Hey guys, new to this site and trying to get as much information and suggestions on this build before I start it. I have an '89 5.0 LX with a 5spd and 3.73 gears. It has 150k miles and leaks some oil, so I am picking up a fresh 306 tomorrow, and plan on building that while it's out of the car and then swapping it in. My dad is a mechanic and I have a decent basic knowledge of cars, but he's a Mopar guy and I've never built a Ford motor before so I'm open to all the input and experience from others I can get.
My budget is about $5000-ish (a little leeway). The car is my daily driver first and foremost but I take it to the dragstrip on wednesdays during the season, and it needs to be able to pass CA smog.
One route I've heard is the Trickflow top end kit (which seems to be suggested frequently on forums). Another route suggested by some Mustang guys my dad works with via my dad is the Edelbrock Performer 5.0 heads and intake. My dad suggested since i'm on a budget, keeping it a low end torquey motor that will stay below 6000rpm. With this latter combo I'd need a cam (have heard the comp cams Xe264hr recommended), and with any combo I'd do the clutch and exhaust, and I assume I would be best off having a shop dynotune the car after all is said and done, although I'm not sure what my options are there.
I realize this is a pretty open ended post, but you have my budget (~$5000) and my requirements (daily driver, race it on wednesdays, CA smoggable), and I would love to hear you guys' input, suggestions, experience, etc.
Thanks in advance,
Jonathan
My budget is about $5000-ish (a little leeway). The car is my daily driver first and foremost but I take it to the dragstrip on wednesdays during the season, and it needs to be able to pass CA smog.
One route I've heard is the Trickflow top end kit (which seems to be suggested frequently on forums). Another route suggested by some Mustang guys my dad works with via my dad is the Edelbrock Performer 5.0 heads and intake. My dad suggested since i'm on a budget, keeping it a low end torquey motor that will stay below 6000rpm. With this latter combo I'd need a cam (have heard the comp cams Xe264hr recommended), and with any combo I'd do the clutch and exhaust, and I assume I would be best off having a shop dynotune the car after all is said and done, although I'm not sure what my options are there.
I realize this is a pretty open ended post, but you have my budget (~$5000) and my requirements (daily driver, race it on wednesdays, CA smoggable), and I would love to hear you guys' input, suggestions, experience, etc.
Thanks in advance,
Jonathan