Engine choice input wanted.

Hmmm, an interesting conundrum. Aluminum heads on an FE long stroke with small EFI throttle body. RPM limited to 5000. Very long intake runners and tri-wye headers. Torque band tuned around 1500 to 4000rpm. Lighten rotating assembly. Think F250 truck approach. Maybe even sleeve bore down. Very rarely do you really need more than 4500 rpm on a street driver. Throttle response makes an engine feel more powerful than it is. You can customize your fuel curve within limits using integrated ignition timing so why not go with the FE if that's what you want.

You know, this will be my first build, so i have decided to keep things simple. I don't want to do any temporary stuff, after all, the car will be inspected again two years after completion. So I will only use the 428 if they will let me run it as it is. If not, I will go with a small block and a good five- or six-speed manual.

Not sure what BluePrint Engines can do as far as shipping to you, but give Johnny a call at BPE. This is their 302 option for the Factory Five Roadster. They may even work with you on options and get you closer to your max HP numbers. Tell him Carl sent you... LOL he will get a good laugh from that... Seriously. Plug and Play Engine/Trans combo...

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Originally Posted by RR20AC

Oystein, Why not get a 289 kit an add a 289. Would be a corner carver like you wanted and have all the attributes of an original Cobra and fit with regulations too.

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Nailed it! When you're finished with your build, you're going to want to drive the piss out of it. 289/Roadster with a small block will be driven MUCH more than any BB.

Man, just sitting here thinking about my options and planning is exciting. I appreciate all the input, it is very helpful.

Davekp, are you in Florida?

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Originally Posted by Oystein

Davekp, are you in Florida?

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Yes, but not close to Cape Coral. I'm in Merritt Island.

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Originally Posted by davekp

Yes, but not close to Cape Coral. I'm in Merritt Island.

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Ah, i see. Thats not just around the corner. I have been to Daytona Turkey run, and i usually go to Lakeland for the Carlisle Fall event, but haven't been around your neighbourhood before. We have a house in Cape Coral, but we do drive around a little bit when we're there over some time.

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Originally Posted by BadAsp427

Not sure what BluePrint Engines can do as far as shipping to you, but give Johnny a call at BPE. This is their 302 option for the Factory Five Roadster. They may even work with you on options and get you closer to your max HP numbers. Tell him Carl sent you... LOL he will get a good laugh from that... Seriously. Plug and Play Engine/Trans combo...

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Thanks Carl! I knew I liked you!lol

We can ship an engine or combo about anywhere. Or, we can also ship to a freight forwarder of the buyers choosing within the states.

@erlihemi we do have some very nice 302's and 306's that would help with the horsepower goals you need to hit.

all of our pre-done packages can be found here. (click on the engines tab)
https://factoryfiveengines.com/

i have even made some special exceptions piecing kits together using the engines on... https://blueprintengines.com/collect...-crate-engines since we have a few more HP levels on the "normal" BluePrints for customers overseas that need lesser HP than the FFR kits.

anything we can do let me know.

Johnny@BluePrintEngines.com

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Originally Posted by Oystein

Ah, i see. Thats not just around the corner. I have been to Daytona Turkey run, and i usually go to Lakeland for the Carlisle Fall event, but haven't been around your neighbourhood before. We have a house in Cape Coral, but we do drive around a little bit when we're there over some time.

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Hi Oystein, we have a house in Cape Coral as well. Unfortunately, my Roadster is not here, as our full time house is in Nova Scotia, Canada.

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Originally Posted by BluePrintEngines

Thanks Carl! I knew I liked you!lol

We can ship an engine or combo about anywhere. Or, we can also ship to a freight forwarder of the buyers choosing within the states.

@erlihemi we do have some very nice 302's and 306's that would help with the horsepower goals you need to hit.

all of our pre-done packages can be found here. (click on the engines tab)
https://factoryfiveengines.com/

i have even made some special exceptions piecing kits together using the engines on... https://blueprintengines.com/collect...-crate-engines since we have a few more HP levels on the "normal" BluePrints for customers overseas that need lesser HP than the FFR kits.

anything we can do let me know.

Johnny@BluePrintEngines.com

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Hi Johnny.

When i eventually decide on what engine to use, i'll make sure to contact you if i end up not using the 428.

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Originally Posted by Driver_WT

Hi Oystein, we have a house in Cape Coral as well. Unfortunately, my Roadster is not here, as our full time house is in Nova Scotia, Canada.

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You should bring it to Florida... Wish i had a car over there, but we rent the house, so we need the garage space for our guests...

When I built my Roadster I wanted a car that was very quick from 0 to 60, well mannered, agile and fun to drive. The purpose was to take drives on the weekend to look at the scenery and have fun with my wife. I went with a 302 Explorer motor that I converted to carb and used a stock 90 Mustang cam. I added a Canton oil pan and some chrome. It was tuned on a dyno and produced 258HP and 285LBs torque. After completion I have given many prospective builders a ride and all have been impressed with the acceleration and drive-ability. Some have copied my build and others have continued with the high horsepower motors. With the car pointed straight I can smash the throttle in 1st gear, hit 2nd all the while the rear of he car is wiggling slightly. When I reach the top of 2nd I'm going 60 and it all happened very fast. I live in a city environment so 3rd gear is only a blip before I back down. The point I'm trying to make is a mild 302 build can be very fun, fast and easy to live with. Your HP restriction will in no way limit your fun, but may save your life and increase your enjoyment. My car has been on the road for 7 years and I'm happy with my choice.

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Originally Posted by Oystein

You should bring it to Florida... Wish i had a car over there, but we rent the house, so we need the garage space for our guests...

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Well, it is a three day drive and I would have to buy a truck and a trailer to bring the Roadster to Florida. We just bought a 2006 Mazda MX5 for a Florida convertible. It is a fun little car - handles great and goes pretty good.

[QUOTE=Rootbeer Roadster;357490]When I built my Roadster I wanted a car that was very quick from 0 to 60, well mannered, agile and fun to drive. The purpose was to take drives on the weekend to look at the scenery and have fun with my wife. I went with a 302 Explorer motor that I converted to carb and used a stock 90 Mustang cam. I added a Canton oil pan and some chrome. It was tuned on a dyno and produced 258HP and 285LBs torque. After completion I have given many prospective builders a ride and all have been impressed with the acceleration and drive-ability. Some have copied my build and others have continued with the high horsepower motors. With the car pointed straight I can smash the throttle in 1st gear, hit 2nd all the while the rear of he car is wiggling slightly. When I reach the top of 2nd I'm going 60 and it all happened very fast. I live in a city environment so 3rd gear is only a blip before I back down. The point I'm trying to make is a mild 302 build can be very fun, fast and easy to live with. Your HP restriction will in no way limit your fun, but may save your life and increase your enjoyment. My car has been on the road for 7 years and I'm happy with my choice.[/QUOTE

It all depends what I'm allowed to do. Plan A is similar to what you've done, but since I already have the 428' I owe it to myself to explore my options. Still no answer from Norwegian DMV....I do think 300ish HP is plenty in such a light car. I want to go with the IRS, and will then also have to use the 17"wheels. Combined with coilovers, I think it will be very agile yet well behaved.

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Originally Posted by Driver_WT

Well, it is a three day drive and I would have to buy a truck and a trailer to bring the Roadster to Florida. We just bought a 2006 Mazda MX5 for a Florida convertible. It is a fun little car - handles great and goes pretty good.

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The Mazda is an excellent car for sure. I usually rent a Mustang convertible. There's something about driving topless in Florida that brings out a huge grin on my face.

300 hp in the cobra is nearly the same power to weight ratio of a current base Corvette C-7. Plenty fast!

Remember also, your gear ratios (trans and diff), can have a big affect on how the car feels when accelerating. Throttle response can affect it too.

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Originally Posted by davekp

300 hp in the cobra is nearly the same power to weight ratio of a current base Corvette C-7. Plenty fast!

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C7 performance should produce a smile. I didn't realize that 300HP would get one close to high 11s nudging 120.

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Originally Posted by davekp

Remember also, your gear ratios (trans and diff), can have a big affect on how the car feels when accelerating. Throttle response can affect it too.

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Yep, I'm aware of those things. I'm thinking a smooth shifting 5 or 6 speed with a nice overdrive ratio on top, and hopefully some tall gears in the rear for good acceleration, but I may well be wrong. With a small block I was thinking 8 stack injection, mostly because it looks cool, but it's pricey, and I've read about low end stumble and poor drive ability, so maybe a throttle body FI like Fitch would be better. When I decide on engine, I will for sure search the forum and ask more questions..

Big block and corner carver do not go well together. Adding weight and adding horsepower at a set ratio only does one thing. It reduces the handling and braking capabilities of the car.

With a power to weight ratio limit, the best thing that you can do is to keep it lightweight and bring power close to the limit. Small block is the way to go for this.

As you may have noticed, the first thing Americans want to do with rules is find a way around them. It would be easy to knock off 100+ HP for testing. However, what people that haven't lived overseas don't realize is that some places actually enforce their laws, and have severe penalties for breaking them. In New Zealand, get caught street racing three times and your car goes to the crusher.

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Originally Posted by Avalanche325

Big block and corner carver do not go well together. Adding weight and adding horsepower at a set ratio only does one thing. It reduces the handling and braking capabilities of the car.

With a power to weight ratio limit, the best thing that you can do is to keep it lightweight and bring power close to the limit. Small block is the way to go for this.

As you may have noticed, the first thing Americans want to do with rules is find a way around them. It would be easy to knock off 100+ HP for testing. However, what people that haven't lived overseas don't realize is that some places actually enforce their laws, and have severe penalties for breaking them. In New Zealand, get caught street racing three times and your car goes to the crusher.

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In general I will agree with you with the big block vs corner carver issue. My reason for asking the question in the first place is that I read in one thread about battery placement in the Roadster that its weight distribution is rear biased. Since I have this 428 available, I started wondering if putting it in the car actually would make it more balanced compared to a lighter engine. It seems though that the general consensus is to go with the small block.

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Originally Posted by Avalanche325

As you may have noticed, the first thing Americans want to do with rules is find a way around them.

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It is embarrassing how little respect average Americans have for laws, rules, regulations and guidelines. There is no excuse. Not only do we have elected officials creating so many fine ways to make us better people, many of these officials make the sacrifice of violating their dictates so that we can see how seriously they are punished when they find a way around the results of their legislative efforts.

https://www.investors.com/politics/c...ff-back-taxes/

http://www.nbcnews.com/id/10794604/n.../#.XGXFqLhMEzs



I have no way to verify this but when I worked in California, an employee at one of my customers (a large defense company) laughed at how their Detroit division obtained a Michigan license plate for Arnold to put on a vehicle that could not legally be operated in California.

And poor Ted Kennedy. Leaving the scene of a fatal traffic accident cost him the presidency. He had to settle for being election to the Senate seven time post that 1969 mishap.

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Originally Posted by Oystein

In general I will agree with you with the big block vs corner carver issue. My reason for asking the question in the first place is that I read in one thread about battery placement in the Roadster that its weight distribution is rear biased. Since I have this 428 available, I started wondering if putting it in the car actually would make it more balanced compared to a lighter engine. It seems though that the general consensus is to go with the small block.

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OK. Let's get to it......

The typical thing that you read in magazines "perfect, 50/50 weight distribution" is utter nonsense. It completely depends on the particular car. These cars are specifically designed to have more weight in the rear. That is why the engine sits so far back. The engine could easily be much further forward. These are front mid-engine cars for a reason. To get the weight in the rear where you need it. Put the battery in the rear also.

If you look at specs on modern race cars, supercars, etc. A majority of them have a rear weight bias.

Not sure I follow all the regulations you have to go through correctly, but my 2 cents for what it's worth:

It sounds like it's a one-time test to be come road legal. If it were me, I would build the engine/combo I want then when it came time for testing I would choke the engine down and get it dynoed exactly where it needs to be/add some lead plates to the trunk as needed. Pulling a lot of timing out and putting a lot less air/fuel through should be able to choke the motor down by 100-150hp or more. Once its right on target with a local dyno tuner, get it tested and pass all the regulations. After that, 'upgrade' it accordingly.

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Originally Posted by Avalanche325

OK. Let's get to it......

The typical thing that you read in magazines "perfect, 50/50 weight distribution" is utter nonsense. It completely depends on the particular car. These cars are specifically designed to have more weight in the rear. That is why the engine sits so far back. The engine could easily be much further forward. These are front mid-engine cars for a reason. To get the weight in the rear where you need it. Put the battery in the rear also.

If you look at specs on modern race cars, supercars, etc. A majority of them have a rear weight bias.

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I dont really know what the weight distribution is. Would be really interesting to see some numbers for the different configurations, eg. Big/ small-block, Battery up front/ In trunk.

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Originally Posted by Duke

Not sure I follow all the regulations you have to go through correctly, but my 2 cents for what it's worth:

It sounds like it's a one-time test to be come road legal. If it were me, I would build the engine/combo I want then when it came time for testing I would choke the engine down and get it dynoed exactly where it needs to be/add some lead plates to the trunk as needed. Pulling a lot of timing out and putting a lot less air/fuel through should be able to choke the motor down by 100-150hp or more. Once its right on target with a local dyno tuner, get it tested and pass all the regulations. After that, 'upgrade' it accordingly.

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Well, there is a re-inspection of the car two years after completion. I'm not gonna make it too complicated anyway, so i will build it legal the first time around. I don't want to risk any problems with the inspectors.

I gave the results for my car a few days ago.
See "Corner Weights" thread.
Dave

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Originally Posted by davekp

I gave the results for my car a few days ago.
See "Corner Weights" thread.
Dave

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Thank you, that's really helpful. That is not with a full tank, so i should probably be able to shoot fro about 300 HP. I got a reply from our DMV, and it seems they are really strict with the hp-limits, so small block it is I suppose..

302, standard T5 gears and 355 diff will be tons of fun. The 355 will make 2nd and 3rd pull quite strongly while keeping 1st still usable. The .6x 5th gear will make for nice cruising. Yeah, it's a pain to be limited but you will have a great car.