Explorer Intake/Heads?

[plastic_cow]

Alright, once upon a time somebody recommended an Explorer Upper/Lower intake for my 5.0, and possible (the cheap way) snagging the heads out of that as well. Has anyone done this? What kind of improvment am I looking at in Pony Power? Also, does that effect the placement of the headers at all? I'm looking at some long tubes, but I'm not sure if I'd be able to afford to change them all at the same time (although it's probably the easiest way, right?)

Thanks for the help, as always!

 

[jrichker]

I have the Explorer intake & TB, it is an excellent choice. The heads are good too for a budget upgrade.

For a killer street combo, have Tmoss port the lower manifold and Thumper460 do the heads. You could see an easy 45-65 or more HP increase with both ported & installed

I don't know about the long tubes, but the GT40P's have some problems with spark plug wires clearance in the header area.

here are some other budget upgrades from the junkyard...

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 $25-$35 flange adapter from Pro-M to fit the stock slip on air ducting that goes to the air box. Wiring plugs right in with no changes. *1

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.



*1.) Pro-M has revised their website lately, but here's what I found for the MAF adapter flange.

http://performancepartsmall.com/detail.asp?id=224 plastic adapter

http://performancepartsmall.com/detail.asp?id=223 metal adapter.

I got a metal one from Powered by Ford for $35 and tax. That was about a year ago.

Powered By Ford
1516 South Division Avenue
Orlando, FL 32805
Hours 0800-1800
Phone 407-843-3673
http://www.poweredbyford.com/

 

[redterror302]

The heads and intake are definitely a good upgrade over stock. Talk to tmoss about it. He has something like 250-260hp still using the stock cam, along with a large amount of torque. I will most likely be getting an explorer intake soon for my setup.

jrichker: would you happen to have a link to the site that gave all the mass air sizes for the different ford vehicles and what curves they have?

 

[CKYlndSpd21]

I was thinking about going the explorer intake/heads route, you dont have to do anything special to them do you? just bolt them on?