97 GT engine swap

What are your plans for the car? Are you going for a high c/r N/A build or FI?

You heard incorrectly. A 2V 4.6 can handle over 400 RWHP supercharged and 500 RWHP turbocharged, as long as you have a good tune. Also, the modular engines respond very well to forced induction.

If you're planning on staying N/A, there's no reason to install eagle rods and pistons. I'd instead try to find a salvage yard engine out of a Mark VIII. The block is aluminum, saving about 70 lbs, and the pistons are nearly flat and w/ PI heads you'll have in the neighborhood of 11:1 compression. Many of these engines are in great shape and wouldn't require much investment to acquire ($300 for the engine and sell the heads and intake to recoup some of that money). With this shortblock, stock unported PI heads, a decent pair of cams, and long tube headers you'd have over 300 RWHP.

If you're planning on going FI, then you can certainly reuse your old engine block and upgrade the internals for additional boost in the future. You have the option of using the aluminum teksid block (like I referenced above), but the only benefits would be a 70 lb weight savings and you'd have a block capable of handling over 1000 RWHP. The stock iron 4.6 block can likely handle somewhere around 600-700 RWHP.

It's probably best to decide for yourself what you want in your car

Well, there are a few things I consider requirements for a Mustang. Frankly most of us stang owners do much more cruising than we do racing so get the appearance and sound right first IMO.

1. Exhaust. There are tons of combinations you could go with so I'd listen to some sound clips on you-tube to decide what you want. Depending on your state's regulations you may need to have cat's to pass emissions. I really like the fit, finish, and sound of my Magnaflow catted x-pipe (they're spendy, but worth it IMO). Catback isn't really necessary and won't net much (if any) noticeable HP gains on a stock Mustang. If you're on a budget there's nothing wrong with buying a pair of mufflers you like and having them welded in place of the stockers. I bought a MAC cat back and while it sounds mean as f**k the drone drives me crazy on long highway trips... something to consider. On the other hand, if you're of the mindset do it right the first time, may as well buy a cat back you like.

2. Suspension. These cars are notorious for having a high ride height from the factory. I'd get some lowering springs and new shocks/struts to start with and you'll be amazed at the difference in handling ability. I love my prokit springs. The ride/handling balance is good and I was quite pleased with the drop (I didn't use iso's in front). I think H&R SS springs provide an awesome very aggressive stance, but I couldn't have them in MN with these chitty busted up roads cause it would drive me nuts. Depending on what springs you go with you may need CC plates to get the alignment done correctly. Then get yourself some full length subframe connectors and take them to a good shop that can weld them in on an exhaust lift that lifts the car from the wheels.

Beyond that it's really up to what your future plans are with your car. My car is a sunny day toy and I wanted something that sounds aggressive, handles reasonably well, and most of all looks sweet. I've chosen my mods based on those goals. I've never been to a 1/4 mile track, and with my cams the car has a sick idle, a fairly flat torque curve, and emits sweet music out of the tail pipes when I get on it. I love the way it looks w/ my lowering springs and wheels, and it's really fun to drive on windy back roads.

Hope that helps. Give me an idea of what YOU want out of your car and that will probably help you decide whether to do some simple mods like PI intake and cams, or save up for something bigger like FI.

EDIT: BTW the Lincoln Mark VIII engine you'd want was produced between 1993-98

I might as well whore my car out

When I bought it (notice the terribly high ride height):







After I lowered it and installed rear wheel spacers:



Currently w/ my FR500's:

The thing about the tuner is once you do a PI swap and headers, you'll need to get your car on a dyno and the dyno shop operator will need to charge you $150 to unlock your handheld so they can write a custom dyno tune. AM will not write a tune for a car w/ a major engine modification like cams, heads, headers, etc. Besides you won't see hardly any gains with a handheld on a stock '97 Mustang. Hell with all of my mods I laid down a baseline of 225 RWHP and only gained 12 RWHP with a 2 hour dyno tuning session. Save your money and do the other mods first, then when you need to go in for a tune buy the handheld from a local speed shop (usually $400) and pay them for the dyno time. That way if you ever make other mods or need an updated tune you just have to go to that speed shop and pay the hourly dyno fee (here in MN dyno time costs between $100 and $150/hour).

You can skip the MSD coils and wires. The stock wires and stock coil packs are more than sufficient to support 400+ RWHP. No sense blowing money on useless mods. If your wires need to be replaced, just buy stock replacement wires or the 9mm FRPP wires.

If you're set on doing the PI head swap, go ahead and save up for some heads, headers, intake manifold, plenum and t/b, and CAI. Then when the time comes to install it all drop the k-member, install everything, and go get a dyno tune. Also if you're doing the PI head swap I'd recommend 4.10 gears as opposed to 3.73's. If you're staying NPI and just using the PI intake manifold and cams then I'd say stick with the 3.73's.

EDIT: post up some pics of your car

BradleyMustang3 said:

yea i may want to lower it first it looks a lot better with the lower stance. idk how to post pics haha fill me in.

Click to expand...

Get a photobucket account and then type around the url for the picture.

Nice car bro! Yea that thing definitely needs to be lowered. I'd also recommend having a professional detailer cut and buff that thing, unless you want to try doing it yourself. Black is a bish to polish though (ask me how I know ). You can find a reputable detailer in your area by making a post over on autopia.org

BradleyMustang3 said:

Thanks man. it def needs a paint job though. the clear coat is peeling you think a buff out would help? hey man where did you get your rear wheel spacers? i want a set so it doesnt look bad when i drop it with the eibach pro kit im gonna order.

Click to expand...

I bought them from Stang Suspension. IIRC they are having a 5% off sale right now too

It's too difficult to tell in the pictures, but if the clearcoat is actually flaking/peeling away then there isn't really anything you can do other than a re-paint. If the paint is just really swirled, scratched, and lacking clarity a good cut and buff would do wonders for the paint.

Here's an example of what I did to restore the paint on my old DD.

http://www.autopia.org/forum/click-brag/124180-1996-grand-prix-gtp.html