5.0 at the machine shop
 

Hello all . I am new to the forum and have a 95 5.0 convert. I will be dropping engine off at machine shop for rebuild. I have $2500 budget. I am looking for suggestions on where it should be spent . the car is 100% stock with a rebuilt auto. I understand that $2500 cant all go into the motor as the entire "system" needs to be modded. the shop says $1400 for rebuild with 303 cam and minor head work (unshrouding etc) looking for opinions. Headers,intake ,exhaust ,chip, heads, compression ratio. as $2500 is the budget where would it be best spent. I already have plugs, wires,fluids etc. thanks for your replies

MY FRIEND JUST INSTALLED SOME GT40P HEADS, AND EXPLORER MANIFOLD WITH A F 303 CAM AND IT RUNS STRONG AND SOUNDS KILLER!!! HE JUST BOUGHT THE CAM AND TOOK THE HEADS AND INTAKE FROM AN EXPLORER IN THE JUNKYARD.
WITH THE MONEY U HAVE ON HAND HAVE U THOUGHT OF STROKING THE MOTOR TO A 331 OR A 347??

I have not dropped it off yet . stroking is not out of the question. however as 2500 is my total budget if there are ohter requirements when stroking i need to consider them . Injectors , chip , fuel pump,..etc. I dont know what else I would have to change to stroke it . if I went with the heads I would save some on headwork (unshrouding...etc) but would then have to purchase gt40p heads. I would love to walk out with 450 hp for 2500 but i know thats not likely without a magic button. If i stroke it what else would be needed on fuel or exhaust system

stroking it correctly is out of the question in just parts alone

op please read, the 5.0 section is for tech only probs, not build suggestions, gen disc is for that.......https://mustangforums.com/forum/5-0l...bers-read.html

without nitrous 450hp is impossible on your budget. stroking is impossible too.

what all is the machine shop doing exactly? have you done a compression test? if the numbers are good i wouldnt even touch the bottom end. if thats the case, get some used afr or tf heads, used intake manifold and then do the upgrades (bigger maf, tb and 24#injectors)

the e-cam is a joke dont bother putting that in. and any "head work" they might do to your stock heads is a total waste of time and money. you cant polish a turd

appologies mjr . I am not looking to make 450 hp on this budget . and would like to stay n/a no juice. the car was bought not running with 3 missing soft plugs(pray for the best). It is siezed due to rust in the cylinder. I will know shortly after magnafluxing what core parts are salvageable. $2500- is total budget for rebuild and add ons. I already have fluids and so forth. I am told $1400 for rebuild (bored, pistons, crank spun, heads done, e303 cam)long block. that leaves roughly $900 after tax for other power adders.I was wondering where the $900 would be best spent (headers, intake, tb, cold air intake) again sorry for posting in wrong area . thank you all for replies

there was no charge for unshrouding valves it was a while were there thing.along with vg seats and springs. what cam do you recommend since heads are outside of budget.

^^^^^you hit the nail on the head..........budget is to small to hit the goal n/a

Since you are on a budget just have them do you a short block,$450-$600 stock stuff.
Buy some good used heads or new gt-40's.E-7 heads are just too much work to make them
a serious power contender,LOL!!
The bottom end can easily handle 400-500 hp with occasional power spurts to the track.
You can build a budget motor easily for $1500-1800. Probably get you in the 300 hp range.
Add a blower or turbo down the road and you will get 450 with ease.
No need to go all out unless you are a serious racer than you need more qaulity parts!!

Agreed!!! :)

after swapping gt40 heads will i need to make any other changes (fuel pressure, injector size, headers) ? I plan on ordering a chip. any reccomendations on brand? How bout camshaft? I have heard 303 is good and now i have heard its not so good. thank you all for help

i would go for some gt40's. they are better than the gt40's because of the spark relocation. just make sure to get some spark plug wires with long boots because the normal wires will get burned because of the spark plug being too close to the headers.

For reference, I bought used GT-40's off a 93 Cobra for $250 and a 94-95 Cobra intake manifold for $300. These two components alone dropped my 1/8th time by 0.36 and picked up 6mph. DO NOT ORDER A CHIP. Most aftermarket chips are junk. You may not even need a tune. You can keep your stock 19lb injectors for now. They're good for 300hp(fly). Fuel pressure regulator is fine too. But I would buy a 190lph fuel pump(stock is only rated at 88lph). Since you'll have the heads off, I'd buy some cheap headers and throw them on. The stock headers are badly crimped. You'll want as much flow as possible. For a cam, I'd go with the TFS-1 cam or keep your stock one for the great low end torque(stock cam is also boost friendly as is the TFS-1). But when upgrading to a new cam, you'll want higher rated valve-springs. The stock springs are barely adequate for .500 lift. Most mild cams make in excess of that.