Fox Super Charged 1982 Mustang

matt r

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Jan 4, 2015
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Hi guys,
I am looking for some guidance on my 82 fox body 5.0.
Stock the car was pethetically slow so i have just recently up graded my motor top end with gt40 turbo swirl heads, roller rockers, mild crane cam, msd ignition and undersize pulleys. It made a huge differences, but I am thinking about adding a roots wieand 174 super charger, but am getting mixed messages on if the bottom end can handle it.
Can someone provide some insight here. I dont drag or race the car but dont want to blow the motor when I only get into it once in a while. Thanks
 
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The stock blocks tend to split down the center of the lifter valley when the HP goes too much above 450 HP. Block girdles and other fancy stiffener stuff doesn't seem to prevent the split, they do help preserve the crank when it does happen.

See http://www.stangnet.com/mustang-for...its-on-stock-block.851853/page-2#post-8569219 for more input...

From what a read. Most 5.0s ,1982 and earlier dont have forged piston or rods. So I been told they might break. My setup I think wil bring me too about to 400 or 425 with the supercharger. Trying to understand if I mount the sc what level of risk I am adding. or should I just be happy with the 325hp I have with no risk.
Thanks for your reply.
 
I guess it goes w/o saying that if you intend to use a Weiand 174, you also intend to use a carburetor.

A roots SC isn't something you see everyday, especially on a Fox body for several reasons.

Although they are probably one of the coolest sounding forms of forcing air into your engine, and back in the day, I lusted to have one, there are several reasons why most people pass on a roots blower now days.

#1. You gotta cut a hole in your hood.
#2. You cant intercool the incoming boosted air charge, which forces you to make considerations in lieu of that. All S/C's make the incoming air much hotter than it was when it entered the air cleaner, and since you cant "cool" the additional heat created by the blower, it will increase the risk of detonation, which will dramatically increase the risk to longevity you are worrying about.
#3. Boost is harder to adjust. Changing out pullies, and having to make a belt change to make up the difference is a pain in the butt.
#4. You are gonna have to learn to read spark plugs, and make jet changes ( if you don't know already)on whatever carburetor you choose to ensure that the engine makes the most power w/o running lean. Lean condition is probably the number 1 killer of boosted engines.

If it was me I'd look long and hard at that before I walked down that path. 325 reliable horsepower ( if you even make that much) that can be had safely on pump gas, will last as long as you want it to.
The blower will probably add over 100 HP at modest boost levels. 425 is still a managable, sustainable, power level for a stock block, but everything,...........everything will hinge on how well it's tuned to get it there.
 
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thank you for your reply. I have most of the current issues covered carburator, hole in the hood and upgraded cooling system. What I was more concerned about was the non forged pistons and connecting rods and whether they would withstand the horsepower/compression boost. (8 to 9 psi boost which will put me at about 12 to 13:1). Stock the car was onlyaround 8.5 : 1
 
I'm more worried about the transmission. Any pre-1990 T5 will have a hell of a time dealing with ~400lb/ft of torque. The post 1990 T5's also don't last forever (and sometimes, if you're unlucky, not at all) with that torque, either.

Unless you're running a lightly modified AOD or a fresh WC-T5, I think the transmission might grenade before the motor does...
 
thank you for your reply. I have most of the current issues covered carburator, hole in the hood and upgraded cooling system. What I was more concerned about was the non forged pistons and connecting rods and whether they would withstand the horsepower/compression boost. (8 to 9 psi boost which will put me at about 12 to 13:1). Stock the car was onlyaround 8.5 : 1

Alot of information I've read online dictates (assuming the tune and setup is spot on) that the block usually goes before the rotating assembly. I can't recall if the same applies to the older 5.0, however.
 
Never done a super charger with a carb, but I can tell you from running a carb and nitrous it's all about being able to read the plugs. You are looking for a nice tan/straw color. Idk about blowers, but maybe it's the same as nitrous, you'll see a distinct line, or color change on the plug's electrode. this tells you where your spark timing is- and if you need to advance or retard. I'd do a google search on it, most people here I'd guess are doing the efi thing with boost. Not too many roots blowers in this neighborhood. Hope this helps..
 
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Get yourself an air fuel gauge installed make sure have have enough fuel pump also...and believe it or not that 600 cfm might not be big enough either....i ran one on a 62 impala with a 283 i really got good at tuning them then did one on my friends 68 camaro 350 cu in...can ran get alot you need to know on these blowers you need to not run vac advance...lock the timing about 16 degrees then work up from there...it can be done just be careful.
 
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^^ what they said. 600 is way to small. At least a 650 and or a 750 mech sec is what I'd run. Might have to downsize a few jets in the 750 but you want to be able to suck some air through that thang!