Is it worth putting heads, intake,cam on 133k mile 5.0?

blackcobra

Founding Member
Apr 26, 2000
280
0
0
I recently purchased a 91 GT all stock except exhaust. Im looking the Holley intake, heads and cam combo for $2199. The car doesnt burn any oil and it runs fine, i was thinking if the motor ever went bad I could just get another 302 and put the holley sytem on the new engine. They advertise this system to produces 350HP with the proper fuel system, does that sound pretty accurate? Any other combos or ideas welcomed.
 
  • Sponsors (?)


It really depends. If I were you I would put what you bought on a different engine on a engine stand and build the internals to go with it. You've already got 2199 into it. You might as well spend another 1500 on internals. I would just put a huge shot of NOS on what you have and have the fun of trying to blow a motor while you are building a very bad a** engine. Spare no expense and do it right.
 
My feelings about the Holley Systemax kit is that you can buy better parts for the same money. I dont know about Holley heads but id buy AFR/trickflow/custom cam... whatever. If your motor seems to be running fine I would bolt on your parts and have some fun. When its time for the motor to let go, buy a shortblock but i think you should be fine for a while..
 
fairlane- $2199 isn't a ton of money to invest into a motor and saying why not spend another $1500 on internals doesn't make a lot of sense. if it was a $2200 investment and an add on was like $200, then you might as well. but its kinda like saying why not buy a cobra when you're looking at a 6 cyl stang, its only twice the money :shrug:

blackcobra- putting your own package together can definitely yield better results for the same or less money, sometimes. do your research, maybe talk to an engine builder about his opinions. i'd probably run a compression check before you spend money and maybe pull the stock heads to get a look at the cylinder walls. this may give you some more insight as to the condition of the motor.
 
Personally i think you should go ahead and put some stuff on that motor.....hell my motor had 210,000 with a supercharger! 5.0's can take a beating....

I'd stay away from that kit though....heres a good combo

-AFR 165's
-Ed curtis custom Cam
-Edelbrock RPM or RPMII manifold.....
-24/30 injectors
-3.73's
-70MM TB/EGR
-Granatelli mass air to match your injectors....

Thats easy 350/400 RWHP......just make sure u have good piston to valve clearance with those heads....

BTW, all motors aren't exactly the same....i took good care of mine and didn't tear it up or nothing....those were mostly highway miles......so do like somebody said on here and check everything out first...
 
its really easy for us to make all these recommendations, but more importantly, what are your plans for the car? what are you shooting for? are there things that you absolutely don't want to lose/change? (emissions compliance, torque, highway driveability, noise, comfort, etc)
 
I want to get about 330-360 to the wheels and have a reliable car N/A. I dont want to deal with blowers anymore and I would never think about doing NOS. I just wnat some that will be enough to beat LS1's and WS6's. I was thinking about buying a longblock but prices are so damn high and its hard to find an engine builder with a good reputation. Central Coast has prices in my range but I've heard horror stories about them. Im thinking about calling Keith Craft about a 306 that will get me 350 RWHP and see what kind of price range it might be in. Any suggestions?
 
hoss331stang said:
-AFR 165's
-Ed curtis custom Cam
-Edelbrock RPM or RPMII manifold.....
-24/30 injectors
-3.73's
-70MM TB/EGR
-Granatelli mass air to match your injectors....

Thats easy 350/400 RWHP......just make sure u have good piston to valve clearance with those heads....


sounds like a good combo to me, but nowhere near 400rwhp, i'd put it more around 310rwhp
 
Money doesn't grow on trees...

NO, you do not NEED to rebuild your motor. It's enought for most of us just to save to the $2100 window and then another $1500+ for a rebuild which isn't nessasarry. I swear, why do som talk about the 302/5.0 like it is a POS motor. NO, it is probally one of the best motors Ford ever made. '87-92 came with forged pistons and the rods and crank are pretty beefy from the factory. They usually with good maintence last into the 200K+ range of milege, even modded.

IF you have the money for a rebuild, this would be a good time, BUT if it isn't burning oil and holds compression as well as gets good compression I think you could spend the money on other parts.

145K miles here, going strong, and I use all cylinders.
 
The only way to know how well your engine is doing is by a compression or leakdown test. I would do that first and if it comes out ok then dont worry about the shortblock.
 
I would suggest saving up your money and buying a stroker kit. You can either use the stock block or buy a long block. I spent 1500 on the kit and 1600 on shop labor for tearing the stock motor apart and rebuilding the 347. Now it is reliable and would make enough horsepower to beat some LS1 and WS6. Also the strokers are very reliable and make low rpm torque for fun on the streets. Just a suggestion!