Engine Rebuild?

B.erazo712 · Mar 16, 2015

So now that my car is 25 years old and has ran 200k miles strong, I've decided its time to upgrade. I'm planning on making my stang a street car due to it being a convertible. I listed the parts i mainly want; if you'd recommend a part that has better performance with a comparable price, please show me. I've looked for a engine rebuild kit, and found many on summit racing, thought I'm not sure which one is 100% no bore. I've thought about boreing the engine by .2-3, but I'm not 100%. I know if I wanna properly rebuild I prob should. I have looked into dipping the engine to clean it, and have a machine shop in mind to rebuild it. Anyway I've gone on long enough, I'd appreciate any help. One more thing if possible I'd prefer Forged pistons/crankshafts. Thanks!

Ford Racing E303 Performance Mustang Camshaft 5.0/5.8 M-6250-E303 (85-95 5.0L) - Free Shipping - Camshaft
Edelbrock Performer Mustang Cylinder Heads - 1.90 Valve 60379 (82-95 5.0L) - Free Shipping - Heads

A5literMan · Mar 16, 2015

Get a better cam!! E cam is very outdated and has a crappy powerband. I've had one in my car for a few years. It is soft below 3k rpms. Instead of those heads and cam look Into a TFS topend kit. It has everything you'll want for the cam,heads,timing chain,intake,etc etc. As far as a need for an overbore goes it is highly likely. No need for a forged steel crank. The cast crank is stronger than the block. If you're going to buy a new rotating assembly look into going with a stroker combo(331-347). Combined with the above h/c/i and supporting mods(fuel,exh,MAF,etc) you will have a strong combo.

B.erazo712 · Mar 17, 2015

So your saying to use this Trick Flow Mustang Top End Kit, w/ Street Burner Intake Silver (87-93) 5.0L with this Scat Mustang 331 Stroker Kit - Flat Top Pistons, I Beam Rods (79-95) 1-94055 with a slight bore?

A5literMan · Mar 17, 2015

Those would be a good combo. I would opt for the track heat intake though. The intake flows a little better. That rotating assembly is fine. Now if you wanted a more potent combo(more of a street/strip combo) you can piece together a better topend. But if it's more street oriented the TFS kit is hard to beat. You will have to bore the motor over to .030 over(sometimes if the cylinder has excessive wear you may have to go .040). Don't order any internals until you have the machine shop let you you know what the block needs. If going with a stroker you will also have to order a new balancer/flywheel-flex plate(depends if auto or manual trans). You also could order a shortblock from someone like CHP or Fordstrokers and have a professional built shortblock.

B.erazo712 · Mar 17, 2015

Alright thanks for the help. Really appreciate it.

monte87 · Mar 17, 2015

custom cam, Ed Curtis. way to go, AFR heads.... My choice

89oem · Mar 17, 2015

Assuming you've owned it 25 years, like me and want a little more umphh, Just dip the block see if it needs overbore etc. Then just put on the TFS top end kit, down road want more, supercharge or turbo.... strokers arent for everyone....

B.erazo712 · Mar 17, 2015

89oem said:
Assuming you've owned it 25 years, like me and want a little more umphh, Just dip the block see if it needs overbore etc. Then just put on the TFS top end kit, down road want more, supercharge or turbo.... strokers arent for everyone....

If I understand this right, stroker kits wear Down faster, and due to this car being my daily driver I probally don't want to use it??? But if I take the engine apart I want to replace everything. If that's the case should I go with a simple rebuild kit from summit?

89oem · Mar 17, 2015

You only need to replace the rings and bearings and of course the seals.... and youre good for another 200k, the TFS topend kit is popular because its plug and play and proven so to speak....

You do want to give the block some love so when you pull the engine, package and label and pic everything you pull off (youll save hours on the rebuild)...

Dont order anything until the machine shop is done because you may need different sized rings and bearings pending what they do.

Summit, Latemodelrestoration, american muscle, foxresto... or even your local advanced auto / napa etc will have the bearings etc.
gaskets depend on what you decide to do topend wise...

B.erazo712 · Mar 17, 2015

But I mean, the Pistons have wear on them and I'm taking the engine out I might as well replace them. I'd rather replace them now then having to replace them later and buy more gaskets and take up more time.

A5literMan · Mar 17, 2015

A properly built stoker will last as long as a rebuilt 302. Fwiw. I was just stating what I would do if I needed to overbore the block and needed new internals. Now for the record I overhauled my 302 5-6 years ago. I didn't need to bore the block. Just threw new rings,bearings,gaskets etc. I did have the crank turned and got the correct sized bearings etc. At the time I even reused the balancer and flywheel. Depending on what your block/internals need you might be able to do the same. But if you need new internals I would go the stroker route. No reason to build another 302/306. Another cheap alternative is going with a junkyard explorer 302. They already have better heads(gt40) and higher flowing intake/tb.

barnett468 · Mar 19, 2015

you need to explain what type of power you wan.

lite to lite drag car?

freeway flier?

mild, modersate or rough idle?

carb or efi?

regular or premium gas?

rear gear ratio and trans type?

yes, a 347 stroker will wear out way faster than a 302.

you need to bore it and install new pistons to do it properly.

i wouldnt but buy a kit . . i would buy the parts separately . . if you stay 302 and want a moderate increase in hp then buy eddy street or performer or rpm heads or afr 165 heads or trick flow 170 heads . . i favor the afr 165's . . a comp xe264hr cam will give you decent bottom end and good mid range . . it will have .512 intake lift with 1.6 rocker arms.

35-320-8 - Xtreme Energy™ Hydraulic Roller Camshafts, Computer compatible (E.F.I.) with O.E. hydraulic roller cams 1985-95 USING 1.7:1 ROCKERS

scorpion rocker arms

dont waste your money on a forged crank

if you run forged pistons i would use je srp or mahle . . definitely not probes.

run arp rod nuts or buy new rods.

B.erazo712 · Mar 19, 2015

Meh. I'm afraid if I buy a bunch of separate parts I'll forget some or get uncompatible parts. So far my plan - dip the engine, replace the internals with a 331 stroker kit from LME. Of course after I bore the block, from there throw a TFS top end kit also from LME. My main purpose of this project is to bring my car back to life, with a bang.

And for your questionnaire:

Street car, fun drag car that's not gonna be the fastest one there due to it being a convertible.

Not sure anyone would want to have a rough idle?

Fuel Injected.

Prob gonna use premium gas.

Automatic. One day want to change to a t-5

barnett468 · Mar 19, 2015

performance cars have rough idles . . if you want a smooth idle, you need to use a cam with short duration and a 114 lsa . . it will not have much of a "bang".

if you do not run at least 9.5 static compression, it will not have much of a "bang".

if your rear gears are numerically lower than 3.25, it will be a total pig off the line . . quick acceleration is achieved thru numerically high gears . . just adding 50 hp wont do it.

if you run a very big cam you will need a high stall torque converter.

if you give it much hp and run it hard it will toast an old stock tranny

90lxwhite · Mar 19, 2015

What kind of price range are you trying to stay around? I know it's kinda personal but it helps to point someone closer to the right direction. If money isn't an issue, stroke it, you'll get more power than the next guy who didn't stroke and everything else being equal. A stock bottom-end rebuild and a trickflow type (170's) topend will get you close to 300 hp at the wheels. Say anywhere between 270-320 hp and the average seems to be 280 some odd at the wheels. Cylinder heads are a major player in the power making ability of an engine so I'd start there. See what are the best heads that you can afford and build around that. Like some others said don't order any block internals until the machine shop has looked at it and tells you what kind of condition it's in. Also like some mentioned the beauty about the TFS topend kit is it comes with what you need and everything is "matched". It's not the end all be all in the power department but one doesn't have to worry, "will this cam work with these heads", etc. fordstrokers.com short blocks seem to have a lot of good parts included but they're on the high side and if you're not looking to be the fastest guy at the track as you stated there's no need to spend the extra $ on forged internals. The stock stuff can handle the kind of power you're looking at. 331 Liberator small block ford stroker short block

barnett468 · Mar 20, 2015

there is no such thing as a matched top end kit per se . . there are several different cams that will work well with the same heads and intake . . the kits are only providing around 3 options regarding cams and one mfgs opinion of what is "best", is different than anothers, however, no matter what kit you buy, it is best to run the max compression you can for the octane you are using . . around 99.999% of the people that just slap on a kit have less compression than they could otherwise run . . the most common rocker is a 1.6 . . the best rocker for the money are scorpions . . the worst lifters on the planet are the lower dollar comp cam ones . . some of the best lifters are crane and morel. . . if you put a high lift roller cam sand spin your engine to 6000 rpm or more . . its better to run 7/16" rocker studs instead of the standard 3/8" all heads come with but the kit mfg's dont tell you this . . nothing "wrong" with a kit but it is far from the best option.

more compression = more hp and more tq everywhere.

89oem · Mar 20, 2015

Till you over reach and cause streetable combustion issues

B.erazo712 · Mar 20, 2015

Well I'd say my price range is around 4.5k~

B.erazo712 · Mar 20, 2015

My uncle is a mechanic for a custom ford shop, and he said twisted wedge heads are a great choice for foxbodys. What do yall think?

B.erazo712 · Mar 20, 2015

nothing "wrong" with a kit but it is far from the best option

I know the best option is to buy a whole new block and go the extra mile, but I'm a high schooler with a budget looking for a fun time. I've found a machine shop to dip, bore and assemble the block. Im planning to do this in the summer due to driving back and forth to school. This is my daily driver car, that's why I don't want "super performance" parts.

Engine Rebuild?

Active Member

At least it is lumpy...

Active Member

At least it is lumpy...

Active Member

Mustang Master

Active Member

Mustang Master

Active Member

At least it is lumpy...

Active Member

Active Member

Active Member

I'm kind of a She-Man

Active Member

Mustang Master

Active Member

Active Member

Active Member

Similar threads

Privacy & Transparency

Privacy & Transparency