HCI or new motor

['94ChickStang]

I want to get ready for the winter and start getting engine mods. Am I making a mistake? A guy I work with says I should forget HCI and other pricey goodies w/87k and go get a new motor. any opinions???

I'm worried that I won't get the engine components I want on a new engine without spending wayy too much $.

 

[S/CBlack95GT]

If it doesnt burn oil and runs well then I would keep the engine. If the engine goes south you can always swap over the HCI to the new engine.

 

[wytstang]

87k is not even brocken in that not a lot of mile for a 5.0. There are A LOT of high miled stangs making good power (300+) on stock bottom ends.

 

['94ChickStang]

right on, just trying to figure out how to get the best odds for my money. Keep in mind the work probably won't be done by me....

 

[nmcgrawj]

not to scare you but if i were you...i would TRY to do it all. I had 102k on my clock...no oil burning and ran very well. After about 2.5 months of the new h/c/i the shortblock went south and im still trying to figure out why. But the bad part is that in that process, the shortblock took the cam with it while REALLY messing up the cylinder heads. I will be paying more money to get back on the road then if i were to just do all new off rip.

This is NOT the norm by any means, just realize that a new, more powerful. h/c/i will speed up the "aging" process on your already seasoned motor. 5.0's are known to run forever...but recently, alot have fallen.

Maybe do the h/c/i now, and slowly start building up the new shortblock on the side so if something does happen, its not as big of a shock to your wallet.

 

['94ChickStang]

not to scare you but if i were you...i would TRY to do it all. I had 102k on my clock...no oil burning and ran very well. After about 2.5 months of the new h/c/i the shortblock went south and im still trying to figure out why. But the bad part is that in that process, the shortblock took the cam with it while REALLY messing up the cylinder heads. I will be paying more money to get back on the road then if i were to just do all new off rip.

This is NOT the norm by any means, just realize that a new, more powerful. h/c/i will speed up the "aging" process on your already seasoned motor. 5.0's are known to run forever...but recently, alot have fallen.

Maybe do the h/c/i now, and slowly start building up the new shortblock on the side so if something does happen, its not as big of a shock to your wallet.

yikes...as long as that's not that normal!
I also don't know how racey your setup is or if it matters. I'm going to go with a pretty mild combo.

 

[WhiteDevil]

Do it!! That is like the first H/C/I motor i have ever heard coming apart. My car has 119K on it and it still make 300rwhp with my set up and runs in the 12s best thing i ever did.

 

[BPA]

superchargers are nice too

 

[BlownFiveLiter]

87k is nothing if it still runs good & strong. I say H/C/I for sure.

 

[GRGT1994]

Isn't there some testing that you could do to tell how well the seals are holding up? Like a compression test.

What else can you do to tell how well a stock short block might hold up to mods?

 

[94GTLaserRC]

H/C/I indeed if money is an issue. The INtake and heads FOR Sure will cross over in the future to a new engine. The cam may depending on the combo.
Good Luck
RC

 

[nmcgrawj]

Do it!! That is like the first H/C/I motor i have ever heard coming apart. My car has 119K on it and it still make 300rwhp with my set up and runs in the 12s best thing i ever did.

Where have you been? Whats his name, the guy with the black GT on here that has the Y2K hood and smoked head lights had his shortblock go out. And killercanary just had his go out, although im not sure what happened. Thats 3 just on our section alone in the last couple months...but like i said its not the norm. we just have bad luck...good reasons to UPGRADE

 

[BlackVert]

Where have you been? Whats his name, the guy with the black GT on here that has the Y2K hood and smoked head lights had his shortblock go out. And killercanary just had his go out, although im not sure what happened. Thats 3 just on our section alone in the last couple months...but like i said its not the norm. we just have bad luck...good reasons to UPGRADE

killercanary's engine was damaged because of a missed shift at the track (2nd instead of 4th), not because of a bad h/c/i

 

[WhiteDevil]

Where have you been? Whats his name, the guy with the black GT on here that has the Y2K hood and smoked head lights had his shortblock go out. And killercanary just had his go out, although im not sure what happened. Thats 3 just on our section alone in the last couple months...but like i said its not the norm. we just have bad luck...good reasons to UPGRADE

Right right rright. Well i remember that the guy with the Y2KR hood said the previous owner used to use nitrous in big doses so that was a reason it might have gone but that is two ill count it. Killer overrevved his motor by hitting 2nd instead of 4th so that doesnt count. I have known many people with high milage H/C/I 5.0L soo many that these are just random events of falure that could happen to any motor.

 

[super302]

HCI

 

[nmcgrawj]

killercanary's engine was damaged because of a missed shift at the track (2nd instead of 4th), not because of a bad h/c/i

That did it huh? I had asked him but he never said in detail what happened. And another thing, who said anything about bad h/c/i? You think putting brand new components is bad? Its the part that is aged under it that is bad if anything

Right right rright. Well i remember that the guy with the Y2KR hood said the previous owner used to use nitrous in big doses so that was a reason it might have gone but that is two ill count it. Killer overrevved his motor by hitting 2nd instead of 4th so that doesnt count. I have known many people with high milage H/C/I 5.0L soo many that these are just random events of falure that could happen to any motor.

I said these are random, but everyone should go into it with their eyes open and knowing all the possibilities. Unless you have owned you car its entire life, you dont know what the previous owner did to it. You dont know how they drove it and if they even took care of it. Any performance car, just like a mustang, is a ticking time bomb IMO. The car is built to be pushed to its limits and its only a matter of time before something goes. Some go to 200,000 and some dont even make 100,000.

Like i said above, if you dont have enough cash to do it in one pop, then i would say todo the h/c/i try to start collecting parts for a new shortblock slowly on the side, so when it does go, you arent put in a corner with no money and no parts.

 

[BULLITTSTANG95]

this is good stuff for me to read cause i am about to do the same thing. i have a 95 gt aode car with 116k on it. but i am going with a really mild set up since i am just wanting to run low to mid 13's on street tires. i am just going with steeda #19 cam, cobra intake, 65mm throttle body, p&p e7's, full exhaust, cai and 3.73's...do you guys think that will get me to a t least a 13.5 quarter mile? the car has ran a 15.4 with 3.73's 65mm tb and cai.

 

[WhiteDevil]

WIth only P&Ped E7s and that combo on an auto car i would say u might just eeeeek into the 13s, 13.97 or so.

 

[rio95]

I'm trying to figure out why you think 87k is alot of miles? Thats probably one of the lowest mileage cars here. I would not worry about the shortblock yet. It all depends though. My car has 124k on it. It runs great and runs what it should at the track and I beat on it everytime I drive it.

Soooooo, just do the HCI

 

[Southern94Cobra]

My car only has 85k , but seriously go for it you only live once!!!!!