400HP 2V N/A....Going back to my roots....

Yel2002GTAuto

Active Member
Sep 26, 2022
226
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Granit City, IL
Hi 2V Fans,

I haven't been on any Forums for the past decade...been a long time. Some of the old times might remember my posts and car from 2004-2009 tim2ve frame. I was known as Yelllow20GTauto back in the day and was working to build the fastest 2v set up i could get on 281 Cubes..... with a stock 01 Cobra short block, TFS44cc Heads, VT stage 2 cams, full bolts ons my little GT pushed out [email protected] MPH... Putting down 357hp and 355 TQ through a 4k stall and 4.10 gears..... my car ended up being a daily driver/strip warrior and finally been getting her back to form..... doing a new build and shooting for 5.3 BB Stoker combo with my ported TFS Heads, bigger cams, and 11.7 to 1 CR....shooting for 400 + HP and 10s 1/4 mile on just MT Drag Radials on 17x9s.....for those of you whom remember I pull my front end off the ground with same set up with old engine so she bites hard..... I will post my progress as I have been repainting parts on the car, new interior, and basically returning her to show ready.... got the bug going to car shows recently and now that I am retired from the Army after 22 years I will enjoy my hobby again.... I have tons of experience with different engine combos, parts, cams and dyno results or feedback from almost all 2v N/A stuff ...so just let me know.... I am looking forwarding to chating with anyone interested so hi to the new folks and hey to the old guys out there ...... looking forward to playing again...

Ed
 
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Update on my Restoration/Rebuild I am working on...

Here are some pics of where I am at: Goal is to have all new parts and running by next July in time for Car Shows and Dyno Numbers..

Here is the snapshot of my engine bay and passenger side firewall..... cleaned entire engine bay/degreased, re-wrapped all wire looms and detailed all parts/polished... I am adding in a lot of engine bling and aluminum parts so this is just the base...

Ed
 
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PS outside Fender Well - Pull everything out, painted and cleaned...... What you see here is a PA Racing aluminum K-member with Control Arms....I have Strange 10-way Adjustable Struts, and getting new Cobra Calipers (Painted Red) and getting my Rotors turned currently....still getting some little parts for upgrades like bigger braided brake lines and I painted the little pieces Metallic metal which looks amazing ..... I will send a Pic of the finished product once everything is all together...
 

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PS Rear outer Fender Well.....scubbed/degreased, and Painted...Here is you see the metallic paint I used....waiting on new GT Rear Calipers (Painted Red) and new braided Brake Lines ..... Rotors are getting turned....lots of little details I am focusing on.... getting new Rims 17x10s for the back to match the front which are black FR500 Wheels with the chrome lips...
 

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Back Firewall painted, cleaned engine, and Wire loom completed.....
The engine is currently a 01 Corbra Teskid block, forged with manley rods/pistons.... I lowed the CR from 11.2 ish to 9.4 to 1 as back in 2011 I was looking to put a turbo or supercharger on the car ..... I had nitrous on it for a few months back in 2009 and ran low 10's with a 150 shot on the 11.2 to 1 set up..... not really interested in super high HP but just want to put every ounce of power Naturally Aspirated down with the new set up..... still sourcing the Ford Racing Boss Modular Block and will run lightweight internals with a 93 Octane friendly 11.7 to 1 and 5.3L build or 323 cubic inches... Cam Profile I am still working on and will discuss more for all the dyno numbers I had and compared with multiple intake set ups...
 
So for those of you wanting to know about plenums/intakes for the 4.6 and TBs I had tested/dyno'ed a bunch....started with the Accufab 70 MM TB/Plenum...then went with the BBK 78mm TB/Plenum and then the TFS intake with 75 TB......from what I learned the 78MM BBK made the best HP in the 2500 to 6500rpm range.....the TFS was more above the 6800 RPM but held HP to 7100rpms.... with the MHS stage 2.5 cams I couldn't take full advantage of the TFS Intake and with a larger bore engine and bigger cams that would be the way to go for a 5 or 6 speed tranny....since I have a build 4R70W with a 4k stall my tranny best handles shift point around 6600 from 1st to 2nd and 6500 from 2nd to 3rd at Wide open Throttle WOT...

In my opinion .... if you do not plan to shift above 7k rpms then get the 78mm BBK combo....I also used a spacer at the bottom of the plenum for more volume and hand ported to match.... believe me when I say this is the best set up for an auto..... will full bolt on's and good profile cams...this set up is worth 20 or more HP/TQ throughout the Power band compared to the 70mm combos and better TQ and HP in the lower mid range than other High revving intakes ......

If you are a race car only for an automatic or a 5 speed high rev shifter with a built motor get the TFS with the dual or Oval TB and a high lift stage 3-5 cam and have a happy top end trap speed!

It all depends on how your set up is and what you are trying to accomplish....for my old set up I was limited by 281 cubes with high Compression and maxed it out... ....I will give details when I get numbers for the next set up...... but looking for a stage 4 cam or cam that has a power band to 6600 to 6700 rpm... with the larger displacement and current set up I can see 400-410hp and close to same in TQ with my current set up...

I have dyno sheet somewhere and will post when I find them but overall it will depend on your build.... I wanted to keep very streetable characteristics and have a beast at the same time..
 
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Suspension - Feel, handling, and bite.... Well I tried a bunch of different items for suspension and the best overall performance I found was:

- Removing the front and rear sway bars (Not if you plan to use stock shock and struts though)
- Adding in Strange 10-Way Adjustable coil overs up front and 50/50 Coil overs in rear works best (Not only can you remove the sway bars and lose the weight but the car will corner on rails and launch hard) it was close to over 90lbs off the car as well if I remember correctly...
- With MT Drag Radials on 17x9's I was able to cut 1.56 60fts consistently and actually lift the front tires off the ground about 2 inches a few times... with the suspension - I adjusted the back height so that the rear control arms were Parallele to the ground and loosen the front strange adjustable to the freest setting at the track.... with Tire Pressure set at 12 psi the car hooked up at any track or street for that matter with the MT DR's...
- for the street I just put the Strange front shocks at the 8 setting and the car took corners at 50 with basically no roll ....

Basically I was dragging GTs with Superchargers, Cobra's, and just about any other street warrior and handing them their lunch... no one suspects a mid 11 sec 2v NA.... best race was my old engine builders car which was a 630hp 04 cobra - stage 5 ported eaton, DRs, full exhaust, pulleys, ported heads, and other bolt on but with full weight....I out cut him on the tree and had 4 cars throught the 1/8th mile....and beat him by a 1/2 car through the 1/4 mile... my trap speed was 116 and his was 132...lol.... not bad for a little 2V Naturally Aspirated.... Needless to say... he said I beat him because he built the engine...lol

BTW Car with me in it was 3090lbs even on the scales.... and I weighed 190 at the time... If you walked up, you would only thing it was a stock GT with a few bolt ons, a rear seat delete kit and racing seats...lol
 
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So here is one of the 1st Dyno Sheets...around 2004ish....this was with full bolt ons for - Catback (H-Pipe), BBK Under Drive Pulleys, Accufab TB with BBK 70mm TB, BBK Intake, 373 gears, Stock Heads and cams, and a Diablo tuner with a can tune.... I also had an A/F Adjuster that attached near the MAF that I could adjust.....I did a couple of tuning sessions on my own based on feel and driveability but could always tell it was running rich...
 

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I moved to Columbia SC in early 2005 and had Pro-Dyno give my car a custom tune....based on the previous results you can see a can tune with roughly full bolt ons and trying to tune the car myself there is was a lot on the plate..... you just can't adjusted the timing and fuel curves throughout the entire RPM range without a custom tune....It gained peak power of 25hp and peak tq of 40....but the mid and top end still held a lot more power across the power band throughout top end.....car went from running 14.1s to 13.3s just from the tune alone with all the bolt ons....
 

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I have several other dyno sessions with ported PI Heads and VT Stage II cams and the car put down around 330/325 tq with an 01 Cobra short block which put the Compression Ration around 11.1 ......I had added Kooks long tubes, switched to Magnaflow catback, bbk 78mm TB Combo, and 30lbs injectors with 255lph fuel pump...car really woke up and ran 12.20's at 111mph.... I will have to find those dyno sheets but this was around end of 2006....

In 2009 when I returned from 15months in Iraq I got the TFS 44cc heads and mounted those up......now the car really woke up.... I went from 12.20s to 11.65 at 116.63 mph....there was a few intake changes and bigger MAF but the car was a blast to drive.... this wasn't my best pull but average HP and TQ with a full both on 11.1cr with TFS Heads and good cams seems to be the sweet spot on 281 Cubic inches....Put down 355hp and 349tq....but the Peaks were not the impressive parts...compared to stock cams/head and ported head and cams there were 60-90tq gains and 40-60hp gains at various RPM levels throughout the power band.... Peak numbers are impressive but the feel and powerband throughout was over the top...
 

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I believe now the car was limited by the cubic inches/cam profile and will see what 5.3l - 323 cubic inches and a better cam profile will add in the near future... I have tested multiple intake set-ups and think 400+hp will be achievable with the stock PI intake and current BBK 78mm combo with my Anderson Ford power Pipe and 95mm MAF.... I will be interested on how the power band will shift on the PI intake and how the trap speeds will perform with this set up....I think 10.90s are possible with 121-124mph trap speed through the 1/4 mile... I only live 10 mins from World Wide Technology raceway near Pontoon Beach Il, so I will post numbers up after I get everything done....

Hope everyone likes the feedback and if you have any questions or recommendations send a shout out...
 
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Thanks Jim! Looking forward to sharing my build and get input from the community.... I have been revived on the car going to all the car shows the past few years..... working so much that I forget to enjoy myself and having fun and rejuvenated with my hobby again!

Ed
 
So one thing I wanted to share on Cold Air intakes and mounting in the firewall vs mounting in the engine bay...

First on my old set up with ported PI Heads, 11.1 cr full bolt on's/exhaust, 410s and DRs....the car ran 12.20's....

Around 2007 ish I tried the same piping for the CAI at 4 inches and mounted in the engine bay as the new elbow had trouble getting into the firewall..

When I took the car to the dyno it made the same HP levels and then took the car to Darlington raceway to get some runs...with the temperature being around 87 degrees...I ran the car with the cone in the engine bay.... the car only ran 13.1's all night and MPH was off by 3mph all night on a Friday.,.,. needless to say I was pretty fusterated....

I went back the next afternoon and modified my old set up and put the 4 in cone into the firewall again.... I kept the MAF in the same location...about 18 inches from the TB and ran at the track again the following afternoon...

I was running 12.20s again with the MPH back to normal at 111.5 average MPH... and it was 89 degrees at the time..

Bottom line...heat soak is a killer with the filter sucking hot air from the engine bay and I proved this.....

To confirm, I went to the track the following weekend and took both air filter set ups to test as it was bolt on from the after the MAF only..... for the filter in the engine bay and out...on the dyno with the hood open and normal testing conditions the power and TQ were the same.....

At the track with same day back to back testing....the car ran 12.21 at 111.5 and 13.05 at 108.5.....switched back to the fender well on last 2 passes and the car ran 12.19 and 12.20 as the temperature went down at dusk.....

Bottom line....dyno numbers mean nothing at the dragstrip and the ambient air temperatures sucking cold air from under the car vs hot air from under the hood made a huge performance difference at the track.... so If you have a CAI intake set up the best results will be to place in your fender well for the filter... numbers don't lie and I tested on 2 different weekends and same day at the track...heat soak kills...

Ed
 
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So I see there has been a lot of performance, comparisons, and new products since I last messed with my car.

Some things I have found :

- I see someone hit 500hp NA on a 2v from North Carolina with a mid 12.5ish to 1 compression ratio on pump gas with custom cams, stock bore with a longer stroke, Victor Jr lower manifold and a 6130 intake plenum (Both Ported) with TFS 38cc heads...only shows peak numbers but it looks to make good power past 7500 rpm.... good TQ but lost a ton in drivability range I assume... I would have like to have seen the graph to compare how the high CR and cam profile compares on TQ to my mildly port lower PI intake manifold and mildly ported BBK 78mm TB combo...

- I also found a great video on a 2v intake comparison with different cam profiles but they used the stock PI intake with the 75mm accufab set up for comparison... I did notice a big gain on my graphs switching from that set up to the 78mm combo but that was with ported heads and higher CR to boot... They did not show the Victor JR for comparison but I did have a friend back in the day that did a carborator set up that made over 400hp....may be the same guy that hit 500 and switch to EFI and did more work......

- I haven't seen many new dyno graphs with fully built 2vs using the 5.3 making 400 to the tires.... The ones i did see were only mildly built and pushing close to 400.... I am doing research now on how high of a CR I can go using pump gas and it looks like 12.5 to 1 would be feasible .... I will tame it a bit and look to build around 11.7 to 1..... (Just as an FYI my car gained 40rwhp and 40rwtq throughout the power band going from 9.6 to 11.1...so would expect about 10-18hp and tq gains with a bump across the board and similar with bigger bore and stroke... Cam profile must change with a bigger bore and longer stroke so thinking a stage 3.5NA Cam would be similar to a stage 2.5 NA cam on stock bore but need to research more...

- Will do some more research on Under drive pulleys and use the meizure electric water pump again to eliminate any drag and maximize hp output...I believe it is the little things that make the difference and off the shelf performance products need to be matched and modified to maximize potential .... I will be doing a lot of research on cam profiles as I just want to increase the curve from about 200 rpms without sacrificing more that 5-10hp at the lover ranges...should just be able to pick that up with bigger bore/stroke and slightly higher CR...

- My 44cc heads were ported by Fox Lake and flow about the same if not more (260cmf @.550) as a mildly ported 4v head so I will truly see what the intake combo can do and how close both TQ and HP can get to getting over 400hp to the tires.... most of the higher revving intake combos don't really do much until you hit 6500 rpms plus so for drivability and being an Auto...this won't help me unless I go to a 4800 stall from my current 4000 set up...even then the tranny would struggle with shift point past 6600 rpms..... the PI Intake curve is best for the 4R70W shift points ... generally between 6250-6500 rpms at WOT..

So just some thoughts on what I have learned thus far and thinking about for my build.... ultimate goal to break into the high 10's NA on MT DRs on 17x10s in the back and hit over 400HP NA to the tires and hopefully 400tq.... with the math and build combo I think up to 410-415 is achievable but will find out.... I would not be disappointed at all if I only with 390 to the tires but just striving for the max...

Ed
 
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