To port or not to Port . . .

[SetofAces]

Hey guys,

I'm trying to figure out which direction I should go in with my build; I'm out on spring break and I finally have a little bit of money to throw at my car, so if I can do anything I want to get it done by the end of this week.

I've got a non-HO 5.0 motor in my '89 LX, and I was thinking about doing a cheap H/C/I swap this week . . . I bought some E7s the other day that seemed to be in good shape for $40, I was thinking about having my buddy port them (this would be from $100-400 depending on how much work I want done) and throwing in a cam and explorer intake. I've got someone that's willing to sell me an intake for $150, but I talked to him over the phone last night and he said something about the EGR not working with my car and that maybe I shouldn't bother (my car is my daily driver so I do need to get as good of mileage as I can). I don't really know what he's talking about, I know he had the intake on his '94 but I don't know why the EGR would be a problem.

Beyond that, I'm wondering what kind of cam that I could use that wouldn't rob me of too much power until I upgrade to better heads (which honestly could be a long time) although almost anything would be an improvement as my non-HO is SLOW AS HELL despite having decent compression (I think, anyways -- 155 in the lowest cylinder, 158-9 in 2 cyls, 160 in the fourth, and 165 in the rest).

So, yeah . . . any suggestions?

 

[mavmavv]

If you are going to run E7s, id keep the stock cam for drivability, an explorer intake would nicely match the ported E7s too. Would have great TQ id imagine.

As for how far to port the E7s? I dunno, id keep it mild just to save money for some WAY better flowing heads out of the box.

I have a pair of GT40Ps im working right now and im trying to decide how far to port them. After a certain point you are just throwing money away.

 

[Turd Tops]

If you are going to run E7s, id keep the stock cam for drivability, an explorer intake would nicely match the ported E7s too. Would have great TQ id imagine.

As for how far to port the E7s? I dunno, id keep it mild just to save money for some WAY better flowing heads out of the box.

I have a pair of GT40Ps im working right now and im trying to decide how far to port them. After a certain point you are just throwing money away.

I'm kinda with him. I would'nt waste much money porting E7's heads. If thats all you have then i would just run the E-cam or something in that ballpark. Explorer intake is a great idea for a low buck intake also. Just make sure the lower intake has the EGR hole in it.

 

[SetofAces]

If you are going to run E7s, id keep the stock cam for drivability,

The stock cam in my case wouldn't be any good; I've got a non-HO 5.0 (I think from a crown vic).

Also, I'm curious as to what I should do as far as upgrading the valves, springs, rockers etc., and if it makes any sense to do so for my setup. I thought that I've seen people with E7s into the 300 hp range, which I think is a good target to limit the risk of breaking anything (also I really can't afford anything more than that for a long time).

 

[Turd Tops]

IMO any work on E7's are waste of money if your going to keep the car. After all the work and money you put into them you could have scored a nice set GT-40's and be all that much farther ahead of the game. With all that being said i would only spend money on some nice E7's if i was going to run a factory stock class but even then they allow GT-40's and the p heads.

Also i think it your on a budget you should always buy GT-40's and NOT the GT-40p's. You might send more for the non-p heads but you will not need to buy or re-buy headers.