Diagnosis: tired motor. Rebuild or replace?

[Daryl]

Got the bad news from FTK. HP numbers WITH the SC are less than the motor came stock (240hp)! Basically, they said the motor is “tired”. They said options are to rebuild or replace.

Unfortunately, I personally do not possess the Know-how to do either. So, I thought I’d ask any of you who have been put in a similar predicament What you would suggest and/or parameters to consider when making a decision to go down either side of this road.

On the one hand, I’m pretty committed to retaining matching numbers and having the thing rebuilt as these cars are appreciating in value. Or, I could take a couple shots of Fukital and go off the course and bastardize the thing.

Thoughts? Opinions? Suggestions? I’m wide open here as my mind is spinning in infinity trying to wrap my head around the horrible news I received after the dyno tune.

P.S.- anybody know a rebuilder in SoCal that isn’t a flake, rip-off artist and slacker that takes forever to do a simple rebuild?

 

[evilcw311]

Got the bad news from FTK. HP numbers WITH the SC are less than the motor came stock (240hp)! Basically, they said the motor is “tired”. They said options are to rebuild or replace.

Unfortunately, I personally do not possess the Know-how to do either. So, I thought I’d ask any of you who have been put in a similar predicament What you would suggest and/or parameters to consider when making a decision to go down either side of this road.

On the one hand, I’m pretty committed to retaining matching numbers and having the thing rebuilt as these cars are appreciating in value. Or, I could take a couple shots of Fukital and go off the course and bastardize the thing.

Thoughts? Opinions? Suggestions? I’m wide open here as my mind is spinning in infinity trying to wrap my head around the horrible news I received after the dyno tune.

P.S.- anybody know a rebuilder in SoCal that isn’t a flake, rip-off artist and slacker that takes forever to do a simple rebuild?

Our cars will never reach the kind of value your probably hoping for. Numbers matching will never be a concern on our cars. These were mass produced by the millions. 99% of people who buy them aren’t planning on retiring it to original cause it’s just not worth it.

Decide what you want with the car. If you want the easy way out then just buy a reman motor and have it dropped in. If you want to have some fun then when you realize it won’t hurt the value then have a motor properly built or take the time to learn yourself and gain some knowledge while gaining some experience while building your own.


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[Daryl]

I wonder how many Cobra SVT’s they made in ‘94/‘95...

 

[evilcw311]

I wonder how many Cobra SVT’s they made in ‘94/‘95...

Enough that they’ll never be like 60’s or 70’s mustangs. Plus there’s just not that much of a difference in the cobra and the gt those years.


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[Werecow]

Agreed, IDK your financials but a 347 would be a nice transplant for your ride and they are a really popular buildup. You should be able to find one of those from a good builder in one of the more popular parts catalogues or if you can connect with word if mouth to see if there is anyone in your area that does specialize in performance with a good reputation.

 

[PinkieT]

One option if you are on a budget and worry about matching numbers for future resale is to put your worn motor in storage and install a replacement. You might be able to find a good used motor for cheap. Before you go that far, though, did the dyno place tell you details of WHY they said your motor was "tired"? It might be something less involved than a total rebuild or replacement. Did they do a compression test, for instance?

 

[Daryl]

Yes, they did a compression check and, if I understood it correctly, on the dyno it just kind of plateau’d out.

 

[Daryl]

I was thinking 347. Now just need to source one, preferably locally

 

[evilcw311]

I was thinking 347. Now just need to source one, preferably locally

Good time to decide budget. Also, do you have a garage to do the swap in??


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[Daryl]

Good time to decide budget. Also, do you have a garage to do the swap in??


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No. Driveway only

 

[evilcw311]

No. Driveway only

Any friends with a garage and a cherry picker?


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[waynenorcross]

Agreed, IDK your financials but a 347 would be a nice transplant for your ride and they are a really popular buildup. You should be able to find one of those from a good builder in one of the more popular parts catalogues or if you can connect with word if mouth to see if there is anyone in your area that does specialize in performance with a good reputation.

A 331 is almost as big but with a better rod ratio.

 

[BigBore96]

Do the 347 kits require block clearancing?

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[evilcw311]

Do the 347 kits require block clearancing?

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Pretty much all the stroker kits require at least a small bit of clearancing.


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[waynenorcross]

I wonder how many Cobra SVT’s they made in ‘94/‘95...

https://www.muscularmustangs.com/2005/svtcobraprod94.php

 

[Daryl]

I’m going to chat with FTK Monday regarding options, costs, etc

 

[Werecow]

A 331 is almost as big but with a better rod ratio.

Oooh yeh!! Never considered that one!!! It's got a really good stroke on it too!! I've always liked big bore short stroke ratios!!

 

[96blak54]

:Repost from a different thread:

A few bad sensors, maybe a couple of leaky injectors, old sparkplugs, carbon build up on the valves, cracked up vacuum lines, crap rotor cap, crap plug wires and a maybe weak automatic transmission.....the definition of an aged car! This altogether can really tamper an engines performance on an otherwise internally fit engine.

If compression checks are good and relatively close, id suspect everything else all compounding together killing performance.

So to help you in the decision making, maybe start with tune ups, vacuum line replacements, sensor cleanings and such. Cause even replacing a new engine with the aged components is still going to be tired acting.

We are here to help! And hopefully we can encourage you the confidence to work on your own stuff and not have to take the words from a business that makes money shelling out bad news.

 

[BigBore96]

:Repost from a different thread:

A few bad sensors, maybe a couple of leaky injectors, old sparkplugs, carbon build up on the valves, cracked up vacuum lines, crap rotor cap, crap plug wires and a maybe weak automatic transmission.....the definition of an aged car! This altogether can really tamper an engines performance on an otherwise internally fit engine.

If compression checks are good and relatively close, id suspect everything else all compounding together killing performance.

So to help you in the decision making, maybe start with tune ups, vacuum line replacements, sensor cleanings and such. Cause even replacing a new engine with the aged components is still going to be tired acting.

We are here to help! And hopefully we can encourage you the confidence to work on your own stuff and not have to take the words from a business that makes money shelling out bad news.

Ha I see we did the same goof.

Post up your compression test results. That will literally be a huge piece of info on if you need to worry about another engine or figuring out another reason why its low on power.

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[Werecow]

1. Throw a vacuum guage on it and check to see if you have a vacuum leak somewhere.. Check reading at idle, opening throttle and as it comes back down from revving it up. There are several guides on the interwebs on what to look for when doing checks on your engine with a vacuum guage. If you can get enough hose to run it into the car, doesn't have to be pretty just in the driver's window will work for testing reasons. That way you can check your valve train and rings as well. The guides on the interwebs will make sense of this when you read up on it.. There, got it under the right thread, just wanted to see if there was any feedback on the vacuum guage idea...