WWJD? Ford F150 w/the equivelent of a Cobra Mustang engine. Single turbo><Twin turbo?

[mike96]

Just curious what some of you would do... My neighbor down the street commissioned me to put together a motor for his truck. It's a 95 Ford F150 4WD 302, lifted, big rims/tires, looks pretty decent but doesn't have enough power to get out of its own way (go figure). So after talking with him about it he has decided to build up a fresh engine and once it is together swap it in to his truck. Now here is what we are looking at for his options. He has already purchased a block and crank so we are thinking either...

A. Leave it NA and build it up with forged or hyperkinetic pistons 9 - 10 CR, maybe rods (not sure), Cam, GT40 heads, intake manifold that is better than the truck one, new distributor, good headers, and all the other small parts that should be replaced with a fresh engine (watter pump, oil pump...). get a good tune on it and call it a day... maybe 300ish Hp

or

B. Boost it. good forged internals, maybe factory or mild cam, factory style heads, maybe mustang intake manifold so it looks a little nicer, new distributer, injectors, and all the other small parts that should be replaced with a fresh engine (watter pump, oil pump...). drop a mega squirt in it and tune it for about the same 300ish maybe 350 Hp.

I figure with the a boosted motor I can get some factory mustang heads and intake from a junkyard and they will still work better than the truck heads/intake and we should be able to keep the cost down a bit at the same time. The questions I have for you are.

1. In a truck would you go NA or boosted? Keep in mind as far as I know he doesn't do any real off roading. He mostly likes the looks of the lifted trucks and he isn't looking to make a shit tone of power because he doesn't want to have to upgrade the trans right now (maybe once it goes bad he will).

2. If you were thinking of going with a boosted application on a V8 would you do a single turbo or a twin turbo?

I am kind of leaning toward a twin turbo. I could probably pick up a pair of EVO8 turbos from EvolutionM for less than $500 and I think a pair of those running at waist gate pressure should flow more than enough for the amount of power we are looking to make. Not to mention even if I didn't have a pair of divided turbo headers built the 5.0L engine should get a pair of EVO8 turbos spinning fairly quickly. 2.5L worth of engine per turbo should work well. The only thing I'm worried about is if the waist gates would flow enough air to keep the turbos from creeping. If i don't do a twin turbo then i am thinking something along the lines of a t28 or t30 with a mid-large turbine housing to flow the 5.0L worth of exhaust gas (70 - 80 AR). Maybe a hx35 if i can find a Holset for a good price.

 

[DSMTyson]

Man I would get a couple of stout 14Bs or 16Gs and weld some custom manifolds with DSM flanges and use twin 14Bs. That would be fun and cost effective. You would have more money for the heads.

He's gonna have to build the tranny eventually.

 

[1997_GSX]

N/A

Cheaper, Easier Assembly, and no headaches

 

[phunny]

N/A all the way, trying to turbo that thing would be a nightmare.

 

[EatMuhBoost99]

Have you tried to see if maybe some parts from a Lightning would fit? Might need some adapters or something but you can pick up those superchargers pretty cheap.

 

[spooling 1g]

Turbo Kits for Ford Mustangs I'd imagine the manifolds and other stuff should work.

 

[MJBean420]

Give Edelbrock a call. Tell them what you have and what you are looking for. They can get you guys in the right direction. Its all in the cams and heads. Go N/A. Maybe a small shot of NOS to put the cherry and whipcream on top. You should be able to come up with around 500 hp with a head and cam set-up. I know Chevys can easily obtain those numbers...not sure with Fords though.