Project: STUPID UNICORN!!!! (Pic heavy) DYNO'd
I think you can figure out the meaning behind the title after you read the thread. lol.
Disclaimer: Long thread ahead......check gas.
Since I pretty much reached the end of the road ET wise for the stocker I put cams in it. It made 355rwhp SAE but never made it to the track due to a pass side head gasket blew. So I decided to start buying parts for the new build. I was torn between a FI B-head or something different. Something you don't see everyday. I think I will achieve my goals of being different as well as make the power I'm shooting for.
As many of you know I've never been a fan of adding weight. BUT I am a fan of going fast on motor. So I decided to go with a bigger motor. About 50 cubes bigger. So I made my mind up and decided on doing a 5.4 B-headed motor. That's where I came up with the project name. :-D
Now I know B-heads suck for n/a but I like the way the intake looks in the engine bay. IMO the best "looking" mod motor. Now I do have a theory on the b's that I'm going to test. Since they lack velocity due to the large volume I wonder if they would suck the same on a larger motor. Kinda like putting AFR 225's on a 302. That's overkill. But 225's on a 408 is perfect. I'm hoping its the same...in theory.
Lastly, I wanted to do this on a budget since all I hear is mod motors are expensive. So challenge accepted. :rockon: I also figured to keep the costs down I was going to build the motor MYSELF. :idea: Not sure if it will be a good idea. Haha. But building a motor from scratch is on my bucket list anyways. Anyways....if you've read all this already I guess your still interested so thanks for reading. Here are the pics.
Here's the old gal in all her glory. Had to snap a pic before I violated her.
She made 304 with full bolt-ons
320 with a short runner
355 with cams
Bye bye Mrs. American Pie....
So she sat like that for a long time while I started building the motor. Now I don't have too many pics of the short block build because I had to be sure that I got everything right so I had to pay 100% attention to the bearing clearance, ring gaps, torque specs, crankshaft end play, etc. But below is the end result of the short block.
Specs:
9.97:1
Probe Flat tops
Manley H-beams
Forged crank
Total seal rings
ARP hardware
So now that the bottom end is done I move on to the top of the motor. I disassembled the heads and sent them over to Heads Up Cylinder Heads in Dayton, OH per the recommendation of Todd (NA SVT). Nothing crazy done to them. A simple Serdi valve job, exhaust ports opened up to 03/04 heads and decked .005" to ensure a flat surface. That's it. I didn't want to open them up due to the ports are already big.
So I put them back together...
New seals
Same Livernois springs
Stock valves (cleaned)
And my small cams (238/240 .475/.450) lol.
Now comes the fun part. The intake. I can't tell you how hard it was for me to cut my very first short runner I did for the 4.6 in half. lol. I didn't want to mess it up so I made sure I took my time. But I made it through with fairly good results...a jigsaw mind you. I made sure I didn't drink the night before and have the shakes the next morning. haha. jk.
So I went out and bought another intake off corral only to take 1 5/8" from the center of it and place it between the halves. It was hard to swallow paying 300$ to only use a piece of it. But I wanted it to look like as stock as I could.
Now that it fit....off to the welder it went.
Meanwhile back at the lab...
I added a head cooling mod since it was out of the car. I made my own kit. Cost me $75. The top hose looks a little high in the pic but don't worry. I ended up taking another inch or so off so its much lower now.
Yes I know. Shitty FMS shorty's. But remember budget. lol. Not spending the cash yet for LT's..
THEN....I lubed up the engine bay and shoved her in....
Its a tight fit for sure. But I didn't have to move the MC at all.
Got the intake welded, clean it up a little. Painted it and put the runners back in. Sorry forgot to take pics of that but I can always take the upper off to show you if need be.
Put the intake on, coil packs, power steering, fuel lines, cross over tube, etc..
This is where I'm at now. My new clutch came in but idiots gave me the wrong disk. So I'm swapping it out for the right one. So I lose a week. Oh well.
I am hoping it will make 400+ around 7100. Todd says a little lower. But after I put the intake on, man is the plenum huge. lol.
And if it doesn't make 400........ I have a back up plan :dancenana: .....
Special thanks to my three amigos. Todd (NA SVT), Matt (don't think he is on here), and Kelly (Modularspeed) for the advice, tips, and hookup on parts. I'll keep the thread updated once I get her up and running and tuned.
Thanks for reading.
-Mark
I think you can figure out the meaning behind the title after you read the thread. lol.
Disclaimer: Long thread ahead......check gas.
Since I pretty much reached the end of the road ET wise for the stocker I put cams in it. It made 355rwhp SAE but never made it to the track due to a pass side head gasket blew. So I decided to start buying parts for the new build. I was torn between a FI B-head or something different. Something you don't see everyday. I think I will achieve my goals of being different as well as make the power I'm shooting for.
As many of you know I've never been a fan of adding weight. BUT I am a fan of going fast on motor. So I decided to go with a bigger motor. About 50 cubes bigger. So I made my mind up and decided on doing a 5.4 B-headed motor. That's where I came up with the project name. :-D
Now I know B-heads suck for n/a but I like the way the intake looks in the engine bay. IMO the best "looking" mod motor. Now I do have a theory on the b's that I'm going to test. Since they lack velocity due to the large volume I wonder if they would suck the same on a larger motor. Kinda like putting AFR 225's on a 302. That's overkill. But 225's on a 408 is perfect. I'm hoping its the same...in theory.
Lastly, I wanted to do this on a budget since all I hear is mod motors are expensive. So challenge accepted. :rockon: I also figured to keep the costs down I was going to build the motor MYSELF. :idea: Not sure if it will be a good idea. Haha. But building a motor from scratch is on my bucket list anyways. Anyways....if you've read all this already I guess your still interested so thanks for reading. Here are the pics.
Here's the old gal in all her glory. Had to snap a pic before I violated her.
She made 304 with full bolt-ons
320 with a short runner
355 with cams
Bye bye Mrs. American Pie....
So she sat like that for a long time while I started building the motor. Now I don't have too many pics of the short block build because I had to be sure that I got everything right so I had to pay 100% attention to the bearing clearance, ring gaps, torque specs, crankshaft end play, etc. But below is the end result of the short block.
Specs:
9.97:1
Probe Flat tops
Manley H-beams
Forged crank
Total seal rings
ARP hardware
So now that the bottom end is done I move on to the top of the motor. I disassembled the heads and sent them over to Heads Up Cylinder Heads in Dayton, OH per the recommendation of Todd (NA SVT). Nothing crazy done to them. A simple Serdi valve job, exhaust ports opened up to 03/04 heads and decked .005" to ensure a flat surface. That's it. I didn't want to open them up due to the ports are already big.
So I put them back together...
New seals
Same Livernois springs
Stock valves (cleaned)
And my small cams (238/240 .475/.450) lol.
Now comes the fun part. The intake. I can't tell you how hard it was for me to cut my very first short runner I did for the 4.6 in half. lol. I didn't want to mess it up so I made sure I took my time. But I made it through with fairly good results...a jigsaw mind you. I made sure I didn't drink the night before and have the shakes the next morning. haha. jk.
So I went out and bought another intake off corral only to take 1 5/8" from the center of it and place it between the halves. It was hard to swallow paying 300$ to only use a piece of it. But I wanted it to look like as stock as I could.
Now that it fit....off to the welder it went.
Meanwhile back at the lab...
I added a head cooling mod since it was out of the car. I made my own kit. Cost me $75. The top hose looks a little high in the pic but don't worry. I ended up taking another inch or so off so its much lower now.
Yes I know. Shitty FMS shorty's. But remember budget. lol. Not spending the cash yet for LT's..
THEN....I lubed up the engine bay and shoved her in....
Its a tight fit for sure. But I didn't have to move the MC at all.
Got the intake welded, clean it up a little. Painted it and put the runners back in. Sorry forgot to take pics of that but I can always take the upper off to show you if need be.
Put the intake on, coil packs, power steering, fuel lines, cross over tube, etc..
This is where I'm at now. My new clutch came in but idiots gave me the wrong disk. So I'm swapping it out for the right one. So I lose a week. Oh well.
I am hoping it will make 400+ around 7100. Todd says a little lower. But after I put the intake on, man is the plenum huge. lol.
And if it doesn't make 400........ I have a back up plan :dancenana: .....
Special thanks to my three amigos. Todd (NA SVT), Matt (don't think he is on here), and Kelly (Modularspeed) for the advice, tips, and hookup on parts. I'll keep the thread updated once I get her up and running and tuned.
Thanks for reading.
-Mark
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