street toy planning stage

[alyen1977]

I know that this is not a cheap process, and understand that i will not be driving it tomorrow, but at the same time this isn't a fantasy wish list either. Hoping to be able to have it ready to drive it in the spring fine tune it and then off to primer for a while like every other hot rod on the road. Finish up the body work and custom touches i have to have then paint and enjoy for years to come.

It started with a 331 i was gonna drop in the current daily driver but after a couple conversations with a local explorer enthusiast the ended up in me reading tons of posts here and getting slightly agitated with ford design engineers i have decided that the 331 is going into a mustang with the explorer upper and will be called good... surely i can get plenty of tickets with that so there is no need to get stupid with that car. That brings me to the question of the street performance explorer i would like to have. Growing up in an area with a huge custom low-rider culture, with tons of custom paint and sound cruising several large drags every Friday and Saturday night i have always wanted one of my own. Only i don't want to just scrape asphalt, I want it to go fast too. I also feel that the ford explorer platform is as about ideal as it comes for interior room and overall size for the performance art canvas.

I just bought a new engine for my daily driver and will be getting it installed soon as my work brings me closer to home(about 30 days) which will leave me with a full long block to start with.

I have done pricing for parts and machining and everything else i can think of for the mechanical part of making it go zoom zoom, and was wanting to run it by the experts before i start sinking more money that is not usable for the project. If my figures are right, it will be kind of expensive, but all bought and paid for and a hell of a lot cheaper than a new vehicle, and what i want so it is a better value for my money.

Looking at a couple vehicles that are cheap enough that it wouldn't hurt my feelings for gutting and strait enough that it would not be stupid amounts of body work and gonna decide soon on the exact one.

Doing the torsion bar flip to lower it

302 block, forged pistons, forged rods, steel crank(eagle makes the 50 0z imbalance steel crank) p&p work on heads mostly exhaust side and on the intake.

dropping the compression to 8.5 to 1 and running a rear mount turbo charger.

Manual transmission swap, preferably a tremec tko500
I am wanting it to be a 2wd so have been thinking about getting one that was already a manual 2wd and building from that.

Full after market engine management and fuel management... not exactly sure which one, speed shop here in town says they have a couple that would work for what i am wanting to do, and they would be glad to do the work, but they think i am crazy, to which i reply "I am an iron worker... this is sane compared to what i do for a living"

the interior is almost last on the list, and haven't hammered it out all the way, but thinking more about 4 captains chairs with a center console that goes from the shifter all the way back... definitely more function than art though. But if current job does continue on for the next 2 years a projected with the OT it will be dealt with come spring.

paint is going to be gunmetal grey with a low gloss clear coat. match painted 20s.

anyway... that is the plan needing input feed back and if anyone else out there has done similar i would especially appreciate the advice they can pass on.

 

[merbs]

I don`t know why they said not to put a 331 in but whatever!A turbo is fine but not a 331?With the limited header area and tmhs being available again I`d pop for that before I try jamming a turbo setup with wastegates,poppoffs,turbos and intercoolers,let alone all the pipes and lines and oil coolers!That shop CAN`T have looked in an explorer engine bay or they are crazier than you are!Many people on this site have put strokers in their rides,some with superchargers! A turbo to me is insane and without hacking the inner fenderwells to bits or even removing them it can`t work-the frame is in the way too! Put your stroker in! I just built a 331 for my prostreet mustang former drag car.Scat crank and rods,probe 10to1s,alum.heads,big comp cams roller cam,allro built, that will go turbo as there is tons of room,UNLIKE an ex.Check out a.hodges build on page 2,first post!AND DROOL AND DREAM!OR MAYBE OUT DO HIM???

 

[alyen1977]

so the 28 oz imbalance isn't going to be a problem? from everything i was reading it looked like it was gonna be an issue and i haven't been able to source a 50 oz stroker crank.. will look at the posts you referred too

 

[merbs]

No that`s not a problem at all,new fords 1981 and on all have 50 oz. balance cranks.80 and older all run 28 oz.And if you go to summitracing.com you can ask them any question and their tech guys will get back that day with the answer.Or you can write to your crank manuf.Eagle you said right?They are happy to help anyone figure out how to use their products.I have a scat crank hooked to a powerglide in my 89 mustang with 28 oz. balance,asked summit and they showed me which flexplate to run,I knew which setup to use but could`nt find just the plate only the whole conversion kit by tci, and my car already had the kit but not the 28 oz flexplate,they gave me the number.Jegs does it too if you like them better, but summit is great if you ask me,and being in Ohio they are close to you and me. Have fun!This site was down all day or would`ve written sooner.

 

[alyen1977]

spent a lot more time today reading about balancing engines and it is starting to make a lot more sense... my performance upgrade experience has been limited to dealing with a Saturn sl2 and an older cavalier i had after college, both and those builds were very straight forward without many options to choose from, which is definitely making this more confusing.

So correct me if i am wrong on this then... doesn't matter whether 28 or 50 or internally balanced... so long as everything down the path(balancer, crank, and flywheel) is the same and balanced together with the rods pistons and all mounting hardware

As to the turbo vs supercharger, i have most of the stuff for the turbo setup already somewhere in my garage that i got for a 240sx several years ago and never got around to using. that and going with the rear mount i wouldn't need to worry about extra clearance for the turbo, just the waste gate and BOV, and i didn't think getting like an mr2 or jetta intercooler would be to hard to fit at the bottom of the radiator. they are both fairly small and since i will be spinning the turbo in the rear it will not be anywhere near as hot. that and the supercharger kit not be available new which would definitely make it more difficult to source.

also do you know if the a main girdle like the trick flow one would fit in the explorer pan? or should i not even bother with it. I know that the block should hold 450 to 500 reliably... and my plans were to just keep it around the 350 mark... but i know me, if the power is available i will prolly justify turning the boost up, or playing with nitrous and flirt with the upper limit a bit. it would be approximately $175 more than just getting the ARP main bolts but in the grand scheme of things if they really are worth the money it could translate into 2 grand or better long run.

also.. thinking i might need to change out pistons. think the setup i have will put my compression at 9.2 to 1. need to get the head work done first before i know the exact. might be able to get it all machined out right though. Will have a lot more information about where things stand soon as i get closer to home and it gets cooler. its too hot in the garage at the moment.

 

[merbs]

No,if it`s a 28 oz balance you HAVE to get a flywheel with a 28 oz. balance.You want to run
a standard so like I said go to summit and put in you specs and search a flywheel at the left.As to those parts put them on craigslist,they are`nt designed for a 5.0ford.check out this... http://www.ebay.com/itm/1979-1993-F... one goes.Check out the weind ones on summit.

 

[alyen1977]

pretty much right in the middle of town

and that is what i meant about the imbalance... everything would need be for the 28oz that i have, and when i take it over to get the balance fine tuned take the whole rotating assembly and get it it balanced together.

going to look at the write ups for the superchargers you mentioned to see what all i need to do with them to get it worked into the build.

 

[merbs]

All you need is the 28 oz flywheel,your harmonic balancer and the rest will work just fine.Ask the guys at summit if you want a second opinion.A buddy is from Kansas city kansas,a big 5.0 guy.Loves em.Writes a blog on wildaboutcars.com on fords.that`s why i asked,also when I was in boot camp I knew a guy named Mcgatha from your side of the river.good joe.