Strange 5.0 Engine
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Joined: Mar 2004
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From: Destin/Ft. Walton Beach,
Strange 5.0 Engine
I am a true blue Ford fan, but the've done some really weird stuff. I bought an engine that was said to be a 1990 5.0 HO. There was no intake on it, so I could see it was a roller cam engine. When I got it home, I noticed that the plug wires were placed on the distributor in the older 289 and 302 firing order. (wires are numbered) I got online and did some checking. Crown Victorias, Grand Marquis, and Lincoln Town Car used this engine in 1990. Not only does it have the old firing order, but it also has a standard rotation water pump. It's only 150 horsepower. I'm assuming I can install a HO camshaft and change the firing order, and have an HO engine. I'm not sure yet if the pistons are cast or forged. I tried to pull the steel distributor gear off the TFI distributor, and install it on a Duraspark distributor in place of the cast iron gear, for use with a carb . Nope. TFI distributor has a larger diameter shaft. Now I have to find a steel gear compatible with the roller cam and the Duraspark distributor. No wonder Chevy people can't cope when they have to work on a Ford. Many, many changes between the models and years.
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Joined: Mar 2004
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The heads on the regular pass car engines are not the same as the 85, 87-up HO engines. However, the F150 truck engines used the same heads as the 87-up HO's, so assuming you have a pair of those, you can put E7TE's on. The pistons will not be forged or hyper. This shouldn't be a problem, unless you plan on spraying it with nitrious. The 85 Mustang HO used a duraspark distibutor in conjunction with the roller cam, so an 85 HO Duraspark or an aftermarket replacement for the 85 will work fine.
