Fox 89’ GT 331 stroker, Trickflow upper/lower, TF#3 Cam, stuffed with forged goodies.

WARNING:
This is an awful scenario, but if it helps 1 enthusiast- well worth it..More experienced will , NOT condescending, merely relaying a TRUE story. Importance to detail is everything.
InLaw had great-running 89’ GT, 5 speed.
Downfall- (Credit card & time)
The”Mod’s”:
1) E303 Cam.
2) GT40P Heads (Chrome Valve covers- power adder) bad joke. (EBay)
3) Cobra intake (EBay)
4) 30lb injectors
5) BBK 1.625” Shorty’s
6) 75mm BBK T/Body, Stainless C&L CAI
7) STOCK TUNE
8) MSD Ignition (MSD & similar are NOT what they WERE. ignition issue- llikely culprit) not bashing it.. (OK, I am).
It Idled. ( best part of story). Unfortunately, needs to rev. It DID! To 2,600, @ 2,610 it Backfired/sputtered -yet FLOORED Well, it broke in(ternally).
Said..”MAYBE the “MAT” sensor?”
?MAT?…
Being nice, I reviewed all work done.

(If you see it, pick up your jaw from table- pop back into place).
Nay, no Trickflow spring retainer kit to accommodate extra lift. You cannot trust 2,000$ Heads, EBAY? EVERY set of heads should be verified. Trusted machine shop.
1) Disassemble
2) tanked, inspect.
3) Valvejob
4) Correct NEW springs, designed for specific Cam, each checked for equal compression, shim under spring(s), if needed. Aluminum heads- run steel cups underneath underneath, or steel springs will chew into Aluminum.
5) Checked mating surface, light skim.
** Brand new heads cannot be trusted, MUST be checked. Pushrod length? Rocker/stem contact sweep not midline, FAR outside.
Scoped. Fried the Cam bearings, 1 stuck to journal. pieces hit the oiling system- GAME OVER.

08GT500 said:

WARNING:
This is an awful scenario, but if it helps 1 enthusiast- well worth it..More experienced will , NOT condescending, merely relaying a TRUE story. Importance to detail is everything.
InLaw had great-running 89’ GT, 5 speed.
Downfall- (Credit card & time)
The”Mod’s”:
1) E303 Cam.
2) GT40P Heads (Chrome Valve covers- power adder) bad joke. (EBay)
3) Cobra intake (EBay)
4) 30lb injectors
5) BBK 1.625” Shorty’s
6) 75mm BBK T/Body, Stainless C&L CAI
7) STOCK TUNE
8) MSD Ignition (MSD & similar are NOT what they WERE. ignition issue- llikely culprit) not bashing it.. (OK, I am).
It Idled. ( best part of story). Unfortunately, needs to rev. It DID! To 2,600, @ 2,610 it Backfired/sputtered -yet FLOORED Well, it broke in(ternally).
Said..”MAYBE the “MAT” sensor?”
?MAT?…
Being nice, I reviewed all work done.

(If you see it, pick up your jaw from table- pop back into place).
Nay, no Trickflow spring retainer kit to accommodate extra lift. You cannot trust 2,000$ Heads, EBAY? EVERY set of heads should be verified. Trusted machine shop.
1) Disassemble
2) tanked, inspect.
3) Valvejob
4) Correct NEW springs, designed for specific Cam, each checked for equal compression, shim under spring(s), if needed. Aluminum heads- run steel cups underneath underneath, or steel springs will chew into Aluminum.
5) Checked mating surface, light skim.
** Brand new heads cannot be trusted, MUST be checked. Pushrod length? Rocker/stem contact sweep not midline, FAR outside.
Scoped. Fried the Cam bearings, 1 stuck to journal. pieces hit the oiling system- GAME OVER.

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Part 2 of 2. 89’ GT 5.0 spontaneous build gone wrong, story conclusion, and cost resultant of not thinking a simple project through.

Continued:

Well, after pulling the filter, viewing the oil- it didn’t look good.
I run 2 Mechanical oil pressure & temp gauges, dash and engine compartment. I’ve always able to keep my eyes peeled, I’m either inside, or underhood.
I distrust most OE gauges, ESP oil pressure. 1st step when I’m buying or bought an older car, many times prior to purchase. All you need is a galley plug, and there’s plenty to access. If you know how they work, I think you’ll likely agree, lol.
This project I’d accepted as face value, want going to cease until I knew everything., planned on passing it on- per usual.. I didn’t…
I never fired the motor again, but this squeal I’d heard when he’d let run it - let it cool, restarted, this sound vexed me.
After dumping the oil, filter- I’d noted bearing particulate. Cutting the filter open with a hack saw, I noted a lot of media, a magnet showed a bit of Iron material, the rest- bronze, and softer material meant bearings- I dumped, filled primed it with fresh Dino oil, new filter- rotating by the balancer bolt (!!remove pump power AND coil wire if doing this!!)
Even doing this, rotating motor by had slowly, oil pressure went low/high. (8-10 PSI)
Oil pressure lessening as the engine heats up is normal, clearances change, viscosity- a few lbs, Even on the OE gauge it was less than 50% 2 minutes in.
The OE dash gauge WILL show pressure/ no pressure, but the mechanical gauge is 99% more accurate, cost is minimal. Oil pressure with a drill on the hex drive (@ roughly 2X idle speed, slowly rotating the motor showed 35lbs oil pressure.
Pulling a motor from a Fox is a 30 minute job, simple logic & clear access tothe right tools, neatness, disconnecting & tie wrapping the wires clear is my trick, motor alone is the easier way- most Mfg’s I’ll pull motor/trans- Fox, bell housing bolts, belt driven accessories, Radiator/AC Condenser, exhaust & (2) mount/block bolts per side is faster than it sounds.
A large piece of 1” styrofoam, few markups for each component with black Sharpie makes fast work of reassembly- shove the bolts in- no guesswork. Stangnet has some great drawings as well, no question is stupid- only assumption.
I suggest buying a Haynes Shop manual, EVERY VEHICLE YOU OWN. All your vacuum lines are laid out, no guesswork all your info is there, but take a lot of pic’s- makes things much easier afterwards.
If THEY were compromised, the others were the same (or worse). Inserting my scope, hooked into a 50” flatscreen, copying to an SD ram card for later edits, views.
I watched the #3 cam bearing rotate with the Cam, within its tight slip fit bore in the block, color was bluish- meaning it was cherry red, at one point. Had to destroy the bearing to remove the cam, that Cam was scrap, no matter, once done, cam came out, pulled the bearings with my Listle
They have alignment holes in many of these, grooves in the bearing 360 degrees keep the Cam riding on pressurized oil, once misaligned with the oil passage, the Cam journal overheats, expands rather quick.
Point loading the Crank (pushing in/pulling out), there was excessive amount of end play, near 3/16”, meaning the thrust bearings located a few of the main bearings were not doing their job, keeping the Crank FROM front/rear movement. Was apparent this was true, if there wasn’t block damage, tear down was inevitable.
Obviously, the owner wanted me to move forward, (naturally)
But, explained- was a back burner project- FORTUNATELY, I’d bought 99% of the parts before C19 really escalated prices.
I’d explained building a 850HP supercharged stroker would crack the block (#1), blow the Trans, the rear, & twist it like a pretzel, brakes were not up to par, suspension, etc.
He came up with more money, and I was able to ante’ it up a bit, in addition to all else, it’s also running an Aluminum driveshaft, driveshaft loop, scattershield, and 2008 GT500 brakes.
Finally got him to understand, so I’m guessing it’s going to be around the 450HP/about the same in TQ,. There’s also a small 2 stage Fogger system if need be, split between a 75HP/50HP boost.
Luckily scored an entire Trickflow Track heat TOPEND, heads, rockers, pushrods, lower, upper..TF #3 Cam/lifters- roller rockers, guide plates, ( helicoiled the 7/16” stud threads), -was unopened- from a friend for 1,600$ cash.
It’s now running 3.73’s, all FRPP parts, ladder-type stabilizers (Convertible) with a Ford modded TKO, McLeod 750HP single disc, semi metallic.
Boiled the block, Magna-fluxed- no cracks, ported & polished the Heads, port matched heads/ lower/upper- benched. Annealed the block to relieve stress
Eagle forged 28oz Crank, Manley Forged I beams, Mahle forged Pistons, (Calc 10.5:1) Aluminum flywheel, FR balancer, all the rest- DSS stud girdle/windage/7qt Canton pan- that was about $2,500)), balanced 28oz offset
Whilst weighting the pistons/rods, was thinking going internally balanced, but not going to see 7500RPM’s all day long, have run near 10K RPM in one of my drag cars, 2 bolt (327) and that was in an elimination series.
I’d set up .002 loose on the mains, ..003 on Rods vs typical, IMO- no need to start plugging the crank w/Mallory metal lengthwise for an internal balance, especially for a predominant street motor- little overkill.
Hooking decent, I’m thinking low 10’s @ the strip, no spray. care to guess on
Crank HP/TQ?
Cost of parts now including labor? (About 12K, 15k if greedy).
1/4 mile times, Trap speed?
Will post Dyno results within a month.
Thank you guys/Gals!
Pic’s coming, just landed it yesterday.

Yes, TB is rotated 90 degrees. Mock.

1st pic was the Coilbind I’d spoke of in 1st.. Book

89ripper said:

Im not the best at reading....lol takes me several times to read a paragraph in a book but dayum! I think what i read is someone learned a hard expensive lesson when it comes to engine modding

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In a nutshell, you’re correct! Sorry for the long dissertation. I didn’t charge labor when I’d repaired it, including all the machining..

He learned lesson, but somehow I’M the one who paid!

89ripper said:

Would be interested in the dyno results, be sure to keep us posted

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Next Friday is the projected date for doing the pulls, the FR’s balancer 0.950 spacer to align the Serpentine setup is AWOL, ordered another, if all goes as scheduled- will post date

So.. over 6 pulls-
322RWHP @ 5,700, 411 RWFT/Lbs @ 3,400, not awful for a very light 89’ Fox. Went longtubes & Changed fuel management over to a Holley Terminator setup- well worth the $.
Fast for an 89’ Fox. 3.73’s.
Trans is built, but a bit concerned.

nickyb said:

Thought it was would make at least 350

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You nailed that! The final wrench in the project- We were forced to run 24lb injectors & a teeny MAF, at a much higher duty cycle than should be utilized.
The appropriate ACCEL injectors the owner had brought were floating in a box, unprotected, 2 leaked once the pump was energized- awful physical shape on many of the seal surfaces.
Pretty amazed it made that power it did We’re going back in a month - with the Terminator setup & the Bosch 42’s.
Runs much better, can’t wait to retune on the Dyno.
Will post. 4 sure!

Hi, Ladies/Gentlemen!
Per usual, day late- Dollars short.
Re: 89’ 331 Build for bro’s Pony.
That Holley Terminator setup - cannot say enough great things about it.
All the aftermarket sensors it had are in my “unreliable” bin. ALL Ford sensors.
When the bugs were worked out, returned to the Dyno, was quite pleased.
With fresh Nitto 555’s, she made 377 RWHP @ 5,330, 409 RWFt/Lbs at 3,900- limiter set at 5,500. Why limit it like a 389 Pontiac? Keep reading.
To say the least, IMO, respectably strong for a N/A DD 331, goal surpassed, new motor built strong, Yes, it had more power to go beyond 5,500 but, l pulled the pin, here’s why..
#1) Peek at the book I wrote above.
#2) He showed with a case of full synthetic 30..wt(?), 25 miles on a new moly ringed motor- (!Synthetic!)I near fainted.
#3) Plants the pedal 1st, thinks last.
Guys great, but just don’t want to hear about ANY issues. He drives it 3,000 miles.. then, do what he desires. New build with my name on it? No TY.
-This sound logical?-
40wt, Sits at idle (hot at 40lbs).
#4) Cheap insurance for the drivetrain. Strong, but all the steps taken, that 500 Crank HP is just too close to block issues. Dart block, I’d have STILL pulled the limiter. Parts selected were a tad hot for a stock block, but too good to pass up, (pre- C-19).
Driven as is, should last a very long time.
Power comes on hard off idle. Predictable.
Question..
>So, What is the latest inexpensive yet reliable dual electric fan conversion relay setup (yes, has A/C- which was adding a T fitting, if I recall). Sure, can adapt & wire one up- but, any newer product suggestions that just bolt up/plug in & cost reasonably?
I’d have run a regular flex fan, but- parts came. Soo..
(Am still going to run a toggle switch no matter WHAT it is as a contingency plan, lol).
Thanks. All!