So, yesterday I went to get some nice Turbines off of craigslist, and the guy had a few boxes of Mustang parts. I've been wanting to do a SEFI, mass air swap and be done with my antiquated CFI system. So I bought a lower intake, upper intake, and a throttlebody. I also bought an E303 cam. I got a hell of a deal, just 60 bucks for the aformentioned parts, and 150 for the Turbines (probably not as much of a deal). Sadly he didn't have any exhaust or transmission parts.
Now, from what I read, the E303 might be a bit much for what I'm planning on doing. My car is my daily driver, no ifs ands or buts. I want a car that will pull hard from idle to 5K while still getting me no less than 15 MPG. I was thinking I could trade the E303 for a stock HO cam, but then I got thinking. My 84 block isn't a roller block. And it needs to be. I've read that I can buy a spider that will allow me to use roller lifters, which seems like what I want to do. But then I read some more into the subject, and apparently there is such a thing as a "small base" and "large base" cam? And there's no way at all I can use my 84 block with a large base cam?
I'm still all new to this, what say you? Will I need to buy an 85 or newer shortblock if I'm going to attempt to use a hydraulic roller cam? Or can I have a machine shop do some machining to make my 84 block accept a large base cam? Or am I just over thinking this...Oh, and I want to do a T5 swap at the same time; I've got more plans than money right now. :D
I might be interested in your CFI. I am building a megasquirt system, I have a chevy system now, might be interested in the ford. Send me a PM when you get it stripped off the car.
PS. On my coug I have World Windsor Jr heads, Typhoon intake, 19#, A9L and MAF, flat top pistons, and a Trickflow Stage 1 cam, T5 and 2.73 gears (yeash....3.73s on the way). I get at around 16-17 in city traffic. Much better on the freeway. The CFI is for my 67 mustang coupe.
IMHO there are better cams out there than the ford letter cams. I kinda wish I had just kept the stock HO cam and advanced it. Check out clickclick (http://"http://www.clickclickracing.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?22-Engine-Tech") and I will try to dig up another site that is good reference. With my TFS1 i have to idle around 900 to 1000 or the computer bitches and hunts for an idle. Very annoying. I need a tune but since its my beater, it probably will never get it.
There are some very good non-roller camshafts out there. If you plan to go cheap and use your existing engine, seek out one of those. Minimizes downtime. You will need new heads though. A cam won't help much without better heads. Otherwise, what I did was I bought a used mustang engine on CL and slowly built it up on a stand. Then swapped it in one weekend. The mustang engine will get you at least the E7 heads which are better than the E6s you have on it now.
I'd say a stock HO cam will be hard to beat for off idle power, but i can't recall when it runs out of steam...an E cam makes more power at a higher RPM...
For a daily, I'd probably stay with the HO cam, it's what I have, and no complaints...
I've got a speed density eec from a Mark VII if you decide to not go to mass air....
You will be better off with a roller block from an 85+ car. I think the Crown Vics had them this early as well. E cam is not that big of a cam and you can retard it to build some bottom end torque quicker.
E Cam Specs here:
http://www.fordracingparts.com/download/charts/85.pdf
Stock HO cam speces here:
http://forums.mustangworks.com/f8/5-0-stock-cam-specs-3083/
http://forums.mustangworks.com/f80/stock-5-0-roller-cam-specs-49778/
http://www.stangnet.com/mustang-forums/577332-factory-camshaft-theory.html - look at post #6
http://www.allfordmustangs.com/forums/5-0l-tech/62897-stock-cam-specs.html - again TMoss really knows his stuff.
Hope that helps.
Darren
I'll definitely keep all my CFI stuff for you, 88CougarGT, but I wouldn't hold your breath. This is gonna take at least a month or two. At least. I want to have all my ducks in a row before I tackle this project, because I'll need to drive it to work Monday morning. I'm gonna have to get a roller block, I don't want flat tappets. Sure they get the job done, but I think the extra dough will be worth it. Maybe I'll try to find an Explorer engine.
Thanks for the links Aerocoupe, I'll give them a read.
It's ok. My mustang has no fenders, battery, coolant, alternator, electrical system, or floors. So it might be a while before I need anything anyway.
Haha, alright then. The CFI stuff is all yours once I go ahead with my plans.
My E303 HATED the stock torque converter. The cam was great though.
will keep an eye on your progress.
i'm amazed at the mid series changes that were done to these cars.
You can actually run a standard roller cam in a non roller block. You just need these: http://www.summitracing.com/parts/TFS-21400006/ They are taller than stock lifters so you will need to measure pushrod length. The advantage is you won't need the spider and retainers or a reduced base circle cam.
Wow, those are expensive. Definitely an option, but let's face it; I bought my Thunderbird for less money than those lifters. I think I could find a used short/long block for less than that.