Frustrated

I am thinking that the guy who sold me my engine may have been exaggerating when he told me the hp specs either that or I need a new set of rear end gears. I want to ask u guys a question, how important is it to have a low set of gears? my engine was supposed to be rated at 285hp but I also have a 2:79 rear end will that make a HUGE difference? I ask because I keep losing to my friend who has a supercharged toyota tacoma we don't race for very long but he always kills me off the line and I can not seem to catch up before we stop racing I have lost twice to him and I know that he has a bad 1/4 mile time (16.74) and that even if my car had the stock 302 in it I would still run close times to him but the engine I have should have 145+ hp compared to the old stock 302 so I figured I should be able to kill him, I mean my car only weighs 2710lbs and supposedly has 285hp does a set of gears really help a lot? sorry for making this post so long but I am a little frustrated at losing to this guy twice.

2.WHAT?! Hell YES gears will help!

go at least to 3.55. 3.27s are dirt cheap, but minimally altering.

Gears won't add HP, just make you accelerate quicker, getting the car into the proper rpm band for the motor. The gears you have are definitely hurting you! Are you running an auto or manual? Also what are the specs of the new motor and mods done to it? I think you said this once before, but I don't remember.

Originally posted by HiFlow5 0
Gears won't add HP, just make you accelerate quicker, getting the car into the proper rpm band for the motor. The gears you have are definitely hurting you! Are you running an auto or manual? Also what are the specs of the new motor and mods done to it? I think you said this once before, but I don't remember.

The car is a manual 5 speed I had bought a used crate motor from a friend he claimed it had 285hp. The only mods I have are long tube headers, x-pipe, and dual flowmasters, and 2.5 in exhaust pipes no catalytic converters.

Ok, what crate motor is it? What's different over stock to justify 285 HP?

Originally posted by HiFlow5 0
Ok, what crate motor is it? What's different over stock to justify 285 HP?

I can't remember the specs exactly but the crat motor was supposed to have the b303 cam, cast iron GT-40 heads, it wasn't supposed to come with an intake so I have no idea what kind of intake is on the engine it looks aluminum though it is a 4bb intake, it was supposed to make 285hp. it was supposed to be the same engine as the one at the top of this page http://www.racerwalsh.com/v8_ford_engines.htm

Humm, that site says the motor has GT40 alum heads, but you said you have GT40 iron heads. A magazine I have list your block at 285HP with motorsport induction, and 65mm TB. You are obviously running a carb, do you happen to know what carb and cfm it flows? Knowing what intake you have would also help, if at all possible to find out.

Also the B cam is rated from 3500-5200 rpms. The gears you have are probably hurting you down low, since they are a higher ratio, good for highways. When you first accelerate in normal driving conditions, does the car bog a little bit in the low rpms?

The carb is a Holley 600 cfm I was thinking of using a 750 or a 650 double pumper, but not sure yet I have no idea of the intake, but yes I do feel like it bogs a little in the lower RPM's I usually need to be around 25 to go into 2nd gear and going into 4th at 35mph is marginal I usually keep it in 3rd because anything under 40-45mph in 4th feels like i'm boggin the engine, and I can't use fifth until i'm around 55.

I'm not to familiar with carbs, but I think a 650 would work well and a 750 might be too much. Again I'm not sure on that.

but yes I do feel like it bogs a little in the lower RPM's

That's what I thought. With the B-cam and those high ratio gears, is what's hurting you. Have you thought about new gears? 3.73's would work nicely and help keep the low rpm bog away. Not to mention it will get you up to speed a lot quicker.

I am looking for a new set of gears I would have just bought some from summit but they cost $200 just for the ring and pinion plus I need the installation kit which costs another $89 so I have been going to a few junkyards and looking for a 3:55 r lower ratio from another 8" rear all I need to do is pull the axles undo the bolts in the center section and the middle should slide out and I can just switch the gears, I don't mean I will switch the whole pumpkin out just the center decionts that come out of the pumpkins it's pretty simple, but I haven't been able to find the right ratio yet.

Look for an old T-bird turbo coupe, and swap the whole rear end in. The manuals had 3.55's, and the auto's had 3.73's. I'm sure you can get a rear pretty cheap at a junk yard.

i went from 2.73 to 3.73 and shaved half a second off my times.

Originally posted by HiFlow5 0
Look for an old T-bird turbo coupe, and swap the whole rear end in. The manuals had 3.55's, and the auto's had 3.73's. I'm sure you can get a rear pretty cheap at a junk yard.

The turbo coupes had 8.8" rear ends in them I need an 8" rear I know this because my dad has a rear from a turbo coupe that he's using for his cobra replica.

Originally posted by 76_cobra


The turbo coupes had 8.8" rear ends in them I need an 8" rear I know this because my dad has a rear from a turbo coupe that he's using for his cobra replica.

Why not upgrade to a beefier rear, it wouldn't be that hard at all.

Well I am mad as hell and I now know why I was beaten by my friend's supercharged tacoma 3 times! it was not wholly the gears. I had the car dyno tested today and I had 161rwhp and 241rwtq I am going to kill the guy who sold me the motor he claimed 285hp it looks like I have some work I need to do to get some real hp, my carburetor secondaries also weren't working we watched them and they didn't open this is the 2nd vacuum secondary carb that I have had problems with I am using a mechanical secondary carb next time. any suggestions on what I should do to the motor to gain some hp I am probably going with a hotter cam next but I don't know what kind of cam I should go with.

dang thats less than my 01 v6 mustang put down stock in hp and only 25 more in tq. could it be a tunning or timming issue?

I really doubt it, the guy who i bought it from was told that it was a crate motor, but I think he was lied to he received th motor in payment for a job he did the guy couldn't afford to pay him so he gave him the engine and told him it was a crate motor he said it came out of his 85 mustang, but I think that it was really the stock motor from the 85 mustang not a crate motor because those hp #'s match what a stock 85 5.0L puts out.

Originally posted by 76_cobra
I really doubt it, the guy who i bought it from was told that it was a crate motor, but I think he was lied to he received th motor in payment for a job he did the guy couldn't afford to pay him so he gave him the engine and told him it was a crate motor he said it came out of his 85 mustang, but I think that it was really the stock motor from the 85 mustang not a crate motor because those hp #'s match what a stock 85 5.0L puts out.

Hummm, interesting. Looks like it's time to start disassembling and looking for the production codes cast into the heads and block.

Yes, use at least a 625 cfm. You could go to a 750 but won't see any gain over the 625. The cid of an engine will only accommodate a certain cfm as you can only intake X amount of mixture. If you were running something like a 460 big block then a 750 cfm would be warranted.

Where are the casting #'s located on the block, heads, and intake ?

Originally posted by 76_cobra
Where are the casting #'s located on the block, heads, and intake ?

On the block they should be located in the lifter valley. On the heads they are located under the valve covers. There are other ways to determining the block and heads as well. By different casting marks and such. I'll just have to look up the specifics on those.

The 600cfm stock Holley 4bbl carb from 1983-1985 with a rejet will support 350hp without a problem. Going bigger won't help a little 302 until you start winding more rpms than it's worth.

You need to get rid of the 8" rear, you'll just grenade it with a stout engine. The 8" rear isn't a real good setup, unforunately. I can understand frustrations around going to a bigger rear end due to the fitment concerns, but it's something that should really be done if you plan on putting a lot of power down with a V-8.

By the way, the 85 carbed GT engine is a real solid platform to work with. It has the roller cam, and comparable heads to the 87-95 cars. Take the engine, tune it up, slap on a better intake and have the carb rejetted, add a B303 and go to town. Should make well over 250hp setup like that with the proper exhaust.

The 1985 GT 4bbl was rated at 210hp, which should run about 175rwhp, stock.

By 8" I'm assuming you mean 8.8"?

No he and I both mean 8". We're talking Mustang II here.

I'm not worrried about the rear end the 8" can take at least 300whp my friend has a 65 with a hi-po 289, hotter cam, better intake, and some other goodies, he was putting down 289rwhp and he hasn't had any problems, I don't plan on putting serious hp into the car but i'd like at least 275whp and at least 275rwtq. I realy don't want to spend the time or money changing the whole rear end.

Hey does anybody know Ford part #'s very well I have a part# off of my intake manifold, and i'm wondering if it's a stock manifold, and i'm wondering if it's a good manifold or should I change it the part # on it is RF-E4ZE-9425-6A