Supercharger? Heads, Cam, Intake? A few general questions.

[Audiophile]

Good Evening all. Been a while since I've posted, but I try to read up here from time to time.

I'm getting close to finishing up the suspension work. Since shocks, struts, springs, etc. were 26 years old, I started with that and have it in pretty good shape.

Thinking of my options to get a little more out of the engine now. I'm not going to take this car to the strip. I love to feel the pull from a dead start and really have no interest in running 150 mph. That being said, just looking for some of you more experienced people to chime in with some experiences and opinions. I'm thinking of going with an intake from an Explorer because they are cheap. Curious if GT40 heads are a decent upgrade or not? Been looking around and it would appear that a set of GT40s are not that much less than some of the more popular aftermarket. Can/will certainly upgrade fuel pump, injectors, etc. I guess what I'm thinking is if I'm not trying to break some dyno numbers, would I be better served to go with above suggested intake, heads, and possibly a different cam? Or, would I be best to leave H,C,I as is and just add a supercharger? However, it kind of looks like most superchargers available for Fox stangs are kind of more for top end gains?

Other than 3.73 gears and brand new upgraded clutch, running gear is stock. 76K original, documented miles. I of course love this car and never plan on selling, if I can help it. While I appreciate originality I also love to customize and make things mine.

For those of you that have decided to stick around and read this long, I'm curious as to your thoughts, opinions, experiences if you have the time to offer them. As always, thanks kindly in advance!

 

[Jersey Joe]

I too had similar thoughts as to what I wanted to do since racing was not my goal, since I'm old school and enjoy the sound and smell of a traditional hot rod I went with a HCI over a super charger or turbo set up, sure a super charger or turbo could of been maybe less expensive and in the end maybe even more HP gained but I'm happy with my cam rumble and HP I ended up with. It all just depends on what will make you happy in the end.

 

[95BlueStallion]

A supercharger is easiest. Bolt it on and plug a chip into your ECU and go, unless you choose a higher flow fuel pump over the FMU. Then you just have to drop the tank which is no biggie. The other thing about a supercharger is the return to stock option.

If I had a low mile good running car, that is what I would have chosen. However, a custom cam and lopey engine are cool and enjoyable in their own right. Are you doing the work yourself?

After personally doing Thumper GT40Ps back in the day, you are only a couple/few hundred dollars deeper into a set of aluminim heads by the time you have a GT40s checked and cleaned up.

 

[Audiophile]

A supercharger is easiest. Bolt it on and plug a chip into your ECU and go, unless you choose a higher flow fuel pump over the FMU. Then you just have to drop the tank which is no biggie. The other thing about a supercharger is the return to stock option.

If I had a low mile good running car, that is what I would have chosen. However, a custom cam and lopey engine are cool and enjoyable in their own right. Are you doing the work yourself?

After personally doing Thumper GT40Ps back in the day, you are only a couple/few hundred dollars deeper into a set of aluminim heads by the time you have a GT40s checked and cleaned up.

I plan to do as much of the work as I can. Sometimes I do take on a little more than I can handle though.

 

[FoxMustangLvr]

Superchargers are a great way to go over cubic inches. An Explorer intake and heads with a decent cam paired with a supercharger at 10 psi is enough for a street driven car IMO and should get you +/-400rwhp. If you want aluminum heads then you'll get a bit more HP or just run less boost (more boost equals more heat anyway). With any forced induction you'll hate your 3.73 gears assuming you're a 5spd. I run 11psi and with my 3.73s I'm smoking my tires and shifting too soon. You want to be able to stay in boost a bit longer to take advantage of the power.

 

[Steel1]

Not sure if this will be your daily or just a cruiser but the easiest/cheapest way to add power is a s/c kit.
Now keep in mind( imo) there should be other supporting upgrades done, i.e. injectors, fuel pump , tune.
You could go the fmu route but with the abundance of used upgrades parts available it doesn't make
sense to me.
Now if you really want to get to know your car then install an hci set-up, the right combo can make good
street power.
Lots of good deals can be found on various forum classifieds no matter which way you go.

 

[Audiophile]

Thanks to all of you that have responded so far.

Curious for anyone that has done H, C, I yourself: In your home garage or a professional service shop? Would you say it's something that someone with decent mechanical ability should be able to tackle without too many issues? How would it compare in difficulty to a supercharger? I'm pretty certain a good tune would be wise after either, which I would certainly have to pay someone to do. So far, I have done the suspension, brakes, electrical, and stereo stuff myself. (No lift, engine hoist, or air tools. All jacks and basic mechanics tools) I paid to have the clutch, exhaust, and gears done.

Again, thanks in advance for any of your responses. I don't have too many people I know to discuss and bounce this stuff off of.

Yes, sorry I forgot to mention that earlier, it is a 5 speed. It is not my daily driver. Not that I wouldn't like for it to be!

 

[General karthief]

Swapping the hci easy, just pay attention to the details. The problem I see with it is not getting carried away, ie: you decide the engine bay needs sprucing up, and then the wires bother you so you want to hide them. I can turn into a 'while I here I need to do this' kinda thing.
Compared to a sc I can't say but I'll tell ya I've done r&r the engine and trans (several times) and the rear on mine with basic hand tools and a jack with jack stands. Nut'n to it!
as a matter of fact there is a tect/how to thread that has a ton of info on doing stuff here and lots of members willing to give you advice (good and bad, I give mostly bad advice)
https://www.stangnet.com/mustang-forums/threads/technical-thread-how-to-index.808661/

 

[Dan02gt]

I've done H/C/I swaps several times in a garage. The key is to take your time and do it right. Also plan out everything and make sure you have all the right stuff like gaskets and bolts before you get started.

 

[2000xp8]

I can pretty much guarantee that a supercharger is going to be less reliable on an old engine than the hci setup. Adding pressure to 30 year old gaskets rarely turns out well. One blown head gasket and now you have to remove the supercharger you just spent 8 hours (or worse the first time around) and the intake and heads that you didn't change out.

The hci setup freshens up the entire top end of the engine.

You said you did suspension, what exactly did you do?
There are so many things i'd do before adding power if I had to do it all over again.
5 lug 4 wheel discs, subframe connectors, upper and lower control arms, torque box reinforcements.
The extra power will literally start to tear the car apart.

Used aluminum heads will be your best bet.
Since all heads (even new) should goto the machine shop, spending $250 to valve job them is cheap extra power and reliability.

I'd do some tw's, gt40x, afr 165's, a real gt40 intake (from a looks and midrange power, it's a great intake) and a mild cam. I'd sacrifice some high end power with the cam for better low end/midrange. 24lb injectors, 80mm pro m and a 155lph pump.
It will drive perfectly fine right out of the box, tuning will not be needed.

 

[Jersey Joe]

I did my own HCI in my one car garage, to take the guess work out of it I went with the Trick Flow kit. It increased the cost over sourcing parts new or used but it simplified it which was worth it to me. Take your time getting familiar with the steps and the parts and pieces that are involved, lots of information on You tube, LMR's website and the internet. I purchased the bolt kits that are sold by LMR for the lower intake and the water pump to insure a smooth re assembly, I took alot of pictures and labeled every single wire and harness and bagged and labeled all parts that came off. Make sure you get all the gaskets you need and sealants and try to have a plan before you start pulling parts off because you'll wanna reassemble the same way but in reverse. It's not hard if you pay attention to the details .

 

[FoxMustangLvr]

Thanks to all of you that have responded so far.

Curious for anyone that has done H, C, I yourself: In your home garage or a professional service shop? Would you say it's something that someone with decent mechanical ability should be able to tackle without too many issues? How would it compare in difficulty to a supercharger? I'm pretty certain a good tune would be wise after either, which I would certainly have to pay someone to do. So far, I have done the suspension, brakes, electrical, and stereo stuff myself. (No lift, engine hoist, or air tools. All jacks and basic mechanics tools) I paid to have the clutch, exhaust, and gears done.

Again, thanks in advance for any of your responses. I don't have too many people I know to discuss and bounce this stuff off of.

Yes, sorry I forgot to mention that earlier, it is a 5 speed. It is not my daily driver. Not that I wouldn't like for it to be!

Sounds like you have what it takes to perform an HCI swap. Question is do you really need/want that much power? I have a STOCK 302 Mustang, I only added a Kenne Bell supercharger along with supporting fuel upgrades, self tuned with a Stinger Pimp along with lots of help from Steve (a91what), and my car feels like a BEAST at 326rwhp and 396rwtq. The broad power curve on the street is awesome. I am one of the few that has gotten away with running 11psi through 29 y/o original head gaskets and head bolts for 2 years running. If you feel you need more power than that then get the HCI and boost it. IMO once you get to 400+hp, depending on how you drive, you start finding weak links (clutch, t5, etc).

 

[Audiophile]

Sounds like you have what it takes to perform an HCI swap. Question is do you really need/want that much power? I have a STOCK 302 Mustang, I only added a Kenne Bell supercharger along with supporting fuel upgrades, self tuned with a Stinger Pimp along with lots of help from Steve (a91what), and my car feels like a BEAST at 326rwhp and 396rwtq. The broad power curve on the street is awesome. I am one of the few that has gotten away with running 11psi through 29 y/o original head gaskets and head bolts for 2 years running. If you feel you need more power than that then get the HCI and boost it. IMO once you get to 400+hp, depending on how you drive, you start finding weak links (clutch, t5, etc).

I have a feeling numbers similar to yours would be plenty for me, esp. the torque.

I called myself looking on the Kenne Bell website a few months back. Do they still make one for these old 302s? I am going to look again and see what I can find.

 

[Audiophile]

I can pretty much guarantee that a supercharger is going to be less reliable on an old engine than the hci setup. Adding pressure to 30 year old gaskets rarely turns out well. One blown head gasket and now you have to remove the supercharger you just spent 8 hours (or worse the first time around) and the intake and heads that you didn't change out.

The hci setup freshens up the entire top end of the engine.

You said you did suspension, what exactly did you do?
There are so many things i'd do before adding power if I had to do it all over again.
5 lug 4 wheel discs, subframe connectors, upper and lower control arms, torque box reinforcements.
The extra power will literally start to tear the car apart.

Used aluminum heads will be your best bet.
Since all heads (even new) should goto the machine shop, spending $250 to valve job them is cheap extra power and reliability.

I'd do some tw's, gt40x, afr 165's, a real gt40 intake (from a looks and midrange power, it's a great intake) and a mild cam. I'd sacrifice some high end power with the cam for better low end/midrange. 24lb injectors, 80mm pro m and a 155lph pump.
It will drive perfectly fine right out of the box, tuning will not be needed.

So far I have full length welded sub frame connectors, springs, shocks, struts, caster camber plates, sway bars, tie rod ends, new rotors and pads in the front, new drums and shoes in the rear. I also have a new radiator and thermostat, and installed a Black Magic Extreme electric fan.

 

[FoxMustangLvr]

I have a feeling numbers similar to yours would be plenty for me, esp. the torque.

I called myself looking on the Kenne Bell website a few months back. Do they still make one for these old 302s? I am going to look again and see what I can find.

I forget the name of the company but they just did another batch of production for the Kenne Bell for our 5.0's

EDIT: found the company, TPS motorsports but they are behind in production already.

 

[Audiophile]

So far I have full length welded sub frame connectors, springs, shocks, struts, caster camber plates, sway bars, tie rod ends, new rotors and pads in the front, new drums and shoes in the rear. I also have a new radiator and thermostat, and installed a Black Magic Extreme electric fan.

Forgot to mention when I had the clutch done I ordered all the parts myself. New flywheel, throw out bearing, heavy duty friction plate, new quadrant, cable, and firewall adjuster. According to the specs, it should hold 400 hp without issue. Again though, I really dont see myself getting that high. I think 300-350 would certainly be plenty for me.

 

[CarMichael Angelo]

Forgot to mention when I had the clutch done I ordered all the parts myself. New flywheel, throw out bearing, heavy duty friction plate, new quadrant, cable, and firewall adjuster. According to the specs, it should hold 400 hp without issue. Again though, I really dont see myself getting that high.

I think 300-350 would certainly be plenty for me

.

At least that's what he thinks today.

 

[TOOLOW91]

If you went the blower route and left the engine stock outside of the supporting fuel system modifications and a tune you’d make the power you were looking for easily with a self contained Vortech v3 . An experienced guy could have the blower itself on and running in a few hours . A day tops .