late 80's 5.0 HO motor

[marquis_82_withneons]

alright marquis family.. its time to start the hunt. spring time is when i start the build for my 82 Merc. im looking to pick myself up late 80s 5.0 from a fox or markIIV. i am specifically looking for one with the forged/hardened/stronger bottom end. correct me if im wrong but i believe 86+ is what im after as far as the specs go. if you are willing to, and the price is right, i could be willing to pay shipping. i dont know what all that entails but im open to the idea. realistically id be looking for somebody no further than the illinois, michigan, ohio borders to indiana so i ccan pick it up.

what i need.....
-block
-heads
-pan
-waterpump
-anything HO specific

what i dont really need.....
-upper and lower intake
-alternator
-computer and harness
-trans. (unless it would be worth using over my stock one)

what i might need but not sure if it makes any difference.....
-flywheel
-distributor (im assuming no)
-PS pump
-accessory brackets
-torque converter (if its an upgrade from stock panther one)

its probably a long shot but i figured id ask from you all as i trust you more than someone off craigslist. thanks in advance to anyone who can help.

[knucklehead0202]

corral.net would also be a good place to look. Far as bottom ends go, the stock block is really your only limiting factor. Ideally you'd want an '87-up HO because the '86's had shitty heads. 87-92 had forged pistons, rest of the rotating ass'y is cast, although really not a concern unless you're going big power, which leads back around to the block being your main weakness. Depending on whether you're going injected or carb, you'll likely need throttle valve stuff, like the proper cable and what-not. You'll need a later distributor that has the proper gear for use with a roller cam, as having the wrong one can have a bad effect on things.

Another consideration would be what kind of accessory drive you plan to use. HO mustang engines used a single serpentine belt and require a reverse-rotation water pump. If you plan to use LOPO stuff you'll just use a standard-rotation pump. Far as torque converters, I'd upgrade slightly with a low-stall aftermarket converter simply because they're a little stronger and will live longer under hard usage. Also a benefit if you plan on putting in a bigger cam. If you are going EFI, go the extra mile and do it with Mass-air to make it a little more adaptable to performance add-ons without needing to tune. Tuning is, of course, ideal, but not as much a necessity with MAF vs. speed-density. Good luck and looking forward to seeing the build!

adam

[marquis_82_withneons]

the way the plan sits now is im keeping the whole bottom end. ive heard from many sources that the stock 87-92 (thankyou for the correction about the 86) is good for a small amount of boost on a fully stock block. i have plans of a budget centrifugal SC way on down the line. my build is going to be a carbed 4bbl (that will be changed later to support the SC). i will be keeping the roller heads but going for the "E" cam and lifters as that seems to be a good mild upgrade for stock motors. since this is going to be a budget build, its more of a get the car rolliong again task rather than making it fast, but i dont want to have to redo 50 things later down the road. the current acc. drive is serpentine already so i should be able to adapt things easily. when it all comes down to it, im essentially wanting everything to be a mirror setup to my engine now which is the 255.

[pantera77]

Just find a complete junkyard Explorer engine and slap a carb on it if you want to do it cheap and quick.

Those had hypereutectic pistons and can take a decent amount of boost with a good tune. Plus they have heads that aren't complete garbage. And don't run a E cam, letter cams are ancient tech, any decent modern OTS cam nowadays will blow it away

[DerekTheGreat]

So HO cars had the "E" cam? Once I get the house thing figured out I was looking to score a smashed Mark VII but now that I've already got a computer from one I only need the engine. Although I was also thinking of an exploader with upgraded valve springs. In the mean time I've got an HO upper that I've stripped & wire wheeled but can't get the goddam TB & EGR spacer off to save my life. Once I figure out how that will be going on along with my lightining TB & spacer that I bought off Dave. I have a GT40 upper & lower intake with nice paint n stuff in my garage if anyone wants to make me an offer.

[knucklehead0202]

HO motors didn't come with the E-cam Derek, it's just one that many people have laying around in their garage, lol. If anyone wants an e-cam, we'll have on available soon once the motor comes out of the mustang. IMO the Ford "alphabet" cams are shite, but I suppose better than stock. Yeah, a stock 5.0 HO will take modest boost but if you try to crank it up or rev it too much it'll walk the mains and you'll end up with 5.0 stew. Sounds like you've got a solid plan Marquis, just gather your parts methodically and things should come together just fine. I have a similar plan with putting in a mustang motor and later adding a small blower to the mix. Depending on what happens once we get the thing torn down, I may grab a cheap stroker kit and go 347. Torque certainly couldn't hurt in a car this size.

[DerekTheGreat]

Thanks for the clarification. Stroker sounds cool. Depending on what happens I might go that route too, with megasquirt of course. Right now though I'm full of shit & hot air as the house has to come first.

[marquis_82_withneons]

im after street build. it wont be a race car but itll be solid and reliable. im gonna shoot for around the neighborhood of 350 at the wheels after boost. like i said thats way down the road. but im trying to prep for it in the beginning. dads running the F cam in his 84 vic wagon and his bolt ons are a bit better so im not sure if i want to go that route or not. the motor build that i want is like this

-5.0 ho 87-92 (wanna keep with a motor from the box merc era)
-stock, but ported heads
-shelby intake dad has from back in the day
-4bbl, not sure on cfm at the moment but holley or edelbrock will probably be the final decision based on price
-3g alternator (already on my car)
-probably go with the HO waterpump for flow but ill have to figure out the belt routing to with my other box accessories
-probably use a fox torque converter for now until i upgrade tranny
-legit emissions free duals, stock mustang shortys (already on the car) but ill upgrade to 2.25 h pipe over my current 2" straight and ill be running borla with stock tails
-E or F cam as the kit comes with roller lifters. otherwise ill be looking at a set of rollers and call to comp cams resulting in a higher price tag

down the road ill be after a
-passthrough/blowthrough carb whatever its called to go with the SC. probably goin for 5-7 psi nothing crazy
-vortech is gonna be my blower of choice as it jives well with 5.0s, probably the V1
-possibly intercooler.

[86VickyLX]

Fox water pump will not work with box accessories. HD pump works better anyways.

[marquis_82_withneons]

thank you i may have to stick with my original for now then.

[Lincolnmania]

HO's are getting scarce. most of them have 200.000 miles plus

i have been using explorer 302's for years. installed the first one in 2006 which was a complete surplus new engine.

[His Royal Ghostliness]

+1 on the Exploder engines. Main thing with them is that you can get heads that from the factory flow about as good as mildly ported E7s. Of course that depends on the port job, but still, if you're shooting for 300+ you're better off starting with something that can support more flow from the get-go. Especially if a hair dryer is to be added in the mix at some point...

Regarding water pumps, if you're concerned with flow they make heavy-duty high-flow pumps for Panthers, the aluminum version costs about twice as much as the regular stuff but they do work well. IIRC the Doktor's Mk VI got one of those and it moved enough coolant to keep the thing from truly overheating even with an apparently dead fan clutch while climbing a mountain that gives diesels a run for their money. So one of those and a good fan setup and a heavy-duty radiator and you'll be all set in your cooling needs. So pretty much as long as your current engine has the complete accessories setup all that will transfer onto the new engine with whatever individual upgrades (water pump, alternator) you desire. On the other hand they do make bolt-on blower mounts for the Mustang accessory bracketry, IIRC nothing for Panthers tho.

[knucklehead0202]

^^^This is why I plan to go to mustang accessory routing. My buddy works at a shop that can fab the A/C lines I need and another buddy can re-charge my r12 so I don't have to switch to the modern hippy shit that doesn't make it cold enough. Hope to do 3g swap before that so at least part of it is simple but we'll see how it goes.

Far as the build Marquis, why stock mustang headers? Unless you have some already or can get them free, you're just shooting yourself in the foot later. Same goes for heads. Porting ANY stock ford head is about like hanging a new chandelier in a haunted house. Again, if they came with the motor, I get it, but 300-350hp is not the easily-attained number it's made out to be. If you are a gifted tuner, porter, and engine builder extraordinaire, you could probably make it happen without too much money outlay. However, most of us are none of those things, and speed just costs money. I don't plan to build a top-fuel motor, I want the same thing as you; streetable power. I already have heads, cam, and intake, just want to put them on an engine worthy of their potential and a stroker will make more power even if you put shitty stuff on it, but has the potential to make LOTS more with better stuff.

Not proposing you build a stroker motor so much as proposing you put a little bit better stuff on it initially, to avoid the need to improve things down the road. I, for one, hate doing shit twice. If you have a good foundation, slapping a blower on later would meet with much better response. Also consider a main girdle in that block. It won't prevent Armageddon if you get silly with boost, but will prolong things for sure. Up to 10 or so lbs you should be fine. I plan to stick 10-12 with an intercooled centrifugal through this thing down the road. Long as there's no detonation, there's no problem really, just keep the revs conservative.

[marquis_82_withneons]

explorer 5.0's are more plentiful where im at. so that could be an option i suppose. but the above gentleman made a good point about the bolt on kit for mustang bracketry. if thats the case then ill have to locate the bracketry alone and do something with the a/c as i DO plan to keep it. im planning to keep stock headers cause its what i have. same with heads. whatever heads are on the motor is what ill use, ported of course, but ill use them either way because of the "free" price point. i dont have 200 to throw at a set of BBK which dad bought and are very nice and well worth it, i just dont have ANY extra to work with. and i for damn certain cant bring myself to spend hundreds on a set of heads. i know whole heartedly they are better in every way, but the price is just not anywhere NEAR ideal for anyone IMO. i mean shit, the heads alone would be more than what i paid for my 88 marquis that i drove home!

the only thing that worries me with the explorer block is the difference in years. i know everyone says its the same block and im sure it is, but i have to have a garuntee that everything is direct fit, all bolts fit perfect and no issues or whatever. on top of that i know the explorer heads have the weird plug angle meaning i need oddball plug wires. i just dont want a mismatched pile of shit to the point where i need a tune up and have to remember the parts from 4 different vehicles when i walk into an autozone for basic crap

idk guys. im kinda confused now after all of that.

[knucklehead0202]

Bah, you'll be fine. For the most part, a 5.0 is a 5.0, and while they may list certain things for certain cars different, a good amount of it will interchange. Mustang will be out of storage soon so we'll get to test that out in practice too, as I've got a few things I need to test out on it before making the transition into the box. Anyhow, rock on buddy, I'd say you're on the right track and you can figure out the rest as you move along.