2000AZ5.0GT

So.....I was planning on saving up over the next year or so, and buying a new (13'ish) 5.0 Mustang. Looking at the fact that I still have some obligations, such as student loans and such, I have changed my mind.

I've decided to stay with the 88'. Currently I think I pay 60/ish a month for full coverage (with high limits), and I've started a 347 build.

The parts I've order from Summit Racing:
Eagle Forged Crankshaft - Internally Balanced - 3.400" Stroke
Eagle Forged H-Beam Rods - 5.400"
Probe Forged Pistons - 4.030" - 2 valve reliefs

(I believe the compression will be on the order 9.2:1)

The parts I will be ordering (as time permits):
FRPP Boss Block - Standard Bore

The things I need to decide on are:
Heads/Cam/Intake

The car will primarily be a street car, but I also have (in my garage) the MM Grip Box (level 2 I think), a big brake kit/5 lug swap, MAF Conversion Kit, 24lb/hr injectors

If any type of racing will be done, it will be corner type stuff.

So, please help me pick out a good combo for the heads/cam/intake.

The intake I'll probably go with would be the TrickFlow StreetBurner, since it's still CARB legal (I don't live in Cali, but I still need to pass emissions)

Eventually, I plan on putting a 62mm turbo setup on it.

So please tell me what you think

tinman

IMHO, you need to start looking at cylinder heads. You want something with at least 190cc intake ports.
Also for a cam I would look at Comp Cams, they have a line of cams that are intended for stroker engines........

bluebeastsrt

I would look at a dart block and heads are huge. Trick flow makes some very nice heads.

2000AZ5.0GT

Yeah, I've seen time and time again people here criticize others for choking their builds because they picked the wrong heads, so I'm just wondering what kind of stuff to look for.

I know combustion chamber affects compression, but is there another reason to go with a different volume combustion chamber.

I see the guy above said go with 190cc intake runner volume, is there anything else I need to be looking at?

I've heard that an e303 only makes (as in, improves over stock) power above like 3,000 RPM, so what kind of cam do I want to go with? Single Pattern, dual pattern?

When I build the engine, I honestly don't know if I'll swap it in before taking care of things like exhaust, clutch, transmission, etc, or if I'll swap it in and run it in it's basic form and taking the other things in a piecewise. I know I'll probably throw in a tubular K-member at the same time (because, ****, with the engine out there's no better time)

I've looked at Dart blocks, but honestly, I think a Boss Block, with the 4 bolt splayed main caps, for the price, is probably the best I can do, and it's not supposed to be this hugely powerful engine, I think 315-320 safe and reliable rwhp is what I'm looking for.

I've looked at trick flow, but honestly, I don't really know what I'm supposed to be looking for.

bluebeastsrt

I've read that the Boss block doesn't come finished honed like the dart block and any money saved,on initial price will be ate up with extra shop prep. Cams are a science all to themselves. When fordstrokers cut my cam they sent me a 2 page sheet asking questions like vehicle weight, stall speed of converter, how is the car to be mainly used, what rpm I plan to shift at, etc. Honestly I'd look into trick flows stage one or two cam for now and if you actually do turbo it down the road you can always get a cam to better match your setup.

mjr46

you'd better do a lot more research on a boss block and stroker kits.......the prob with the boss block is the piston skirts are way to short to stand up to longevity....they pop out .5 inches below skirt...plenty of documented failures and there is only 1 or maybe 2 pistons that'll work in that block for stroker options and give the best possible chance for survival.......and it's not the ones you've listed most likely.....better talk to Jim at ford strokers.com and you'll get an earful on that......and seriously an e-303 in a stroker?? settin' yourself up for a real dud! And why are you looking at an aftermarket block if 320 rwhp is all you want?? or even a stroker for that matter of fact.........a 302 built right and stock block will do all of what you need.

2000AZ5.0GT

Well, here's the plan, let me know what you suggest as the direction to go in.

First of all, I want to build the engine separately, out of the car, so I can still drive it. Coming up here on some great convertible weather in AZ in the fall, so I'd hate for the car to be out of commission.

347 isn't completely necesasry, but I would like a few more cubes. I care more about reliability than crazy horsepower numbers, and the aftermarket block was primarily intended for throwing a turbo on down the line. Running 520-560whp I didn't want to be looking at a split block.

I was aware that the boss block came with unfinished bores, and I was hesitant to go with the boss block anyway. I'm not sure I like the idea of a siamese bore block, since I won't be going with a big bore.

While I have those parts on order, summit has a great return policy, and it hasn't even shipped yet, so I can cancel here in the next few days and no harm-no fowl.

320whp was just a low estimate, and while yeah, I've seen guys with a 306 hit that number, I'm not sure that I'd be able to do it with only my experience.

Currently, the engine that is in the car has what looks like a S.O. shortblock with a H.O. intake manifold, and a regular 88 H.O. Speed Density computer. Obviously it's running pig rich right now, and I haven't driven it in about a month. I just recieved the MAF conversion in the mail, so over the next week or so I'll be wiring that up so that I can at least get propper A/F ratios going so it's not running horribly.

Would I like to hit 360-370rwhp? Absolutely. Do I think I'm capable, on my first solo engine build (I've had help with my previous engine build, this will be the first one where I wrench on every part of it)? no, especially since I seemed to have pick some poor parts.

So, if you were going to prepare a good 331/347 based engine build, which parts would you use? Definitely going forged for the Crank/Rods/Pistons, but aside from that, what should I do?

tinman

If I were building another stroker 302 I'd plan on at least $1000 for machine work and balancing.
You may be in trouble already with those pistons as 9+ compression ratio with a turbo is REALLY pushing things in most any gas engine. Also you may not be able to use those pistons with Trick-Flow heads as the valve reliefs for Trick-Fow's are different than for an 'inline' head....

2000AZ5.0GT

I had chosen 9.5:1 compression because my last build, which was a modular 4.6, had about 60,000 miles on the engine when I sold it, running 12-ish lbs of boost, 7,000RPM's, and Arizona weather. If you're saying turbo power is harder on the engine, I have no problem believing it, however I believe with a decently powerful base, like a 350-370bhp 347, throwing an extra 100-140hp on top shouldn't exert too much, but I could be wrong.

And yeah, I planned on spending a decent amount on machine shop labour, the brilliantly named "Phoenix Engine", refuses to even consider working on modern (fuel injected) 302's. Pretty amazing for a machine shop to turn down work, but hey, they must have one of those new types of business models, where money comes out of thin air.

At this point, with such varying opinions, I think it's almost a decent idea to just go with a standard 306, rather than stroking it at all. Ideally, I'd go back in time and not buy a car with the completely wrong engine, and just drive it stock, but sometimes we can't always do what we want.

mjr46

the only proper course to take if boost is in the future, is a dart block, build it to fit a big bore 347/363....put at least a FAC 190 tfs head on it and add a good turbo and depending on the boost level you choose, 500-600 rwhp will be no problem and the block will live forever and you'll have no worry about gernading it.