unsure of displacement

[89Red5.0]

Sorry for the long story, tryin to get all the facts out
ok, so a couple months ago I took my 89 GT in for an MSD system install. The mechanic noted that after it was on she lobed more than she should and couldnt be timed to factory specs... The engine was rebuilt shortly before I bought it. Due to the timing problem and all he figures theres a pretty damn good after-market cam in there...

My question is if theres a way to determine the size of the engine w/o taking the upper manifold off? It doesnt seem to me to put in a hi out cam and not bore the engine. The only answer I've gotten is I can assume its a 5.3 b/c she takes 5.5 qrts of oil to fill her.

Thanks,
Breandan

 

[vristang]

Sorry for the long story, tryin to get all the facts out
ok, so a couple months ago I took my 89 GT in for an MSD system install. The mechanic noted that after it was on she lobed more than she should and couldnt be timed to factory specs... The engine was rebuilt shortly before I bought it. Due to the timing problem and all he figures theres a pretty damn good after-market cam in there...

My question is if theres a way to determine the size of the engine w/o taking the upper manifold off? It doesnt seem to me to put in a hi out cam and not bore the engine. The only answer I've gotten is I can assume its a 5.3 b/c she takes 5.5 qrts of oil to fill her.

Thanks,
Breandan

What's up fellow Washingtonian


You can't assume anyting about the engine displacement based on the oil fill. Both the 302 and 351w will take ~5qt (as well as all of their stroker siblings). The extra .5qt you are 'needing' is most likely due to poor *calibration* of the dipstick. In reality the reading of the dipstick can't really be trusted.

If your car does have a cam, that does not mean the previous owner bored or stroked the short block.

How did the car idle before the MSD?
Installing an ignition system shouldn't cause a change of idle...

How far off did the mechanic leave the ignition timing? Factory setting is 10*
It could be that the damper is finally starting to slip, which will cause bad timing readings when setting the timing with a timing gun.
Is the factory damper still in place?


Not sure what else to add at this point...
jason

 

[blackened88lx]

There's no way to tell the displacement without pulling the motor down. If they didn't replace the crank, the most they could have increased the displacement is a 306 or 308, which would be nothing noticeable anyway. If you know it has a stock crank, then the displacement isn't increased much if at all. As for the cam, how much lump did it have before the msd install? Do you have any sound clips?

 

[352Ford2]

Circle track tech guys have a tool to measure displacment throught the sparkplug hole

and the FE guys alwasy talk about the dowel trick to check the stroke to see if an engine is a 360 or 390...

 

[blackened88lx]

Circle track tech guys have a tool to measure displacment throught the sparkplug hole

and the FE guys alwasy talk about the dowel trick to check the stroke to see if an engine is a 360 or 390...

Good call, that makes sense.

 

[duner]

Moved to Tech.