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  •  » Small block Ford torque specs

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    2/15/2026 1:12 PM  #1

    Greg B
    Senior 24-7 FYI Addict

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    Registered: 4/01/2013
    Posts: 1,798

    Small block Ford torque specs

    Gentleman, I seem to have lost my notebook of specifications.   This notebook was compiled from many years and had specs of many different engines and models.  I know I can find the answers elsewhere, but I thought I'd start this thread as a quick reference guide:

    What are the torque specs for small block Ford.  Anyone have a sheet that has it all typed out.pretty?
    Torque specs for aftermarket pieces that may vary from factory such as aluminium heads, aluminium intake manifolds?
    Firing order for both flat tappet and roller cam? 
    Direction distributor rotates?
    If you could build an engine from scratch, and custom build wires, where would you point #1 cylinder on tdc?
    Where did the factory point #1?
    Initial timing?

    Put things like that in this thread.

    If multiple things can go wrong, the one that will go wrong will be the one that causes the most damage.
     

    2/15/2026 5:58 PM  #2

    TKOPerformance
    Hyper FYIFORD ADDICT

    Offline

    From: Newark, DE
    Registered: 12/15/2014
    Posts: 7,973

    Re: Small block Ford torque specs

    Off the top of my head:

    The distributor rotor rotates counterclockwise in a Ford.  So to advance timing rotate the distributor clockwise.  

    The flat tappet timing order for a 289/302 is 1-5-4-2-6-3-7-8

    The roller cam (5.0 HO) and 351W firing order is 1-3-7-2-6-5-4-8

    Ford cylinders are numbered 1,2,3,4 on the RH bank and 5,6,7,8 on the LH bank

     

    2/15/2026 10:32 PM  #3

    MS
    Forum Originator

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    From: Canyon Lake, Texas
    Registered: 1/24/2013
    Posts: 12,753

    Re: Small block Ford torque specs

    As TKO said.
    Plus #1 plug wire goes roughly at 1:00 o’clock position as viewed from front of engine. Most distributor caps have #1 terminal marked to correspond with that description.

    On every engine I build, I set initial timing at 10° BTDC. The engines never fail to start immediately.

    I use my trusty 1069 Chilton’s manual for engine torque specs.  When I am too lazy to go look it up, I just ask SIRI or ALEXA.  Both sources are pretty darn accurate, but compare to your memory to verify the result in case they misunderstood your description/question.

    If you need it, I could photograph the chilton’s page and text it to you.

    Money you enjoy wasting is NOT wasted money... unless your wife finds out.
     

     

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