new shortblock

rio94

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shopping for a new shortblock for my 94 cobra. It has a s-trim 12psi, gt40 heads (ported) and a stage one trick flow cam. What is ypur guy experience with this sort of build?? Buy a forged piston short block or just bite the bullet and get a boss 302 based engine?????? thanks
 

Mr. OAM

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Unless you're going to make 500-600 HP just get the forged piston block. You're probably going to be in the 400-450 HP range depending on how you match parts.


Steve
 
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rio94

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no stroker just a solid 306, just wasnt sure if it would be worth the extra money to have the strong block and not have to worry about it ? Any other opinions is dss a good company or is there better
 

94Pro-5.0

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if you just stay with a 306 i think you should be ok. the only thing i hear about our blocks cracking id they crack right at the cam, but only on strokers becasue our stock blocks can't handle the long stroke.

if you want to be on the safe side though, DSS has a good, strong block. you can find other block that are shot peened, and have torque plates ect on ebay and by google.
 

Suspect

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do it right if ur gonna go over 500hp. after market block and all forged internals. if u dont wanna spend the money on a dart then go with the new boss. ive seen em as low as 1500. another option is to find a mexican block. tho they cant handle what the other 2 can.
 

Magic

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Suspect said:
do it right if ur gonna go over 500hp. after market block and all forged internals. if u dont wanna spend the money on a dart then go with the new boss. ive seen em as low as 1500. another option is to find a mexican block. tho they cant handle what the other 2 can.

Its pretty tough to find an older Mexican block these days...and for the price people want for those blocks, might as well save up a little more and go with the Ford Racing Boss block.

To the original thread starter....what is your goal with the car? How much do you want to spend?

If you want to make between 450-500 rwhp, then a stock block 302 is fine. Anymore HP, then by what the others have said, go with an aftermarket block.

Stock block, crank, rods, and 87-92 spec forged pistons have taken the abuse of 450-500rwhp.

Dont forget to upgrade the fuel system as well, with the added power from the supercharger!!!
 
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rio94

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around 450 to 500 is what i am going for and hope not to get boost crazy :naughty:
 

nmrajames

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rio94 said:
shopping for a new shortblock for my 94 cobra. It has a s-trim 12psi, gt40 heads (ported) and a stage one trick flow cam. What is ypur guy experience with this sort of build?? Buy a forged piston short block or just bite the bullet and get a boss 302 based engine?????? thanks

If you are going to build a brand new short-block, unless you have a smog concern, there is no reason not to build a 347 with the low cost of cranks now. If you want to make 450-500 hp now, you should just build a strong foundation that will last for many years. You probably don't need a Dart block but an early 302 block with a main girdle, and an Eagle/Scat-type 347 short-block would work great and live for a very long time.

A built 306 doesn't save you much money but you will give up a lot of torque and power.

-James
 
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rio94

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I want to see what i can get out of ported gt-40s first. I dont think a 331 or 347 will be needed to get to the block splitting power and if i do go aftermarket block then i would do a stroker.
 

LAFENATU

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rio94 said:
I want to see what i can get out of ported gt-40s first. I dont think a 331 or 347 will be needed to get to the block splitting power and if i do go aftermarket block then i would do a stroker.

You can go 10's with ported Iron GT40's. People used to go 10's all the time before TFS/AFR etc.

Takes a lot of boost...

I would not invest in a fully forged internal stock motor. If your planning on keeping a stock block I would do Forged pistons though...

If I was to rebuild a stock motor (assuming your using the supercharger) I would do...

- 306ci

- 9:1 or 9.5:1 final CR with cc of heads
***(GT40's are 65.5cc so if you eventually go aftermarket the lower the cc the higher the compression ratio is.)***

- Flat top SRP Forged Pistons (JE's budget pistons)

- I Beam Rods

- Stock Crank
 
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rio94

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That is exactly what I was thinking. Why do a fully forged rotating assembly in a stock block ???? doesn't make sense to me. but a forged piston 306 I think will get me right where I want to be for right now... And yes it has an s-trim about 12psi
 

LAFENATU

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rio94 said:
That is exactly what I was thinking. Why do a fully forged rotating assembly in a stock block ???? doesn't make sense to me. but a forged piston 306 I think will get me right where I want to be for right now... And yes it has an s-trim about 12psi


If the SRP are too pricy for you, look at CHP "Probe" pistons...
 

Stangbangin

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LAFENATU said:
rio94 said:
I want to see what i can get out of ported gt-40s first. I dont think a 331 or 347 will be needed to get to the block splitting power and if i do go aftermarket block then i would do a stroker.

You can go 10's with ported Iron GT40's. People used to go 10's all the time before TFS/AFR etc.

Takes a lot of boost...

I would not invest in a fully forged internal stock motor. If your planning on keeping a stock block I would do Forged pistons though...

If I was to rebuild a stock motor (assuming your using the supercharger) I would do...

- 306ci

- 9:1 or 9.5:1 final CR with cc of heads
***(GT40's are 65.5cc so if you eventually go aftermarket the lower the cc the higher the compression ratio is.)***

- Flat top SRP Forged Pistons (JE's budget pistons)

- I Beam Rods

- Stock Crank
werd....take it from someone who has a fully forged short block.. forged cranks are overkill on a stock block. The stock block with break before a stock crank will. don't waste the 400 bucks like some other idiot I know.(me) stock crank ftw
 

jmystic

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rio94 said:
That is exactly what I was thinking. Why do a fully forged rotating assembly in a stock block ???? doesn't make sense to me. but a forged piston 306 I think will get me right where I want to be for right now... And yes it has an s-trim about 12psi

I agree also, seems like a waste for a stock block. I wouldn't waste my time with a stock block, bite the bullet and get that Dart or Boss 331/347 (though I do like the sound of a BOSS 347 :coolsmiley:). It always comes to the $$'s though, so if all you could afford now is a forged piston 306, then that might be your best route. I currently have a 306 (dss forged pistons) with a T-trim making 500rwhp on my stock block, been going on 2+ years now.
 
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rio94

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Thanks for the replies, I think for right now I'm gonna go with a forged piston 306 and my ported gt-40s. That should be enough to get me in trouble :p
 

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