More RWHP ... Describe it !!!

Black Stampede said:

Basically the main thought I have came away with which most people have metioned is that you just need to plan on spending far more than you thought you would.

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+1, there is a TON of crap that goes into seriously modding a car. I found it helpful to make an Excel spreadsheet with part/price/url and then get others to look it over.

Black Stampede said:

If you get frustrated easy, don't ever plan on doing any major mods to you car, because you will probably drive it into a tree you will be so mad. Well, if it runs haha.

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+1 again...or push it off a cliff if it does not run!

Black Stampede said:

I have been around 500 rwhp cars for awhile now and they just aren't fast anymore. I realize to most people they are pretty scary

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+2, mine is in the "scares me" stage right now... lost it twice so far in spirited driving.

Black Stampede said:

Although overall it is a great setup, I know from his that they have their share of leaks that have to be addressed. To me it is all worth it though because a turbo on a Mustang is the coolest thing ever.

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I agree here too. A turbo'd V8 is an amazing thing. Always leaks (exhaust, oil or otherwise to sort out). A buddy is bringing his turbo car over tonite for help tracing down an oil leak that just sprung out. Hearing the BOV hit is amazing, however! I am considering putting a turbo on my '72 since it is not a daily driver and has engine bay room for days.

Good post Black Stampede.

Wes

I am in the 400 to 500 rwhp group. 347NA

final5-0 said:

1) What was encountered during the build of the combo ... good & bad

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It's been so long since I started doing my combo some of this may be a little hard to remember.

This was a project my father and I started about 6 years ago I think.

The original plan was to remove the stock cobra engine. Rebuild it, port the heads and toss some bolt-ons at it.

We ended up with a built 347 It just kinda snowballed on us.

As we built the car from day one we had problems with everything. I guess it was just a basic lack of knowledge of everything 5.0L. We had a guy who was an old carbed guy who had no knowledge of injected 5.0L and he was very set in his ways.

After a few years of tinkering the car grew to what it is now.

final5-0 said:

2) What was the outcome ... good & bad

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I ended up with a mean street car that loves to break parts at the strip

I ended up with a NA Street car that runs low 11's in the 1/4 and still has all of it's factory options. AC/PS/PW/PL/power seat the works.

The bad part about building such an aggressive engine combo was the need for all the supporting mods to go with it. Trannys, clutches, rear ends, and suspension.

final5-0 said:

3) What it is like to drive it ... briefly describe it ... good & bad

You know ... how it performs in the categories of
power
drivability
reliability

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it's crazy fun to drive!!!
This combo has tons of power. After a winter of not driving it and getting behind the wheel it will honestly scare the hell out of you!

BUT!!!

The combo is aggressive enough that it does have it's drivability issues. Big injectors and throttle body do cause some surging down low (could just be my tuning too) especially in conjunction with the detroit locker in the rear end. The other and largest issue is the pro-shifted tremec. The surging and locker were not too bad to deal with but the non-synchronized transmission is a real pain to drive.

As far as reliability goes, um.....it's actually not to bad. I have no issue with jumping in the car and driving it on the highway on a 2hr trip. It's never left me stranded on the side of the road. It's left me stranded at the track several times but not on the road.

I do however completely tear down the car every winter and do a refresh on the engine and check the trans and other parts of the car to make sure everything is in good working order. This is definitely not something that is required of a normal street car but mine does see a lot of time at the track also where it sees TONS of abuse

final5-0 said:

4) If you did it again ... what would you do differently

Now ... Lets stick to a combo with a Street Car Application
and
Be very honest and specific about this last topic of discussion

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If I had to do it again I would not do it the same. I would be very inclined to change to a fox body. Either way I would build a large 351W stroker combo and rather than keeping my 8.8 I would swap it for a 9"

I could make better power with the larger cubich inch and would have to have the 9" to hold that power. My 8.8 would not survive!

final5-0 said:

5) Is the car you built ..............
The kind of car you would consider practical to drive EVERYDAY
or
Did it turn out to be a bit more of a challenge than you expected
so
Come on now ... be honest here about gas mileage, drivability, etc

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This is not a practical DD. I do drive it daily in the summer but it's by no means practical. It's hard to drive and gets HORRIFIC mileage in town.

With my 02's hooked up and working the car is capable of 20mpg on the highway. The stupid kooks long tube headers leak so bad it's hard to get them sealed so the 02's work though. Drivability is ok but not great for a DD. If it wasn't used so hard at the strip I could go without the pro-shifted trans and it would still be a decent DD minus the in town milage.

i'm barely catching the 300 to 350 rwhp here, but my combo very easy on the street and reliable enough to make 800 mile roadtrips (one way). this was my first real build by myself, learned a lot and still learning alot. for me it's the torque, i have a ton of it over a short powerband, it peaks at 3800 and horsepower peaks at 5500. the only complaint i have is that it is SCT tuned and my tuner is an hour an a half away, he did a good job tuning it but it's part throttle chug that drives me crazy (car lurches), looking to try a tweecer so i have more tuning control. mph in town is about 10-15 i guess and i can pull over 20 on the highway with 3.73.

I added a small powerdyne to my bolt on Cobra and got 345 rwhp and high 12's ata the track. Being a stock motor it was dead nuts realiable and got 22 mpg on the highway and 18-19 city. The little powerdyne made the car so much more fun to drive, a Vortec would be even better.. What I would have done different, get a vortec (price on the powerdyne was hard to pass up), but the little powerdyne probly made the engine last as long as it has. Can break loose the 315 Sumitomos (not the best traction, but cheap) in 3rd. First mod for anyone who wants decent times is TIRES. I do run ET streets at the track.

New project I'm finishing up, 327 (stock bore 331(got the stroker kit for $400 from a kid who put it together but did not start it and ran out of funds) AFR 185 heads (upgraded springs), Tmoss ported extra cobra lower and a lowly E cam, reused the cobra ped rockers. This is done on a budget and I have been collecting parts for 2 years (married with children, 1 in collage), long block was put together for under $2200. I just got it running, have a vacuum leak tracking down. I'm hoping for 325 rwhp and over 400 after i put the powerdyne back on. I'm doing all the work myself in my garage. Will get a tune later, probly soon. Hoping for low 12's. I get used parts when I can, if the price is cheap enough, but always local as I don't want to get ripped off by buying off the internet far away. I made a list also of all the parts I would need or think I would need, saves on surprises. I visit the local mustang speed shop for tips, ideas and used parts. I am very patient on gathering parts and info. My combo might not be the most hp, probly leaving some hp on the table with the cam and intake, but when on a budget you do what you have to do.
If possible, I would get custom cam, different intake and have a professional build the long block.
Hoping to have a reliable 400 hp car that I could drive daily anywhere.