What engine to build?

Topic: What engine to build? (Read 2288 times) previous topic - next topic

What engine to build?

September 27, 2011, 09:38:43 PM

My '84 Cougar is my pride and joy and will always be in my possession no matter what. It has come to the point that I am happy with the appearance, and I want to start on the drivetrain and suspension.

I'm debating on what to do as far as a motor is concerned. Here is what I'm considering.

1.) Freshening up my 5.0L(re-ring, replace gaskets, cam, heads, carb swap)
2.) Start fresh with a new block and build a mean 347
3.) Go all out and swap in a Coyote 5.0L Crate Motor

I realize the Crate swap is going to be difficult and time consuming. Especially my car being an '84 and having virtually no electronics, or modern conveniences.

All opinions are welcome. This car will be with me until the day I die.

What engine to build?

Reply #1 – September 27, 2011, 09:46:24 PM

why not a mixture of 1 and 2? just send your block off to the machine shop and turn it into a 347.. it would save you money for other gadgets

What engine to build?

Reply #2 – September 27, 2011, 10:19:54 PM

Ford has a crate, pushrod, Boss family engine with 363 cubic inch displacement, 500 HP, 450 lb/ft torque. $8595
Too much for the budget? 306 cubic inch, 340 HP, 310 lb/ft torque. $3845
A few options in between.

Spend your budget how you want, but at $6999 for the coyote, plus fab and trouble shooting, a crate Boss engine might give you better bang for your buck. It's hard to argue at less than $4000 built.

What engine to build?

Reply #3 – September 27, 2011, 10:20:54 PM

if you go 347, what will you do for a tranny? the stock tranny will have to go or be beefed up. keep that in mind as well

What engine to build?

Reply #4 – September 27, 2011, 11:59:36 PM

X2 on the tranny. Save up for parts. Get an 8.8, address your suspension, and go from there. What are your goals? Something to drive everyday and get good mileage? Or an all out drag car? Custom parts/fab, or something you can get parts at autozone?

Quite a few things to consider first. I would get a good built 4,5 or 6 speed or beefed up auto and build the car around that.

Your hp and 1/4 mile goals, or just smoking the tires is someting you need to decide on.

If I was starting from scratch, I would do a light weight bottom end, good heads and add/upgrade as money and time allowed.

Really though, start. Chassi and make plans from there.

What engine to build?

Reply #5 – September 28, 2011, 12:25:35 AM

My goals for this car: a 5.0 or 347 so either a new crate Coyote, freshen mine or a 347. In the end I want atleast 500+, and it will be driven on the street, no cage or anything like that. I want a nice healthy motor. I'm not looking to race it, but I will be enjoying plenty of tire smoke. I plan on building the suspension, and I've already thought about what tranny I want to run. I was looking for opinions, and I've been set so long on a 347 and that's most likely what I'm going with. As long as people are willing to help out with info on a motor build, unlike the douche bags on corral who don't read posts, and just spew in their replies.

What engine to build?

Reply #6 – September 28, 2011, 12:32:46 AM

Start out with a stock 5.0 mustang spec and build from there. I like efi, but have never really messed with carbs.

500hp is a beast on the street, specially without saftey equipment. 500+, I would do an aftermarket block, gigantic cylinder heads, and I would probably go stroker 351 block. Get like 420+ c.I. out of it and either a super or turbo so your not having to rev it to the moon.

Really though, do a stock h.o. swap, injected or carbed, then save up for the motor you really want. For 500hp street car, it could easily get over 8k if you want it to last and be reliable.

What engine to build?

Reply #7 – September 28, 2011, 12:38:50 AM

I have a non roller 5.0 so an H.O. conversion in almost impossible, and if I'm swapping motors it will be a built one. I've thought about getting a set of heads and a cam for mine with a carb swap and calling it good, but I know that's not where I want this car to end up. Right now I'm gonna be working on suspension, but I'm really itching to get a motor build going. I'm not concerned about overall cost, and everyone fights me about that. I won't ever be getting rid of this car. Alot of cars do run 500+ on the street, and especially the ones I've been in have nothing more than what they came with factory. I plan on a Dart block with forged internals. I've wanted a S/C'd 347, but I doubt I'll go with a power adder, especially carbed.

What engine to build?

Reply #8 – September 28, 2011, 12:48:38 AM

Hang around sbftech for a while. So much tech you will never decide which way to go.

Guys there are pulling 10's with less than 400rwhp and breaking stock blocks all the time.

To do it n\a, get your wallet out and get ready to rev it to the moon.

500hp out of a completely stock motor = a lot of boost, or a lot of bs. One thing I am sure you have noticed at the corral, everyone has 500+hp and runs 13's. Funny, considering even a stock mustang with a good driver and sticky tires should be able to do.

Don't take any of this the wrong way, never built a motor in my life, though I have assembeled a couple. And none of them have had over 100rwhp. But when push comes to shove, when you get through all the bs, and find what your really looking for, a lot of people are going to be full of .

What engine to build?

Reply #9 – September 28, 2011, 01:12:48 AM

x2 on sbf tech.. EXCELLENT tech site!

What engine to build?

Reply #10 – September 28, 2011, 04:57:30 PM

We have a 95 gt with a 363 we built that made about 418 to the rear wheels tfs twisted wedge heads ported with a track heat intake and custom ground cam. It runs good and revs fast, fastest quarter time is 11.30 but we just got 7.18 in the eighth of a mile. It turns heads at a stop light and runs on 93, with nitrous we expect mid to low tens. Do you want something like this? Oh yeah my dad is on sbf tech and the specs for this motor is on there i believe his name on there is Bam 5458 or something. He is known as bam an that forum.

What engine to build?

Reply #11 – September 28, 2011, 05:40:23 PM

I appreciate the direction to that site. What no one seems to understand on any site I have asked about building a 347, is they tell me to build another motor and tell me what parts would work well. I've been dead set on a 347 for a long time, and all I've wanted to know is what cam/heads I should use, intake manifold I should get, and what size of carb to run.

I don't take offense to anything said by anyone. I'm very opinionated myself, and I'm very stubborn.

I want a 500+hp motor in my street car. That way I can get in, turn the key and go cruise, and have fun. Plus show it off at shows, and meets. 500hp should easily be reached with a 347, and of course I'll have a suspension and drivetrain to handle it. I'm not skipping any details on this car. This thing will always be sitting in my garage or storage unit and be driven regularly. I don't plan to race it. I don't care about quarter mile times, top speed times, or anything to that nature.

What engine to build?

Reply #12 – September 28, 2011, 06:23:19 PM

500hp is just a number in that sense.. and building a 347 isn't going to make it super easy to build that kind of power, it will get you closer, but it's not going to make it easier.

buuuuuut, in the light of what heads/cam/intake, i would suggest a nice set of dart heads. i have a pair of dart pro 1 aluminum heads on my 408 with a custom ground cam and a parker funnel web intake. the funnel web is a lot like the edelbrock victor jr, but muuuuuuch bigger and flows a lot better in my opinion, after some portwork. i can't recommend my exact setup because you're talking 347 compared to my 408 and i'm also running boost.. she's fun to drive, but she's not exactly daily driving friendly

What engine to build?

Reply #13 – September 28, 2011, 08:25:25 PM

In my opinion you get a tfs twisted wedge heads, get somebody to port them and get a custom ground cam and depending on weather you go carbed of efi is the question of which manifold but which ever it be you need to get the manifold match ported. Now since you are wanting to go 500 i would go with the 190 heads which are capable of "600+ horsepower".

Cain Jones Pony Express Racing

What engine to build?

Reply #14 – September 28, 2011, 08:48:10 PM

Woody (Jim Woods) owns sbft and builds killer engines to boot. He is a perfectionist and stands behind his work. The following is his shop.............http://www.fordstrokers.com/