keep it simple or go unique?

[joukaishou813924]

i'm about to come into a little bit of money here soon ans my t-bird's been sitting since january, should i bore and stroke it to a 482 cubic inch FE, or should i try something a little bit more unigue, that will make between 420 whp to 1500 whp depending on boost and specific configuration, assuming both engines will end up costing about the same, which do you think will be more worth it?

also the car would be used as a dd/weekend warrior and is not my primary car to drive.

 

[Willowbilly3]

What year of 'bird?

 

[Mr.Gussett]

Unique!

GO UNIQUE all the way! Put a BIG BLOCK CHEVY in it! OH YEA!!![cl[dr[cl[dr[cl

 

[TiredIronGRB]

Blown BBC

 

[Reign]

for the same price, go for unique

 

[StoneCold65]

GO UNIQUE all the way! Put a BIG BLOCK CHEVY in it! OH YEA!!![cl[dr[cl[dr[cl

That's not UNIQUE...that the same old same old you see everyday.
A Blown 426 HEMI.....now that would be UNIQUE. [dr

Personally, I'd keep it all FORD but I'm just funny that way.

 

[42chevy]

Go unique if you can afford it. A big block Olds would be different.

 

[ratdog]

will the rest of the car handle that much HP? Usually once you get up in the higher HP range,the cars need a lot of modifications and upgrades to handle it and be safe.Cant make my decission without more info on that.

 

[the reverend muddy grimes]

Go simple, save the headcahes later. if you bore what you have, you dont need to spend extra on wiring harness, motor mounts, trans adapters and a thousand other incidentals. Plus, the word unique is overused on this forum. Its like the "radical noncomformists" who all look alike.

 

[Flipper_1938]

I personally think the t-bird would be a waste of the horsepower and could end up making the t-bird basically undriveable.

I'd go with a milder, high quality rebuild.

 

[eyesore]

Take it from the voice of experience. The more HP, the more repairs, blown motors, blown trannies, blown rear ends and attention from the man! You've been polling for about two years now, get to building.

ISore

 

[joukaishou813924]

its a 65 tbird, the unique engine im planning on using cant be rebuilt with hand tools in only a few hours and put back together with no maching required, and it would have its own tranny, the rear end however i'd swap out for a ford 9" with something like a 5:1 gear ratio, the unigue motor can rev up to close to 11k rpm. o and the unique motor is sort of in the ford family (one of its affiliates)

 

[Rat]

I am a Ford man and have a stroked 351/399 in a 88GT.

No one is gonna realize what you have on the street if you put all the effort into a stroke, then you will be left with a overheating hard starting car.

Personally I would build a 5.0 with plenty of torgue to move the weight and enjoy driving the car. You would be able to install A/C, have vacuum for P/brks and room for updated P/S etc with no problem. Cruises would not give you white knuckles and sweat from the heat.

By the way we had a factory stock 390 1963 T-bird that clocked 99 mph through the 1/4 mile trap when it was a couple years old

 

[Blue Eyed Devil]

You've been polling for about two years now, get to building.

At least somebody said it! [cl With all the time you have wasted contemplating these kooky engine combos you could have built a few real cars by now.

 

[rustybeercan]

the rear end however i'd swap out for a ford 9" with something like a 5:1 gear ratio.

5:1? Ever driven a car with a ratio anywhere close to that? Don't think that will be very practical on the street.

Beercan

 

[hotrod preacher]

#1 a t-bird like that already has a 9" and 5:00 gears are way radical -

#2 even if you get some money together to build a motor, set down& figure out what you think a motor build up will cost and then DOUBLE IT - you now have a close approximation of the build expense

#3 money needs to be used for "regular" repairs--brakes, steering, cooling, even tires need to be considered when thinking hi HP ...the money goes out quickly.....

#4 do you have the expertise to deal with an 10,000 rpm engine?
not just any goober with a garage needs to be tinkering on something that hi-tech, and if you can't perform the labor required to keep it maintained then add in a few grand for the labor

#5 are we just wanting attention?--paint it pink and leave it alone that's alot cheaper....no need to destroy that bird for attention's sake IMO

 

[Reign]

ok, after reading the latest updates i would like to change my vote to NOT RADICAL. in the long run you are going to be spending a lot more money on the blown motor since you are going to have to bring it to someone to fix every time. when i had my Lightning (blown motor) i was still able to fix it and tinker with it with normal tools in my garage.

 

[Tripper]

figure out what you think a motor build up will cost and then DOUBLE IT!

What he said & probably then some!

BoB

 

[cjmahone66]

i like reliable- so i say go for that. but that's just me, what do you like? it's your wallet.

even though your two options cost the same initially, who knows what the "unique" option will cost you down the road- but it will cost you more in the long run. it's inevitable that a certain amount of R&D along with expensive one off parts will cost you in the long run. just my 2 cents, since you asked.

 

[zzrodder]

Actually a built FE would be kinda unique, but not cheap!! For real unique yet still in the family, build a new Boss 429. Jon Kaase has new Boss heads and intakes and you can fit them on a Ford 514 crate short block.......also not cheap but it would really blow minds. Of course as has already been pointed out, the rest of your drivetrain will need serious upgrading whatever you put in it. A classic 'Bird doesn't seem like the car to do this to, you'll sure never recoup your investment, you'd be better off building a 64 Thunderbolt clone, a lot less weight to propel and it would be much more valuable and popular when done. Hey, you asked.......