*new Need Advice On An Engine Build!!

[Bjones10]

Hey everyone I am new to this forum and I have been debating on what route I should go with for my engine build. I have a 2003 Ford Mustang GT.

Background: I have been having exhaust smoke issues, come to find out I have low compression in cylinder 4. I had dripped some oil down only to find that it did seal. Bad Rings

I desired a quick and fun street car that may see some track time.

My goal is to put an On3 turbo system into my car.

Do I buy a salvage yard engine and turbo that setup?
Do I build up and engine with a forged rotating assembly?

I am not confident in a stock motor to take the beating of a turbo set up even though I have a friend that is running an On3 on his SN95 stock motor @ 10psi and has like 10k miles on it.

Building an engine costs a lot of money and Im not rich. But I have found some forged rotating assemblies on MMR and they seem to be decent parts.

I am just looking for some guidance as what works best and some opinions from those who have traveled this road before.

Thanks!

 

[Sluggie24]

If you're going to spend money to build an engine then pay once and cry once. Build it to suit your plans so you won' have trouble with it.

Question 1, is it a daily diver? Is turn around time important or can the car be apart for a while? If it's not your daily then you can reuse your current block and save $.

The MMR rotating assemblies are cost effective but sometimes engine builders can get similar parts cheaper and pass that savings onto you if they are doing all the machining and assembly work. Look around your area for engine builders and talk to them. Make sure they are familiar with the engines though. The 4.6 is not a 302/351.

Question 2, are you pulling the engine yourself or paying a shop? Big $ to save if you do most of the work yourself and tools like engine cranes can be rented. Will you be building the block yourself? More $ can be saved if you Have the know how and tools required or access to them.

Figure just the block work will cost about $1k at a good machine shop to get the block ready for a build. Assembly and upgraded parts will be on top of that. Good performance machine shops can be hard to find sometimes though. You might have to look around.

Last question, are you sure what you want your finished power to be? With a turbo it's easy to upgrade power down the road. Turning up the boost or a larger turbo get tempting. Will the engine you build now be able to take possible future power increases? Spend the money now to overbuild the bottom end if you arent sure. If you want 450hp build the bottom end for 600hp. If you want 600hp now build it for 750hp just in case. If you never increase the power you will at least have a bottom end that has zero problem with the power you're making. Pay once cry once.

OR...you can just buy an MMR assembled short block and have it dropped off at your house. Probably the easiest route when you think about it although it will cost a bit more $. Too bad you missed their black Friday sales, they had good discounts and a layaway program going on.

 

[Bjones10]

Wow seriously appreciate the awesome response..
It’s not my daily driver so time isn’t really that important.
I’ve got a friend that’s lending me his picker and engine stand.
I have another friend that is helping me pull the engine and work on assembling the rotating assembly and what not.

 

[mogs01gt]

With the age of these cars, always go for the rebuilt engine with forged internals.

 

[Sluggie24]

No problem. Doing the work isn't hard imho it just takes some time, some tools and some know how. The machine shop you use will play a big part in how the build goes so dont be afraid to spend a few $ more to get good work from a reputable place. Precise machining is worth it's weight in gold and sets the stage for the power the engine will make and how long it will last.