[ModMustang97GT]

OK. Here is the chunk you are forgetting about, work.

A machine shop will charge about $500-600 for the over bore. then if you build it you still need atleast oversize pistons.

You will need new bolts and screws since you took the whole thing apart so that is another $130 for gaskets all around and another $2-300 for ford replacement bolts. $500-700 for arp pieces all around. Assuming you don't get all forged rotating assembly, which would be stupid but doable. You are looking at $600 for your pistons and maybe $100-200 for the pieces to put them on. Then you got to get it all balanced which i'm guessing will be $100-200 (not for sure on that one). So for your bottom end alone, your looking at $1400-2100 for the bottom end. Then you get the new heads which cost $2000 and cams for em for $400 and throw it all together your self.

Over all your looking at $2400 + $1400-2100 = $3800 - $4500 for your N/A set up that is only good to about 350 hp if your lucky. Throw in a worth while forged rotating assembly and new intake will bring you closer to 400 rwhp but bump your cost atleast $2000. So your looking at about 5800-6500 for a 400rwhp N/A car minus a tune.

Now your going to need a tune with the KB set up anyway so its really a wash to compare. The tune they give you is good enough to drive around with, but is really only to get you to the tuner without toasting your kit.

Of course if you get the K/B kit, you still don't have a built bottom end, so you can't put more than 450 rwhp out of it without worrying anyways. But, its still more power than you will get N/A, and it will cost less.

Of course you could get a Vortech kit if your into that for about $3000 all said and done and be at the same power rating (less bottom end torque tho)

 

[ModMustang97GT]

Fuel mileage would be better with the n/a build. But not that much depending on your gearing and everything.

The bottom line is to break 450 rwhp you are doing all the same work to the bottom end. Then the top end is your choice. Go low compression pistons and get a fully worked intake and and cams and heads to make the power. Or get the super charger kit and have a 1 time cost that you can easily build from. Going from 450-500 is a pulley swap away with the KB. Going to 500 is flat impossible without purpose built race parts that you would never use in a road car if you stay N/A.

 

[ModMustang97GT]

We also all glazed over what the goal for the car is. Do you want to be a street car, a drag car or what?

I would say that if you are going purely drag strip. A sprayed n/a car will be vastly cheaper and faster than a FI car. But if you are talking an always fun street car. The FI is better.

The reason FI vs NA is a big question, is on most other motors its a legitimate issue. The problem we have is the heads for these cars are sooooooooo bad that we can't make good n/a power. So normally a new sweet set of worked heads and nasty set of cams and high rpm's will make any chevy motor into a terror. And a supercharged engine may cost less at high power levels due to the n/a motor needing lots of machine work, but you need higher octane fuel to deal with the boost.

In hydroplane racing you start with a chevy 454 block and go from there. You can go super charged and keep it a 454, and use alcholhal which allows for the boost but you burn alot more of it in a run and the engine needs more maintenance, but is cheaper up front. The other option is to go N/A and stroke and bore to a 511 and rev it to 8k rpm with 15:1 compression. You get to use 113 octane gas, use less fuel and usually need less maintenance. But the up front cost is much higher.

Unfortunately our engine runs out of steam at 350 rwhp n/a, the aftermarket just isn't there for n/a on our cars. Its too easy to put a vortech or turbo on any motor under the sun to bother with specialized machine work and really high flow heads when you can make up for all of the issues with a forged set of internals and 20 psi of hair dryers under the hood.

 

[ModMustang97GT]

I don't really understand the 5.4 swap. If you are staying 2v, you can not make more than about 400 rwhp out of these heads without FI or Spray. If your going spray I can understand it more, but 5.4's are sooo unimpressive. Unless you get really into it and rev the crap out of it with a really nice rotating assembly and ported heads, custom cams and sheetmetal intake. And at that point you might as well have just got a 351 or a boss block from FRPP.

I guess if you just like the idea of it and never plan on going FI it is slightly better than a 4.6. But I just think the money could be easily spent on a different set up that would be WAY better.

Not to bash your 5.4 set up. I know alot of people think they are AWESOME, but their numbers are just not that impressive.

 

[ModMustang97GT]

I am building my 3V to swap and going KB 2.6. The 2.1 on the stock 2V was great but I like the weight reduction of the 05+ block. Couple that with my tubular K member and the front end will be significantly lighter. Cant wait

How much lighter is the 05+ block. I didn't know that they were lighter.