..advice

I'm converting the 1992 5.0L in my II to foxbody EFI. I planned on gasket matching all the ports on the heads and the intakes and then I got thinking...

What if I got the heads ported? How much of a gain would I stand to make? also, how much would an engine shop charge for this sort of thing, or can I do it myself. I've heard horror stories of people doing it themselves and ruining things majorly, and I'm inclined to beleive them, so I'll probably be having a shop do it. The gasket matching I think I can do though.

also, what else should I do while the heads are off. also, is it worth it even doing anything to the stock heads?

is an intake spacer (that goes between the upper/lower) worth it?

and finally, is it going to hurt performance that my mass air meter iss a 70mm unit when my TB is the stock 60mm? the 70mm unit also doesnt have the mesh piece. I have a smaller one, but if its not going to hurt, I'll use the 70mm

 

what else should I do while the heads are off.

CALL FOR HELP !!!!

 

man, i did not name this thread well

i forgot i can't edit titles here :P

 

How have people hurt the heads by porting themselves? porting all the way through to the coolent chambers?

Even with the ported heads, without a cam and rockers and stuff, i think a 70mm tb would be too much, and one thing to note, my 1990 mustang made around 350bhp on a 65mm tb. It did have a 1" spacer between the upper and lower intake, the tb would touch and rub the stock hood so it can be a clearence issue, not sure how deep the engine sits in comparison in the II.

I don't think porting the heads would be worth it, if you really wanted to get gains i would just save up until you can afford some AFR heads. Unless you just feel like porting yourself and smooth things out a bit.

 

My TB is the 60mm unit, the mass air tube is 70mm. The throttlebody isn't on my list of mods, since, like you said, its not really going to help.

I don't care at all for hood clearance. Theres a giant gaping hole in the center of my hood where theres a carb scoop :P

The reason I asked if porting is ok to do yourself, is because if it is worth it, its some free horses. Time doesnt matter so terribly to me if I can do it myself.

on the topic of roller rockers, I see mixed points of view everywhere i look. Some people say 1.7s with the stock cam is great, others say its rubbish and that a stock cam should use 1.6s. some people say they aren't worth it at all without a good cam, and still other say if you have a lumpy cam and use 1.7s, the valve covers don't have enough clearance.

and then on the subject of cams, if i were to get one, i've no idea what to look for in a cam. it would be nice though, to have a cammed efi 5.0 with ported heads and intake when I'm done...

also, what mods did you have on your 5.0?

 

sorry i didn't read very well and didn't see that you said mass air. thought you were talking tb the whole time.

The 1990 engine was built by the previous owner, but the mods that it had were, holley heads(don't remember which), E303 cam, comp cams roller rockers again can't tell you which, built short block(don't know brand or compression, gt40 intake with 1" spacer, 24lbs injectors, aux fuel pump, 65mm tb, 75mm? mass air, cold air intake, shorty headers, high flow cated h-pipe, flowmaster catback, underdrive pulleys, msd ignition, ford racing wires, ford racing rocker covers, 3 core aluminum radiator.

all attached to a TCI auto, aluminum driveshaft and a built diff with 3.73 rear end.

 

that is a long list of parts :P

The things I think I can realistically commit to so far are the roller rockers, intake spacer (for stock 5.0) and maybe that cam.

also on my potential list is an electric water pump and fan, just to keep the confounded thing cool. Thats all depending on how it runs when i put the EFI on, because i still havent put my V8 flex fan on yet

I need more dollars. If I'm not satisfied with the bike when it's done, I just might sell it for some bits for the II...

and in case i havent said so before, thats a pretty savage 5.0

 

I forgot about that too, it had electic fan as well, and the big mod i forgot to list 150shot of N2o..

 

as the title of this thread indicates, i prefer to be blown than have NAAAWWWSSSS

 

Oh i perfer blown too but like i said, i didn't build the car, i just bought it like that... and I'm not going to complain about the NAAAAWWWWSSS when the car could do 11.4 in the 1/4.

 

that is AWESOME

I wonder what the II is gonna run when its done

 

I'd say save the coin for a decent set of aluminum heads. You already know e-b@y can be your friend. Or check CL for people looking to step up their combos and needing to sell their parts. And try finding a 5.0 Explorer intake - virtually identical to the '93 Cobra/GT 40 intake in performance. May be "cheaper" although there is a site about porting the stock 5.0 intake (forgot the name - tmoss or something...) lots of good info if you want to do it yourself. The cut and weld job was pretty mean...

 

I've abandoned any idea of payng money for a port job. I can gasket match the ports myself ,anything else is a maybe, but still by myself.

I've been lookin around for secondhand parts, but nothing so far. I'm just gonna make the best of mostly stock components for a while. Maybe if I'm lucky I can get an explorer intake in the junkyard. there were none last week, but i'll look this sunday

 

The stock E7's arent worth paying money to mess with... If you get AFR heads be ready to fly cut your pistons... I have seen many people gain exceptional power over stock by using Twisted Wedge heads (better than AFR, IMO), a decent intake, and 1.7 RR with a stock cam... the stock cam is actually not bad contrary to belief of some who have minimal experience... As far as porting your own heads, unless you have a cnc machine or a good bit of experience, they will be sloppy... and the intake spacer is a decent idea... some motors act different and run better without them, but thats all in the parts that are used... you can use that mass air meter as long as it is tuned or "matched" to your injector size

 

Would I really need to fly cut the pistons if I get AFR 165s? Everywhere I've looked online the 165s are just a bolt on and go affair.

my current plan is to get a set of AFR 165s on there while I have the heads off because I don't see myself doing this again anytime soon.

 

my bad... I assumed you were talkin 185's

 

no worries

welcome to TMS btw

 

I believe once you go bigger than 1.90 valves you need to cut the pistons

 

IMHO, ALWAYS check piston to valve clearance especially with larger than stock valves... you may also want to double check push rod length and order up some hardened units for use with stud mount rockers/push rod guide plates. The TW vs AFR debate is ongoing... TW's generally cost less though.

 

I found this very helpful in deciding which heads to get. http://forums.stangnet.com/716191-af...formation.html
Im going with AFR 205's