92 T-bird 5.0 Engine Questions

I can get a 5.0 motor from a 92 T-Bird for just $200, the motor only has 112,000 miles on it. I'm thinking of buying it and swapping in a 5.o HO cam, gt40 heads from an Explorer ( with new Valve Springs) and maybe an Explorer intake. Is there a difference between the HO motor internally compared the the T-Bird motor or is the rotating assy. the same? Mostly worried about pistons working OK with the different heads. Not going to add Nitrous, Turbo, or supercharge it, just want a good daily driver. I will NOT use the T-Bird intake or heads. I have a ported (65mm) OE upper intake I can use for a while so I might use it and spend money on headers instead for now. Looking to stay INEXPENSIVE for now, but don't want to be cheap.

7991LXnSHO said:

If you have better heads and a ported intake, why not go with a bigger cam too?

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The main reason I didn't go with a better cam was because better cams with an AOD trans require a higher stall torque convertor or you lose all the low end power. When building my motor I could not afford to get all the parts for the motor, and a higher stall convertor which also requires a trans cooler. I ended up buying a used Explorer motor and completely went thru it, had the crank polished, new bearings, new oil pump, TFS valve springs, altogether it was about $1200 for the engine, machine shop work, and parts, I did all the labor myself. If I had unlimited funds I would have got the cam, torque convertor, cooler, and done everything at once, unfortunately my wife has MS and is diabetic so her medical bills and meds are more important than my engine. This engine was put together last year, since then I have also got a set of 1.7 Roller rockers and a 70mm Mass Air meter for it, and have a 2400 rpm stall convertor lined up, hopefully I'll have it in another week. Once I have it I can look for a cam. I've got 36 hours overtime in the last 2 weeks, and getting at least 20 more this week........that should get me the parts I want.

7991LXnSHO said:

If you are using the 1.7 rockers, it will already act like a bigger cam, just without significantly increasing duration. In that case, I would spend the money on a matching Explorer intake, ported by tmoss. It will not be cheap, but it will be a great bang for your bucks. Or you could have the stock lower ported by him for less and get a better intake. With the Explorer intake, you will have both the low end torque and should still have more top end that your cam will. No convertor change needed.

As far as the pistons, I would have to look up part numbers, (you probably can on line), but I bet for your use, even cast will be fine. And if they use the hyper whatever, that will be great.

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I bought the whole Explorer motor last year and rebuilt it, I have the Explorer intake already on it. The 1.7's are being shipped to me now, and I'll be getting a 2400 rpm stall convertor this weekend. The car already squawks the tires when shifting into 2nd and 3rd gear, but still want a bit more, that's what the 1.7's are for, the convertor should help get me going quicker from a dead stop.