WJL

Ok, so where do you plan to go from here. Just asking because i kind of have the same situation. I'm going to pull the motor at the end of fall to completely rebuild it.

From reading your post you are going to have more than $3,200.00 in parts alone (not including machine shop costs) and hoping the cylinders will clean up at 0.20 with zero horsepower added, assuming you will be reusing your TB, plenum, cai and intake, COP's and so on.

unless you are thinking of upgrading to Forced Induction you really have to consider a new short block. BTW if you are considering forced induction there are a few more things to consider KB supercharger = $8K the supercharger itself is worth more than the car. Even if you go centrifuge it will still cost you around $4K or so you will also need a $379.00 tuner unless you already have one.

For me i'm considering the following:

Rebuild my engine reusing the crank, rods and pistons including the rings, i recently replaced the rod bearings and got a good look at the cylinders which still has factor crosshatching.

Things i already have:

PI heads from a 2003 Explorer
P.P. 75mm TB
COP's from the Explorer
BBK Shorty equal length headers
Magnaflow 2 1/2" S.S. true dual exhaust.
Pink 21lb/h fuel injectors
Melling lash adjusters
valve seals

Things i need:
Complete gasket kit. $250.00
Head, rod and crank bolts (Ford rod Bolts $40.00, Head Bolts $50.00 Crank 40.00 Jack screws another $40.00
Cold air intake $100.00

Things i want:

P.P. 75mm Plenum $129.00
FRPP intake $259.00
Tuner $379.00

That takes me to around $1,500.00 however i will gain some ponies based on the tuner. It will be interesting to see where you land and how much it costs. I think your post will be eye opening for some folks on this forum. Again good luck

VTX1800N1

Actually, I think you missed a few things.

First, we are going with all forged internals, other than the crank. We are re-using the stock crank. It should be good for 600 HP anyway, and we are upgrading the bottom end to ARP studs and side bolts which will substantially strengthen it. The pistons are Manley forged with full floating pins (unlike the pressed pin stockers) and the rods are 4340 forged ModMax units again with ARP 2000 fasteners.

Second, with the smaller piston dish, we are bumping the compression from the stock 9.7 to 10.53. That, combined with either 89 or 91 octane fuel (depends on knock sensitivity once we get it back together) will certainly be good for a few ponies. Combine that with the .020 over bore. I figure we might possibly see 40HP over stock from that alone.

Third, we are going with a lightweight flywheel. It's an aluminum and steel unit from SPEC. It should be half the weight of the stock unit. While it doesn't add HP to the engine, it should free up some because HP is a measure of how fast the engine can accelerate. It won't affect torque, however.

His car booked out at $6500 NADA if it had been running, as is (Premium GT, 5-speed manual, Mach 1000 audio system, 143K miles). He paid $2400 for it. Yes, we are putting a lot into the engine, but it will be better than new when we are done. The cost for the radiator support fix will be ~$400, so that's not too bad. If he has enough money at the time, I know where he can get a set of long tube headers and shorty cat H pipe for $900. That would really wake this motor up with the higher compression. He might be in the 330 - 350 HP range at that point with a tune. He will have paid every bit of that $6500 value, but will have a much better car built for long term reliability.

It's really all the little things that add up the cost of a rebuild. Hopefully, with all the time and money he will have sunk into it, he'll be more inclined to take care of it. Believe me, I looked at just buying a short block. There was no way I could come close to the cost we are paying to do it ourselves and get the same quality internals. The heads are a different story. You can't come close to rebuilding a head for the $420 cost I found them for brand new.

Unfortunately, I don't know of any chassis dynos around here. I wouldn't have a valid comparison anyway, as the engine was down 2 1/2 cylinders when we bought it.

VTX1800N1

I should point out also, some of the costs here are external to the engine rebuild. Clutch, flywheel, and cleaning injectors adds up to over $700. That's not insignificant. We are also changing all fluids- transmission and differential included, and the transmission rear seal and differential pinion seal also need to be replaced. New IAC and EGR valves. We already put a new rear suspension (other than shocks) on and have new control arms and struts for the front out in the garage. He is also getting all new brakes all around- calipers, pads, and rotors. Both front hubs/bearings are getting replaced with new.

As you can see, there is A LOT going into this car. I want it to be safe, #1. I want him to be able to drive it for a long time without worrying about reliability, #2. The added engine strength from the internals and fasteners and HP from compression and overbore (and possibly long tube headers) is icing on the cake. My suggestion for his next mod, once it's up and running, is full length subframe connectors.

VTX1800N1

New SPEC Stage I clutch:





Lightweight SPEC aluminum and steel flywheel:

VTX1800N1

Machine shop called. The block and crank are done. Block was bored and honed .020 over. It did need decking but did not need to be line bored. Total block/crank machining cost was $555, but we still have to get the rotating assembly balanced, which will be another $200 minimum. I'll order those parts here in the next few days.

VTX1800N1

The check for MrInjector got cashed today, so the fuel injectors should be on their way back here shortly. I'll post the before/after flow bench tests when I get them.

l Steveo l

Awesome thread! Been following since you started.

Cool thing to do with your son as well. He'll really appreciate it (even if he doesn't say he did). It would be awesome if you could do some headwork and cams while you had everything apart, but like you said, not in the budget. Another value lesson learned there by not spending more than you have.

VTX1800N1

Got the injectors back from Mr Injector today. All cleaned up well and are now perfectly balanced. The worst was down 12% in flow. Another was down 10%, two were down 6%, one was down 4%, two down 2%, and one was perfect. All are now at 100% flow and had new pintle caps and o-rings installed, as well as being repainted. Total cost with shipping and insurance was $139.10. The good part is that fuel will be balanced across all cylinders with the new engine, avoiding any problems that may have presented.

VTX1800N1

Trailered the car to the body shop to get the new radiator support welded in.

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SyNdicateZ

You went totally wrong with the spec crap.