Please educate a 5.0 noob... how much power can I make?

[Cobra4B]

FI means forced induction... at least where I come from it does

 

[EDC]

Ed.... I'm pretty sure this car has GT-40 heads... would it be worth it to simply go w/ a cam and new manifold for a decent bump? Or would I be wasting my time?

Here's my take...

Open track cars tend to put a lot of strain on the valvetrain. All my AI and open track combinations use severe duty valves and the PAC nitrided beehive springs and plenty of TLC for long life. It's not like a drag car with a few seconds of rpm. You have to stay out there for four or five, 45 minute sessions.

Since stronger parts are the key, you'll have to do quite a bit of work to those GT40 heads to get them up to snuff. Figure bronze guides, milling, competition valve job, screw in studs and a host of other work. After all that, you're still running cylinder heads that will leave a lot on the table for power. Add in the extra 40-50 pounds on the nose, a place you "don't" want it, and the iron heads look like a great Ebay item!

I'd say, even with the stock 302 in there, plan on some aluminum heads and the severe duty valvetrain. I can quote something out for you if you Email me.

It's a road race car so FI is out... more parts, more **** to break, more weight.

"Agreed"...

One of the top priorities of a good running auto-X combination is simplicity. Add in a blower and the peripherals and there's a boatload of $hit that can go amiss. Then there's that extra 100 in front....

Ed

 

[tmoss]

DUH - I thought he meant Fuel Injected............

 

[Cobra4B]

Thanks Ed... turns out the car I pictured isn't the same as all of them. The one we have on hold is a plain jane stock 5.0 I'll most likely rip it out this winter and add a stud girdle and top end... shoot might just go w/ a 331 from the get go.... ugh the idea here was to not spend more money, but 250 crank hp is crap and gets me 10lbs per HP.

 

[EDC]

Thanks Ed... turns out the car I pictured isn't the same as all of them. The one we have on hold is a plain jane stock 5.0 I'll most likely rip it out this winter and add a stud girdle and top end... shoot might just go w/ a 331 from the get go.... ugh the idea here was to not spend more money, but 250 crank hp is crap and gets me 10lbs per HP.

Just check the year and condition of the shortblock before you tear into it. You would be surprised what can be done with those lil 302 engines.

Ed

 

[FastDriver]

Hello from Iraq, Ed. Good to see you're still doing your thing. The engine with your latest cam to me has been together for a while, but I'm basically giving the entire car a make-over with good drag suspension parts, a new rear-end, a cage, etc... Afterwards, we'll see how that car goes. I'll bet it'll be in the low 9s or high 8s before I change anything else on the engine. Maybe not to you, but that's scary fast to me.

I was wondering if you can do a cam for a turbo deisel M1114 up-armored HMMWV (hummer). It's kinda heavy and it does a lot of off-roading... I think that clearly the goal for this one is low-end torque. If anyone passes me on the top-end it's ok, I'll just have my gunner shoot them with the 50 cal.

Chris

 

[EDC]

Hi Chris,

Keep your head down over there!

As for a Hummer cam, just add some propane to the mix. Sweet!

Ed

 

[Cobra4B]

Closed the deal on the actual car today... this is one of a few leased by penske and re-painted for promotional work. The body/paint is 10000x better than the other school cars.

Here's the stock stock stock 5.0
View attachment 351834

 

[EDC]

Wow is that thing shweeeeet!

Let's start making some "power" for her.

Ed

 

[tmoss]

that is exceptional!!!!!!!!!!

hey, they got the engine in backwords..........

 

[Cobra4B]

^ I noticed that.... the intake is backwards... wonder why.