As you all know, I'm rebuilding my car.
I'm also swapping the 3.8 for a 5.0.
I'm currently collecting parts for a HO upgrade and my question is....
what type of cam to get?
where to get one?
and, how do I know what kind to get?
This isn't going to be a race car. but it's not going to be a DD either
any help would be appreciated as I know almost nothing about building a motor.
Thanks,
Jerry
honestly if your doing a stock HO motor than just stick with the stock HO cam. You would be better off spending the money on a nice set of headers,catback exhaust, or 373's
I really wouldn't do an HO personally. If I was you I would be looking into a nice explorer longblock with explorer gt-40 intake and gt-40p heads and pick out a nice cam to bring it all together.
+1
works very well, I got a 80k mile explorer long block at the J/Y with intake throttle body fuel injectors and even ex. manifolds for $450.
Honestly if you want a whole new motor go here http://www.fordstrokers.com/
But as far as cams go E303 sound great but i must say avoid it and Get a Trick Flow Stage 1 cam my neighbor has it in his 331 fox body stang makes 380RWHP its a nice fast car but still can be a Daily Drive except its got to much money in it so he drives it very little.
I am looking to put gt-40 heads on it no matter what. and working up to the explorer intake. (if that makes sense).
I still have a lot of work ahead before I even pull the 3.8 out.
I also would like some opinions of which way to go.
Right now I have
standard 5.0 in my parts bird
HO intake and injectors
I don't want to get to much stuff I can't use, If I can go in a better direction. But I also would like to use the parts I have, or at least the motor
Is this car gonna be a 5 speed or auto?
The bird has a C-6 that i'm planning on using, along with the drive shaft
Depending on how much more cam you want; an aftermarket torque converter would greatly benefit. It's extra cost you'll wanna think about.....
I have the gt40 irons and the TFS-1 cam, very happy.
As for the e303 cam don’t have any experience w/it but I heard if your thinking of it-don’t its old tech plenty of reads at corral over the e303 guys are giving them away there.
Actually now that I think about it I now guy who bought a create motor from ford w/alm heads and e303 cam and he wasn’t happy till he swapped the cam to a comp cam he said it was night and day.
Trickflow stage on for sure,hands down the best entry level cam.
Should work well for what you plan as well.
Question though and i've been wondering this for a while??,how are you going to use a c6 behind your 302(big block bellhousing) and why would you downgrade to a 3 speed????
If you flycut the so pistons,you will have lots of options.
With your talent it would be a breeze!
He has a small block c6,its in a parts car he has bolted to a 302.
dont worry
hes gonna be using gt40 heads and intake ;)
If you are going to bolt the h/c/i onto the 302 from your parts car then I would suggest rebuilding the bottom end first. Also if you are using the auto make sure with what ever cam you go with that you get a converter to match. I should have when I did mine :flame:
If you're not going to be racing the car then I would just stick a HO cam in it or something that is similar. For the street you want low end torque. It'll be much more fun that way ;)
Leave to stock cam and have twice the torque at 1500 rpm's and throw the rest of the h.o. stuff in except computer and get a adj. fpr.
You mean the SO cam?
LOL!
Twice the torque @ 1500?!
If you say so......what about after 2500? I guess it has more there too.... :rolleyes:
You stated “This isn't going to be a race car. But it's not going to be a DD either”
The HO cam does build power but to a level are you looking for something w/a little lump to it. Remember your motor is going to be apart that’s the difficult part the $200 bucks on a cam should not be 2nd guessed.
I guess the only way to explain it is...
I don't want it to be the fastest car on the block, but I want some power to say "look what I can do".
I suppose anything is going to seem fast compared to a 3.8.
I'm thinking explorer heads and mabe intake along with a decent cam might be enough for the next couple years.
I've never driven it more then 200 miles a year before it got put away.
If I feel a real need for speed after that, I can always build another motor and replace this one.
So many choices.......sigh
I'm guessing that my problem is not knowing anything about motors to start with.
It probably would be good to at least be in a car that has some of the stuff that everyone has suggested.
It would give me a better idea of what the car acts like too.
Well, I still have plenty of time to figure this out. I still need to put the back end of the car on, and I'm trying to stay ahead to the projects to come.
with all the comments on the E-303, I would almost have to agree. If I would have thought things through a little more I would have never put one in my car. At one point I almost pulled it back out of the block before I put the engine in the car. Then I decided to risk PTV interference and run 1.7 RRs. Never checked it just hoped it worked. It did and I'm happy with it so far. It makes decent torque at barely over 2k rpm with power all the way to 6k. It'll pull any hill I've run into in 6th gear at rpm's as low as 1600. Still, after I get everything else finished up, it may still get replaced.
I don't doubt the superiority of the TFS-1, but what else does he have in that thing other than 331 cu. in.?
Really if it's going to be a street car with GT40 heads/intake don't go and pick the biggest cam for it. You WILL be dissapointed. Instead I would run a stock HO cam or something just a bit bigger, like I have. However don't forget to think about injector size with what ever combo you use. I'm running 19s but they are really close to maxing out under WOT at stock fuel pressure. I will probably be going with 24s next year so I don't have to worry about fuel starvation and I have some extra breathing room in case I do any *upgrades* ;)
I have the TFS-1 cam and still have 19bl injectors no problems. It’s not that aggressive I call it a better "E" cam that’s all, or a better than stock replacement call it what you want. I also ran it w/the stock converter for a while (now I know all converters are different but the car ran well.
Long story short a few years back I broke a bolt in the timing cover so I figured while I was their Ill upgrade the cam. That was my only motor upgrade stock trany too and I was happy. that’s why I call it a stock upgrade.
But you should know that an HO transplant was already made (completely stock).
Now, I'm thinking mabe I should just swap the 3.8 with the clunky bearings for the stock 302 in the bird. and build another motor in the mean time. All the tough work will be out of the way and changed over, plus I can take my time and save up for some decent parts and block
If it wasn't for the bearing in my 3.8, I would leave that in there until I built something else. but there's 0 oil pressure now, and the clock is ticking to its last and final clunk.
I'm not trying to go the cheap route, just trying to make the right choice in parts. and I don't want to cut corners either.
You can get by with 19s but they are past the *ideal* 80% duty cycle range. It won't hurt to run the injectors at even a 100% duty cycle but you won't have much extra capacity with the 19s for "upgrades" you may do in the future.
If the 302 in the parts T-bird is in good shape then I say go for it. It's better to build what you want then to throw something together just to get it running.
That being said...s the C6...literally...take it apart and s it...the C6 has to be one of the most power hungry transmissions I've ever seen....anything is better...save up for a T-5 swap...they can be had pretty cheap if you keep your eyes open...plus it makes even the SO kind fun to drive...lol.
Good luck,
Don
I'm not really a T-5 kinda guy. LOL
Would there be any problem with using my AOD from the 3.8
Thunderjet302;
yes It would probably be healthy to upgrade to bigger injectors I do have junk ones from a 460 their 24blers but I have no mass air and the car is running alright for now.
daminc:
If you’re questioning your self the advice I can tell you is if you looking to restore and upgrade 5.0/302 is the way to go not 3.8 so make it stock and simple for now. Get a junk/running 5.0HO motor clean it up get it in there and get the wiring right. In the mean time decide how you want your motor to be built and slowly build it when the time comes put it in. And as for the C6 theirs nothing wrong w/ the AOD there upgrades for that as well.
My rebuilt 302 is similar I really wanted a heavy HP351 but I couldn’t find the right block in time and money was tight, but I had a hurt motor so I just rebuilt my 302 w/junk yard HP. This is reliable and powerful enough for now so money can go other places. I figure 10 years the car will be done and ill build the motor I want.
My total spending was under 1500 for the rebuild ex. Paid $100 a head GT40 off explorer.
Hers my build
http://foxtbirdcougarforums.com/showthread.php?t=17223
I think Thats the smart way too do this entire job. This way I can still swap rear and front ends and still put the motor together a little at a time.
The entire car rebuilding is the priority, this time around.
After the car is put together and running properly, Then I'll worry about the motor upgrade
If I get enough standard HO parts together for real cheap, I'll toss those on this 302 before I swap it.
you should be able to get the whole motor cheap from mustang LSC or explorer the only thing is the explorer motors you probably want to change the cam here we are again. try and stick w/a stang or LSC.
And if fuel injection is staying w/you in the future look for a mass motor car maybe as a package it might be cheaper to convert not critical though, any motor can be converted later.
Thanks guys, I think I have a plan now.
That’s all there worth
When you go to the bone/junkyard ask for 96 or 97 explorer heads and that’s what you get when you ask for gt40 heads off a explorer for your mustang the price might go up depending on the yard.
Long story short there a little less common than the E7 head. the “p”s are easer to find.
one last ?
If I do find an Explorer motor for a good price, Is there any particular year to get, or stay away from?
96-97&1/2 regular GT40 heads and an internal EGR intake.
97&1/2-01(ish) GT40P heads and external EGR intake.
If you don't have to keep emissions either engine will work but if you do go for the early style with internal EGR. Neither will have provisions for the Thermactor system though as the holes in the back of the heads aren't open. My engine is a *hybrid*. It has GT40P heads but the early style internal EGR intake. The GT40P heads flow a bit better and make a bit more power than the GT40 heads but they have to use GT40P specific headers (I used the set from FRPP that are stainless steel which are really nice pieces). The GT40P headers will require that you either *grind* down the top of the driver's side motor mount a bit or use Chucks motor mounts for clearance.
Also remember that you can only use the block/heads/intake from the Explorer engine. The water pump, timing cover, oil pan, and oil pump pickup must all be swapped over from a FOX chassies car. You also need a TFI distributer from a roller cam 5.0 car as well as at least a stock HO roller cam, as the Explorer cam sucks.
It's never the last ??
LOL
I know, I got a couple more coming.
Explore valve cover look like azz. For cheap get stang or LSC aluminum valve covers and paint them.
That’s what I did more junk parts.
(http://i266.photobucket.com/albums/ii266/BillyInnes/DSC00943.jpg)