Last "el-cheapo" engine I did was an '85 model 5.0 roller engine I picked up for $100. Just honed it by hand, new standard gap rings, new bearings, standard oil pump/pickup, complete gasket set, stock oil pan.....less than $300. I did splurge on the camshaft. New TFS Stage 1 hydraulic roller but it was sitting in the speed shop unclaimed so it was only $125. Found a set of '66 model 289 heads on the shelf at our parts house machine shop (free!) so I opened the seats a little then hand ported them. Used 1.85" intakes and 1.50" exhaust valves ($75). I did all the machine work so that was my labor. Had to ante up for springs to handle the cam along with retainers and keepers....around $200. Nothing too outrageous. Used Harland Sharp rockers were $75. Picked up a used Torker 289 at a swap meet for $50. Along with four tubes of epoxy ($10) and 10 hours of porting it was pretty nice. A swap meet Holley 600 double pumper ($125) and Holley Trick Kit ($55) took care of the induction. Used set of Hooker 1 1/2" long tubes and 2 1/2" exhaust system with Dynomax mufflers was $150. Miscellaneous items like oil, plug wires, plugs, fuel line, coolant, thermostat, new hoses.....blah, blah, blah.....roughly another $100. Kept the stock ignition and it worked fine. Never got it on a chassis dyno because we went right to the track with the car. Made good power due to the small combustion chambers and the camshaft. Car ran 12.15 at 111 mph. Considering the three speed manual transmission, 3.08 gears, and 26x8.5 slicks I was pleased with the setup.
95 mustang engine with 49k on the clock for $150.00 GT40 heads from a early 97 explorer $50.00 Milled down .020 and vacuum tested $85.00 Explorer GT40 intake $50.00 1.7 ratio cobra roller rockers $75.00 EBay Misc engine harness EEC-IV computer and conectors. About $250.00 Being able to run 14.3 on stock 185/75/14 peddling off the line. PRICELESS!
pre machine 69 model long block zero decked etc etc wiesco pistons crank/rods w/ arp bolts gasket set moly ringset 1.6 roller rockers fully balanced professional produts balancer and SFI flexplate for C4 world windsor jr heads decked .040(1.550 spring) all new unassembled (1,200.00) arp head studs (120.69) arp oil pump shaft (18.95) 61005 voodoo cam (179.99) main girdle (179.95) arp flywheel bolts (8.95) arp oil pump bolts (6.95) arp cam bolt (2.95) arp pressure plate bolts 2.95 double roller chain (34.95) hardware kit (dowels) (15.99) blue printed oil pump (34.95) arp balancer bolt (19.95) arp intake bolts (32.99) break in lube (10.95) comp pushrods (34.95) fuel pump plate (3.95) nos fuel jets (37.99) nos jets (37.99) used fogger kit (300.00) replacment selonoid (60.00) custom made lines (45.00) replacment fogger nozzle (30.00) electric water pump (135.00) moroso bracket (60.00) intake (140.00) distributor (50.00) valve covers (35.00) plug wires (68.99) spark plugs (16.00) oil pan (65.00) pick up (19.99) flywheel (289.99) belt (15.99) crank pulley (5.00) valve cover breathers (18.99) misc bolts/washers etc (10.99) 2 cans of paint (11.99) 2 gallons of oil (25.99) oil filter (3.99) carb (150.00) dist adapter (9.99) dist cap (14.99) rotor button (4.99) motor mounts (9.99x2) K&N knock off (50.00) stub stack (30.00) ait cleaner base (5.00) msd box and coil (130.00) GRAND TOTAL === 3,758.05 not counting taxes or buying some things twice,gas,time or labor ad the rest of the drivetrain i changed at the same time and ... trans (250.00/300.00) clutch (200.00) exhaust (200.00) slave (65.00) pedal (65.00) master cyl (79.99) custom line (10.00) brake fluid (8.99) gear oil x6 (4.99) shifter boot (30.00) welder wire (30.00) trans mount (9.99) battery cables (20.00) ( ad this in and 5,056.96) still no taxes labor time or gas...
This is where I was thinking of suggesting after reading down a few posts. Then I ran across yours... My son's EFI 5.0 and AOD swap is making some really good power. I have no idea what the HP is, but I am really impressed with how quick the car is, and it only has 2.70 gears. He (we) have a little over $1k in the swap. We bought a driving LSC Lincoln with HO 5.0 and AOD for 500 bux. We gained back about 250 from scrapping, selling parts, and getting 4 new tires. The biggest expense, bigger than the engine/tranny, was the aftermarket wiring harness and the remanned ECM. They were about 550 together. AEM made the harness and it was plug-n-play... super easy. Then we put 1 5/8" headers, 2 1/2" OR X-pipe, and 2 1/2" race bullets for the exhaust. An Exploder GT 40 intake and TB topped it off. The AEM harness delete ALL of the power sapping late model emissions. The biggest thing about a Maverick swap would be fitting the stock HO fuel pump to the old tank. I did it with his Fairmont, but wouldn't know if the Maverick tank is ultimately easier or harder to mod. Edit: Here is the link for my thread on the swap.. http://mmb.maverick.to/showthread.php?t=74021 If you get into a gently used, unmolested HO from 1992 or earlier, you get a roller cam and forged pistons. Then... if you get it all together for under your budget, spend some dough on replacing the E7 heads with some GT40x heads (about $1k bolt on).
got some gt40 heads for MY build from pick N pull for $70 they had a sale off a 97 merc mountainear with 114.xxx bought the intake for $37 sold it for 150 in less than 3 days then found another gt40 intake and gt40p heads and are selling them i am starting to like pick N pull p.s buy there after market muffles there only like $12 bucks and you can re sell them for 3 times the amount
