Planning My Rebuild

ronstang94 · Jan 25, 2012

Here is my car...

The car has 160k miles on it. It is now burning through 2 quarts of oil every 3k miles. It is time to start seriously planning the rebuild.

In the end. I want a street car / show car / getaway car.
Fast in a straight line and faster around the curves.

Plans so far:
347 (all motor)
Internals (specifics? probe?)
Custom Grind Cam (but by who?)
AFR 185 (or bigger?)
Ford Racing Valve Covers (classic fins, polished alum)
Pro Products Intake Manifold (polished, seen above)
70mm TB (fox tb swap)
30lb Injectors
MAF (which one?)
BBK Ceramic Shorty Headers
Bassani Catted X
Magnaflow Catback
FRPP 3.73 gears
10th Anniversary Cobra Brakes
Braided SS brake lines
Drilled and Slotted Rotors
Tweecer

A T56 would be awesome but are there any better choices?

I do all my own work, so I want to keep the engine bay as clean and as uncluttered as possible (also makes for a clean show car engine bay). I want to remove anything from the engine bay that I can. AC has to stay and I still need to be able to pass emissions. I am thinking about removing the ABS. What else can I remove? I plan on doing some wire hiding and hole filling on the inner fenders.

I am sure that I left out a lot but any ideas so far? What do you think?

Thanks

VibrantRedGT · Jan 25, 2012

While the motor is out- hide all the wires, repaint the engine bay and install tubular K-Member.

For the 347 you can do 185's or 205's. Your engine builder can install a custom grind cam, I got one from Crane. You can do the FOX throttle body swap or just get a 70MM SN95 style. I'd get a Pro-M 80MM mass air if you can find one. For a 347 I went with a big exhaust, 1-3/4" Ceramic Long Tubes w/ 3" collector, 3" Prochamber and 3" cat back. Shorty headers are good for a 302. Sell what you got to fund a bigger exhaust. I wouldn't remove the ABS, I'd upgrade to bigger brakes.

revhead347 · Jan 25, 2012

Sounds good so far. I wouldn't remove the ABS either. That's giving up a lot of safety for a little bit of declutter. Since you already have Cobra brakes, about the best thing you can do is put a better set of brake pads on it. Probe makes some great stuff, but it's a little on the pricey side for an N/A engine. If you want good internals, then spend the extra money for a forged crank shaft. AFR 185s are a good choice.

Kurt

Venom351R · Jan 25, 2012

I think a set of 190cc Fast as Cast Trickflow heads would go great w/ that combo.

Contact Ed Curtis for an aftermarket custom cam.

www.flowtechinduction.com

revhead347 · Jan 25, 2012

There isn't much better than a T56; you can build one to handle almost anything. Damn they cost a lot of money though.

Kurt

ronstang94 · Jan 26, 2012

Thanks for all of the quick replies

I really don't want to put a bigger exhaust system than what I have (listed above). I already have enough of a problem with my exhaust being too low and getting banged up (3rd set of cats), and that is with polyurethane motor mounts which raised things a bit. Will my exhaust be enough for a strong 347?

I live in Phoenix so there is no snow or ice and very little rain. Removing the ABS will reduce clutter and weight. I feel like it is just one more unnecessary thing in my way when I am trying to work on stuff. I see lots of racers remove it. Is it really that bad of an idea to ditch the ABS?

I plan on doing all of the work myself. Last summer I did my first rebuild, a 302 in our 69 Mustang. I refinished everything! Looks and runs like new here are some before and after pics

A lot of people say that you need a really good engine builder to build a 347 that will last. Well I am the kind of guy that takes his time and triple checks each bolt. So what kind of tips and tricks do I need to know how to build a 347 that wont smoke after 10k miles and will last a good long time?

Now, I dont want to open up the whole 347 vs 331 argument but lets say that the same engine builder builds 4 motors:

1 stock 302
1 performance 302
1 performance 331
1 performance 347

What are the expected (estimated) life spans of those motors?

Thanks

VibrantRedGT · Jan 26, 2012

The ABS isn't in the way and the weight saving isn't so dramatic. Then the ABS light will be on. I'd just leave it alone. I guess you could reuse the shorty headers and catted mid pipe. If it were me I'd sell it all, use the money for Long Tubes shorty catted pipe, reuse the catback you have. If you take my suggestion and add a tubular K-Member while the motor is out you'll notice Long Tubes drop right in from the top, no clearance issues. The 347 is the way to go or you can get a 363 from Woody @ Fordstrokers.

revhead347 · Jan 26, 2012

There is no real expected lifespan. There is no reason a 347 won't go over 100,000 miles. Once you are into a stroker, there are other factors that cause premature failure more often then the actual displacement. In my case it was a lifetime of super heavy clutches that wore out the thrust bearing and destroyed the crankshaft.

Kurt

BlackVert · Jan 26, 2012

for a hot 347, 185s should be perfectly adequate. i have 205s on my 410, and that is what my engine builder (who has built thousands of racing engines) recommended for mine.

if you don't want to change hoods, you should be careful about the rockers you choose. if you get rockers that require tall VCs, then you need a spacer to get the intake to clear the VCs, then the intake is too high and the hood won't close.

so you might want to consider rockers that fit under stock height valve covers.

earleys94gt · Jan 26, 2012

BlackVert brings up a good point about the valvetrain. Depending on your choice of rocker will affect the selection of valve covers. The choice of valve cover will determine the type of TB, either SN95 OR Fox, you will need to run.

I'd leave the ABS as is. Yes, it adds some clutter but based off the engine bay work on your other Mustang it will turn out fine.

Rick 91GT · Jan 27, 2012

All of those motors should last, I hate the life span argument... A small block Chevy 400 has a worse rod to stroke ratio then most ford stroker motors. There is no problem with the oil ring intersecting the wrist pin unless it is not assembled correctly.

If your going NA I'd stuff as many cubes in it as you can, to go 363 you'll need an aftermarket block since it has a 4.125" bore. You can't go wrong any of the heads listed above the AFR185 or the TFS 190. A SCAT 9000 cast crank will be fine into the 600hp range, when paried with a nice forged rod and piston.

If you do ditch the ABS and go manual brakes you want a nice quality kit, SKRC makes a great kit with a 1.125" bore master cylinder. Ive used these for years with no issues, and recently just put one on a 94 that the ABS had been eliminated from.

revhead347 · Jan 28, 2012

I hate my manual brakes. I mean, you really have to push. I probably wouldn't even need them with the cam I have now. I'm honestly thinking of digging out my vacuum booster again, and putting a stock master cylinder back in with a proportioning valve. I probably need a proportioning valve anyway. The stock rears just need more volume then the front 4 piston calipers.

On the valve covers. I have a set of Dove 7/16" stud mount 1.6 rockers with the Trick Flow valve covers. I think this is about the only valve cover that is going to give you the clearance you need to get under a stock hood. I have a Holley Systemax 2, which is big intake, with no spacers, and I'm sure I could fit it under a stock hood.

Kurt

ronstang94 · Jan 31, 2012

Ok. I will keep the ABS.

I hope I can put together a set up that will work with my finned ford racing valve covers and still fit under the cobra hood.

So what are the engine building tricks that people talk about for building a 347 that will last?

revhead347 · Feb 1, 2012

The trick is to have a machinest that knows what he is doing set it up.

Kurt

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