[Philly]

Blew a head gasket, so I'm in the middle of replacing it, down to heads and taking them off tomorrow. Are there any mods I should be able to do while I'm that deep into the engine? I'm looking to spend around $500 (yea, I'm poor). Greenfaleen said I should replace my cam, will that get me the most bang for my buck, or is there anything else that'll help more for that price? Just looking for some second opinions.

[GreenFaleen]

cam would be your best bet for 500 bucks. check over everything and make sure nothing has to much wear or tear.

[232stang]

a cam wont do much for you, you will feel a difference but ive heard of gains less than 20hp. but it will sound nice

[Steamboat 16]

if you get cam then you need to also make sure and get new adjustible roller rockers so you can keep the same push rods, valve springs, gaskets are not a must but they do help

[Texan_Stud]

Originally Posted by 232stang a cam wont do much for you, you will feel a difference but ive heard of gains less than 20hp. but it will sound nice

thats bs.. a cam can add anywhere from 0hp to 60hp

[GreenFaleen]

Originally Posted by Steamboat 16 if you get cam then you need to also make sure and get new adjustible roller rockers so you can keep the same push rods, valve springs, gaskets are not a must but they do help

matters how big of a cam he gets you can get a nice sounding decent power cam that will go right in.

[Juggalo_X]

id do the lifters while i got the heads off just a precaution cant go wrong and if they are noisy then its even better.

[stephen]

The 99 and later Mustang V6 engine has a lot more power than earlier models.

I think this is due to a different intake manifold and heads with more flow. You might check to see if updated heads will fit on your engine.

I'm not sure of the details or how complex this would be to do, e.g. if it requires a computer swap etc.

Earlier I gave you a url for a place that can supply rebuilt heads without a core charge. This might be especially attractive if one of your heads is bad.

[Cricket]

the split port swap has some work to do to it, and also some of the fastest v6 mustangs are single port mustangs. I really don't think the swap is necessary. I say go for a cam.

[stephen]

That's interesting. I was puzzled when I had it apart as to why the 99 Mustang had two ports to each intake valve.

The Legend C27a engine has a set of six throttle butterflys in the two piece intake manifold that control the distribution between the two pathways. It isn't clear how Ford does it. Something to do with the fluid mechanics I guess.

It's claimed that the dual path technology gives about 40 hp. I suppose a modified cam could do the same, but wouldn't it be at the expense of driveability?

What else is required besides swapping the heads and intake manifold?

How about if he swapped in a late model V6. Would it require a different
computer? Usually the computer seems to come with a used engine.

[Cricket]

he has to move some items around, get new heads, new upper and lower intake manifold, new spark plug wires, and some other parts. For 40 hp, and all that money you just put into it...I wouldn't do it.

Yes the splitport does add up to 40 hp and bout 60 ft lbs of tq, but he can still make enough power keeping it single port.

[232stang]

Originally Posted by Cricket he has to move some items around, get new heads, new upper and lower intake manifold, new spark plug wires, and some other parts. For 40 hp, and all that money you just put into it...I wouldn't do it. Yes the splitport does add up to 40 hp and bout 60 ft lbs of tq, but he can still make enough power keeping it single port.

but with the swap he will be up 40 hp 60tq. cant go wrong.

[itschristorres8]

i'd wait...get stage 3 heads or stage 2 and a cam

[Cricket]

Originally Posted by 232stang Originally Posted by Cricket he has to move some items around, get new heads, new upper and lower intake manifold, new spark plug wires, and some other parts. For 40 hp, and all that money you just put into it...I wouldn't do it. Yes the splitport does add up to 40 hp and bout 60 ft lbs of tq, but he can still make enough power keeping it single port. but with the swap he will be up 40 hp 60tq. cant go wrong.

yea to start off at pretty much stock again or you could just get a powerpack from ssms and gain from like 80-100 rough estimates at there best right there.

[stephen]

The following contains some information on cam replacement. Especially note to not break the engine front cover!

http://www.moddedmustangs.com/forums...gh-vt3760.html

An issue that will almost certainly come up is retiming the cam position sensor. My understanding is that the engine needs to be at TDC on #1 and a special tool is used to orient the sensor wrt the case. However,
probably if everything was marked with the engine at TDC before removing it then it could be reinstalled without the tool.

[Philly]

thanks for the replies guys. I'll probably get a new cam, can't be much harder to put in than replacing my head gaskets is.

[Onemanzu]

Philly no wait!!

port and polish ... i did a lot of research cuz recently... like yesterday i was to that stage in my engine... and considered a bigger cam... did some homework and multiple sales reps said that it was a waste of money... the air flow on the singles is so poor at stock that the bigger cam might acctually feel a lil odd and not give you the results you are looking for...

in my opinion Port and Polish those suckers and save the cam for a rainny... week or month... depending on how greasey your engine is...

good luck dude