a world of a difference, the tb gave me an suttle whistle that kinda gets annoying but you get used to it. But damn, the truck gains a little torque w/ the 2 but the hp jumps up, fairly well. I dont have numbers but you can feel the difference. Its definitly the way to go but my opinion is that NA is the way to go, no power adders for me.

 

Beastie,

You need to get over the "magic sword" syndrome. There is no single part you can bolt on your engine that will give you that part's full benefit. You need to think in terms of the complete system where all the parts compliment one another. Decide what you want to end up with and figure out which parts to acquire and in what order. The known performance bottleneck on the SBF engine is the exhaust side of the heads. That is why I would recommend starting with a head swap. You will see an immediate improvement but you will not see the full benefit of the heads until you get all the other parts necessary to support them.

There's no "put this part in your truck and your ET will improve by x seconds" formula. What I can tell you is that in the 1999 SVO catalogue Ford said that adding the following parts to a 94-95 Mustang would result in 290 HP: GT-40 Aluminum Heads, GT-40 Intake Manifold, 65mm T/B, Shorty Headers and 1.7:1 Roller Rockers. For the 93 down Mustangs the same package with the iron 3-line GT-40 heads and 1.6:1 rockers but with underdrive pulleys added was claimed to produce 270 HP. I can tell you that that package plus 3.55 (in place of 3.08) gears and a 2030 cam was good for 1.4 seconds and 9 MPH in the quarter on my 93.

On a truck, you want to tailor your engine for a heavier vehicle pulling much taller tires, so you need to concentrate more on midrange torque than on top end HP. The GT-40 stuff does quite well on the Gen I Lightning, but that's with a 351 which has beaucoup torque for starters. I'm guessing that the Edelbrock truck manifold and T/B would substitute nicely for the GT-40 bits on the 5.0 and give you the gains in the range where you need them. When it comes to heads, you've got several options. Aluminum heads are nice but unless you're going to be pushing the compression up beyond 10:1 they are IMHO a waste of money on a truck. You're not going to improve the handling or reduce the weight enough to notice and iron heads will handle anything up to 10.0 on 94 octane. Among the iron heads you can pick up a pair of stock heads for close to zero dollars and rework them to where they're almost as good as the 3-line GT-40s start off. You can find a set of the 3-line heads at a swap meet, rebuild them, prep them a bit and have a very strong engine. The GT-40P heads are a little better yet. They have a revised CC shape and a slightly altered exhaust port which are claimed to produce more midrange torque than the GT-40s. The down side is that they will be more expensive and require a different header to clear the re-angled spark plugs. Neither is an insurmountable problem, but you have to plan ahead. AFAIK the GT-40P heads do not have thermactor air passages, so if smog inspection is part of your game plan, you would need to add bungs to your headers. Most, if not all, of the other iron heads out there are high-flow, high HP high rev heads which are both grossly expensive and unlikely to produce performance gains in daily driving.

Tearing into the engine is something you want to do exactly once. If you're going to do the cam at all, do the cam and heads at the same time. The intake is outpatient surgery by comparison and, although it would best be done in conjunction with the heads, it doesn't have to be. Ditto for the roller rockers. Headers are a simple bolt on which can be done at any time.

 

That was very well said.

 

Wow thanks for the info that was exactly what I wanted to know. You have no idea how much you explained to me! You are da man. So after some thinking and what you said, I think this is what I am going to do...its not set in stone so dont jump down my throat. I will get long tube headers, the Edelbrock upper/lower intake and 56mm TB, and some 1.7RR since the manifold will be off as it is. After that, I will get figure out what heads and cam I want, and then if I have the money I will get the engine rebuilt with forged everything, otherwise I will just put the stuff in as is. Does this sound like a good plan of attack?

Oh I will get whatever headers bolt up to the stock heads and choose my heads accordingly. Then I figure I can put a blower on it later and havea real sleeper!

 

Think of the cam swap vs. the 1.7 rockers as an either/or thing. The high lift rockers are a "poor-man's camshaft." They give you the same lift as a moderate cam but no practical increase in duration. You end up with more torque throughout the existing RPM range of the engine, but no change in the range. Most camshafts will add another bit more torque and many will alter the RPM range at which the engine works its best. Most high performance cams are not compatible with high-lift rockers, check carefully with your cam manufacturer. If you're going to do a cam swap to one that can't use the 1.7s, don't waste the money.

Don't expect big gains out of the Edelbrock intake and T/B while you still have the stock heads. The exhaust port on the stock heads more than any other single thing is the limiting factor in the SBF. I'd guess that a set of GT-40 heads with no other changes whatsoever would add 30 HP to your engine. The intake will add very little by itself but when combined with the improved heads will really turn them on. Headers on the other hand will make the stock heads flow markedly better and will give you a noticable improvement. Combined with the GT-40 heads and the Edelbrock intake, they should produce some serious power.

Don't waste your money on forged anything. Stock nodular iron is a very good material for a crank, in some ways better than steel. Your rods are already forged. Stock rods, properly prepped and put together with ARP fasteners are all you'll ever need. Forged pistons are necessary only if you're running more than 10# of boost or a huge amount of giggle gas. For most applications hypereutectic cast pastons are at least as good, tend to seal a little better, run quieter and cost a lot less.

 

One again thanks for the info. I will now just have to talk my dad in to this stuff lol.

 

Beastie
I don't know your time frame of doing this stuff for your truck, but I will know in a month or so if I am going over seas for a couple years or not. If I do leave I will be buying a Power Stroke on my return. Therefore I will put my truck back to stock. BTW the stock fuel pumps are tiny...like 88 lph or something. Someone posted up here that some local part store replacement pumps for our trucks were like a 155lph...which is alot better. So email me and I will give you a break down of what I will sell everything for
Joe

 

*just a quick head swap udate*

Take their advice and do the cam and heads at the same time cause this work is hard...not to mention a lot of it. I have 2 of my buddies w/ me on this and it is still taking for-e-ver. As of this morning, 1 head is out, the second unbolted but being held in by one bolt in the back of the head for some fluid crap and the ac compressor and bracket on the front. Sorry, I was too tired last night to bother. Well, off for another fun day at the shop!

 

VERY well put Strange Ranger. You and me think on the same page. Either of the GT-40 heads will makes worlds more difference than the intake and TB. Even brand new and fully assembled from Ford the GT-40Ps are only about $270 each. You could snag the tubular manifold with bung off an Explorer, or buy some inexpensive headers.

Both of these heads flow much better at moderate lifts, and compared to the stock heads also eat them alive at higher lifts.




Beastie,

You're still thinking backwards.

First, consider the weight and use of your truck. Going with bigger TB and better flowing intake is great for flowing more air, but if the stock heads can't move the air you haven't done much. Lower rev torque (or power below the peaks) is what makes a truck quick. Take a built 302 making more HP than a Lightning and the Lightning will still eat it up in a 1/4 mile.

The stock truck intake and TB both flow better than most people give them credit for. Much like other intake mods there is a trade off...... flow more at low revs and give up some at higher revs. What people fail to understand is that the added torque below the peaks will often overcome the high rev losses.

As for long tubes, in themselves a great idea. By adding longtubes you have just dictated your head choices, unless you want to swap headers again. Put some longtubes on there, and then come across a great deal on some GT-40Ps and you'll kick yourself all the way home.

The same applies to rockers. Both rockers and intakes are bolt on type things that can be done without major work. If you put them on, you'll just have to take them off to do heads later. Do the hard part first and you avoid duplicating work. I'd much rather have stock intake and rockers with decent heads anyway.



These are heavy trucks. Think torque below the curve and build accordingly.

 

this is finally the thread that we have all needed for moding our trucks. Everyone throwing in their 2cents about how to do it. I have chosen the higher flow intake but keeping the heads in the range or more torque, less hp.

Anyway, at the end of another hard day of work, both heads are on the block with rocker arms too. And thats about it... I still have to put the headers, plugs, intake, valve covers and everything else under the sun back on. But the hard part is over and now its back to the "easier" bolt-on material. Well it seems like more work for me. Again, ill keep everyone updated.

 

Hey Beastie, I did heads and cam first and I can't imagine doin it any different. Once you have that the rest is add as you go and less expensive. Some of the others are right about nitros its great for about 15 seconds but an engine built strong from the bottom up is strong all the time