Am I nuts?? Supercharging

[Mike 92 XLT]

For the love of God, someone please talk me out of this. Or talk me into this. Hell, I don't care, just be convincing. Now that I'm out of college and actually making a little money, I've been looking around at new cars. The only problem is, I haven't found any that I really like and that are in my price range (except for one, but more on that later). I'm definitely into having something unique and special, not just a regular, cookie-cutter car that everyone else has (which could be applied to the Explorer I suppose, but the first-gens are becoming pretty rare, at least around here, and mine is in mint condition, so it's not something you really see much of anymore). So on to the point of my post.

I've been toying with the idea of keeping the Explorer for awhile longer and supercharging it. Now with 150K on the clock, if I keep it, I was really thinking about getting the engine rebuilt anyway, so here's my plan. Do the rebuild with Vanir parts and slap on a BBK Instacharger. Here are the pros and cons as I see them:

Pros: 1) Way cheaper than a new car. I'm thinking in the 6-7K range for the engine work plus the supercharger, plus doing some strengthening to the tranny if needed. Someone tell me if that figure is way off. 2) It'll definitely be unique. Plus the look on people's faces when they get killed by a first gen Explorer will be priceless. And it'll be a ton of fun to drive. 3) As I mentioned, the X is in absolutely mint condition, and I'd probably never get more than $5000 for it if I sold it. I have owned it since new, so it has a bit of sentimental value to me, so it'd be nice to hang onto it for a few more years, if not longer.

Cons: 1) Do I really want to spend as much money on this thing as it's worth (or more). 2) Do I really want to speed up the destruction of another tranny? Speaking of which, if anyone (Alec?) has any suggestions of what to do to slow that inevitablility down, I'd greatly appreciate it.

So basically, I think this'd be a really cool project, if I could just get past the part of spending more on it then the truck is worth. But hey, not everything has to make logical sense, right?

My other option right now: sell the X and buy a Grand Cherokee 5.9 Limited, which is what I narrowed my car search down to. Heh, I already think I know what most of you probably think about that.

Mike

 

[Howard]

It sounds like you want to be convinced. I know its hard to justify to yourself spending serious $$$ on an old motor. But as you say it would be different and an interesting project. Ask yourself if you would advise someone else to do this if the answer is yes then do it. Is the x realy in such mint con. Interior, no rust etc. How long after mods would you keep it? If like me you are very happy with your x then you just have to go for it.
You might be able to reduce the costs a bit. How about a second hand lump and box from a younger x. Is the 4r70w box any better than the A4ld? Lots of options are open to you but if it was me with this situation I'd go for it. Whats to loose apart from $$$$ which your gona spend anyway. If you go for another vehicle you don't know its history and it may cost you $$$ anyway. So stick with what you know and love.

Hope this gives an outsider perspective.
All the best
PS: Take pics of project which will help a lot of others.

 

[Mbrooks420]

sell the X and buy a Grand Cherokee

No don't go to the dark side!! If I were you and was still happy with it I'd rebuild and charge it. Do you think going to a Crysler product you aren't going to have more tans. woes? I personally think I would have more fun in the supercharged Explorer.
But then again nothing is like a new car. Which can be good or bad I guess.

 

[rydinhigh]

swap the engine for a built 302 and slap a 200 shot of nos on it

 

[Alec]

I'd either think about a 302 swap or rebuild the 4.0 and get the supercharger.

302: get a better tranny, vast range of available parts and ways to build up. but kinda hard, difficult with computer, have to do lots of research.

4.0: have to do rebuild for old motor to handle supercharger. parts available for both projects if you find an s/c kit. you know what you're getting into from the beginning.

There are many more factors, but it's early in the morning

I'd personally go with the 302 swap in your situation. It has a higher power potential, is probably gonna be more reliable (cause it includes a better tranny), and you can't beat having a V8 under the hood. Price is highly variable, but it could end up cheaper or much more expensive than the 4.0 route. The hardest part I hear is the computer integration, and there are many members on here that could help you out with that.

 

[justin's_94]

I would go with the 302 swap and put it on nitrous or get a 347 stroker kit for it. There are literally hundreds of companys that make performance parts for Ford 302s and you cannot go wrong with that. You can't beat that 8 cylinder roar either.

 

[XLT_66]

YEA, they computer part is making me nervous for when i swap to a 5-speed, i am thinking about how to fix it and i realize that i have no clue on how to deal with computers....

 

[Michigander]

Mike, your nuts.... Buy a 5.0 Explorer or the 5.9 Jeep you've been wanting.

No use SCing a 4.0 explorer only to get 200 hp and 250lb torque Dead Link Removed
the stock 5.0 has 210 hp and 280 lbs torque and a trans that can handle it

There's no replacement for displacement ~ I know you like your current X, but lets get real ... we're both struggling on the same thing, and now my Explorer is for sale....

 

[Alec]

michigander, rear wheel numbers do not = flywheel numbers. I now have about 235 at the ground and 300+hp at the motor.

but i did suggest he do a swap rather than the rebuild/sc of the 4.0.

 

[TDG]

Bring your credit card, lets go shopping.

 

[Pemerling]

hey im also interested about putting a 5 speed in a 5.0 i think it would be awesome to have something like that but what exactly are the problems with the computer. ?? couldnt u have it reprogrammed to like an older f series with a 302 and 5 speed?

 

[Mike 92 XLT]

Thanks for the replies everyone.

I've actually given the 302 conversion a lot of thought, and these are the things that are holding me back from it: 1) It's a time-consuming process which could end up turning into a real money pit. 2) Does anyone with a 5.0 swap actually have working A/C? From what I've read, that's been a notoriously difficult component to integrate with the swap. 3) Is this possible w/o a body lift? Not that that would be that big of a deal, but with a lift, I'd want to go to bigger tires, which = slower accelleration, which would defeat some of the purpose of this project. My goal is for a stock-looking Explorer with some serious power.

As for the 4.0 S/C, I'm a leaning toward this route because the aftermarket parts for the rebuild are readily available, plus the supercharger is pretty rare - there are already plenty of V8 Explorers out there (although hardly any first gens, I know). The S/C just appeals to me more.

Michigander, heh, yeah, I know I'm nuts, just thinking though. With the Vanir parts alone I should be around the 200 mark, then with the S/C I should be close to 260 if not a little more. So I think the power gains would be worth it. Why's your Explorer up for sale?

Howard, yes, the car is in perfect shape. No rust (California car). Here's a pic of what it looks like:

Thanks for the thoughts everyone. If I end up doing this, it will be in the next couple of months, and I'll keep everyone up to date.

Mike

 

[Michigander]

Michigander, heh, yeah, I know I'm nuts, just thinking though. With the Vanir parts alone I should be around the 200 mark, then with the S/C I should be close to 260 if not a little more. So I think the power gains would be worth it. Why's your Explorer up for sale?

Because I want a V8. I never offroad the Explroer because of my Jeep so there really is no use to having it, besides the fact that it looks better than everyone elses. So now onto new things... another explorer, drop 2" and start building the V8 for the track. Why? I don't know....