Budget Project Questions- 5.0 or 4.6??

[DHG1078]

You need a forged crank for the modular motors to do better than 420-450 hp safely. Iron block is heavy, but you can get a cheap, strong, and light aluminum block out of a lincoln or mustang depending on if you want a teksid or WAP block.

Ported stock heads still do well. The trick flow heads are great if you want to spin tons of RPM, but for a budget there is nothing wrong with ported stock castings. They will easily reach well over 500 hp.

 

[jaxbusa]

You need a forged crank for the modular motors to do better than 420-450 hp safely. Iron block is heavy, but you can get a cheap, strong, and light aluminum block out of a lincoln or mustang depending on if you want a teksid or WAP block.

Ported stock heads still do well. The trick flow heads are great if you want to spin tons of RPM, but for a budget there is nothing wrong with ported stock castings. They will easily reach well over 500 hp.

Interesting, I always heard that the stock cranks are good for 600. The problem I have with ported stock heads is that for just couple hundred more you can get the Trick Flow heads.

 

[Blkkbgt]

You need a forged crank for the modular motors to do better than 420-450 hp safely. Iron block is heavy, but you can get a cheap, strong, and light aluminum block out of a lincoln or mustang depending on if you want a teksid or WAP block.

Ported stock heads still do well. The trick flow heads are great if you want to spin tons of RPM, but for a budget there is nothing wrong with ported stock castings. They will easily reach well over 500 hp.

You do not need a forged crank, period. If you do some searching you'll find that the limit is somewhere north of 600 as there are plenty of people pushing them past that number.

Ported stock heads are also not needed when dealing with a boosted application. Plenty of stock PI headed cars out there making north of 500 with stock heads and blower/turbo cams.

 

[clc44]

I have a 94 with an HCI and if I did it all over again I would go with either a fox or a new edge. The 94-95's are a pain in the ass to tune and the amount of specific things you have to find and rig in the 94-95 engine bay for it to fit is ridiculous (Intake Elbow, Hood Clearance....). The pushrod 5.0 is getting old fast and takes a lot of money and effort to make fast (HCI, Stroker Kit and Boost). Your SHO with a Livernois tune, intake and exhaust would whip most stock bottom end HCI 5.0's. Like previously stated, I would try to find a 32 valve from a Lincoln and swap it in an sn95 or I would just look hard for a 96-98 Cobra. Oh, and of course boost the 32 valve, because they love boost and can handle tons of it. If your financially able to, I would look for a azure blue Mach 1 and procharge it

Very well said! I had an 04 Mach 1 but got tired of it. If I get any power adder it'll be the On3 turbo kit. I want an Auto, that's why I'm not sure I'll look into a 96-98 Cobra. If I could make 400-500 with a lighter car, it would be a fun street car that could run mid 11's all day. High 10's would be fun, but wouldn't see the track much. I'm off of looking for a 94-95. Thanks! I may try and find an auto mach.

 

[clc44]

So many good opinions on here. I battled this a couple years ago and went with a 2001 Bullitt. I have a friend that had a stock bottom end fox with heads, cam, intake and a turbo. The combo didn't last long until it split his block. As stated above, an aftermarket block is expensive, but other parts for the old 5.0 are cheap and many used parts are out there. I would recommend trying to find someone's project car where they spent some cash on it already.

Compare the cost of parts required to get you to your goal. Many of the parts are the same, but let's look at the differences:

The fox has forged pistons from the factory but requires an aftermarket block. Only needs one cam and the cost of aftermarket heads are reasonable. Isn't the wheel well smaller than a new edge?

The new edge will require forged pistons and stronger rods but block is good quality. The 2 Valve has only one expensive aftermarket head option and you have the cost of two cams. Any turbo option that I've found will require you to buy approximately $2,000 worth of k-member. It has a crap returnless fuel system.

If I were to do it all over again, I would go with a new edge Cobra to get the 4 Valve, independent rear and bigger brakes. When I was in the market for a project car the Cobras were just too much money.

I think I could have the stock heads cleaned up, throw a Victor intake on it with the on3 kit and call it a day. Easy 400-450 rwhp. That's kind of my goal for a starting point. Maybe later build the engine and upgrade turbos.

 

[Livernois Motorsports]

Hello,

I just sold my '13 Full Bolt On Coyote A6. That being said I picked up a low mileage '13 SHO performance package. Now that I have a great DD. I'm looking to start a slow project. If I were looking for a budget build, goal being turbo 500+ rwhp. Which platform is the best to start? I want an auto and an on3 kit is cheap for both platforms. Which motor needs more beefing up? I know the 4.6 is limited to 400-450 before becoming a bomb, not sure on the 5.0.

I've looked at the 331/347 stroker options. What are the best options for both?? I know that 94/95's can be found for 2-5k very easily and the 99-04's are coming down in price.

My thoughts are turbo for sure. Which engine would be budget friendly to beef up to see around 500rwhp with the help of a turbo. I think that would make a nice 10 sec street car with suspension and on a diet.

Thanks for any help!!

I see you got yourself an SHO we have an amazing tune for these and many other bolt on parts as well as meth injection and upgraded turbos and these cars pick up great power and react extremely well to tunes and they arent very expensive to build with minor bolt ons!