My upper intake arrived today, and when I looked under the plate, I didn't see HO stamped anywhere. I saw an H written in marker and what looks like a worn off O next to it; is that a factory marking, or is it supposed to be stamped in the metal? It came off of an 88 Mustang 5.0. Or is it in one of the crevices where I haven't looked?
its usually obvious, right under the upper intake plaque
Is it marker written or is it stamped into the metal?
Just took another look to see if I missed something. All I see on it is a marker written H. Looks like I got ripped off...
It is cast into the area under the intake plaque. Very noticable.
Yeah, HO is stamped in the metal, not written under where the manifold plate goes.
Sounds like you may have gotten taken unfortunately. Check the bore where the spacer plate lines up. It should be larger than the one in your original spacer. I think the measuremtent on the HO is 60mm.
Thanks for the info, guys. I'll measure it later, but it looks like I got screwed. :shoothead
Just measured. 55mm. There's $30 down the drain.
Should have "HO" cast in raised letters under where the intake plate goes. If it is a SO intake just take your dremel and bore the sucker out to 60mm. I *think* the only difference between the HO and SO uppers is the size of the bore.
Here ya go. This is off of my 89 5.0 HO.
So the only difference is the bore of the hole on the end? Or is the bore larger throughout the whole manifold?
I did find a picture of a legit HO upper intake and mine definately doesn't have that marking. Thanks for the close ups, Cougar.
There may be some slight difference in the runners in the plenum, but the T/B opening is at least 95% of the difference... The runners that mate to the lower are exactly the same in both intakes...
Ok, so if worse comes to worse we'll just bore it. If I come across a legit HO manifold, I'll pick one up, but if not, I'll just work with what I have. Thank you everyone very much for your help. Sorry if I've been a bit impatient; I'm just not too thrilled right now, but it could be worse. My 19lb fuel injectors arrived today and they seem to be exactly what I need, so at least something went right :) .
i dont buy that all the ho uppers were stamped. the one i have came off an 86-87 stang and still has the original tb egr/spacer etc but isnt stamped HO. at least not that i noticed. came of a virgin car. bore looks consistant through the tb and is deffinetly bigger than the stock one from my tbird. it made a pretty noticeable differance as well.
Well, we talked to the seller, and he just made the same mistake my dad and I did: assumed it was an HO due to the top plate. All is not lost, though, because right as I walked upstairs, the UPS man came by and delivered my throttle body, which I measured and is 70mm in diameter on one side and a little over 60mm (closer to 65) on the other side. We plan to take the TB and manifold to the machine shop (where the Chevelle's engine now lays) and see if they can match the bores of the manifold and TB for the best possible air flow, so it might actually end up working better. We still might get a legit HO upper intake, but that's our backup plan in case we can't find one.
And shame, did you make sure the bore was 60mm? Mine came out to be 55mm.
You should be able to find a HO upper. I never see a 5.0 Mustang at the wreakers but I'll always find one or two Mark VIIs, which after 88 had the same HO as the Mustang. Actually you could have bought all your stuff off a Mark VII at a wreakers if you wanted to.
The '86 HO used the std intake with the smaller T/B opening. Those engines were rated at 200hp(not 225) and also used a 58mm Tbody/and egr spacer... Also this engine was used in the '86 and '87 LSC Lincolns. I just gave one of those and a SO intake to the s guy...
Are the factory HO ratings toned down a little? I've seen some people list them at 265hp, but other places say 225.
Thanks for the MarkVII info, I'll definately look into that. There's a local junkyard that is asking for $100 for a set of E7 heads, as long as we take them off the car ourselves. Maybe that same engine will have an HO intake.
my u-pull it yard wanted $65 for a pair of heads, and they charged for them seperate and I felt I got taken to the cleaners.
meh...maybe that was it. i could have missed the HO casting as well, i never looked for it. didnt interest me all that much and it was free. the TB is unmistakenly bigger than the tbirds original. never looked at the bore if the intake itself. it deffinetly made an improvement over the stock stuff so without a doubt the HO intake tb etc will make a big sifferance. i tossed the original tbird stuff so i cant compare again. i also only put 300 miles or so on the car since ive had it so it could just be in my head i suppose.my buddy had an 89 lsc parts car. mayby ill puppies the intake off that if someone wants my engine. anyway, i think the TB is the biggest bottleneck aside from the heads themselves.
Wow... 100 bucks for a set of heads? For that they better take them off. They're taking you to the cleaners on that price.
Find a local mustang board with 5.0's on them, they give them away nearly. Seriously... DO NOT spend 100 bucks on E7's. You'll regret it later.
The Mustang 86 engines had the regular SO intakes. Your best bet is to save your money for a used Explorer intake. I don't know why you guys bother with the HO intake. I can't see it making any difference or noticeable difference at all. Cobra intake, E7 or GT40 heads and even the stock HO cam will give you good results.
James
NO 5.0 HO was EVER rated at 265hp....
The ratings were:
'82... 153hp... (had a 2bbl carb)
'83-'84... 175hp had 4bbl carb, still used cast exaust manifolds..
'85... 210hp... 4bbl carb... First year for headers but still had wimpy exaust system. E5 heads are basically same as later E7s.. Also there was a CFI(automatic only)version in '85. HP was somewhere between 160 & 180, can't remember fo sure on this one...
'86... 200hp ... First year with SEFI, had smaller throttle body(58mm), upper(non HO) than later years, These engines have the E6 heads..
'87-'88... 225hp... Speed densety EEC, 60mm T/B, HO intake, E7 heads,
these are the strongest stock runners...
'89-'92... Still rated 225hp, but the small(55mm) mass air meter actually cut power...
'93... 205hp... Same engine as '89-'92. Ford just finally admitted they were no longer making 225hp.
'94-'95...215hp More or less the same engine as before, but does has lower profile intake and uses electric fan which frees up some power.
NOTE... the '87 LSC still used the '86 200hp engine...
My thoughts exactly.... But I have a cut, ported, and rewelded HO upper and lower if anyone is interested(what they did in the old days before the GT40, Cobra, etc were avai)... Should be roughly equal to a Explorer intake...
cause they are cheep or free just about easy to change, and make a great inprovement over whats stock used with the bigger TB. i would have built up an injected 331 and spent my money on all the 5.0 goodies if i wasnt going in the direction i am. it would have been a waste to spend any money on the 5.0. i hate to get rid of it though. it runs great.
We don't have $200-300 to spend on a Cobra/Explorer intake. Heck, thats about what we've spent total on the upper intake, headers, camshaft, computer, fuel injectors, AND the throttle body. Maybe if I can find a really good deal I'll get one, but otherwise, I'll stick with a regular HO intake. 225hp is plenty for me.
Most of the time you can get them under $200. Heck I would run the Mustang HO speed density, HO cam and explorer intake and it would be more powerful than the mass air with stock meter. My friend did that in his 88 coupe and ran mid 13's. Besides how much more power are you getting with using the HO upper?
James
Even $100 on an intake would be pushing it with our budget; I'd really have to see what dad says, but I seriously doubt it. And with the HO intake, at least it won't choke the 60mm TB with a 55mm opening. That should be an extra few hp. Trust me, I really wish I could get a better intake, but HO stuff is enough for me right now. I'm still in high school and it will be my daily driver. Maybe later I'll be able to get some better stuff.