1989 5.0 block question
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1989 5.0 block question
so a buddy of mine informed me that his 5.0 is shot. and heres the question, he has a 1989 ford mustang h.o. 5.0 block in his garage stamped with XXX . it was a roller block, but will it work in a speed density truck? putting in a non roller cam and such. im not sure if the block is the exact same and will work for a f150
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Joined: Jun 2006
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From: Ottawa, Ontario
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!! 
Ha.. that sounded funny even as I was typing it.
What you got here is an opportunity to install a HUGH upgrade in that truck. Believe it or not the blocks for those two motors are the same.. all 5.0 blocks are the same really, but the cams are nothing alike and that's a good thing because the stock '89 truck cam is brutally bad. So my suggestion is to install the HO shortblock as it is with 1 modification, go get an adjustable timing set and advance the cam 4 degrees, then put the truck intake and accessory brackets on it and stuff it in there. The only change you need to make electrically is to route the plug wires for the HO firing order, the motor will run normally but will make quite a bit more power than the old corked up mess.
Ha.. that sounded funny even as I was typing it.
What you got here is an opportunity to install a HUGH upgrade in that truck. Believe it or not the blocks for those two motors are the same.. all 5.0 blocks are the same really, but the cams are nothing alike and that's a good thing because the stock '89 truck cam is brutally bad. So my suggestion is to install the HO shortblock as it is with 1 modification, go get an adjustable timing set and advance the cam 4 degrees, then put the truck intake and accessory brackets on it and stuff it in there. The only change you need to make electrically is to route the plug wires for the HO firing order, the motor will run normally but will make quite a bit more power than the old corked up mess.
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Joined: Jan 2007
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From: Washington
^^ Yep. I have a 302 HO motor with a roller cam in a 91 F150. Works great! Throws no codes, passes emissions just fine and runs nice and smooth.
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thats awesome! he also has an e303 cam for that same motor although not installed, if he put that in the motor and installed it would it work? or is it best to just keep it all stock h.o.
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Non-H.O. engines (non-roller-cam engines) used CAST IRON driven gears on the distributor shaft. Use of a roller-cam (H.O.), to avoid "eating" the cast iron distributor gear, required it's replacement with a STEEL gear.
impish
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