skullandbones

Building and then driving and maintaining one of these cars is not the same for sure. If I had built this roadster with the idea of showing it, I probably would not drive it very much so at least I got that right as driving has been much more fun than building for me. I'm constantly thinking about how far to go with the hp and upgrades in the engine that will take me to where I want to keep it for a while. Driving it also weighs on that as well. I don't want to leave it down for more than a week or even less if possible for whatever I do. So that will be the guiding pathway for this project. I really do have a general idea of what I want as a "perfect engine" for this car but it is influenced by so many things day to day.

So far it's a mild build with probably around 340 350 HP at the flywheel. I just did some repair/maintenance on the distributor as I was getting a intermittent miss that I could not track down. So I replaced the TFI module (engine control module). I also found that one spring clip in the distributor body may have been loose. The plastic bracket holding it fell apart when I released the clip. Can say it was not holding but it was suspect. So that could have been my problem as well. Also, for some reason, the SPOUT was out of the harness. I know I put it back last time I checked timing but it was not there and no where to be found. Now it is running like it did when I first started it. I love the way it runs. I also love to drive it. So the dilemma is do you want to take this to another level? I believe the answer is YES. I will be purchasing a MS tunable computer for the system next month along with a wide band O2 sensor/gauge. This will be the first step toward a completely different level of 5.0. The reason is the ECC-IV PCM is just not designed to reflash or upgrade except by piggybacking on the service port with an aftermarket chip. I don't want to be tied to the tuner for that process so the stand alone version is the only way for me. The Stinger Performance MS PiMP will be the PCM. It will also let me get rid of my Mass Air Flow sensor and a little later go to a crank trigger and dc the distributor as well. The first stage will be the computer change and a base tune. After that I will be changing the engine in stages. First will be the new induction. I have tried the Holley Systemax long runner intake and now have a fabricated plenum chamber type manifold. Both ran well but differently. I gained more low and middle range power with the later but lost some high end. So the next new induction will be a 8 stack EFI which I have always wanted to try. It will also represent a return to the original looking engine for the early roadster whether it is accurate or not. I know they didn't run EFI but the 8 stack setup really reminds you of what they looked like back then. Most people don't get beyond the velocity stacks to see that there aren't any Webbers underneath.

So the plan is to tune the 5.0 with the stack system and the new computer before doing any more changes. After that the DIS will be added to clean up the engine bay a little more. The final step is to abandon the 5.0 to a different short block based on the 351W. It will most likely be the 408 although the 393 would be OK too. At that point, I will be doing some major work of not only changing the displacement but also the heads and cam. I'm working on the heads now but they are just too big for the 5.0, I think. The other change will be the induction again. I will have to ditch the manifold and upgrade to a tall deck replacement but the TBs, injectors, adaptors, and other hardware will transfer.

I love the good gas mileage, the simplicity of the system, and all the practical things that go along with the 5.0 but the desire to maximize the fun is just too much. So it looks like a 408 with 8 stacks and DIS is in my future. Maybe not in this driving season (AZ-Oct to May) but definitely some time in 2016. It's still amazing how much fun it is to drive the way it is.

Thanks,

WEK.:cool::cool::cool: