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1bad9d5

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Hey what's up everybody it has been a while since I have been on this forum and I need some help. My current 95 5.0 turbo setup went south a couple of months ago when my piston rings went and I have been debating what to do from here. I have about a $4-5k budget and I need some help on what kind of crate motor I can/should buy for my 95. I haven't made a decision on if I want to keep my turbo or not but is there anything out there that fits a 95 that can put out 400+ or so all motor in that budget? Any suggestions are welcome. Thanks.
 

cameron57

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A big windsor would do that no problem. Why buy a crate motor though? Instead build a shortblock and use your turbo stuff. Any more details on current setup?
 
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1bad9d5

1bad9d5

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A big windsor would do that no problem. Why buy a crate motor though? Instead build a shortblock and use your turbo stuff. Any more details on current setup?

Mostly because I think I want to get away from the turbo stuff and go all motor instead. I love my turbo, but I don't know if I want to keep it.

Car has GT40 heads, hardened pushrods, explorer lowere/upper intake 39 pound injectors, 1.6 rockers, turbo is a 70mm On3 performance with a 4" intercooler, PMS system from Anderson Motorsports hooked into the computer, Aluminum radiator.. couple more things I cannot think of at the moment
 

CC'S95GT

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Have you looked at a 351 from a truck? All your accessories will bolt right up. You would need a different lower intake though
 

mcglsr2

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Consider a Coyote swap. I don't know how hard that would be, but with the newer engine tech you could easily get the 400+ hp all motor. May be way over budget though? Also, like others have said, you could go with a bigger engine, 351 or something bored/stroked. Just keep in mind that these cars are already front heavy, popping in a large(er) block will make it even more front heavy. You may not care.

Any specific reason you want all motor? I'd do a 302 supercharged. Less to deal with than a turbo setup.
 

DavidBoren

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LS-swap... the end.

Ok, that wasn't funny. On a serious note, I think a 351, or 351-based stroker, is probably your best bet. If you spend your money right, you should be able to make a 400rwhp n/a motor that will drop right in. You can either save all the turbo stuff, and install it on the 351, or sell the turbo to recover some of the cost of the swap.

But, and this is my favorite, you could also build a 302 Boss. Pick up a 4-bolt 302w block and some big valve/closed chamber Cleveland heads. No one builds true Boss motors, and it's sad.
 
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1bad9d5

1bad9d5

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Have you looked at a 351 from a truck? All your accessories will bolt right up. You would need a different lower intake though
I have not, is there any particular year (s) I should look for?
Consider a Coyote swap. I don't know how hard that would be, but with the newer engine tech you could easily get the 400+ hp all motor. May be way over budget though? Also, like others have said, you could go with a bigger engine, 351 or something bored/stroked. Just keep in mind that these cars are already front heavy, popping in a large(er) block will make it even more front heavy. You may not care.

Any specific reason you want all motor? I'd do a 302 supercharged. Less to deal with than a turbo setup.
Yeah I would love top do a coyote swap, but I think it's a little over budget for me. I didn't really want to go supercharger because honestly in my opinion everybody already does. Tried turbo, loved it had a shit ton of fun with it, but don't want to go thru that headache again so I figured I'd try all motor ya know.
LS-swap... the end.

Ok, that wasn't funny. On a serious note, I think a 351, or 351-based stroker, is probably your best bet. If you spend your money right, you should be able to make a 400rwhp n/a motor that will drop right in. You can either save all the turbo stuff, and install it on the 351, or sell the turbo to recover some of the cost of the swap.

But, and this is my favorite, you could also build a 302 Boss. Pick up a 4-bolt 302w block and some big valve/closed chamber Cleveland heads. No one builds true Boss motors, and it's sad.
Lol yeah um none of that bow tie crap in my car lol
Yeah that is an idea, 351 sounds like a good bet to me
 
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1bad9d5

1bad9d5

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Question only because I've never dealt with them before so I hope nobody rips me for it, but what's different with carb motors to the fuel injected? :/
 

mcglsr2

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Question only because I've never dealt with them before so I hope nobody rips me for it, but what's different with carb motors to the fuel injected? :/

The big difference is in the engine's ability to adapt to different situations and the amount of control offered.

Very simply, a carb works like a vacuum. When you open the throttle, the engine sucks in more air. As the air passes through the carb, the suction created (called a venturi effect) pulls more fuel with it, thus you get more gas as you step on the throttle. The amount of gas sucked at a given time is determined by the jetting of the carb & the number of jets. Typically a carb is tuned for a certain AFR at a certain altitude. If you change anything in the outside environment that would affect the volume of air your engine sucks (like driving to higher altitudes) it will affect your jetting. The car will still probably run but your AFR's will most likely be off. Carbs work (obviously, they've been around for a while) but the amount of control you have over them is limited to the jetting and the amount of air you let the engine suck in (usually the size of the carb, measured in CFM's). Carbs are also usually targeted to a very specific operating range, which is where they will be most efficient. There are some sophisticated carb setups where two jets are "on" for low RPM's and cruising, and when the throttle is floored two more jets are turned "on" (via mechanical linkage) to offer more fuel. It is very hard to get a specific AFR, and requires a lot of tinkering and fiddling with the jets to get it right - at a specific range.

Fuel injection is much more sophisticated. Essentially a computer measures the amount of air the engine just sucked in, and then tells injectors to squirt a certain amount of fuel. Because computers can measure and compute things very fast, they are able to measure the air intake in real-time and tell the injectors to squirt before the air makes it in the cylinder. Because the computer is measuring things, and is very good at measuring things, you have way more control over things like spark tables, the volume of the air, the temperature of the air, the amount of fuel used, etc. And to adjust things is messing with a computer, you do not need to take your carb apart to rejet it. Fuel injection is a lot more efficient (one of the main reasons engines get good gas mileage now) and a lot more adaptable to outside changes. Because FI is adaptable, the fueling is more efficient across a much wider range than that of a carb, and AFR's can be nailed pretty much dead on at many different operating ranges.

Some folks like carbs because they are simpler to deal with. Other folks like the adaptability and control that FI offers. Which one you want really depends on what you plan on doing with the car. 90% of the time I'd say you want to go FI. It seems more complicated initially but you can do a lot more with it. An example of the other 10% - NASCAR still uses carbs. So obviously they can go fast. But bear in mind that NASCAR cars basically run flat-out all the time. The carbs are set up for this. I'm sure these cars are much less efficient/fast (relatively) at less than flat-out. There are a number of reasons that NASCAR has kept carbs, one of them being the cars are already fast, swapping to FI will just make them faster. Think about that for a second.

In short: Carbs are 19th century technology. FI is 20th century and on.
 
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1bad9d5

1bad9d5

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The big difference is in the engine's ability to adapt to different situations and the amount of control offered.

Very simply, a carb works like a vacuum. When you open the throttle, the engine sucks in more air. As the air passes through the carb, the suction created (called a venturi effect) pulls more fuel with it, thus you get more gas as you step on the throttle. The amount of gas sucked at a given time is determined by the jetting of the carb & the number of jets. Typically a carb is tuned for a certain AFR at a certain altitude. If you change anything in the outside environment that would affect the volume of air your engine sucks (like driving to higher altitudes) it will affect your jetting. The car will still probably run but your AFR's will most likely be off. Carbs work (obviously, they've been around for a while) but the amount of control you have over them is limited to the jetting and the amount of air you let the engine suck in (usually the size of the carb, measured in CFM's). Carbs are also usually targeted to a very specific operating range, which is where they will be most efficient. There are some sophisticated carb setups where two jets are "on" for low RPM's and cruising, and when the throttle is floored two more jets are turned "on" (via mechanical linkage) to offer more fuel. It is very hard to get a specific AFR, and requires a lot of tinkering and fiddling with the jets to get it right - at a specific range.

Fuel injection is much more sophisticated. Essentially a computer measures the amount of air the engine just sucked in, and then tells injectors to squirt a certain amount of fuel. Because computers can measure and compute things very fast, they are able to measure the air intake in real-time and tell the injectors to squirt before the air makes it in the cylinder. Because the computer is measuring things, and is very good at measuring things, you have way more control over things like spark tables, the volume of the air, the temperature of the air, the amount of fuel used, etc. And to adjust things is messing with a computer, you do not need to take your carb apart to rejet it. Fuel injection is a lot more efficient (one of the main reasons engines get good gas mileage now) and a lot more adaptable to outside changes. Because FI is adaptable, the fueling is more efficient across a much wider range than that of a carb, and AFR's can be nailed pretty much dead on at many different operating ranges.

Some folks like carbs because they are simpler to deal with. Other folks like the adaptability and control that FI offers. Which one you want really depends on what you plan on doing with the car. 90% of the time I'd say you want to go FI. It seems more complicated initially but you can do a lot more with it. An example of the other 10% - NASCAR still uses carbs. So obviously they can go fast. But bear in mind that NASCAR cars basically run flat-out all the time. The carbs are set up for this. I'm sure these cars are much less efficient/fast (relatively) at less than flat-out. There are a number of reasons that NASCAR has kept carbs, one of them being the cars are already fast, swapping to FI will just make them faster. Think about that for a second.

In short: Carbs are 19th century technology. FI is 20th century and on.


Thanks man I appreciate it. Had to ask and find out some research on it because my friend had suggested going that way cause we had found some solid motors carbed in my budget range, but I think I want to stay FI for sure
 

Caboose302

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Consider a Coyote swap. I don't know how hard that would be, but with the newer engine tech you could easily get the 400+ hp all motor. May be way over budget though?

This. I was looking into it and at least around here the 5.0s out of the trucks are pretty cheap but I think there's a difference in the heads and intake. Not sure how much more that would cost. Plus the price of updating the fuel and ignition system. More and more people are doing it so I'd assume the prices are/will be coming down.
 
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1bad9d5

1bad9d5

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This. I was looking into it and at least around here the 5.0s out of the trucks are pretty cheap but I think there's a difference in the heads and intake. Not sure how much more that would cost. Plus the price of updating the fuel and ignition system. More and more people are doing it so I'd assume the prices are/will be coming down.
Does the coyote motor fit directly into the 95 engine bay?
 

Caboose302

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Not sure if you can use your stick K member. Most of the guys I see that have done it have an aftermarket. I know they sell mount kits for them.
 

95opal

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OP WITH $4-$5k A coyote swap is out. With your current gt40 heads a 351 build will require you to upgrade to a better set of heads and a minimum of a ported lower intake plus the motor. That's gonna be close to your budget along with the misc B.S that youll need to go with it. A stock short block with your current top end and turbo will be the cheapest and easiest way to go well within your budget. A dart shortblock stroker is out as it will be close if not above you $5k budget plus you will want better heads to throw at it. A stockblock stroker will be under your budget and you leave room to upgrade the heads.
 

rz5.0

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There is a member on here racsixr or something like that. He had a few
R block short blocks for sell for a decent price that could be a good start. .
 
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1bad9d5

1bad9d5

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Not sure if you can use your stick K member. Most of the guys I see that have done it have an aftermarket. I know they sell mount kits for them.

OP WITH $4-$5k A coyote swap is out. With your current gt40 heads a 351 build will require you to upgrade to a better set of heads and a minimum of a ported lower intake plus the motor. That's gonna be close to your budget along with the misc B.S that youll need to go with it. A stock short block with your current top end and turbo will be the cheapest and easiest way to go well within your budget. A dart shortblock stroker is out as it will be close if not above you $5k budget plus you will want better heads to throw at it. A stockblock stroker will be under your budget and you leave room to upgrade the heads.

There is a member on here racsixr or something like that. He had a few
R block short blocks for sell for a decent price that could be a good start. .

Thanks guys, I'm going to do a little more research and see what is out there for me to buy within the budget, I'm hoping to purchase a motor before the end of the month. I'm sure I'll have plenty more questions
 

RichV

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$4-5K is quite a bit of dough. You can go used stuff, or new. A friend got a DART shortblock for $1700 from a fellow racer, a rebuilt roller 351 is a good option, even a crate. A company out here sells R blocks for under $2K. So you can be frugal.

I would keep the turbo as well, specially if all the fab work is done. No sense in throwing it away now.
 
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1bad9d5

1bad9d5

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$4-5K is quite a bit of dough. You can go used stuff, or new. A friend got a DART shortblock for $1700 from a fellow racer, a rebuilt roller 351 is a good option, even a crate. A company out here sells R blocks for under $2K. So you can be frugal.

I would keep the turbo as well, specially if all the fab work is done. No sense in throwing it away now.

What does a Dart shortblock usually go for brand new? and would most of my 302 stuff including the turbo bolt up to it?
 

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