Tell me your thoughts.

[91grandmarquis]

Thanks for all the advice, after college this is my summer toy, and ill have some pile i drive around for errands, as is i think ive put 4k on my car in 2 years using it daily... But yes it will be a toy that is never finished, but then again whats the point if your not constantly working on it? My plans out of college are fire investigation, Lots o school but some good money. Also lots of travel, as ill be called on for the whole state, so ill need something more fuel efficient anyways. Im not sure my budget will be too constricted as this will happen pretty slowly, ive already got some land in alstead that my dad wants to build a garage on, a large one, about 50 by 50 with a wash bay etc.. The deal however is that he bought the land, so i pay half the cost of the building, there will be an apartment though, so my loan payment will pretty much be my rent/mortgage. Then when i can afford to put up a house i will. This of course all taking priority over my car having an obnoxiously large engine.

[Smokestacklightnin]

Nitrous will give you more bang for the buck, and you can keep the economy of a daily driver. I plan on going to a 4bbl on my 302, I have considered a 351 but will replace my engine with an HO when it comes time for a new engine. It would take time and money to build up a stock 351. Buying a built 351 longblock will easily set you back at the low end $3500.

[Outlaw440]

Nitrous will give you more bang for the buck, and you can keep the economy of a daily driver.

1. Nitrous ain't so cheap after you have to refill it a shitload of times.

2. Kiss your motor goodbye if the tune is off a tiny bit.

3. It is illegal to have any compressed gas in a car in the state of New Hampshire, Nitrous oxide included, so i wouldn't really recommend that.

[91grandmarquis]

I view Nitrous as cheating first of all, second of all ive known at least 3 people who blew there motor because they either didnt tune right or didnt re build the bottom end of their motor appropriately. Also at this point in time the car will not be a daily driver.

[gadget73]

nitrous on the stock lopo bottom end is a recipie for disaster anyway. Cast pistons just aren't meant for that.

If you want DD reliability, the done to death HO or Explorer swap is hard to beat for performance, budget, fuel economy, and reliability. Its not anything special and its not unique, but it works well.

I would probably suggest researching your state's smog laws to find out what you can get away with before getting too far along. Most people can get away with an HO swap without issues, but not everyone can get away with a carb if you want to do that. There may also be issues with visual inspections insisting on smog equipment, so you may have to work around that as well.

Another suggestion is to start at the other end of the car. Get the suspension right, get the brakes right, do the rear gears, get the trans ready to handle more power, ensure the cooling system is up t snuff, and only after the rest of the supporting mods are in place, do the motor. More power does you no good if the suspension bushings are jello, the brakes don't work for crap, and the trans is gonna explode the first time you mat the pedal. Trust me on this, because I did exactly that. HO motor, and the rest of the car was falling apart around the engine. Its now properly set up to deal with the motor, and its just so much better. Even if I didn't have an HO in there, the car in it's current state would be vastly superior to what I started with 5 years ago and if not for the original engine blowing up, theres a good chance it would still be lopo powered.

[91grandmarquis]

Dont need a smog pump before 93, and nothing gets close to being hooked up on emissions til late 90s.

[91grandmarquis]

Ok so im now considering doing the HO swap, how much do you figure all the parts will cost, with new heads, what cam should I run, what vehicles will have the right ECU, etc. From who ive talked with it seems that I can get about 400 hp or so out of an HO engine, is this true? basically is the extra money for a 351 worth it. Keep in mind this car is not going to be a race car by any means or do I have a quarter mile time set that I want. Just want it to have some nuts.

[pantera77]

Ok so im now considering doing the HO swap, how much do you figure all the parts will cost, with new heads, what cam should I run, what vehicles will have the right ECU, etc. From who ive talked with it seems that I can get about 400 hp or so out of an HO engine, is this true? basically is the extra money for a 351 worth it. Keep in mind this car is not going to be a race car by any means or do I have a quarter mile time set that I want. Just want it to have some nuts.

New heads? 400hp from an HO? I'm confused. Are we talking a stock HO swap (e7 heads, ho cam, etc, etc...)? That will be around 225hp. An explorer engine will get you some more, probably what, 260? Neither of those are going to get you anywhere near 400. If your going with aftermarket heads/cam/intake I can see it happening.

Honestly, if you want a reliable daily driver that still gets good gas mileage and can at least keep up with your average camery, an HO or exploder swap is the way to go.

[87gtVIC]

I am pretty sure he meant that a HO motor can support 400 horsepower when built right.

Mark VII's and Mustang's with 5.0's will have the correct computer for you. They will also have the heads you are after just make sure they are E7's. You can also get GT40 heads p or non p. Cams can come from the explorer's or the mustang's as well as Mark VII's. You will need a bored out EGR spacer with stock Mustang/Mark upper intake with a modified throttle body. You can get the injectors from the explorer's or the stang/ Mark's. I think you would be happy with the extra pep an HO engine will give you.

Similar to what Gadget suggested it is much nicer (imho) to have a nice all around solid vehicle as opposed to one that can go fast but not stop or take turns well.

HO swap, big brakes, rear disks, some new rear gears with Trac Loc, sway bars, new poly bushings everywhere and you will have a GREAT vehicle. That is my plan...but of course I add all little under hood modifications and such that keep one attached and happy with the car.

[91grandmarquis]

Yes I meant it can be built to that, however realistically what can I achieve by getting new heads, I have a cam that came with the car, and various other junkyard specials. Like I said I just want it to have some nuts. Sorry to confuse you.

[91grandmarquis]

Ok so Im sure this info is probably out there in the abyss on the forum somewhere so just scream at me if it is, but does anyone know how much $$ Im looking at to do an HO conversion, If I do the work and go junkyarding to get the parts. Also what vehicle years and models have a 5.0 HO I can strip stuff from? What needs to be rebuilt if i salvage it? various other does and donts that me a "noob" should worry about. Thanks again you guys are usually very helpful.

[pantera77]

You can get most of the HO parts you need usually dirt cheap from mustang guys who are upgrading. Lurk craigslist for good deals. Can get most of the parts you need for under $100.

[91grandmarquis]

Yeah Ive got an ho upper and lower for 40 bucks im going to grab tomorrow, also the guy I bought the car from has like 3 mustang throttle bodies he said I can have, He appreciates me being actually smart about what I do to my car, so in turn he gives me shit loads of parts for free. I always offer him money though, but he never takes it.

[91grandmarquis]

Also does the upper intake being an HO mount in the same direction onto a LOPO or do I mount it as oriented on an HO? meaning re routing the air intake.

[87gtVIC]

Just pop it right on like your original.