Roush Engine on the E car

I've torn my car down, had the block checked out and rehoned, and the heads rebuilt. There was no damage to the pistons, rings, etc., nothing visible anyway. So I had the heads rebuilt in case it was a weak spring or something allowing oil to get into the cylinder and causing the pinging, oil loss etc. I was going to put it back together this weekend but Summit sent me main bearing for the 4v.

Anyway, I've learned a few things about the build on the motor I though I'd share. Saleen rebuilt the motor using a Cobra forged crank, Manley h-beam rods, and Arias forged pistons. The heads are standard ford heads that Saleen rebuilt with new springs, valves, and cams of their own specs.

I'm reusing everything but the Arias pistons. I researched replacing the rings as there was no damage to the pistons, but they are almost impossible to get. It was a three week lead time from Saleen and expensive. Saleen didn't even want to tell me who made the pistons so I could go somewhere else, but a very knowledgeable former employee filled me in. But even from Arias it was difficult. The pistons were extremely noisy anyway so I'm going with Mahle pistons and dropping the compression just a little to handle more boost.

I am also installing a cobra pump/tank, billet fuel rails, 180 degree thermostat, new centerforce steel flywheel (dumping the aluminum), centerforce dual-friction clutch, BBK adjustable clutch cable, JBA headers, oil pressure and water temp gauge, and going back to a fluidyne radiator.

Hopefully I'll have it together in two weeks, but I'm going to miss the Knott's show this year.

If I spent any more money on this project my wife would have me balls deep in a vise. But I know what you mean. The suspension is the next project but maybe I'll revisit the heads after that.

Wow, so many questions.

Mark, yes the car was pinging horribly. I had it tuned three times by Steve at Powertrain Dynamics and each time it he had to shut it down on the first pull because of it. Recently it was bad enough that I could hear it and I'm deaf from six years of dejaying. The car was also losing oil, about a quart every two to three weeks. During the last oil change there was metal in the oil. It would also smoke under heavy acceleration. None of that is good. After dealing with it for almost a year, enough was enough. But after opening up the motor, there was no visible damage, no obvious place that the metal could have come from. The engine was very clean. Even with all the pinging, the pistons had held up well.

Wash, I'm sticking with the series V. I'm running about 10lbs of boost right now. I might drop to a 3.5" and about 12lbs of boost, but that depends on how it looks when I have it tuned after the rebuild. The 91 pump gas here is one of the biggest problems. I'm just looking for 425 to 450hp at the wheels safely right now.

Todd, the car has 35k on it now. I'm not selling it so I'll be honest and say I drive the hell out of it. Rebuilding the motor is maybe the price I pay for having a little bit too much fun.

I can think of 5,000 reasons....