Engine Help Getting Started

southernangler_82

New Member
Apr 19, 2015
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Hey everyone. New to the forum. I was hoping to get some advice. I jus picked up a 95 stang for my wife. She has wanted one to build for awhile. It has a manual transmission and a locked up vs which we are going to pull. We are wanting to shoot for at least 500 rwhp and stay fully streetable. Was jus wanting to get some suggestions as what motor may be our best choice to build on. The 302, 351, 4.6? We are also looking to source an old block to start the build with and save a little that way. Any suggestions are greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance guys from me and my wife.
 
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Welcome! 500rwhp puts you into the danger zone of block problems with the 302 unless you get a Dart block (or similar). The 351 would work very well, there's a very good recent write-up on what the swap entails in this sub-forum (joetrainer provides a complete run-down of what it takes, and a complete parts list too). The 4.6 is probably only practical if you have a donor car, and you probably don't want anything less than a DOHC 4.6 with supercharger / turbo to get you to 500hp. It's not a common swap because so many excellent speed parts are still available for the Windsor (302/351) motors, and it's usually much cheaper to get to your goals.
 
I would think that the cheapest way to get good power would be to drop in a 94-95 302 and add a supercharger. You won't get to 500 rwhp, but it'll still give you a good kick in the pants when you floor it. But you can keep more of your existing V6 parts. If you really want over 500 rwhp, I'd do a Coyote motor swap. But you're looking at $15-$20k for a Coyote engine and all of the parts you need to swap in.

I wouldn't recommend a 4.6 engine, unless you get a DOHC 4.6. The SOHC ones in the 96-98 GT's have a bit less power than the 94-95 5.0, so you'd be paying more money for less power.

I swapped a 95 Cobra engine into my 94 V6, so you may want to read my build thread to get an idea of the work you have in front of you. The link is in my signature below.