New motors build questions

[FMD]

Hi all, ill try to be quick with this. I bought a teksid block recently, and it has the usual forged cobra crank inside it. For the build, Im going to use the forged crank (supposed to hold a lot of hp, cant remember the number) and have the block cleaned up. For the internals, what company is recommended? I was looking at MMR for most of my stuff, but just wanted to see what everybody thinks is the best reliability and price, as well as customer service. My plan for this motor is fully built, 600-800rwhp motor. I want to use a kenne bell 2.8l lq twin roots down the line, but since im planning to spend 5-10 grand on the motor, I wont be able to afford that for awhile. Whats the cheapest option to turbo/supercharge it until I can afford the kenne bell just to have boost running through it? This is my first serious motor build ever, so and tips and tricks would be apreciated. What type of tools/brand recommended, what type of bolts accessories etc. (arp?) and lastly, my original plan was to go for Cobra C heads off a 03/04 because ive heard after porting its the highest flowing, but the guy I bought it off of said he prefers the B heads because "its better for boost" according to him? He does run nitrous and a turbo so hes got to be right somewhere lol. Thank you anybody with some input.

-Frank

 

[siLversLeigh]

Sounds like you have your work cut out for you. If I recall correctly mihovetz runs b heads because they outflow the tumble ports after 9,000 rpms. I doubt you'll spin yours that high. Your intake choices are limited. Good luck and have fun.

 

[FMD]

@silversleigh , I know haha. I want this to be a really unique build that people will know. Im not looking to go at a crazy rpm like 9k honestly, unless that was the new powerband for the motor once its all said and done. Even now the powerbands supposdly around 6800ish, I shift at 6500. Im not looking to break a ton of components for .10 of a second. When you say intake choices, do you mean actual air intake or lower intake? I know with the kenne bell mammoth in particular it has to be routed in the drivers side as opposed to passenger side, but I wouldnt be able to afford that for awhile honestly.. 8k for a supercharger is out of my reach for right now when I have to spend the same for an entire motor. So would you recommend C heads most likely? Everybody has to be running them for a reason no? Thanks for the reply bud its apreciated.

 

[siLversLeigh]

I would just build a copy of an 03 engine with a bump in compression. Make sure you let your machine shop know what your plans are.

 

[FMD]

Hmmm.. Ok thank you for the input @silversleigh , its apreciated man. Anybody else have any thoughts/advice? What brand internals should I go for? if i want 6-800rwhp whats the best plan of attack, go for pistons that hold that exact amount or get ones that are higher rated?

 

[Oiljunkie]

I have a set of Diamond -11.5 cc pistons std bore, with upgraded h13 pints and ss rings for a set if your interested. I had to buy a bigger pistons as my block needed work done to it that we didn't see at first until the hone went in.

I would run Diamonds , Wiseco's(what i replaced my diamond with cause of backorder), Manleys……the list is big and for the power your are looking you should be able to find a good set for your money.

Run a lil search on pistons, there is lots of info and opinion

 

[siLversLeigh]

Stock Manley rods with ARP hardware is considered safe to 800hp.

 

[01yellercobra]

If you're plan is to ever run a KB then don't plan on running B heads. I've heard good things about Modmax as far as quality and price. I've never used them personally. I have Eagle rods and Diamond pistons in my engine. By limited intake choices he means we don't have a lot of aftermarket support for intake manifolds. Basically you can have a stock intake ported or get a Sullivan.

You need to sit down and make a plan. If you're planning on running a twin screw, then stick with that plan. There's no point in dropping money on a centri if that's not what you want. That's just $3000+ that could have gone towards a twin screw. Now that being said, remember you have to do an eaton swap before you can run any of the bigger blowers.

 

[FMD]

@oiljunkie, I may take you up on that, in about another week or so the block and crank is going to the machine shop to get cleaned up and as long as everything checks out, ill go on from there assuming it doesnt need boring or anything like that. Im going to keep in touch with you on that one.

@silversleigh, Ive heard/seen that before, only thing being I dont want it to be at its ceiling while im driving it, id rather have something with more room so I know im not pushing it to the limit of not breaking/breaking you know? Im still going to look into that anyway though, thank you man.

@slo984now, Ok im glad you confirmed the heads question. I was kind of surprised he said run those instead of C's, but I guess some people have different builds that are better with that. Im going to check into Modmax as well, I was looking at mostly MMR at the point because ive heard some pretty good things but wasnt sure if there was other/better options. Im most likely just going to do a eaton swap and stick with that for a bit than since the KB is going to be way out of range once I buy all the motor components. And thank you btw for always helping me out with my questions slo, youre a good guy man.

 

[01yellercobra]

No problem. That's what we're all here for.

FWIW I probably have about 4k into my current shortblock. That includes buying the Boss block, machining, and new pistons. I had the rotating assembly left over from my first big bore that didn't make it. I didn't use any special tools to assemble the engine. Just the usual stuff as far as a torque wrench and piston ring compressor. The only thing I wish I had done was degree the cams. But the budget was tight at the time.

 

[FMD]

@slo984now, That was another question I actually had. In terms of cams, what am I looking for to future proof it for the KB whenever I can afford it? Cam spacer worth it, or adjustable gears worth it? Also where would I be able to grab all the little random things for the motor? Its a fresh, from scratch build since I cant really take the one out of my car and just reuse some parts (everytime I do something on the car to where it cant move/run my house floods. at one point me and 5 neighbors had to push the car through over a foot of water with no brakes in the car up a hill haha) So even though its on its last leg, it is running at least. Was also thinking of upgrading the half shafts, driveshaft, and a couple of upgrades involving the clutch just because of all the problems ive seen people have around 500+ hp on this car. Also, slo when you assembled yours, do you have the master sheet of all the torque specs for all the components in the engine and etc.? Thanks again man

 

[Oiljunkie]

@oiljunkie, I may take you up on that, in about another week or so the block and crank is going to the machine shop to get cleaned up and as long as everything checks out, ill go on from there assuming it doesnt need boring or anything like that. Im going to keep in touch with you on that one.

We didn't think mine would need work, 34k motor, but i pulled out 2 pistons that had a decent amount of detonation on them from the engine so i wasn't overly surprised when they told me they had to open it up some. The bores looked amazing, they just got a lil warm and that ovaled them just enough

 

[01yellercobra]

@slo984now, That was another question I actually had. In terms of cams, what am I looking for to future proof it for the KB whenever I can afford it? Cam spacer worth it, or adjustable gears worth it? Also where would I be able to grab all the little random things for the motor? Its a fresh, from scratch build since I cant really take the one out of my car and just reuse some parts (everytime I do something on the car to where it cant move/run my house floods. at one point me and 5 neighbors had to push the car through over a foot of water with no brakes in the car up a hill haha) So even though its on its last leg, it is running at least. Was also thinking of upgrading the half shafts, driveshaft, and a couple of upgrades involving the clutch just because of all the problems ive seen people have around 500+ hp on this car. Also, slo when you assembled yours, do you have the master sheet of all the torque specs for all the components in the engine and etc.? Thanks again man

It really depends on your eventual goal. Custom cams would obviously be the best, but they're not cheap. And plenty of people have cleared 600hp with stock cams. Which I think is a win-win. You get the power and keep the part throttle driveability. If you're talking about the aluminum spacer I wouldn't say it's worth it. But I'm not looking for every last horsepower and I had spares that came with the heads I bought. If it's a deal where a part like that is cheaper then going to Ford, I'd get the aftermarket part. If you're planning degreeing the cams then you'll want the adjustable gears. It'll make your life easier. For the parts I tend to look around a lot. Even Amazon carries stuff like that. I ordered a new timing set for our 06 from Amazon.

Upgrades are a good idea. Especially the clutch. It's all going to be apart at that point. Might as well put new stuff in. That's what I ended up doing. Depending on how you drive the tranny and halfshafts can last. My stock 3650 lived for a couple years behind a supercharged engine. The funny part is I sold it to a friend with a stock 01 and he killed it. I'd had to agree on the half shafts. Even if it's just stepping up to stock 03/04 units. I blew an 01 half shaft getting on the freeway. So now I have an 01 shaft on the passenger side and an 03 on the driver side. Hopefully that'll change this weekend. I had the service manual on my old computer. Which unforetunately has the blue screeen of death. But I think that manual is available everywhere now. I might have a link with all the torque specs listed. I'll have to double check.

 

[FMD]

@oiljunkie, yeah that was my exact train of thought, make sure im good from the bottom before I go up. So I guess well see what happens, the guy was running a turbo/nitrous setup (what he said anyways) so hopefully everything is in spec.

@slo984now, Ive only heard of custom cams a few times and can imagine their cost, im most likely not going to go that route, just something thats better for a supercharged car at higher hp levels. When you say part throttle drivability, do you mean like being able to not have it flood and be normal or something else? And im most likely going to shoot for the adjustable gears just to be on the safe side. Tranny im very safe with, never power shift and only shift at 6500 when racing, all other times is usually like 2-4k rpms so I cant see the trans having any issues, although I eventually want to have it bulletproof since id prefer a 5spd over the 6. The half shafts ive heard to many times about something breaking so im not even chancing it lol. If not i might be able to find the torque specs floating around someplace on the internet than, I plan to use all of the ARP hardware but im sure itll probably be the same torque. Another stupid question that ran through my head, in terms of the computer, am I just re-using the computer in the cobra now or hows this going to work?

 

[01yellercobra]

The big thing that breaks drive trains is 4k clutch dumps on sticky tires. I rarely do that still. Usually when I'm at the track. Any other time I'm rolling before I punch it. Going to the 03/04 half shafts is a good upgrade. And they're really easy on an 01. Literally remove the old shaft and put in the 03/04 shaft. The more aggressive cam shafts can cause surging and idle issues. A good tuner should be able to take care of it, but once again, unless you're shooting for every last horsepower stock cams will take you pretty far. You use your current ECU, but you get a custom tune. If you have any interest you might want to look into tuning it yourself. IMO, it's a good skill to have.

 

[FMD]

Ok thats great to know. Ive only launched the car at 3k just because I did a whole wheel/tire overhaul with some nice meat so most of the wheel hop is gone even though im still going to do the diff bushings once I get the gears changed over. And hey, if the 03/04's can handle it than ill just switch over to that if theres no need for a different type. I didnt know the cams could cause such a headache with the idle, thats a huge downside now that you mention it, hopefully the guy I take it to could get it worked out. Im glad im able to just reuse the ECU as well, I was worried id have to go to a blank one because its essentially a whole different motor in terms of what it can take and handle. Id love to learn how to tune it myself, I have no way of learning how to do it correctly unfortunetly. And also, thank you for the spec sheet on all of the torque specs, thats going to be immensly helpful soon!

 

[01yellercobra]

My last time at the track I was launching around 4k. I was running skinny drag radials that had a hard time hooking though. So I'm sure that helped save the half shafts.

I've never tuned for aftermarket cams. I'm just going off what I've read. That's why you tune the ECU to match your new combo. It doesn't know the combo, it just controls the spark and fuel. (among other things)