87Blackfoxbodi

Well I just got a 1987 5.0 and i love the v8 but i want more power. I will hopefully have enough money in the next couple of months to either install a supercharger or possibly buy a crate engine. I'm using this car as a daily driver which is a pro for the super charger. If I want to buy a crate engine whats the biggest displacement I can get and still keep reasonable gas mileage (above 12 MPG) and it be ok for everyday driving?
I figured that a crate engine will be more expensive but more reliable. To get the same amount of power out of a super charged 302 I would have to probably run upwards of 13 PSI of boost. This seems like a lot of wear on the engine and on the supercharger. Ive heard a lot about doing 351W swaps but the one guy i know said it definitely not a daily driver. any pros or cons to both choices would be helpful.

mjr46

crate engine vs 13 psi boost on a stock motor....13 psi will easily beat a 302 crate motor, all things being equal

87Blackfoxbodi

well what if I went up in displacement? like to a 351W or one of the larger engines from Ford racing?

luckythirteen13

nothing wrong with daily driving a 351w. stop listening to that guy. its a very common motor swap

TrimDrip

Both. Buy a used supercharger then sell it for what you have in it and buy a new motor when it is time.

87Blackfoxbodi

So the 351W will do fine every in an every day driver? and it wont be a pain to drive everyday?

TrimDrip

That will depend on the cam you run. A 408 is going to need some fuel. You could put a dominator on a 408 and it run good.

you can make a 351 run though. i know a guy that is running a time so ridiculous that I am not even going to post it. It has stock windsor heads too.

luckythirteen13

depends on the setup. h/c/i will decide if its a DD more then cubic inch will.

87Blackfoxbodi

h/c/i? whats that?

luckythirteen13

heads, cam, intake