Oh, and fwiw a high volume oil pump won't clear a rear sump truck pan without some massaging. At least the Melling one won't...

 

Now that Christmas is coming and I'm loading up on gift cards and such I want to finalize all the engine parts I'll be needing. I started my tear-down a few weeks back and got the thread setup last weekend:
https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...w-a-donor.html

I never had any luck finding a set of GT40 cylinder heads, but after a bit of digging I think I can get more bang for the buck with a new set of aluminium heads and bolting on some roller rockers. Anyhow, here's where I am for the main engine components.


Let me know what you all think. Specifically I would appreciate thoughts about the rods, bearings, any miscellaneous parts (bracket for the lifters?) and what not. I was thinking about bolting the typhoon onto the stock intake manifold- good idea or not? I also know I'll need to measure a few things to see if they need to be replaced like the timing chain, bearings, the cylinder bore to get the right pistons, etc.

I hope to have the engine to the shop in the next month or two, so I've got a little bit of time to finalize everything. I'm looking forward to hearing and feeling this little beast get to work!

 

You can't bolt a Typhoon upper on a Ford lower.. period, and the Ford lower is the part that sucks the worst so replace both parts.
Forged pistons are unnecessary on a build like this get cast or hyper instead.
And if you're tearing the motor apart send the whole rotating assembly out to the machine shop and have it inspected and machined as required, I mean don't let them grind everything if it's not necessary but don't skip this step entirely either, the bottom end is the heart of the motor so spend a few extra bucks here to make sure it'll last another 150-200k.

 

Shoot- I knew the lower intake wouldn't bolt on. I must have been so excited about seeing all the parts after a few months away that I just had a brain fart. I also found a set of hyper eutectic pistons instead of forged... Updated picture below:


I fully intend to get the block, crank, pistons/rods over to the shop to get everything properly conditioned. I don't want to grind or bore anything that doesn't have to be, but to your point Conanski, I want to do the work that needs to be done on the lower assembly. Once they give it the once over I'll know what size pistons and bearings I need and can place my order.

I'm targeting getting the lower engine and tranny back from the respective shops by the end of March. Hopefully my rolling chase will be ready by then.

 

That's a good looking package overall it should work well.. but unfortunately I think it's gonna be too much for SD to cope with so you're gonna need a MAF conversion and a tuner.

 

If you overbore the cylinders, try to get .020" pistons. Then you still will be able to rebore in the future to .040". Often engines are simply bored to a .030" oversize even though there is no real need. Nowadays engines don't seem to get the cylinder wear of 1950s-60s engines.

 

Hm, I've read about the MAF conversion before, but it never seemed to make sense. Did some more reading and think I have it now...


I'm not sure what the 'tuner' part is for that you mentioned Conanski, but I'm guessing I'll need someone who has a ability to tune the A9L computer to the new setup...? Do I need anything else for the MAF conversion- new injectors for example?

Also, for the K&N filter, does anyone know if it will fit directly to the Typhoon plenum? My stock plenum has the two air tubes and I can't seem to get any solid info on what the back of the K&N looks like.

From what I've read it looks like any MAF V8 will supply the parts... but I'm going to focus on looking for '96-'99 trucks or Mustangs. Since I have a manual tranny, can I use the A9P computer and just ignore the automatic transmission features?

I want to change as little as possible to the block- if I can get away with a good solid honing that's want I'll do (I'm not holding my breath).

 

If you don't need to rebore, then why not just leave the stock pistons etc. alone?

 

OK I gotta ask... what's with the fancy pictures you keep producing? I like them it just seems like a lot of work to produce for an online thread unless of course you have some software that build them or something?


As for parts for a MAF conversion you got the right idea except that..
A) There were no 5.0 or 5.8 trucks built after 1996 with the exception of the Explorer/Mountaineer
b) Those trucks used an OBD2 MAF system
C) The A9P Mustang EEC is OBD-1 and not compatable with an OBD2 harness
D) Your truck is OBD1 and already has most of the wiring needed to use a Mustang EEC, so you don't need to replace it just add to it. F Series Mass Air Conversion Kits

Your motor just might need larger injectors.. 24s perhaps, and that's one of the big reasons this conversion is needed. For tuning I suggest the Moates Quarterhorse and Binary Editor software, and a wideband O2 system like the Innovate LC-1. QuarterHorse for Fords
Binary Editor
LC-1 Lambda Cable with 02 Sensor : Wideband Controller Cable for Dyno, ECU, Data Acquisition, or Gauge Applications

No.. no no, forget you ever heard of K&N. One of the worst things you can do it bolt an oiled conical filter to the end of a MAF meter, it disrupts airflow over the sensor element which messes up readings and the oil can contaminate the sensor or cause the heater element to burn out. As shown in the MAF kit I linked above use the supplied single outlet airbox cover and a high quality dry drop in filter element.

Auto transmissions in these cars were not computer controlled so there are no trans controls to worry about so you can use any '89-'94 Mustang MAF computer.

 

I also like the images with captions.

A picture is worth a thousand words...

 

Part of that “office work” that I do involves presentations and conveying complex stuff quickly and efficiently, which usually benefits from a picture of two. I do it all day long and know two pieces of software really well: 1) Microsoft Powerpoint (it’s part of Microsoft Office) and 2)Paint.net (it’s free and easy to use). It only takes a few minutes to get one of those pictures made and it really helps me understand what I need (Since my pea sized brain is full. Oh, and it leaks.)

Yep, or when rebuilding a truck, a picture could be worth 2 hours of useless work for 15 minutes of “Oh, that’s what he meant!” But back to the business at hand…

From my original goals, I have to “draw the line” on the budget at upgrading the injectors. I just don’t want to go nuts generating horsepower that, while great for a smile or bench racing, I don’t need. If the injectors are my limiting factor I think I’ve reached my goal - all the horsepower to be had without pushing more gas into the engine…

Back to this MAF stuff- So it’s really about an ODB-I Mass Air Flow setup (for a V8). I didn’t even think of the ODB-II aspect, but yeah, I imagine that’s a headache waiting to happen! I’ve played around with the ODB-II in my other vehicles – it’s pretty cool. Sometimes I think it would be great to have it in Ugly Betty, but that’s part of the fun- thinking back to when cell phones weren’t in everyone’s pocket and the average toaster had less computing power than the lunar lander. But now I really digress!

1) So the Quarterhorse plugs into the J3 port. We’ve established that I’m a visual kind of guy, so where is the J3 port? Is that on the A9L or A9P EEC module? Good that it uses USB cables- uh, does it go to my laptop (yes, since it uses Excel), and, uh, wow, geek fun!

2) The EEC Analyzer (binary editor) software looks like fun to play with. How much trouble can I get into with it? Just curious since there’s a warning that says ‘don’t use while driving.’ I guess I'm just trying to figure out what I need to do vs. what I can mess up while doing it.

3) LC-1 Lamda Cable… is this just the cable between #1 and #2 above? What the…? Where do I put this in the picture?

As for the K&N filter- okay. Let’s see where the research takes us on the solutions- I didn't buy it yet, but I did have it on the wish list....

 

Yes the J3 port is on the back of the EEC.. opposite end from the main cable connector. When plugged in there these tuner modules override the internal memory(which isn't flashable or electronically reporgrammable) and give you access to all processes, tables, and constants once the tuner modules flash is loaded with the correct memory map(BIN file) for the particular EEC computer you're using. In some cases this can be downloaded from the EEC but these Mustang computers have been used for so long now that you can also get the file from the web.
As for not tuning while you drive well.. they don't want you texting while driving either because it requires too much of your attention so that's a safety precaution, but if you can get somebody else to drive then the road is your dyno and you should be able to dial in any combination of injector and MAF meter on any displacement naturally aspirated engine.
The LC1 Wideband kit directly interfaces with the BE software through a serial port on the laptop so you can see and datalog the engines actual A/F ratios as you drive, this is particularly useful info to have when you're pushing a set of injectors or have an engine combo that moves a lot more air than the stock 5.0 computer was ever designed to control.

 

Got to do some diggin after getting UB back in the garage (I'm sore and need a beer!). Anyhow, I think I understand the setup- something like this, right? (wrong, keep reading...)

 

You you don't need the LC1 kit to access the Quarterhorse, BE accesses the hardware directly from the laptop via a USB cable. The LC1 wideband O2 is a seperate input to the laptop that is needed to have any luck tuning the motor, because without it you won't know if it's rich or lean or how much it's off.

But yeah once you got things dialed in you can disconnect the laptop and LC1 and drive it.. like a normal truck if you did a good job.

 

Alright Paul, I feel like I'm earning my masters in engine fuel science at the moment. The videos at Innovative have been really helpful in figuring out where things go:
Innovate Videos :: Engine Tuning Resources

Kind of crazy to think that I need to drill and weld a fitting to install a temporary 'bung' to measure exhaust gases in my brand new (yet to be purchased) expensive exhaust system. Then again I like the idea of getting optimal performance from what I think will be a pretty well balanced and smokin 351W.

Long-term I think I'll get there, but I have to admit that thinking about a rebuild, and then a MAF conversion, and then tuning at the level that the LC-1 is talking about is intimidating. Keep in mind I'm still a little perplexed at how I'm going to get the timing lined to even get the engine to fire, never mind fuel to air mixture ratios and this crazy lambda thing! For now I'll make you a deal though- keep, uh, correcting me when I don't understand and I'll keep making diagrams that might help me, or anyone else, thinking about the process.

Anyhow, here's a new pic of what I think the picture is telling us so far: