Will this help?

[Stablemates]

Well i guess i should start off by telling you guys what i have first. The Car is a 1990 LX with full stock interior and suspension. The engine is a stock 1989 Lincoln non H.O. short block(flat top pistons), E303 FRPP cam, ported E7 heads, Cobra intake,BBK CAI, Stock MAF, injectors and throttle body, deleted AC and smog pumps, MAC shorty headers and OR H-pipe, 2.5 in Flowmaster Cat back with full tail pipes. The Trans is a Redneck Performance built C4 with trans brake and a 3200 Stahl and 3.55 gears in the rear. It has run a best ET of 13.39 @ 96mph on American Racer tires. I blew a head gasket on the passenger side, i believe due to a lack of fuel.I'm putting it back together now and I want to avoid this potential problem again if i can and maybe add a little power while i'm at it. My question is do you think swapping out the injectors and MAF for 24#er's, adding a 65mm throttle body an a adjustable fuel pressure regulator, Long tubes headers with H-pipe and a full set of slicks will help? If so how much? Please keep in mind that i do know that low to mid 13's isn't really that fast, but considering i only have about $3500 in the build including the car i think it's pretty damn good. Thanks for any advice.

 

[jgarrard]

Get some heads.

 

[stykthyn]

You would see more gains from a better suspension than engine mods at this point. You're only pushing 250hp at best, no need for a bigger maf or injectors until you're topping 300+.

 

[Stablemates]

Well, after getting the car torn down to the short block i discovered that the second piston back on the passenger side is completely shot and a valve made contact with the piston in the #1 cylinder so now I'm back to square one. I have found a complete '93 engine with harness and ZX3 computer for $300,that I'im gonna buy and just return my car back to stock for now.

 

[2000xp8]

I wouldn't buy that engine.
Buy one out of an explorer, swap in your e cam and the car should run pretty good.
And if the zx3 is the cobra computer, you don't want that.

And a good mass air meter helps regardless of your power level.

As far as your damage, flat top pistons, E7 heads with possibly stock springs and an E cam, are a recipe for disaster.
You were no were even close to out of fuel. That was probably about a 235-245rwhp setup, and the stock injector and meter setup will easily go up to 275rwhp (sometimes even higher).

 

[NIKwoaC]

As fair as your damage, flat top pistons, E7 heads with possibly stock springs and an E cam, are a recipe for disaster.

I thought the exact same thing when I read this post. I'm surprised the engine didn't puke itself all over your driveway the first time you started it up with that combo!

All the mods you mentioned in the first post are a step in the right direction. I'll add that a 65mm TB is a waste of time. Go 70 or bigger and don't look back. Just make sure you port-match the intake opening to the TB/EGR spacer, a mismatch is only going to hurt performance.

An adjustable FPR is useless without some sort of tuning aid (like a wideband A/F gauge) to let you know what effect it is having on the air/fuel ratio. Otherwise you're just blindly guessing.

 

[Stablemates]

yeah, We knew we were cutting it really close with the cam and heads setup when we put it together. When we had the engine on the stand for mock up, we actually down graded from an F cam with 1.7 rockers to the E cam with stock rockers due to valve clearance. I knew that with a five speed a wouldn't be able to run that combo, but since a have an automatic, there was a less chance in over revving. I know, I know, you can over rev any engine regardless of what trans you have. So needless to say, i bought the '93 engine anyway. The plans for the engine as of now are, swapping in my E cam, Bolting on my Cobra intake (which do not require the use of a spacer or EGR plate), and underdrive pulley's, The 64mm TB (for now) and im going to run the bigger MAF housing with my stock sensor and sampling tube, just to add more air. Im also still going to be switching to the Long tubes and matching H pipe. I have decided to go with a 5 speed swap instead of the C4, due to streetability reasons, the C4 was just not that highway friendly lol.Oh BTW when i say "WE" I'm referring to My Brother and I. I'm trying to get him to join Stangnet as well but no luck yet.Thanks for all the advice.

 

[stykthyn]

Putting your sensor and tube into a bigger housing is a recipe for poor performance. Go ahead and shoot yourself in the foot right meow. Buy a 95gt maf if you want a cheap upgrade or get a pmas and never look back.

 

[Stablemates]

Stykthyn, i just might do that when i put it back together. Any other suggestions?