A couple of questions.

well since your car is a speed density car to get 280 RWHP is going to take a lot of money. I guess a S/C would be the best way but a upgrade to a Mass airflow system is a good idea. Your stock heads are worse then the ones on the 87-93 cars. Your pistons are not notched so aftermarket heads and cam selection is a bit trickier.

BTW welcome to the site. Basically convert that car to a MASS system and then get a good cam and heads that will work on the 86 with the pistons you have and bolt a s/c on it and you will make the power you want.

Actualy,TrickFlow makes a kit that comes with heads,cam and intake and all the harware that will get you what you want,no problems.

Do that,MAF conversion,and get a set of long tubes and a "off road" H-pipe.

Or what Dan suggested,just bolt a supercharger on,then theres no need to tear into the motor.

RedFox,105K is nothing on these little ole' 302 motors,yours will just keep on going and going.Dont worry about rebulding it.

Now you bring up something of interest when you mentioned the built 351W,more cubes is more power.Its also generaly more money.

Do a search for the guys on here that run strokers,and you'll see what kinda power their making and if it intrest you PM them and ask questions,they dont mind.

Let us know about how much you wanna spend,but Ill say one thing,sometimes a little cheaper/slower combo is more fun and less miantance.Dont think you need a 1000hp blown stroker just to get into the hobby,start smaller,and you'll learn more and enjoy your self and your car more.

bluevenom867 said:

Actualy,TrickFlow makes a kit that comes with heads,cam and intake and all the harware that will get you what you want,no problems.

Do that,MAF conversion,and get a set of long tubes and a "off road" H-pipe.

Or what Dan suggested,just bolt a supercharger on,then theres no need to tear into the motor.

Click to expand...

I know trickflow and even edelbrock make heads that work on the non notched pistons but without a MAF conversion you are really limited on the cams you can run. Hard to get the true potential out of the heads and intake. I know you know Venom but so redfox5.0 knows the speed density cars do calculations on the vacuum in the engine so if you start swaping in cams it really screws up the drivability of a NA speed density car. The MAF conversion is a good idea if you want to have fewer problems while modding your 302.

RedFox5.0 said:

First off..
Are cold air intakes worth the cash? I already have a KN filter.
Secondly, what is the easiest and cheapest things to do to get my 1986 FI 5.0L to get to about 280rwhp? (NA and off the bottle)
I have the exhaust and the filter covered already.

Thanks!

BTW: Is a tuner worth the cash? I know on a diesel it can add LOTS of HP and TQ but on gassers it doesn't seem to do much. Also, what is a good shifter to get for my T5 transmission?

Click to expand...

everything i read says no.

Yep that is the TrickFlow kit that will work on your 302. I do like my 351w if thats what you decide to do. But consider this. Building a 351w is actually very expensive. I mean buying all the efi stuff so that the new cubes can breathe. The factory 5.0L stuff chokes the 302 so you would need to buy a larger TB and MAF for the 351w. The intakes are not cheap aswell. You would want to go with bigger heads aswell. Not to mention swap header costs and accesory mounts. I don't regret doing a 351w swap into my 86. That being said it was going to cost me 2 much to keep it an EFI setup so I went Carb. My car is a summer only vehicle because of the slippery winters where I live. I did drive it year round a few years but as I installed more and more go fast parts it got silly to drive in the snow.

13's is no problem,but you need to invest in a good set of TRACK ONLY tires (slicks) and rear wheels or try some BFG drag radils and don't do burn-outs and power slides on the street (wont last at all doing stuff like that).

Aside from that,that kit will get you deep into the 13's possable a high 12.Nitrous will achieve about the same effect on a 100-125hp shot.Both will probably put you in the low 12's,high11's.

The T5 is a good trans,but not once you get much over 400hp and got tires that stick,run it till you break it,who knows it might not break.If it does,Tremek TKO 500.

On a budget? do the junkyard upgrade...

Gears - 87-88 T-Bird Turbo Coupe rear axle - disc brakes and 3.55 or 3.73 gears in one package for $125-$300. Add another $100-$200 or so to complete the brake upgrade.

94-95 Mustang GT MAF - $40-$100. It is 70 MM instead of the stock 55 MM on regular stangs built prior to 94. It uses a slip on duct on the side that goes to the throttle body and a 4 bolt flange on the other. You need a flange adapter to fit the stock slip on air ducting that goes to the air box. Wiring plugs right in with no changes. *1 *2

95-97 Ford Explorer intake manifold & throttle body $150-$300. The intake manifold flows 220 CFM +, much better than stock. Throttle body is 65 MM, bigger than the 60 MM on stock stangs. I got a 96 with EGR passages that match the stock setup, so my smog gear works just like factory. You’ll need a 65 MM EGR spacer & new gaskets for $65-$90 so you have a place to mount the EGR & throttle linkage.

3G alternator from 94-95 Mustangs or other Ford. $20-$120. A must have to make the electrical system work like it should. You’ll need a 4 gauge power wire and a 125-135 amp fuse to go with it about $15- $30.

Lincoln MK VIII electric fan -$40-$160. Free up some HP by not having to drive the stock fan. The 3G alternator upgrade is a must have prerequisite before you do the MK VIII fan. You won’t have enough electrical power if you don’t do the 3G upgrade.

Aluminum driveshaft: (courtesy of shawn13) It needs to be from a 92-93-94 Aerostar AWD and you will need the u-joint, part #353 from NAPA. It should bolt right up after the u-joint swap.

*1.) Metal flange adapter http://www.kustomz.com/cat3.html Buy the TR70 for $44.95. Or spend some time on eBay looking for one that may fit.

*2.) MAF & sensor interchange
The 94-95 Mustang 5.0 MAF & sensor is also found on:
1995-94 Mustang 3.8L F2VF-12B579-A2A,
1994-92 Crown Victoria 4.6L F2VF-12B579-A2A,
1995-94 Mustang, Mustang Cobra 5.0L F2VF-12B579-A2A,
1994-92 Town Car 4.6L F2VF-12B579-A2A,
1994-92 Grand Marquis 4.6L F2VF-12B579-A2A,
Evidently the –A1A, -A2A, AA, etc. on the end of the part number is a minor variant that did not change the operating specs. You should be able to ignore it and have everything work good.


Combine the above with a $600 set of Thumper ported stock heads ( www.thumperoforangepark.com/) and a good tune. Then you can run 12's without killing your wallet.

RedFox5.0 said:

Anything else that I didn't list that I'll need? Injectors? Throttle Body?

Click to expand...

if its a wet nitrous kits your looking at,you only need a good fuel pump,in tank 255lph.If its a "dry" kit,then your want to step up to some 24lbs or 30lbs injectors.

well at least you got yourself a mustang. Have fun on the 4.6L boards.