Picked up a 94 Gen1 Lightning engine and am considering what I want to do to it either prior to installing or later down the road depending on cost.

Is ther much to gain with porting (or some other method I know nothing about)stock cast iron GT40 heads? If so, how much of an improvement would be expected?

What size valves would have come in those heads? I have read in another thread "It looks like GT40P heads are the way to go, they flow about 200cfm stock". Would my GT40s be comparable?

Lightning upper and lower intakes. Have read that the stock F150 and Bronco truck upper and lower setups choke out before 300 horses. Can anything be done to my GT40 upper and lower to improve flow and power?

Cam choices. Recomendations? I am putting this into a 3300ish lb 4wd truck. I plan to take this offroad, so dont want to sacrifice too much low end, but want to be sure I can have fun on the road as well as off of it. I will be going mass air, and have the mustang computer. I believe I have the roller block, but no roller setup. How much of an improvement would it be to go with that setup as well?

While answering any and all of these, please keep in mind that I am considering running a 6ish lb supercharger some time in the future. No idea which one, or how far in the future that would be. I would like to see if I can get 300-350 hp na, with a possible power adder later on. Thoughts on this?

I think that is enough for now.

Thanks,

Anthony

 

to be honest i've never heard anything good about them as far as performance wise but never heard of any problems withe train just that they don't help much
heres some good stuff http://www.mustangsandmore.com/ubb/F...ML/010959.html
good luck man

 

why are you going mass air? your current efi will more then handle that motor. I wouldnt port those heads unless you want the power to move up the rpm range and i like them far better then the p heads which require special headers. the gt40 intake is much better then the stock 5.8 truck intake so definatly use that. you didnt say what truck your dropping this into which would help alot.

a good cam for torque would be 35-255-5 its a flat tappet cam. i wouldnt bother with a supercharger at this time.


choptop, what you said really doesnt make any sense. also dont get a mustang setup confused with a 4wd truck setup. they are completely different.

 

I personally wouldn't do a head swap unless it was for a set of aluminum heads; AFR, Trick Flow or Performer RPM's. The GT-40's that are on there now will support a good deal of power and will work fine on a supercharged applicatoin @ 6psi.
If you're on a tight budget, a 5.0 HO Mustang roller cam swap is a popular and inexpensive modification among the GEN 1 owners, and it'll work well with speed density. The cam, lifters and other parts can be picked up for roughly $100, used. If you go that route, you'll need to swap the distributor gear to a steel piece. I remember that an owner posted an increase of 20hp/20tq at the rear wheels. One thing I noticed about that chart was that the hp and tq curve stayed near peak levels longer over the stock cam.
The GT-40 intakes will work fine as they sit, however, having the lower extrude honed will pick up a little more power.

 

Nice find.. congrats!

Porting always helps. I don't think there are hugh flow differences between the GT40 and 40p, and the P requires custom built or modified headers. If you want a noticable flow improvement get the GT40x or AFR heads. Stock valves are 1.94/1.84 on those heads I believe...



The stock truck intakes are designed for low rpm power, but that said the 5.0 truck intake will make 300hp on a properly equipped 5.0. The 5.8 intake is much more restrictive however. The GT40 is much better for a 5.8 and should make 300+hp. I know the 5.0 version of the GT40 lower is restrictive and responds to porting, but the 5.8 is wider so it may not be as restrictive.

If you can score a complete roller cam assembly for cheap then it's a nice thing to have, but on the road you won't feel much difference between 2 motors with either cam type, assuming similar cam grinds. The roller lifters and cam are 2-3 times the price of the flat tappet versions, so if you have to buy new it's pricy.
The stock cam is decent, but you are leaving power on the table with anything less than 1/2" lift, and stock cam specs are 0.442" lift. The Crane I have as well as the Comp Cams 35-255-5 are nice broad powerband flat tappet cams. There's the Comp 35-349-8 and 35-308-8 are good roller cams. Custom grind cams are also growing in popularity.

 

Im putting this into a 67 Bronco replacing a carburated inline 6. The swap to mass air is because I dont currently have fuel injection anyway, and the mustang swap seemed easy and relatively inexpensive.

I was only asking about head porting as a way to get performance if needed. Unfortunately I dont know much about engine performance and the specific effects of doing different modifications.

I understand I dont need it, but more power is fun. I put a HO 302 into a Jeep YJ and even stock it was very powerful...but over time I got used to that power and needed more. Just trying to look to the future and consider doing some things now that will make life easier later on should I want more power.

Anthony

 

Not currently looking to swap heads unless I was shown that the GT40s are inept. Seems like they are decent heads...so shouldnt have an issue with them for some time.

I will have to swap the distributor unless I find a way to use the remote TFI with the Mustang harness. If anyone has literature on this it would be appreciated. Otherwise I will have to pick up another distributor for this to work.

Thanks for the help.

Anthony

 

Lots of good information here, but will touch on this one spot. Certainly there is a reduction in friction, but what other gain is there to running a roller setup?

Is there a resource somewhere that will help to explain the effect of various cams? I dont understand how much lift and duration is ok and how much is too much but would like to learn. What about stock cam and change rocker raito? Is this possible or is this just a roller setup thing?

I dont mean to just type randomly. Trying to learn and not even sure what to call some of these things

Thanks for your patience,

Anthony

 

The link below has some useful info about the GEN 1 motors; engine data, stock cam grind info with 1.6 and 1.7 rockers, valve sizes etc... It also has part numbers (stock and aftermarket) that may be of some use to you as you go through your build process.

http://www.thebaskins.com/faq.htm

 

[QUOTE=Blurry94]The link below has some useful info about the GEN 1 motors; engine data, stock cam grind info with 1.6 and 1.7 rockers, valve sizes etc... It also has part numbers (stock and aftermarket) that may be of some use to you as you go through your build process.

http://www.thebaskins.com/faq.htm[/QUOTE]

Very nice, thank you.

Anthony

 

I have been told that to determine how I should build the motor I should consider a ton of things from vehicle type to vehicle weight to rpm operating range. Ok, first I have no idea on which type of build I want to go with. Ok, that isnt completely true. I want tons of horsepower, tons of torque, fantastic gas milage, you know...my cake and eat it too

This is going into a 4wd truck which weighs in below 3500 lbs. I do intend to do some mild offroading, but will be 98% onroad. Street manners are important, but so are offroad manners. Need strong low-end, but dont want to sacrifice all my upper end to get it.

I have considered putting in a cam, lifters (possibly roller set since I have the F4TE), head gaskets, and add the supercharger later on.

I have also considered putting together a stroker lower end and pull more power out of the engine NA, but make it a reasonable build so I could go FI later if I wanted to.

Also thought about a stroker bottom end, and a nicely built NA topend with no thoughts of FI at any point.

Decisions, decisions. Thought on this greatly appreciated as well as critiques on my ideas. I would rather be beaten up a little here than build something that just doesnt work like I thought it would.

 

Hello 4x4Junky, if you keep it NA and don't expand it very much, then the stock GT40's would be good to port and keep. I ran across a porter/builder who can take $600 and build them to low at or better than all of the under $1200 heads available. I was looking for the link to him when I found this thread.

Most likely you will want more though, may I suggest a couple of things that will help you? Better aluminum heads would be wise when you stroke the engine or put boost to it. The GT40's are very near there limit with the 351. I like the sounds of these Pro Comp heads, and they come in various sizes for about the same $750 assembled. I'm planning for a 302 for a test bed for a supercharger, and later turbos for my Mark VII. http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/PRO-COMP-FORD-ALUMINUM-CYLINDER-HEADS-SBF-COMPLETE_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQcategoryZ33617QQihZ006Q QitemZ160154083519QQrdZ1QQsspagenameZWDVW
Regards,

 

The other thing I might suggest is altering your PCM and system. I gather that you have the E4OD with the Lightning, isn't that right? If that is so then my idea of using an Explorer PCM could get complicated. The OBDII Explore PCM wants a 4R70W, I don't know if it can be used for an E4OD. I suspect not, and you could either change to a 4R70W, or find a stand alone controller.

This is just another thought for you, a big thought which could gain you a huge improvement in engine control. The older EECIV computers are not very good for major high performance upgrades, let alone supercharging. I do not mean to offend or step on toes, but the OBDII and newer PCM's are far ahead in terms of capability with modifications. The older EECIV systems require FMU's and MSD boxes and other ways to trick the PCM into functioning. But in the end the drivability is not ideal, poor idle, hunting, running rich, bad gas mileage. It all can be cured with a bone stock OBDII system and the proper program/tune flashed into the PCM.

I don't know how common this knowledge has become away from the pre 1996 Mustang and other Ford guys, but this is becoming well known among 96+ Explorer and Mountaineer owners. I don't mention the later other Ford vehicles because those are 4.6 modular engines. Their PCM's/systems cannot be retrofitted to older pushrod V8's.

There is a Ranger Splash well know on the Ranger and Explorer sites who has a 351W almost finished with the Explorer OBDII system on it. He has been too busy to finish lately, but he had the special balancer and distributor made.

Given those two custom parts, the 96-01 operating system can be installed on almost any pushrod Ford V8. The 99-01's have returnless fuel systems, so really the 96-98 PCM's are the ones to have, and 98 has PATS(possible to be disabled). The point I'm trying to make is that given the custom balancer and distributor drive, you could change to an OBDII system and not have to deal with FMU's, other expensive ignition systems, MAF tweakers, etc.

The flashers are not cheap, they are about $400 new. With the extra software and a wide band O2 sensor, you could test and data log, paying for new tunes by email. The end result would be a stable idle and nice driveability, with any parts combination you want.

If any of that interests you, mention it and begin looking for how to control the trans you have, or consider changing it. The best 4R70W to have was in 99-01 Explorer 302's, upgrades continued until then. The used parts to hunt to get the system from an Explorer shouldn't be more than $200-300, whole engines etc. can be had for $500 or so. The two custom parts I believe amounted to under $300 for both, I did not read any specific figures. If interested hunt for Todd on the Ranger RPS forum, I can find him for you, to see if he is busy. The threads are out there, with pictures.

I'd love to build a 460 with big cubic inches and run it with fuel injection like this in an old car or truck. Regards,

 

Wow CDW6212R has a lot of pretty good technical information.
I can answer one of 4X4Junky's earlier questions about advantages of roller cams other than less friction. I have read that the roller feature allows more flexibility in cam profiles since there is no danger of an edge of a flat tappet scraping against a too-steep lobe, which can occur with a flat tappet cam. Another advantage is that used roller lifters do not have to be matched to their cam lobes, they can even be used with a different roller cam.

 

It's alot more complicated than you think. From what I've learned there are impedence differnences between an E4OD and 4R70W. The wiring aspect is also rather involved; many of the connectos don't match and the wires for the instrument cluster will have to be cut/spliced. Rob Lasota did an EEC-5 swap on his 94 and ended up switching back because of the transmission issues he was having. The donor vehicle he used was an EEC-5 van with a 5.8 and E4OD. He and his dad own a speed/tuning shop, with a dyno, and they could never get past the irractic transmission operation.

That's simply not true...people use boost/timing retards and FMU's when there is no other type of aftermarket tuning available. The EEC-4 systems respond well to aftermarket tuning (SCT, Diablo, Jet, Tweecer, etc...), and the mass air versions adapt much the same as the newer EEC-5's. I've done pulley changes on mine (supercharged/intercooled 94 Lightning with mass air), with the program I have for it, and it ECU responded well...no FMU, no timing retard.
EEC-4 or EEC-5, if you install a blower, both systems will need tuning to start with. That's not to say the fuel system me need to be upgraded too: larger injectors, and/or higher volume fuel pump(s). However, a cam swap and/or a set of heads shouldn't be problem for either system.
Now, speed density is a little more sensitive because it can't adapt like mass air. However, it can also be tuned to accept aftermarket parts, but as soon as a change is made, it'll most likely need a re-tune. I ran speed density on my rig for a while and tuning it was a little more involved than the mass air set up I have on it now. It drove and idled fine and repsonded well to 12psi once i had the program dialed with 42lb injectors....again, no FMU and no boost/timing control