim McMaster.  Now I need to assemble the engine with the new stroker short block, but first I need to clay the valves.




Charlie Burns Laton, Ca (South of Fresno)







BurnsRacing981@gmail.com

Hello  I may have overlooked your new engine specs. Can you tell us about it, or point me that way ?Thanks Bill  Oregon

Bill, the new engine is quite different than the previous Y-Block.  This block has 338 cu. in. while the last one had 258.  The new short block has a bore of 3.875 and a stroke of 3.580.  The 258 had all off the shelf parts, de-stroked 1954, 239 crank with a 2.99 through, scruby 6 cyl rods and 1980 Ford Taurus pistons.  The 338 has a 292 Ford truck forged crank, NASCAR rods, and custom Racetech pistons.  The cam is the same in both engines.  It is relatively mild except for the lifts of .556 intake and .553 exhaust based on a stock 1:54 rocker ratio.  The lobe seperation is 114 and the duration at .050 lift is 254 intake and 267 exhaust.  All the cams I have used have been re-grinds from stock units.  Oregon Cams has been great to give me wonderful results in both normally aspirated (57 Ford pu) and turbo cams (current race car).




Charlie Burns Laton, Ca (South of Fresno)







BurnsRacing981@gmail.com

Hello Carlie  Thanks for reply.  To get stroke you have from a 292 crank you must have offset ground crank for Hon. size rod bearings or welded crank,right? Which rods and lenght did you use? Your pistons are custom, what wrist pin diameter and comp. height did you end up with? I have many questions, I will send e-mail if ok? Bill  Oregon

Bill, first of all, you can email me anytime.  You have great questions and I'm happy to share the best I can.  The crank was just offset ground. The rod lengths are 6.320".  The wrist pin dia. is 9.12 and the comp height is 1.650" and the big ends are 2.008".


Charlie Burns Laton, Ca (South of Fresno)







BurnsRacing981@gmail.com

Charlie, I think what he notices is that the stroke is longer than can be acquired with only machining to a 2.00" journal.  The maximum with that would be about 3.480 if starting with a pristine 292 crank.


Lawrenceville, GA