hey everybody. im new to these forums and i have some questions about my thunderbird. i drive a 1988 lx 5.0. i have been looking around a little bit and have already found some useful information. my car is bone stock except i just installed an electric fan this weekend, but i havent got to drive it much yet. my questions are
1. do you think just 1 16" fan will cool it?
2. is there any CHEAP ways to get more power out of it?
3. what headers will fit it
4. what aftermarket intakes will fit it
5. if i convert it to mass air will i see a performance increase?
i think thats all the questions i have for right now. lol i will probably think of some more here in like 5 minutes. anyways, any answers will be appreciated. thanks
Do the H.O upgrade.With the stock Mustang H.O cam,headers,H.O Speed Density computer,and injectors (along with dual exhaust),it'll really surprise you,and,the whole deal can be done in an afternoon.You really don't need Mass Air unless you're swapping heads and going to a larger cam.I have the injectors,cam,and computer.The headers can be found for super cheap on Ebay or over on the Corral.They're fine for what you need.You may also want to pick up an H.O upper intake throttlebody,and throttlebody spacer.They too can be found for very little money.
By the way,when I talk "cheap" power upgrades by doing the H.O upgrade,I'm taking under $250-$300.00.For that money,you can't beat the H.O upgrade.
HO upgrade, true duel exhaust, U/D pullies, CAI.
What intakes do you want to know will fit?? If you mean the intake tube, intakes for mustangs will fit, same thing with the upper and lower, 5.0 mustang intakes fit, mustang motor upgrades will work.
mustang headers fit, and h pipes.
Anything you can do to a Mustang enngine you can do to ours.
Anything you can do to a Mustang enngine you can do to ours.
so you are saying do the HO cam and intake w/o changing
to the 87 heads[incl 19# injectors]. should then make it about
like the 86 HO motor. will the stock fuel pump handle it?
[one more stupid ? asked by me].--irv
so you are saying do the HO cam and intake w/o changing
to the 87 heads[incl 19# injectors]. should then make it about
like the 86 HO motor. will the stock fuel pump handle it?
[one more stupid ? asked by me].--irv
OOPS!
no you wanna upgrade to e7 heads!
Well,the E-7 heads (Mustang or 5.0 EFI pickup heads......351 EFI heads from a truck,but you'd need the head bolt inserts because the 351 head bolts are larger)),are a good upgrade (I think about 20-25 horsepower),but if you're going CHEAP (which he asked about),the E-6 heads will work,and you'd still feel a great power increase (the E-7 heads can always be added at a later date when more money is available).If you look around at the boneyards,you can get the pickup heads for cheap.For some crazy reason,Mustang E-7 heads cost more than the truck heads,even though they are the same things (stupid but true).Around here,there's a metal s yard ( a cheap source for parts)and they get cars and trucks all the time.They sell the parts like heads for the going rate per pound of iron (cheap !!!!).The actual car parts like plastic,sensors,injectors and all that is $4.00 for the first 20 pounds,and pro-rated after that.You can find awesome parts if you look around.
double post,sorry.
thanks for all the advice so far guys. i was kind of thinking about gt40 heads down the road a little bit also if they will work on this motor. one more question, does anybody know of a place on the motor that i can put a water temp gauge sensing unit in. i took the one for the original temperature gauge and put the sensor for my thermostat for my electric fan and im trying to find another hole that i can put my temperature gauge sensor in. if there is no other places i will probably drill out the water neck by the distributor and tap it and put it in there.
oh, i guess i forgot to mention that i already have cut the back cat out of the exhaust and custom fabbed up a straight 2.5" straight pipe from the in front of the cat back to the axle. when i got the car the exhaust was broken off right in front of where i guess it splits. it isnt anything great but it will last me untill i get headers, then im going with duals. will a mustang exhaust fit? or will i have to custom fab up my own?
I wouldn't chance it.....
http://www.foxtbirdcougarforums.com/showthread.php?t=13859
To each his own, but unless they are at least ported, or someone gave me a set for free(and I couldn't afford better), I'd never swap the E6 for E7s... Spend a little money and get a set of Trick Flows, they work fine with the flat top pistons and will make 50-60 more HP than E7s... This of course assumes other systems are upgraded as well, so you could take advantage of the better breathing heads...
IF you stay with stockish HO components, forget the Mass Air... A stock HO runs harder on Speed Densety than on Mass Air...
how much do you want for the injectors, cam, and computer? i have seen the headers on ebay and i noticed that you can find some for buy it now for under $40 so i might have to buy a pair soon. the thing is that if i do this stuff i want to have everything sitting here so i can do it all at one time.
I'd take $145.00 shipped.The computer is a DA1,the best Speed density computer.The injectors are the better 4 hole design,and the cam is in great shape,no scars,scratches or damage what-so-ever.
By the way,I MAY have an H.O fuel pump (no promises),and if I do (pretty sure I do),I'll toss it in the box for you,no extra charge.I'll I ask is that you buy the parts and leave honest feedback when you get the parts.
i dont have the money right now but i have the cat that came off my car that im taking to s hopefully soon so if you still have the computer, cam and injectors then i should be able to buy them.
Speaking of E6 heads
http://www.aeroheadracing.com/id4.html
Geesh how big are the chambers on a stock E6 or E7 head? My GT40Ps have a 60cc chamber and that's as big as I'd want to go NA.
I'm thinking that has to be a typo...they must mean 58cc's because the chambers should only be 64cc's stock...and milling them isn't going to enlarge the chambers...lol....doesn't look like any chamber work was done, so I'd assume it was a typo.
I've been looking for the reference. Almost everything I've seen has said that they are in fact 68-69 CC stock. Makes sense with the 86 Flat top piston HO motors having the same compression as their E7 headed brothers with valve reliefs. I had a great online reference for it once.....I've yet to find it again. I hate it when that happens.....
What I've seen on the '86 HO's spec 9.2, which is a bit more than the 8.9 - 9.0 I see for E7 headed 5.0s...
I have one more question. lol does anybody know if the radiator out of a 1988 mustang will fit in my 1988 thunderbird? i was just wondering because aluminum radiators for mustangs are cheaper than aluminum radiators for thunderbirds on ebay and i need to have my stock radiator fixed or replaced. i just added that to this thread because i didnt want to start a whole new thread just for this question
AFIK, they're the same rad... Virtually anything that fits under the hood of a Stang will fit our cars... Of course most engine components require other parts to complete the install...
does anybody on here run an aluminum radiator? if so would a 1 row aluminum radiator cool a mildly modified 302? my car is stock right now but i plan on doing some work on it soon and i need to get a radiator and the 1 row is cheaper but i dont want to save money now if its gonna cost me even more later