Motor

[John_Bitting]

The last thing I want to do to the bronco is build the motor. I want it smog legal, VERY dependable and some good oooomph when I mash the pedal. Dont need 700hp, just more then it has now.. How much am I looking to spend? Where can I take it? Will my stock tranny hold up or should I buy a better one? Thanks in advance.

[scott]

Put the 351 H.O. Motor in it, just like in a Lightning. It should bolt right in. H.P. , reliable, smog legal, & 13 to 15 MPG........

[Ryno]

John-

What is in it now? What tranny do you have? AOD? I also need to know what gear ratio you're going to run. For a 400hp 351, you'll spend about 3k. For a 400hp 302 (stroked to 347), you'll spend about 3500, but it will rev quicker and get better mileage. If you have a 300hp motor, after the auto tranny, and the t-case, you'll put about 200-230 to the wheels, depending on how the gearing is. Keep that in mind. As far as tranny, you can get it built with kevlar clutch paks, with extra clutches in the 2-3 band, as well as the 3-4 band. Along with billet servos, and a mild shift kit. A snapping neck from a 1-2 shift is cool for about 5 minutes, then it gets old.

Ryno

Build it like a Rhino, and Leave it be.

[jeff]

Check out all the Mustang mags and online forums - nobody tries to make more power on a budget than a Mustang owner. There is a never ending array of bolt-on goodies for both the 5.0 and 5.8. How fast you go is directly related to how much you spend. Don't listen to ANYONE that tells you that cheap horsepower is reliable - it just ain't so. Are you planning on tearing the motor down or do you just want to bolt on some stuff and leave the bottom end and guts stock?

Aloha

[John_Bitting]

It has a 351 in it right now.. I am not sure on the tranny.. I can find out tomorrow. I am running 4:56's front and rear


Jeff I am not sure.. Scott had the best Idea with buying a new motor and dropping it in, reliable and smoggable. I reallly would like to still drive to Laughlin, Primm, San Felipe places that Scott DOES now with his Lightning motor..

Ryan can you please PM me and let me know costs associated with a mild build using my existing motor but freshining it up since it has almost 100k now.. Thanks guys.

[Jimmy8]

Probably a C6 or an E4OD. Probably the latter if it is newer. You can get a lot of tricks done fairly cheap with a C6, an E4OD on the other hand is a bit tougher. I know it can be done because Ashley and Smith ran one in there 8 truck. I would go to Mogi about the trans. He can build anything, for any truck. He can go to whatever extent you want, and price range. He has done our tranny's (C6's) for probably 15 years, and I am sure guys such as Kyle taylor can vouch for this.... He is the best. Even if you dont have it built though, you have to have a manule valve body put on yours.
As for your motor, my buddy just had his 302 rebuilt, and only added a cam and a bigger carb and it runs great, along with a K&N and headers. A cam alone can do a lot for you, you just have to make sure you drop in the right one.

"We've done so much with so little for so long, we can do anything with nothing!"

[jeff]

Smog legal eh?

I've built a few engines on my own and learned a few things with each build. I've got it to the point where I'm not wasting money on [censored] that doesn't work anymore. Good power from an engine that'll pass smog is easy to build... but it ain't cheap. Since you said you want to freshen it up you'll be yanking it out so you might as well go for the gold.

You'll have to step up to larger injectors and a fuel pump that can flow enough juice to feed them. Then you'll have to consider a larger throttle body to let more air in... and a manifold, then heads, headers... and on and on.

Stroker kits will really add a butt-load of HP and TORQUE. Even without the stroker kit, a set of quality heads, a properly matched CAM and new injectors/pump, your EFI motor could make 400HP at the flywheel easily and reliably and run on PEMEX if it has to. My 351w is making about 400hp and cost me about $2000 grand to build - did all the work myself. CARB = CHEAPER ... EFI = EXPENSIVE

Beware - It all adds up fast on an EFI motor man... these are retail SummitRacing type prices - actual prices would bbe lower if you shopped it out or found a friend... - :)

24lb or 30lb Injectors for a set of 8 = $200
Ford Motorsports Fuel Pump = $125-150
Edelbrock Throttle Body = $285
TrickFlow or Edelbrock Intake Manifold = $550-ish
Piston and Ring Kit = $250-300
Heads = $1000
Pushrods (cheap insurance) - $50
Machine work = $500 to ?????
Cam = $200-300
Complete ARP Fastener Kit = $175


Total = $3500-ish - no labor

Stroker Kit = $1000-1500 - subtract previous $$$ for pistons

Total = 4500-ish - no labor

Your stock computer can be retained to make good power, that's the beauty of the MASS AIR FLOW setup. You either need a sampling tube or a slight EEC tweak. Geek engine stuff <---- Or you can ditch it and buy an add-on system that plugs into existing stuff and lets you tweak the settings to match your new displacement and airflow.

I'm sure you'll have no trouble finding a shop to do all the machine work - go for the "works" package.

Aloha

[Jerry Zaiden]

John, It is not a race truck. Bolt on a supercharger and a new set of aluminum heads from twisted wedge.

[John_Bitting]

race truck??

[WFODAN]

John ,

Why all this talk about HP ?? I say get the suspension working good first before you even think about the motor . Does more HP make it work better in the dez , or should you focus on the suspension ? I'm not sure if you remember when I had the 4 cyl in my truck . That thing dyno'd at about 68 HP at the rear wheels . That's it !!! Sure it wasn't too fast off the line , but once it got going it was hard to catch . More HP is better once you dial in the suspension , but I'd recomend doing the suspension first .


Dan Vance

[John_Bitting]

Dan, that is why it says the "last" thing I want to do... I want to know what my options are and how much things are.. If a motor is 10 grand I will never do it. But if there is small things I can do when I am ready, I will...

[klaus]

I'd have to agree with Jerry on this one.

A supercharger is easy to install (you can do it yourself) and it ads noticeable power for a good price.

Kits start at around $1.500 and are available for your engine without building custome brackets etc.

Look in the paper for a used one even. There was a powerdyne in the rdc classifieds for 1 grand (?) the other day without brackets.

Unfortunaly they are still not legal in the SCORE or BITD rulebooks.

[Jimmy8]

If they ever open superchargers and turbos up in TT or classs 1, things are going to get crazy!!

"We've done so much with so little for so long, we can do anything with nothing!"

[Ryno]

Superchangers are turbos are kinda not worth it guys. Think about this. You get dirt in a turbine, and it shreds it. You have motors getting plenty of power. The problem isn't the motor. It's what behind it that breaks most of the time. That's why they call it a slushbox.

Ryno

Build it like a Rhino, and Leave it be.

[ntsqd]

I gotta kinda disagree with this. If you're thinking a Roots (6-,8-,12-,14-71) type blower, then grit is a big, big issue since they are set up with wear bands in the rotors that make contact with the other rotor. With the centripetal (sp ?) supercharger type used on EFI aftermarket kits it isn't nearly as big a deal. That type of compressor has no internal contact. So while grit isn't ideal and should be avoided, it won't kill it RIGHT NOW like it would with a Roots type. Same is true of a turbo, but smog legal turbo kits are getting rarer and rarer. Too bad too, they are the better way to go.
For a street driver that has to stay smog legal, a Vortech or a Paxton (now the same company) is a simple way to get more power w/o a lot of hassle. Bare in mind though, that to get 100,000 mile durability with a supercharger you'll have to tear it down and build it specifically to be supercharged. If you only care about 30k-50k then bolt it on the stock engine. Oh, and find room for an UMP filter can for it.

TS

"Teach you all I know and you're still stupid"
-- Howdy Lee

[Jimmy8]

John B., just go to Shaver and have them build you a 351 that makes you 750 hp and is bulletproof!!! Or then again I have a sprint car magazine that has a place that sells sprint car crate motors. There is one in there that makes 800hp and will only set you back $35000, but it comes race ready, and all you have to do is drop it in and find a place for the sump tank!!! Let me know if you want the #. LOL. That will take care of all your probs.

"We've done so much with so little for so long, we can do anything with nothing!"

[Ryno]

TS-

On a street vehicle, I agree with you 100%. I have done 6 vortech kits on Mustangs, Camaros, and 1 corvette. I put intercoolers on 4 of them, definitely the way to go. However, on a dezert race/ preunner...I'd stick to natural aspiration. I just wouldn't want to worry about the blower at all. You have guys out there getting 500 ponies from an SBC. That's plenty of power for the avg. Joe Blow. When I get the $$$, I'm going to put a Vortech on my 454 crewcab. Definitely easy way to go, add headers and a nice exhaust, and it makes it even more efficient. =)

Ryno

Build it like a Rhino, and Leave it be.

[Waldo]

Low cost HP improvements for your vehicle John-

1. Muffler bearings
2. Piston return springs
3. Automatic tire pressure adjusters
4. Jack's X-mas ball

This should ad some getty-up to your horse! LOL!

BRAAAAAAAAP!

[Kritter]

You forgot the chickalator valve!

Kris

"Revenge is best served cold"

[Mike_HKmtrsprts]

Strap on one of those bug deflectors on the front Im sure thats good for around 10hp and 5mpg gain. If you dont want spend that much money just pull of the lid to your intake so you can think your driving around with a 500hp motor :)

[DPpatrol]

Are turbos illegal in all off road classes? What if the motor is factory turbo charged (aka 22r te) then is it legal?

jason

[V8Ranger]

What about MDR Class 14? I don't believe there are any other rules other than the truck has to be street legal and have all of the safety equipment.

[scott]

John, All this talk about superchargers, heads, cams, etc. etc. is nothing but a waste of $$$$. Damen, with the Black Ford X-Cab F-250 4x has a smogged 460 in it. Strapped on a supercharger, and that wasn't enough, then a bigger cam & ignition, then heads, then roller rockers, get the picture.
It just snowballed into a big bill. The best thing to do is what I said. Its a great platform to start with, without the problems. Shaun drove the Lightning after driving the Bronco for months, and he came back saying that he missed it, and he can't believe the HP difference. If you do build a big motor keep the 351 for smog... Later on Dude, let us know whats up.

[Jimmy8]

What my contention is, is what if someone built a new ford lightning for the stock full class. It says no superchargers, but this has a 5.4 supercharged stock, and isnt that what the class is about "STOCK". Olliges used to run an older lightning in stock full, but it was the 351 version without the supercharger.

"We've done so much with so little for so long, we can do anything with nothing!"

[vwguy]

always check your turn signal fluid too
the polished muffler bearings are a big bonus

how ironic is it that most people slow down for speed bumps yet almost all of us here im sure pin it

[rdc]

You gotta watch that blinker fluid... Mine was low the other day and it screwed EVERYTHING up. I probably only was getting 2" of front wheel travel, and the Explorer really felt sluggish. When i got home, I gave it the old post-combat check, and my nothing was wrong. Except the blinker fluid. Changed blinker fluid and the suspension worked fine, felt like I picked up another 30 hp easy. Then I changed my number 9 spark plug - 50 hp gain right there!

David - No one of consequence.

[Waldo]

I just had a radiator ventilation kit installed in my Ford (man, what a waist of money). I could have just drilled the holes in the radiator and vented it myself! I does better broadies though!

BRAAAAAAAAP!

[scott]

Jimmy, thats what I'm talking about. My Lightning is a 94 without No supercharger, and I've been in his Bronco, and there's a big difference...