[Casper98GT]

+2 right here.......about time i get some more feedback. So If I wanna boost, How much more can I and how safe is it with a PI motor swap than just the PI swap on my npi block ??????? I dont wanna take any risks, so its either PI motor swap or a smallblock for me......still listening for more suggestions and help from you guys tho.

Ok...I would boost a safe amount to get you in the 400 to mid 400 range. Thats safe on a stock internal PI motor. And trust me it will be more than fast enough for you. If you need more than 400 to the wheels in a car, youre doing it to race. 400 on a street car is great. Boost on a PI swapped NPI motor... not sure. I dont know anyone that did it. haha.

Small block? Youre thinking about doing a Pushrod motor swap?

[4point6GT]

Originally Posted by Casper98GT +2 right here.......about time i get some more feedback. So If I wanna boost, How much more can I and how safe is it with a PI motor swap than just the PI swap on my npi block ??????? I dont wanna take any risks, so its either PI motor swap or a smallblock for me......still listening for more suggestions and help from you guys tho. Ok...I would boost a safe amount to get you in the 400 to mid 400 range. Thats safe on a stock internal PI motor. And trust me it will be more than fast enough for you. If you need more than 400 to the wheels in a car, youre doing it to race. 400 on a street car is great. Boost on a PI swapped NPI motor... not sure. I dont know anyone that did it. haha. Small block? Youre thinking about doing a Pushrod motor swap?

ok so far what i wanted to hear. Yea 400 on a street car is great but you kno we all are always hungry for more, u say 400 to mid 400 range is safe on stock internals, What if I upgrade my stock internals so that my car can handle 450+ safely, thats possible right ?

I dont wanna get ahead of myself being 400 will be awesome, but I was jus wondering.

if the pushrod motor swap is one of them smallblocks from ford racing, then yes. I was thinkin about a 302........swapin to a PI MOTOR is good enough for me tho.....for now.

[Casper98GT]

Yeah a 302 is a smallblock.

And yes upgraded internals will get you safely over 400hp.

[4point6GT]

Originally Posted by Casper98GT Yeah a 302 is a smallblock. And yes upgraded internals will get you safely over 400hp.

alright cool thanx man, I am glad I have finally came to my decision, hearin alot of diff things from diff ppl can make it hard n frustratin. But knowin what my plan is and hearing ppl help you out on how to get there the best and safest way is great.

[Casper98GT]

No problem

[imported_smarr_97mustanggt]

So what about putting the PI motor in the 96-97 with return fuel lines? Was everyone saying to use the returnless system from the new engine or what? My NPI crapped out on me [ rod and/or main knocking, complete loss of oil pressure below about 1000 rpms, and a busted (not just a cracked,but a BUSTED) intake at the thermostat housing with about 1/4" gap lol) and i am looking to swap in a PI for a quick fix, while i build the crapped out NPI, from the ground up. I don't know what else needs to be done, but any input pertaining to the direction my question is heading would be greatly appreciated.

[Casper98GT]

Ok, as far as youre fuel lines are concerned.... Think about what you are gonna be doing with youre fuel rail?

Youre gonna just replace all 8 o-rings and slap it on youre new PI intake. :wink No need to worry about fuel my brother.

Also ignition. alot of people ask... so what do i do about the COP's. You wont use it. Youre still gonna use youre coli pack ignition.

All that needs to be done is buy a PI motor. Strip it if it hasnt been done already. And swap over all the little things and youre all set.

Anymore q's just ask.

[Fryrice]

Originally Posted by drgnracin72 explain o me how a tune is going to cure your too high of compression ratio? the only way to change that is with pistons and head work. you can stick a little bit of boost on a pi swap motor but you def need intercooled and low boost. optimised for boost, a compression shuoild be around 8.0:1-9.5:1

In my original statement, I used the word "ALSO" .I never said that would fix it .My intent was to stress the importance of a tune ,not to give a complete explanation on whats involved.


I also know the difference between the 92-98 pistons (2 valve),and the 99-2004 pistons. But that wasnt the question at hand.

11-cc dish and 51-cc combustion chamber on NPI
and 17-cc dish with a 42 chamber volume. on PI

All,Im saying is that there are plent of guys running moderate boost out there.I never said slap monster boost on it. And i mentioned more than once that he needed to consider what his HP goals were,and go from there. I said if he wanted something like 350 hp,he would be ok .I then said that if he wanted more power,that he needed to rethink his strategy. But I never went into detail.

I dont think he was interested in hearing about bore, stroke, cylinder head volume, deck height, head gasket bore, head gasket thickness, and piston dish volume etc etc.

Its hard sometimes to give great advice on a fuggin keyboard,lol.

I should have said it differently . Just trying to help a brotha out.

Good luck on your decision 4point !

[ChrisJ]

Its all good...

There is alot of good info in this thread if you are planning on going with the PI swap then go for it...You can get to 400hp and should be happy...Its all the tune...If the tuner can keep his hands out of the timing to bad and get you to 400hp then you should be fine...There is never any guarantees...

[imported_smarr_97mustanggt]

Thanks for clearing that up casper. I have been able to get all the info i needed from other peoples posts up to this point on this and several other topics, but i finally needed a question answered so i signed up Thanks again, this is the best mustang forum site on the web hands down.

[Casper98GT]

No problem brother, thats why were here.

Thanks for the compliment about the site.

[96greenGT]

Ok, i have a question then? I read earlier one of the members had a problem with the wiring for the ECT and CTS. what can be done about that issue? i am fixing to do the same swap, drop in a 2000 engine in place of my stock 1996 engine (with over 200k miles and burns oil badly) thats my reason for the swap. but this 2000 engine has a full plastic intake and no provision for the ECT sensor. how do i get around this issue?

[Casper98GT]

The coolant temp problem is fixed by drilling, usually. but i know the early PI cars didnt have the aluminum crossover. So i think this is what you mean by this question. Things you can do is....

Put the coolant sensor in the block drain and lenghten the wires.

get a alum. cross over from someplace online or at a ford dealer and install it and drill and tap for sensor 2.

Buy a new PI manifold and gaskets and drill and tap.

Good luck

[96n69stangs]

I've decided to swap engines in my 96 from the sohc to the dohc cobra this spring/summer. I have a couple initial questions. First, where is a good place to find such an engine for $2k or less? I live in the Sacramento area and I don't necessarily need an engine from a mustang; one from a Mark VII(I) will do just fine (as far as I can tell only the intake is different).

Second, will I need to modify the existing exhaust to accomodate the wider heads or will the stock ones bolt in? I will likely upgrade the exhaust further down the road, but for now I'm looking to make this K.I.S.S.

I am also under the impression that I can do the switch using my stock wiring harness, components (coil packs, etc.) and computer. I think that if I do keep the computer I will likely get a tuner, such as a tweecer (I have one in my 69 EFI conversion and it works great). Any thoughts?

I know there are a lot of people in this forum that don't see any reason to swap the entire engine, but the one in it has 190k miles on it and it's getting a little tired. Down the road I may want to supercharge and I would rather put in more work for more peace of mind.

[96greenGT]

thanks casper for the reply, i just got my new engine today, it has the PI intake already, but no provision for the sensor, so i will just buy the new intake with the aluminum chamber and drill and tap the whole instead of running longer wires. i want this engine to produce at least 300 hp. got any suggestions? and i want it N/A only. oh, BTW, i have a 96 body and putting in a 2000 unit in its place. i plan for headers, already have a bassani x with twin flows, 2.5 in pipe all the way back, a modded stock air intake and k&n with 3.73's in the back, thats it. any ideas for 300 hp? i am looking into cams as well.

[Casper98GT]

yeah head work and cams. You can get 300RWHP from youre motor, just take a bit of money

[96greenGT]

thanks for the reply, i know i can run an easy search and find my answers to my questions, but it's soooooo easy just to ask here. anyway, like i mentioned, i bought my engine on ebay for cheap, 300 bucks cheap .
i tore it down yesterday and found a few minor issues, the right side chain tensioner was worn down to the metal at the end and the guide was cracked in 2 places, found the pieces in the oil pick up screen. not a problem, everything else seems good though. what kind of porting of the heads is normally done to help these heads breath? man, cams are bookoo money for these engines.... i know they are not considered as a do it yourself kind of thing, but i have access to a few machine shops and a place that has a dyno too. i plan to baseline my stock engine with the mods it has now and then when i finally get my new one built, then dyno that puppy...

so my question is, where does the porting/polishing go and how, and what gains can i expect with that alone?

[Casper98GT]

well first of all i would rethink this entire motor. I had a guy come into my dealership with a 5.1 stroker motor built supposedly from SHM... i dont know if they are anygood but anyways... brings it and says he doesnt have any oil pressure. Thing sounds horrible, i push it in and he put an aftermarket oil gauge on it and still reads nothing. So i remove the aftermarket k-member and oil pan and who ever put this motor together was a retard, the chain guides were the same thing youre saying, ground to nothing and a few bolts were missing and they got ground up and shoved into the pick up and pretty much destroyed his entire valvetrain due to no oil pressure.....

what im getting at is... who knows what happed to this motor. But if the guides got ground up and spit into the oil pickup.... maybe its no good. I would at least have the heads off and checked at a machine shop. You can have them ported and polished... opened them up and smoothing the ports out to flow better. It does get exensive youre right. And if you dont know how to time a 4.6.. dont bother with the cams. Have someone who knows what they are doing put them in for you.

[96greenGT]

ok, let me shed some light on this situation and give you an FYI on myself. being that i am still a newbie to this site, by no means am i a rookie with engines. i am ASE master certified, with L1 and i have worked for a ford dealer for 8 years (long time ago) ever attained Ford Master Status with gas and diesel, now i work for an independant cuz the dealer was not for me anymore, too many politics then. so now i am the shop foreman where i am now. i have just never bothered to really get involved with high performance. with that being said....lol.... when i gutted this engine, i also cleaned the tops of the pistons, found on 3 cylinders that the valves have kissed the pistons once, (each).
this was due to the timing chain (tensioner side guide) wear. just enough to kick it off a few degrees. there were only 2 solid pieces of the chain guides in the pick up. guess i should have announced my self first and have been more clear with the tear down, my bad.
these are not major issues, providing the valve does not have damage and ruined the valve guide

i plan on putting new pistons, rings, bearings, chains, guides, tensioners, oil pump, thorough cleaning of block, bored to i dont know yet, .030 over maybe... head work, and maybe some cams if budget allows. i am in no rush for this engine to be built, my 96 is still running strong, just burns oil (bad rings... i already did valve seals a few years ago).

anyway, all in all, the block 'looks' good, it is a windsor block. i took a few pix and i will e-mail them to the guy i bought it from, as soon as i can figure out how to upload them here, i'll post a few.

[Casper98GT]

Well, its good to know. Nice to meet another ford tech. haha. NOT. Ford sucks... Anyways....

Thats what i thought would happen. Thats why i suggested having the heads torn down and looked at. If youre gonna go through all the block and such..... bore the block as well. The 4.6's have a decent stroke... give it some bore too. Put some good pistons in and head work and such, and deff. if the money allows cams. you can get a solid 300 out of this if youre gonna rip it all down and make a project out of it.... then if youre not happy with the power you have after you can put some sort of FI on it and still be safe. Do everything to the block now so you dont have to get back into it later.

It sounds to me like youre on the right track. You'll get youre goal easily.

Take care