400hp ca smog legal 5.0 in a 94

[87xjmike]

i just picked a doner 2000 awd expo and plan to build a stroker motor out of the existing block and heads in the vehicle.

Any suggestions on the best route to take considering it has to be ca smog legal, and swapped into a 1st gen?

So far I plan to do a 347 stroker kit
tM headers
Ca legal cam
Hoping to get away with some minor porting on the existing gt40p heads. To keep it passing smog.
Any other head work needed to achieve the hp goal?
Intake spacer (I'm sure I'll have to remove that come smog season as well as an intake and exhaust) although a lot of modern cats flow well.
Reason I need this in my first gen is because I've already built it up into a capable 4x4 prerunner and it handles really well at the moment. Plus I love the idea of having a fast beamed and fully locked expo.
So am I crazy or does this sound feasible?

 

[shucker1]

400 Hp is a really high mark for a 302 N\A engine. Plus being smog legal in CA and trying to hit that number?

 

[RangerX]

Isn't the CA engine swap rule that you can only use an engine that was offered in that model year?

 

[Turdle]

I beleive the stock heads will only support 350hp well. 400 would be a lot easier to hit using aftermarket heads and intake. Which opens other cans of worms.

I was also under the impression you could use an engine from a newer vehicle into an older one, but not the other way around. Theoretically the 98 engine would be "cleaner" than the stock 94.

The stock valve train will not live through the RPM's needed to hit 400 hp either. This makes aftermarket heads easier to budget since you will want larger rocker studs.

This thread was originally posted in the sport trac sub forum. I moved it to the modified 1st gen sub forum for better views.

 

[87xjmike]

I could settle for 350 if it's that much of a difference in cost That'd be ~280 to the wheels. Which is more than double the hp of a stock 4.0


And yes you can swap later year motors into a earlier year truck here in California

 

[boominXplorer]

If your looking for more than 100 HP over stock, factory gt40p heads won't cut it. To make them perform like you want would cost $600 and then you still have to deal with the 5/16 rocker arm bolts. Jump straight to aluminum heads or be just fine with 250 whp.

The top end of the motor makes your power, the bottom end supports the power made. You can build a sweet 347 but put all the stock Explorer gt40p stuff on top and you'll only profit 30 hp at best. Cam and heads is where the power is made.

 

[Josh P]

The best way to get to 400hp is with a 351W. If it was mine I'd swap the 302 in bone stock to pass the visual by the ref then I'd swap a 351W in it's place using the 5.0L intake with an adapter for a stealth install. A 408 stroker would make for a cool low rpm tire roaster.

 

[87xjmike]

Any suggestions on which heads? There's only a few to choose from that's cali EO approved and the latest year summitt had was for a 95 block.

https://www.summitracing.com/parts/tfs-51410002-m58/overview/make/ford

Any idea if these will work for a 2000 block?

 

[Josh P]

Carb cert is for 96 and older on those heads. In California marijuana is legal but removing the smog equipment from a 20 year old car is illegal. I don't understand their priorities.

 

[87xjmike]

The best way to get to 400hp is with a 351W. If it was mine I'd swap the 302 in bone stock to pass the visual by the ref then I'd swap a 351W in it's place using the 5.0L intake with an adapter for a stealth install. A 408 stroker would make for a cool low rpm tire roaster.

That would never work in cali as I'd still have to smog it every two years. A smog tech would instantly see the difference between a motor that has a distributor, placed in a truck that was refereed with a motor that doesn't have a dizzy.

 

[87xjmike]

Carb cert is for 96 and older on those heads. In California marijuana is legal but removing the smog equipment from a 20 year old car is illegal. I don't understand their priorities.

That should still work considering the truck itself is a 94. I could say I swapped in a 96 motor.

Anybody know which aftermarket heads work with the TM headers?

 

[Josh P]

That would never work in cali as I'd still have to smog it every two years. A smog tech would instantly see the difference between a motor that has a distributor, placed in a truck that was refereed with a motor that doesn't have a dizzy.

Edis can be installed on a 351W, aluminum heads can be painted to look like the stock iron heads, etc. I've had to deal with California emissions, lived there for many years. The year of the motor and the power level make this swap difficult. If it was a 95 motor, you would have more choices for heads and exhaust that are ARB compliant.

 

[87xjmike]

Edis can be installed on a 351W, aluminum heads can be painted to look like the stock iron heads, etc. I've had to deal with California emissions, lived there for many years. The year of the motor and the power level make this swap difficult. If it was a 95 motor, you would have more choices for heads and exhaust that are ARB compliant.

What's the difference in 95? I have a 96 awd expo as well and everything under the hood appears to look exactly the same as the 2000 I just brought home aside from the shape of the air box.

So why not just say I put in a 96? It's still the same Windsor pushrod based block. Do they actually look at the numbers on the block? I highly doubt they could with how already cramped it is in an expo, then add coilovers coming all the way to the hood.

I brought our 96 awd expo in to get bar reff'd a month ago as it was built for sale in Canada and it was very out of site when the reffd it. I was not allowed anywhere near the shop to see what they were doing.

 

[87xjmike]

Although now that I think of it, does the computer tell you what year the management system is when you plug a fancy scanner into it? I only have a low buck ob2 scanner and it doesn't give that info.

And if not I wonder if the bar ref cross checks the numbers on the trucks computer.

 

[Josh P]

The ref should check numbers on all the equipment installed. Only difference in a 96 up 302 from the earlier is what the smog police will allow. With obd 2 the Vin is programmed into the ecm. Once you get the bar sticker, change heads, modify it. If it looks stock then the local emissions place won't notice or give you a hard time about it.

 

[CDW6212R]

The TFS TW 170 heads would be far far better than stock, way past any GT40 head. That'd be a good start to build around, a custom cam is an absolute must(ask and obey spring recommendations of cam designer). Those heads/cam/intake/valvetrain parts are keys to big driveable power, and reducing emissions. Skip on any of those and forget the goals, all will fail.

You'd need to use the late 97 PCM, it's the earliest with the better level of OBDII controls, and has no PATS. You might get away with telling "them" that it's supposedly a 96/97 computer. They are a very close cousin, the 96 and early 97 PCM, versus the late 97.

For the 1st gen Explorers, you can use much better exhaust manifolds than the crappy TM headers. Hunt for the several choices 1st gen owners use. You'll never get 300rwhp with a TM header, without boost.

The intake manifold is tough also, the stock GT40 style isn't good for more than about 300hp, figure 6000rpm tops on a 302. A stroker is the only realistic way you are going to get past 300hp, and that would require an intake that is not allowed in CA, like the 6500 rpm intakes(advertised numbers for a 302). The heads would have to flow at least 300cfm, and not many do out of the box, so plan on $500+ for porting a good head like the TFS TW 170.

 

[Centaurus5.0]

I agree with Josh P.

Get it tittled in a family or friends name who lives out of state and drop in 408w. Be about the same cost as a 347 (or cheaper if carbed) and you'd have 400hp to the wheels.

 

[87xjmike]

I agree with Josh P.

Get it tittled in a family or friends name who lives out of state and drop in 408w. Be about the same cost as a 347 (or cheaper if carbed) and you'd have 400hp to the wheels.

There's a few reasons i want to stick with the 5.0, the main being space. I really don't think a 351 and all the accessories will fit in between the coilover hoops I made for my long travel set up.

I further would like to keep my autofab drop center hood as I really like how it looks.

 

[Josh P]

That jeep needs a stroker motor and a supercharger. After seeing pictures of the space you have to work with in that engine bay, 5.0L would be the best fit. I'd like to see this swap happen.

 

[87xjmike]

That jeep needs a stroker motor and a supercharger. After seeing pictures of the space you have to work with in that engine bay, 5.0L would be the best fit. I'd like to see this swap happen.

Funny you mention it because that jeep is stroked out. I believe to 4.7. No forced induction though. It's got an atlas to. Thing is pretty bad ass for a rig on 35's. his name is Josh as well so I halfway thought you were him when you started saying how it needs to be stroked... lol

I moved my battery to the back so that saved a little space. I'll likely have to do away with the abs for this swap to.