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Technical info needed

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wmlaks

Regular Contributor
I am rebuilding a 2.3 liter ford engine and some of the information that I need is not in the selco manual that I have. I have had the block decked and the head shaved to eliminate warpage. unfortantually when this is done to an overhead cam engine the valve timing is changed. this can be corrected with an adjustable cam gear but I need the cam grind specs to do this. I have searched through several manuals and spent countless hours on the internet trying to find out the info but have had no success I have not even been able to find a manual with it. I also need to know what the rocker arm ratio is. If anyone knows this info or where I can find a manual with it please let me know. Thanks Michael
 
I dunno about countless hours, but in five minutes I found a wealth of info at esslinger racing, who seem to be absolute 2.3 freaks. http://www.esslingeracing.com
You'd probably be more interested in a truck grind like you'd find in a Ranger pickup. Whenever you are talking marine cam grinds, you can pretty much exchange the word "truck" for "marine" as the grinds are just about the same. The Ranger Station has all the engine tech as well as links: http://www.therangerstation.com/tech_library/4cylinders.html

You can restore the engine to its original deck height with a thicker head gasket. Just order the correct thickness from esslinger and be done.
 
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Thank you for the link to esslinger racing. I had not found them when I was looking in my searches I was structly looking for marine and not racing cam info. I looked at the truck cam before I posted. It does not have the same amount of lift as the marine cam and there is 18 degrees of overlap in that cam. the 260H that comp cam offers is better suited for marine use but the lift is still consitrably less lift than a marine cam. The cam that I have is ok and I am not looking to replace it I am just trying to find the grind specs for the marine cam so that I can set the valve timing perfectly. I had considered going with a thicker head gasket to compensate for some of the machine work done to the head and block but they are an automotive stile gasket. The marine gasket has stainless rings around the cylinders to resist corosion form being raw water cooled. If I could find the valve opening numbers or centerline I would be able to degree this cam and finish this project. thank you for the information I keep it in mind for a racing engine. Michael
 
You'll pardon me for saying this, but you're being too anal about this. A boat engine is not undergoing hard acceleration up hills with a trailer, so the timing isn't as critical as you seem to think. Get it in the ballpark and go boating. Seriously.
 
For furher reference, get rid of the Seloc manuel. They are useless & full of misinformation. Clymer ain't much better. Look on ebay for the original OMC shop manuel.
 
I will see if I can find an original manual. If it was up to me I would drop ina 4.3 with a merc drive. But the owner is on a limited budget for this repair. Attention to detail is the difference between a shade tree mechanic and a technician or engine builder. If I was building this engine for racing then i would not be as concerned that the cam is retarded. racing engines are tuned for high rpm above 6000 a boat engine needs to build torque at lower rpm. by not bringing the cam back into time the torque is going to off and in an engine that was already underpowered from the factory the performance is going to be severly hindered
 
I know a few tricks on how to get more power from the 3.0 but as the old saying goes there is no replacement for displacement and it is easy to get over 200 hp from a 4.3. how ever he can not afford the upgrade so I am stuck building the 2.3
 
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