H.O. Upper stuff swap on LoPo - Does this produce noticable gains?

[DerekTheGreat]

I forget what Mr B. had as far as torque, but mine was about dead on 150hp and 150ft/lbs at the wheels. The CFI cam is probably the same as SEFI, but my 85 came to me with a '86 roller block in it anyway (long story).
You can use your stock fuel rail and all, that is all attached to the lower intake.
All you need is the upper intake, a stock EGR spacer bored to match, and the mustang TB with a box lever swapped onto it. I betcha someone here has a bored spacer and swapped TB ready to go that they could sell... I used to until I put them on the 91, lol.

I like long stories, hell, all of posts end up long winded even if I try to keep them short!
Glad to know stock stuff works and all I need is the HO Upper intake, bored LoPo EGR spacer & stang TB or 'sploader TB. Dave's got a TB but not everything else so if you know someone who does...

Same set up. I just painted it some time back.

I have stuff for sale..

http://www.grandmarq.net/vb/showthre...-Throttle-Body

The throttle body currently does not have the panther linkage on it. I am intending on painting the throttle body too. I just got back from three weeks out on the road. Just want to relax a bit before I get back into the groove of fixing thing and painting things.

PM sent

[HiFiMerc]

Here's why I had to use a spacer.

LoPo upper on the left, HO upper on the right. Notice the EGR passage comes down quite a bit further on the HO one. The LoPo one sits pretty much flush.



Maybe my fuel rails stick up just a bit further than others. It only needed about an 1/8" to sit proper on the lower.


I don't know.

[gadget73]

some hit, some don't. The ones that don't tend to touch, or maybe nobody noticed and they are now slightly bent from being bolted down. Its not a great amount of interference either way, and aluminum goes away rapidly if you hit it with a file.

[HiFiMerc]

Could be I mocked it up on a Holley lower instead of the stock lower. I have one of both floating around here. Maybe that was it. Maybe the aftermarket one is just different enough.

I swapped uppers over a year ago, so I can't remember for sure.

[85crownHPP]

Hhhmmmm.... now I want to go look at my clearance on the '91! I didn't notice anything funny when I installed it... I did use a upper-to-lower spacer on the '85, only because the upperstuff I bought came with one.

[Bobcat]

I may have done a little better if it wasn't burning so much oil

That was a lot of oil.


Looked like a smoke stack on a goddamn coal plant.

[Mr.Blue]

Looked like a smoke stack on a goddamn coal plant.

Lol.................at least he wasnt accused of "rollin coal" like a diesel..............

[gadget73]

it was blue, not black. The modular guys would be more familiar with that sort of coloring.

[sly]

Yeah. The 93 would puff on startup. Never smoked once warm though.

[DerekTheGreat]

I want to thank you guys for all your responses and tips! Slowly but surely I am learning the ways for mother Ford!

[Mr.Blue]

Might as well do the whole swap while you're at it............better yet just do the gt40 stuff...........or if doing intake/tb only just go ahead and do the exploder...........

[Bobcat]

Yup, exploder motor drop in is the best choice.


200$ on a motor is better than all the time and shit to do everything else. Then worrying if it breaks on first start up.

Junkyard "Crate" motor.

[knucklehead0202]

Thanks for the info pantera. Long as I can get a hold of this guy, I'm going to buy an '89 today that looks pristine. 90k on the clock, ice cold air, just passed smog, etc. Gonna take it around the block then hand the guy 1200 bucks.

Far as mods go, I hate working on stuff just to put boring stock crap back on. I know I'll see an improvement just with the HO upper but I'm all about upgrading. My brother is swapping the motor out of his 89 mustang in a few months so I may have a gt40-headed long block to work with, and maybe the edelbrock intake too! Are '89 vics speed density or mass air? I know it's 89 or 90 they switched over but can never remember. Guess i'll find out in a few hours. Wish me luck! Oh yeah, already ordered and received brass TV bushings. Got a 4-pack for 10 bucks. Anyone need one?

[DerekTheGreat]

Yup, exploder motor drop in is the best choice.


200$ on a motor is better than all the time and shit to do everything else. Then worrying if it breaks on first start up.

Junkyard "Crate" motor.

Aren't those mass air? Whats involved to get that to work? Wouldn't I have to use a stand alone cruise module thing? I'm not looking to win drag races, just better feel all over. Don't get me wrong, I'd love to do all full swap it's just I don't have the tools and space. Plus the car got swiped two times in the past 8 months so I had both sides painted, pin stripes redone, A/C needs to be overhauled, rear window fixed, looking into K code rear swap, saving for a house and I want to get the 69 Plymouth going again. Junkyard HO would look like garbage in my engine bay unless I overhaul that thing which is a lot more money. Look at my profile to see how my engine bay currently is, would you guys still swap a nasty HO in there?

Thanks for the info pantera. Long as I can get a hold of this guy, I'm going to buy an '89 today that looks pristine. 90k on the clock, ice cold air, just passed smog, etc. Gonna take it around the block then hand the guy 1200 bucks.

Far as mods go, I hate working on stuff just to put boring stock crap back on. I know I'll see an improvement just with the HO upper but I'm all about upgrading. My brother is swapping the motor out of his 89 mustang in a few months so I may have a gt40-headed long block to work with, and maybe the edelbrock intake too! Are '89 vics speed density or mass air? I know it's 89 or 90 they switched over but can never remember. Guess i'll find out in a few hours. Wish me luck! Oh yeah, already ordered and received brass TV bushings. Got a 4-pack for 10 bucks. Anyone need one?

Ashley's 89 TC is SD

[pantera77]

Might as well do the whole swap while you're at it............better yet just do the gt40 stuff...........or if doing intake/tb only just go ahead and do the exploder...........

Without a doubt that's they way to do it, but not everyone here wants to be tearing their engine down to a short block or swapping in HO's/Explorer's.
Personally I think lopo's are underrated. A bolted out one will run mid 16's-high 15's which is still slow as hell, but not bad for an engine that made 150hp new.
For those looking for a cheap easy upgrade, the complete HO upper is pretty high on the list. Also, it's a really good time to do lower intake gaskets while your in there.

Thanks for the info pantera. Long as I can get a hold of this guy, I'm going to buy an '89 today that looks pristine. 90k on the clock, ice cold air, just passed smog, etc. Gonna take it around the block then hand the guy 1200 bucks.

Far as mods go, I hate working on stuff just to put boring stock crap back on. I know I'll see an improvement just with the HO upper but I'm all about upgrading. My brother is swapping the motor out of his 89 mustang in a few months so I may have a gt40-headed long block to work with, and maybe the edelbrock intake too! Are '89 vics speed density or mass air? I know it's 89 or 90 they switched over but can never remember. Guess i'll find out in a few hours. Wish me luck! Oh yeah, already ordered and received brass TV bushings. Got a 4-pack for 10 bucks. Anyone need one?

Only 91 Cali spec cars were mass air. If you have access to a complete HO longblock that's definitely the way to go.
And that's the great thing about boxes, they are worthless. You can find a nice creampuff for ~$1k,