eighty6gt

I've decided to go with a forged bottom end before I install a blower. I'm taking enough of a risk touching my DD, and this way I can get a 100-150 extra HP out of the setup.

Where did you get your parts?

I like the thought of Mahle pistons, Manley rods, but I don't know what Crank. I think a really good forged crank is a good idea; all of the strain of driving the blower has to be borne by the crank snout, so the stiffer the better.

The plan is a Whipple HO kit at 13 PSI... is anyone even using that Steeda 10 rib drive? Seems like the killer app.

Any gotchas for the machine shop, for anyone who's had a bore/hone/deck/line hone done? Have many people ended up just doing a hone and using stock sized pistons?

bigray327

Howdy. First, it's good you're thinking about a built short block. That will not necessarily be required for your goals, though. You can run with the stock rotating assembly all day long, as long as you don't go nuts and also have a good, safe tune... I was at 478 rwhp for two years before building the bottom end.

I used Manley rods and pistons, and an '03 Cobra forged crank, a production aluminum short block, Ackerly-Child rings, and ARP fasteners. I spent a LOT of time and energy seeking out the best deals, looking for used items that I could refurbish to save money, etc. I'm here to tell ya: just buy an assembled short block from one of the major vendors, like Livernois. You can get a 298 stroker for less than you'll spend parting it all together yourself. You'll spend less, get better goods with better support, won't need to mess with a machine shop (saving money), and most importantly, you'll save yourself a lot of headaches. Unless you're physically assembling it yourself, there's no reason to buy the parts separately.

Another reason I suggest you buy an assembled short block is so you don't have to worry about figuring out your bore size before you buy the pistons. I bought a brand new block, never been used, and a set of standard bore pistons. Turns out the piston sleeves had to be bored out, so I ended up having to sell the pistons and buy a new set of 20-over ones. That was annoying, cost me money, and slowed me down.

I don't think you'll need a 10 rib kit for that setup. Six or 8 will do you fine. I'm still using 6 ribs, albeit on a centri, with no belt slip. The 10% overdrive crank pulley I'm using probably helps a lot, since it provides more belt wrap.

Hope this helps!

eighty6gt

Thanks Ray!

Hmm, did you know for less than the cost of a blower+assembled shortblock you can buy a used low mileage GT500 engine on ebay?

bigray327

Yeah, and did you know that I can beat a low mileage GT500 on the street?

That said, if I could do it all over again, I'd probably buy a GT500, upgrade the blower to a KB Mammoth, and go from there.

eighty6gt

Beating schmeating! lol!

You got it in your second point; the 500 mill is much more upgradable and more reliable. 10 rib blower drive!

I think Ford is going to beat me to the punch before I start dumping money into the '08 and release a wicked cool Boss 302 in the next couple of years, they were my favorite cars and I probably won't be able to resist. Oh well... 400+ hp will have to do.

Torched05stang

I would get a assembled stroker short block. I made the mistake and getting a rotating assembly and the idiot builder machine my new block to much thinking it was old school that needed more clearence with running nitrous or a blower. Put the motor in the car and it rattled. They ended up spending $2000.00 on fixing it though.

I would personally buy one from Livernois also. They helped me with my situation.

eighty6gt

The rub is always the machining, it's like a lost art these days.

Ideally I'd find a totalled GT500 and part it out, use the wheels, brakes, engine, trans, sell my stock engine/trans and the stock GT500 'charger, install whipple, profit!

I wonder if my stock exhaust would bolt up to the GT500 headers?

EagleStroker

Here's some more food for thought for you. I basically did what your thinking about. I got an entire Eagle balanced assembly with their 4340 crank. The cool thing is that is the only actual 4340 forged crank for our cars, nice radius edges, chauffeured oiling holes, and costs the same as the others. I pulled my factory motor and tore it apart to save money on buying a new block and am pretty happy with my decision. Ended up with an .011 over by the time we cleaned the block up, so I can still go .020 down the road when I decide to freshen it up. Now if I didn't have a good shop locally, I would either order one or send the block out and do final install myself. If you do your homework before you spend the money you will usually come out a happy customer! With that crank you could also get a double blower key cut straight from Eagle and a balancer to match it.

The Mahle pistons are nice but the 4032 piston isn't made to handle a whole lot of boost like the 2618 offered by some of the others (CP, Arias, JE). The catch is you get the start up slap due to the different clearances. It's really a situation where you pick your poison, I can honestly say I wouldn't of done it another way. 20k miles and still ticking

The thing with the GT500 swap is your looking at a long block and ECU for around $10k right now, by the time your done you could of just bought a used one and traded in your car. People flame me for pointing that out but what's reliability worth to you? I like to turn the key and drive and not worry about if somethings going to break.

eighty6gt

My first thought was selling the '08 and finding a Shelby, but I like the '08 enough... seems like a swap would be plug and play with no reliability issues, especially on all factory hardware.

By the time I get the cash together my plans will have changed again! It's a good thing it takes a while, I think if I were rich I'd never get anything solidified! Just keep buying stuff and jumping from idea to idea.

EagleStroker

You must have better luck than me when it comes to larger projects then. If your good with wiring and reading diagrams it won't be much of an issue, wiring and me don't get a long to well!

Why not a 5.4 3v? Turbo that, uses the same computer, same displacement. Just a thought.... If I had a ton of money to burn, this car would have probably been 8 different colors by now and running 8's. On a budget you just got to draw the line somewhere

bigray327

eighty6gt, step one of an engine build is developing a goal and sticking to it. Have you done that? From your first post, a 5.4L swap may be waaaay overkill.