97 GT PI Motor Swap & Blower

[97woodward]

I drive a 97 GT (Auto),It has 88k on it. The car is the Woodward Dream Cruise edition and its pretty rare (58 made), at this point ive decided to keep the car for the long term.

I have some mods done to it already but I really need to wake this car up. I have replaced alot of the suspension with the Bullit Kit and MM CC plates, MM RLCA's, etc... I have also put ford racing gears on recently and have kept up with all maintenance on the car.

The car is my 100% daily driver, I never take it to the track (maybe some day). But I am very unsatisfied with its power. I have a partial tune on it right now, My mechanic didnt dyno it because I told him Im either going to replace the motor with a PI motor or just do the PI swap. But he adjusted some basic air and fuel stuff and tuned me to 93 octane.

Here are my plans for the car, its going to take me probably a year to accomplish this for financial reasons but I want to do this right. I live in the city and lack alot of the mechanical knowledge to do alot of the installs, so I will need to pay for all the labor.

Heres what I'm thinking, please comment on this and tell me what you think

Replace my motor with a PI Motor with low mileage

Used Vortech S-Trim or Procharger

BC Automotive 3500 Stall Torque converter

BC Automotive Valve Body( have TransGO shift kit currently)


Would this be the best route ? Any suggestions are appreciated

 

[Winters98GT]

Its really a tough call, this is how I view it.....

A used PI motor complete is going to cost you around 500-1500 dollars. Then, you have no idea who had that motor in the first place, if it was maintained, etc. Not to say that its bad, because I swapped out 2 junkyard motors on my last car with good success. So lets say

800 bucks for the motor
600 bucks for the install since you arent doing your own work.

Right there, your are at 1400-1500 bucks

If you know the condition of your current motor, the other option is to swap to the PI intake/cams, and add the blower

200-300 for PI intake and cams and parts
400 for the install

total is around 600-700 bucks, and you dont have to swap motors. A blower car at the corral has 200,000 thousand miles, with the stock motor, blower.

 

[forum155pl]

Its really a tough call, this is how I view it.....

A used PI motor complete is going to cost you around 500-1500 dollars. Then, you have no idea who had that motor in the first place, if it was maintained, etc. Not to say that its bad, because I swapped out 2 junkyard motors on my last car with good success. So lets say

800 bucks for the motor
600 bucks for the install since you arent doing your own work.

Right there, your are at 1400-1500 bucks

If you know the condition of your current motor, the other option is to swap to the PI intake/cams, and add the blower

200-300 for PI intake and cams and parts
400 for the install

total is around 600-700 bucks, and you dont have to swap motors. A blower car at the corral has 200,000 thousand miles, with the stock motor, blower.

i agree with this statement exactly..

 

[97woodward]

so you think the best idea is to just keep my stock engine and do the PI Cams and Pi intake manifold? And then just add the blower?

 

[Winters98GT]

so you think the best idea is to just keep my stock engine and do the PI Cams and Pi intake manifold? And then just add the blower?

it depends on the condition of your current motor. Were you the original owner? if not, did you buy the car and recieve the reciepts of maintenance and oil changes? 80-100k miles is really not a lot of miles for a modular motor if its been taken care of. Id bet my money on my stock motor before I went to a junkyard motor when thinking about forced induction. Also, it doesnt seem like you are looking for 400+rwhp and that you are going to be doing a significant amount of racing. If the motor is ok, then dont swap it. But always know, that with a stock block, NPI or PI, you always run the risk of hurting the motor. A good tune is a must

 

[97woodward]

yeah , i am not the original owner. There were 3 owners before me. I am not entirely sure that all maintenance was done as it should of been, but I have done everything I can since ive owned the car (from 45K) to keep the motor in good working condition. I have always been up on maintenance and havent beat on the car too much.

As for the tune, my mechanic is a very respected Mustang tuner in Michigan. I want this car to last me so Im thinking I will only run 8psi on it. But I will be happy when I reach the 400RWHP mark or very close to it. I dont want to sacrifice the motor in achieving this though.

As far RWHP goes, do you think I will reach the 400rwhp mark with these mods:

PI cams and Intake manifold ( With stock NPI heads)

Used Vortech or Procharger at 8psi

BBK CAI

O/R X-Pipe Side exhaust

C&L 75mm Throttle Body & Plenum

BC Automotive 3500 Stall Torque Converter

BC Valve Body Kit

Ford Racing 4.10 Gears


Would this put me over the mark?

 

[CobraRed_96_GT]

yeah , i am not the original owner. There were 3 owners before me. I am not entirely sure that all maintenance was done as it should of been, but I have done everything I can since ive owned the car (from 45K) to keep the motor in good working condition. I have always been up on maintenance and havent beat on the car too much.

As for the tune, my mechanic is a very respected Mustang tuner in Michigan. I want this car to last me so Im thinking I will only run 8psi on it. But I will be happy when I reach the 400RWHP mark or very close to it. I dont want to sacrifice the motor in achieving this though.

As far RWHP goes, do you think I will reach the 400rwhp mark with these mods:

PI cams and Intake manifold ( With stock NPI heads)

Used Vortech or Procharger at 8psi

BBK CAI

O/R X-Pipe Side exhaust

C&L 75mm Throttle Body & Plenum

BC Automotive 3500 Stall Torque Converter

BC Valve Body Kit

Ford Racing 4.10 Gears


Would this put me over the mark?

400rwhp? you need to rearrange your priorities if that what you want. You wouldn't get 400 if you had that PI block (so better PI heads), injectors, fuel pump and longtubes. Main problem would be that that stall TC, gears, and valve body "kit" don't add any power. Plus it's going through your auto, so extra loss. You need to do more research

 

[MyBloodRunsBlue]

yea 400 is kinda a stretch with those mods...i would say 355-360

 

[Winters98GT]

yeah, your def pushing your luck on an 11 year old npi motor with boost. Id shoot for 300-330rwhp and call it a day, otherwise, upgrade the shortblock.

 

[CobraRed_96_GT]

agreed, NPI heads with just intake/exhaust and no intercooler are 335rwhp specs through an auto

 

[whyask]

400 hp...?? Not sure about that... If you want that and thats what your heart is set on .. A new block, forged cobra crank, pistons, stage 2 heads and cams VT of course, and a nice stall converter and lower those gears down to about 3.73 and bump that psi up to about 12 and then you would be around your mark, but with what you have in mind as said before by Winters98GT, your looking at around 310-330 and your tune HAS TO BE DEAD ON !!! either way do some research before you drop a butt load of money !

 

[CobraRed_96_GT]

you don't need stage 2 heads or 12 psi to hit 400. Blower cams/valve springs, 10 or so psi, nice intercooler, some injectors-fuel pump, power pipe, full exhaust and intake.

 

[justinschmidt1]

you don't need stage 2 heads or 12 psi to hit 400. Blower cams/valve springs, 10 or so psi, nice intercooler, some injectors-fuel pump, power pipe, full exhaust and intake.

+1 on this

pi cams, pi intake, long tubes, intercooled at 10 psi should put you where you want to be

 

[CobraRed_96_GT]

+1 on this

pi cams, pi intake, long tubes, intercooled at 10 psi should put you where you want to be

i think i was assuming blower cams in PI heads, i dunno what a 400ho combo is with NPI heads

 

[Winters98GT]

love it when we all bench race.

 

[justinschmidt1]

lol...

with npi heads pi intake, pi cams, long tubes, some other bolt ons, and intercooled 10 psi with a tune

I would expect 350-380 whp maybe more

hard to say cause differant dynos

but you should be pretty satisfied with that setup

 

[97woodward]

Well I would probably have to choose between getting the Intercooler for my blower or getting some headers. If I do the headers I will will wait until I can get the SLP or Hooker Headers.

Would getting the Intercooler be a good idea? Ive seen what the company websites post as far numbers but not all company numbers are very accurate.

 

[Winters98GT]

I would suggest the intercooler, def.

The way it sounds, you need to take it one step at a time. Get a supercharger, and intercooler, have the car tuned and see where your at.

 

[97woodward]

sounds good. So here is the order Im thinking, does this sound like the right way to do this. Keep in mind a very large amount of the cost is going towards the install.

1. PI Cam and PI intake Manifold Installation

2. Vortech or Procharger System w/ Intercooler

3. BC Automotive Valve Body Kit

4. BC Automotive TC 3500 Stall

5. Bassani or SLP Headers

Is this the right order? Would it also be a good idea to get blower cams down the line? What kind of HP increase would I see from replacing my PI Cams with Blower cams?

 

[Gearbanger 101]

Its really a tough call, this is how I view it.....

A used PI motor complete is going to cost you around 500-1500 dollars. Then, you have no idea who had that motor in the first place, if it was maintained, etc. Not to say that its bad, because I swapped out 2 junkyard motors on my last car with good success. So lets say

800 bucks for the motor
600 bucks for the install since you arent doing your own work.

Right there, your are at 1400-1500 bucks

If you know the condition of your current motor, the other option is to swap to the PI intake/cams, and add the blower

See, that's just the thing though. Who really knows the condition of their current engine? Unless you're pulling the pan off and checking the pistons, rings and bearings yourself, the only think you're really going to be aware of for certain is what kind of mileage you put on it. Most junk yards will guarantee their engine for at least 30-days and all will have the mileage of the engine recorded...if its not still sitting in the original vehicle it came out of. If it runs smooth and doesn't leak any fluids the who's to really say you're getting any worse deal than you would with your own engine

And it's much easier and more cost effective to replace an engine, than it is to rebuild one.

If I was ever to build another early 2V for predominantly street duty, I'd immediately swap out the Non-PI engine for an '02-'05 Explorer engine. Not only are you getting all the benefits of the PI engine package, but you're also knocking about 80lbs off of the front end of the vehicle with the aluminum block.

As far as blower selection goes, I might be a little bias on this one, but as inexpensive and as capable as most centrifugal superchargers are, I just can't get over the fact that you've either got to gear the hell out of the rear end (hurting fuel economy) or spin the ever loving snot out of the blower (increasing discharge temps) in order to make any sort of usable low end torque with the set up. After going with the Eaton on my current Cougar, for a mostly street car I'll never again own something without of positive displacement blower dumping ass loads of torque to the rear wheels at the blip of the throttle. Having never been a fan of the Kenne Bell, Roush, or the Saleen kits, pretty much the only option up until this point otherwise has been the Allen kits. But since they went belly up some time near the end of last year, the option for anything resembling OEM quality and durability or reasonably priced has been limited to say the least. My faith has since been restored with the introduction of the new kits produced by the company Tork Tech that have recently made their way to the market.

I know this is going to sound like I’m a sales rep for the company, but I’m not. I'm just so impressed with the amount of thought and ingenuity that went into this kit, I really can’t see a down side. They’re really reasonably price and their intercooled kits come with all of the goodies (42lb injectors, large single blade oval throttle body, heavy duty intercooler core with a "huge" front mount heat exchanger, 90mm Mass Air Meter and high flow inlet intake, high volume fuel pump, independent 8-rib belt drive) that IMO should have been standard for any kit with serious power potential in mind. From what I've been led to believe, Charles from Magnum Powers had a hand in the design of the kit, so you know it's well put together. The only kit comparable performance wise would be the Kenne Bell and you’re talking almost a $1,700 price increase for one with comparable options. And the most impressive thing about the Tork Tech kit is, that if the M112 isn’t quite enough blower for your needs, for only $1,000 more you can upgrade to the TVS 1900 series unit to make some “real horsepower”.

Another plus is that going with a Positive Displacement blower will allow you to run a less aggressive torque converter which will effectively extend the life of your transmission.

This may all be a totally different direction than you would like to go, but it's just another opinion since you asked.