2500.00 to spend. WWYD?

[EXTRPR50]

I have a 95gt with 4.10s and shortys and an h-pipe going on this weekend. An aode with a transgo kit too.

I am not interested in wheels or looks right now, just ooomph!

So, with 200,00 on the clock, which would you do?

-Powerdyne (not well liked here) or a Vortech.
-347 kit with good heads and intake, etc.
-351 swap (nice torque, and I like big cubes anyway).
-any other ideas.

300- 350 hp would be nice.
Thanx for the time, I know you guys have built different combos. before, so Im looking for ones that can be done right for the money.

 

[fiveo'cobra]

With 200,000 miles i wouldn't be putting boost through your stock block. I would tear it down and replace the rod bearings, main bearings, rings, or pistons AND rings, etc, etc. Ideally, if you have the money just buy a DSS block with all new forged internals and do a 331/347. A 351 is deff an option too. Depends on what you want. They don't rev very high though. The most cost effective route to 350whp is a moderately built 331/347, but if you have the money a competition spec high compression (12 to 1) 306 on the bottle runs like a bat out of hell. I had a friend who moved away that had one in his car and the thing ran 10.7's with a 100 shot.

 

[95strokerPSU]

$2500 should enough to get a good h/c/i but the fact that the bottom end would still have 200k miles is something to consider. I guess your best bet is to do a compression check and go from there. If everything looks good, I'd say h/c/i.

 

[Black95GTS]

First off, five o cobra, what the hell are you talking about? A DSS block with all forged internals? A 351 block doesn't rev high enough? By the time that gets there with all the associated cost he'll be able to afford a new intake manifold. What the hell is the point of a new block with forged internals if all you are going to be able to afford is strapping the stock crap back on / in it. That doesn't make sense.

With 2500 bucks, don't even think about a new block. It's not gonna happen. You are not going to run 10.7s with 2500 dollars. At least, you're gonna run it more then 2-3 times before it explodes.

$2500 should enough to get a good h/c/i but the fact that the bottom end would still have 200k miles is something to consider. I guess your best bet is to do a compression check and go from there. If everything looks good, I'd say h/c/i.

I agree with this gentleman. And of course a complete tune-up at that mileage. That plus an HCI puts you over budget already most likely. And then you gotta tune the beast, and then you really should get bigger injectors, bigger maf, etc etc

With a 2500 dollar budget, a 347 is also not going to happen. You're stuck with a 302, and through an auto, you might not get to 300 rwhp. You gotta pay to play.

Adam

 

[Swarzkopf]

Step one should DEFINITELY be a compression test! Report back your results.

Being that he's on a Mustang enthusiast site, I assume his car is already in a good state of tune so we'll assume he doesn't need new plugs, wires, PCV, ect.

IF the motor tests out okay, this is what you want to do:

1. Edge Racing Street Edge 3000 RPM stall torque converter ($600)

2. Decent cat-back exhaust ($300)

1 and 2 will make the car MUCH more fun to drive..and the kicker:

3. Walbro 255lph fuel pump ($120)

4. Aeromotive fuel pressure regulator ($100)

5. Zex nitrous oxide kit ($500)

6. Drag radials ($300)

You now have $600 left over to spend however you want it. Your car should go high 12s with 105-107 MPH. You should be making ~300 RWHP with a 125 shot.

With that $600 you could pick up a new intake manifold and throttle body or throw it towards some nice wheels.

Just my opinion and the route that I took myself..

 

[IEatRiceGT]

do you guys think his motor will really handle a decent shot of nitrous for very long when it has 200k? I don't know how good/bad his engine is but how about buying a used built motor?

 

[94MustangGT5.0]

Your idea of a 331/347 is fine, but you must understand something before you get ahead of yourself: the price that magazines/websites say gets you a complete kit does not include any labor. You better give a local shop a call and ask what it would cost to do the work, it will be a reality check for sure. Often times, forged pistons will run close to $500 a set, with good stroker crankshafts pushing upwards of $1000, and rods vary greatly, but are also expensive. I would go as far even to say you don't have enough money to realistically get a good stroker kit installed period after paying for the shop fees, let alone heads, cam, intake, injectors, mass air, fuel pump, larger radiator, etc. etc. etc. Always plan on leaving yourself plenty of breathing room, or else unexpected costs will cause you to have a Mustang that doesn't run sitting in the garage. If you want to start with a good platform to build from that isn't near the cost, you may need to look to building up a 306. This can be done much cheaper than a stroker, and it gives you a solid base to start from if your 200K engine does prove to be a little weak and showing signs of needing some TLC. If the engine checks out, my list would be: Torque converter (PI or Edge), AFR Heads, matching intake, custom ground cam, injectors w/ mass air, and a tune. Now, I have once again gone over your $2,500 budget, but it would be closer to a realistic start. Good luck, I wish I had the money to spend.

 

[EXTRPR50]

Thanx for your time fellas. I personally know the stock motor was used for ALOT of hwy. miles to from Mass. to Fl. The second owner babied it without stomping on it. I have maintained it with synthetics throughout (cuz' of mileage) and drive it as a second car.
So I was kinda thinkin h/c/i/ myself. I , honestly have never had that done before on my prev. stangs. For those of you who have, is it worth it? Are you happy with the acceleration?
Im thinking I could get a used intake (how do those go bad?) to save some flow, and spend it on better heads.
How does a used performer intake, cnc t.w. heads, trick flow cam and edge converter sound? Is that a good combo?
Thanx again for putting up with my questions. I just want to do this right.

 

[Swarzkopf]

How does a used performer intake, cnc t.w. heads, trick flow cam and edge converter sound? Is that a good combo?

Sounds great, but you will probably NOT put this together for under $2500.

 

[BlackVert]

i'd do a 331/347 kit and freshen up the bottom end before coaxing much more power out of it. it will just stress out stuff that is probabaly pretty much worn out (think rings and blow-by).

but $2500 is not enough for the bottom end and new heads, cam, intake and all the other supporting stuff like fuel and spark upgrades, tuning, ...

 

[Swarzkopf]

do you guys think his motor will really handle a decent shot of nitrous for very long when it has 200k?

Depends on the condition of the motor. If it has 200K miles but has good compression and has been maintained well, he should be fine provided that the car is properly tuned.

 

[95snoozer]

I see all these ideas, some realistis, many not.
When starting from scratch, unfortunatelt 2500 will not get you far unless you get a used vortech whiich in your case might not be the best.

So here is the problem

1. your motor has 200k and we dont know the condition
2. you have an AODe
3. Benefite, you have 4.10s

now you need to work on cost effectiveness and power
CHeck your block for compression if it is good goahead with a heads and cam swap
If not, look into a rebuild and some trick flow or eddelbrock heads. You could look on ebay or locally and get a comlete 97-01 explorer motor and copy my setup, use my cam and upgrade your springs.

Grab a performer intake or gt40/cobra

last and one of the MOST IMPORTANT you need a stall converter. You need one right now to begin with and definitely and a lil higher of one with the heads cam, or an other power you add.

Look around at teh threads. a 2800+ stall would work great and help your car to rip out of the hole. It will also free up hp. The stock converter kills it. You will need a tranny cooler with this and a tranny temp guage.

you shoudl be able to drop into the high 12s or l0w 13s and it will run it consistantly all day.

you will wnat to tune it most likely and pick up a maf and injetors depending on how much power you make. TB i would wait til everything is done because it is not a necessity. Pullies will help out the auto too alot.

see how much money you are left with after the supporting mods and you might think of a Wet kit. The nitrous works plate kit picked up 96 rwhp with the 80 shot.

 

[gcomfx.com]

The converter dropped my car right at a second in the 1/4. I have 187,000 miles currently... I've sprayed it hard and raced it hard for 4 years. It's had a rest this past year. I plan to start spraying it again this w/e.

I have the same concerns/plans and same money worrys. Still not 100% sure where to go, but I've thought about just a basic rebuild with heads and a tuneable cam.

 

[95snoozer]

If anything you should definitely get yourself a stall. You will drop a half second off your 1/4 mile times with traction.

no BS

 

[EXTRPR50]

I have heard so many positives about a new higher stall converter, that I will get it for sure. I dont even like the idea of that heavy a$$ thing robbing my power.
Im liking the idea of h/c/i/. Will my stock fuel set up (t.b., maf, injectors) hold up until I can address them?

 

[95snoozer]

maf and 24s

pro m all the way. just find a good deal used

tb will eb fine, i still have a fox stock tb. DOnt waste your time with a coldair, build your own with pvc and fernco stuff from walmart, do a straight shot with the maf at the end in the fender.

Cam selection is key I am going to sound crazy and say its more important than your head selection. You can amke 290+ with almost every aftermarket head including the gt40p it is all in the cam selection. dont blow your money on heads and stick a 150 dollar cam in there.

my 250 dollar heads and comp cam puts up power than many 1k heads do. Plus it drives great since the port runner volmue is so low. I can drive my car off idle... which is something nice in an auto.

a cam with a stock stall will kill your takeoff.

I say go ahead and do the stall now for immediate satisfaction. dont go too small you will regret it.

 

[mootang]

I know JR's stock motor was in the High 100,000's (I think 160's or maybe 180's) and it was still kickin even after spending half of it's life on nitrous, blowers and finally the turbo. so if you do the compression check and all is well i think you should be fine with a h/c/i combo.

 

[fiveo'cobra]

All i'm saying is that if he's doing a 347 on his stock 200K miles block, he's prolly gonna have problems. If he was going to redo his stock block, another option could be getting a nicer,stronger block with forged internals for the 347..........do it right all at once. Don't know if $2500 would get you there though. Might have to have some connections for that.

 

[95Mustang302]

I did a h/c/i combo for under 1700 dollar using used parts, i got a good deal on everything, its the trickflow kit pieced together. Just take your time and look around for good deals and you will find them, i've spent a little over 3k on everything including a set of 18" saleen wheels plus all minor things that needed to be purchased

 

[final5-0]

I gotta say I will throw in with a lot of what the Snooze Man is saying.

The aode is gonna hinder your rwhp goals and 200k is a lotta miles.

You seem to want to get to the power as the #1 objective

Not trying to rain all over your parade
BUT
$2500 ain't enough to do a h/c/i combo with all the supporting parts and use new parts
EVEN
if you do all the work yourself.

Here is where you can save some money IMHO
AND
I'm putting the focus on building power ... not cuttin a low et

No aode expense ... do it after h/c/i ... ever thought about a t-5
No catback ... tiny gain ... too much $$$ ... save as last mods
No tb ... tiny gain ... too much $$$ ... save as last mods

If money starts to get tight this go a round ... you could always re-use the stock intake until you can save up for the final intake which ... btw ... needs to match up well with your heads/cam choice.

I would not do this mysef cause I'd just wait to do the work until I had the corrrect intake. Waiting would cause less work and you would save on gaskets and such. Anyway ........ you could do either option I guess

Another way to save this time around ... if you choose to use ped rockers, you could re-use your oem rockers until you can get rr's.

The 200k miles is an issue to be dealt with but, setting that aside for the time being, here is my way of seeing it.

I'd not scrimp on heads or cam
I'd make my choice of heads/cam and get them in place for this upgrade
I'd also get 255lph pump/inj's/maf in place this go around

NOTE: with that many miles, gonna need t chain/gear set

I Don't Know

I did a quick NEW parts list add up and hit $3K with ease
AND
I was trying to keep it down a bit with some parts

Grady