Kind of a crazy question


I have a 5.0L EFI in a 91 E-150. Has anyone one heard of anyone supercharging a van/this engine? Also, what would be involved in swapping the 5.0 with a 460, what else would have to be replaced? What would the power gains be and gas mileage loss?

New to FTE, this is a great site.

 

I know there has to be someone nuts enough out there that has done this.

 

I believe they make a supercharger for the 5.0 but, I have never heard of anyone putting a 460 in a van. It's possible if you have enough mechanical knowledge and can afford the vehicle downtime and have tools. You might be much better off putting in a built 351, 350-400hp. The weight of the 460 becomes an issue for your front springs, and a 5.8 would be easier to put in.

 

The 460 was an option in the vans in the past. Just wondered what I could keep and what would have to be replaced.

 

the usual swap requirments apply to you, you just have to rob a van of its parts. If you get the 460 engine from a yard look for one in a van similar chassis year as yours then you can take the mounts and radiator and tranny (you will need the BB tranny yours won't work) and tranny crossmember all the other crap along with it. Reason I say take the 460 from the van, yeah I know all 460 are the same, but there may have been some considerations made to the engine fuel and electrical configuration including accessories that allow the motor to fit in the tighter space, personally I don't know just making suggestions.

You could keep it simple and just put a blower on it. No matter which direction you take there is gonna be some hard work involved. Reasearch the crap out of installing the blower as well as the engine. Your problem is finding someone who has done it, to a van. Man that is a throw back, you gonna put a mural on the side of it? Just messing around, I think a hot rod van would be cool, definitely different. So what have you done and where you plan on taking the makeover of the van? Later

 

My goal in life is to own a van that will run ~7 seconds in the 1/4.... So any ideas email me.

 

Well for right now these are dreams... Were you suggesting adding the blower to the 5.0L that I have? I will do it some day...and I will post it.

 

Yeah I was talking about puting a blower on the 302. I would think there would be enough room however tight. Hey, its not my first choice but a hot rodded van smoking everyone at the track does sound interesting. Just to give you a little more of my opinions, if you are serious about making this thing a performance machine you could do it with the 5.0 to be a little different but you already have that with it being a van so it would probably sereve you better to go with the 460 and porting the heads and camming it, although it would require some efi work and injector swap, I think it would serve you better in the long run. I will keep my eye out for posts on how 91Van has done the swap. Later

 

514 with a blower, nitrous tubbed and slicks....that oughta do the trick.

 

If i were to back down...yes i know... and want to make the max HP with the 5.0L 302, what would I have to do and what could I expect to get for tq and hp? What is this engine stock?

 

the 302 has something like 180-200hp and maybe 260-280 tq. Not a street terror in a van. The only problem with the 302 is it has a short stroke which means to make hp it wants to rev so to make more and more hp you need to rev the motor higher and higher which only wears parts quicker. IF you just want a peppy motor that will put a smile on your face when you stomp it then put a supercharger and lower rear gears in it. Otherwise find a 351 it is a direct drop in you can use everything off the 302 efi to put on the 351 you will have to make some minor changes to the injector harness or chip one or the other no big deal huh? The 351 has a longer stroke hence it makes tq lower in the rpm range compared to the 302 that is why you want the most cubic inch engine you can afford be it stroker or BB. The more cubic inches you have the longer the stroke which equal more low end power and less strain on the motor, which equals less of a burden on your wallet replacing parts. Hope this helps some later

 

Thank You jwtaylor

 

For what's it's worth.....

I'm planning a new build for the 'pit'. I thought of a 351 swap but thought I would do something different. I thought of a 347 or a 392 stroker but that's not exactly different is it? But I do want to build a stroker for it. What's so different about that?.....

How about a 3.25" stroker, not the popular 3.4",with a factory 4" bore??

A new block (302) from Summit
3.25" stroke forged crank
5.4" forged rods
4" stock bore forged pistons (saves for a future rebuild if needed)

This will need to be peiced together as there isn't a kit that I could find for the standard size bore.

This comes out to a 327ci engine. Adding Edelbrock Performer heads and truck EFI intake, Comp Cams cam (grind to be determined), SD to MAF conversion. This package should have plenty of low end and even better mid range power with my 3.55 rear gears and tire size.

You say a 327 sounds too much like a Ch3vy? This one won't sound anything like a Ch3vy and I will have a brand new top to bottom motor to last as long as any crate motor that would be able to handle a shot of N2O if I ever felt the need.

Thought I would give you another option I haven't heard before...