74_5.0L_Z

I have the Outlaw 2800 4 spot calipers on all four wheels. The front have 1.75" pistons, and the rear use 1.38" pistons. The front rotors are 11.5 x 0.81, and the rear are 10.75 x 0.81. I installed a Wilwood Proportioning valve in the rear line, and had to decrease the rear line pressure almost to the limit of the proportioning valve in order to prevent rear wheel lock up. With your set-up, I would install the proportioning valve in the line going to the rear. You just won't need to decrease the rear line pressure as much. When you install the adjustable proportioning valve, be sure to remove the factory propotioning valve. All I did was splice the line where the factory valve was with couplers

I've been autocrossing my car for about 6 months. I'm no expert, but here is my experience thus far. I have 200# springs in the rear and 175# springs in the front. I also have an open differential. The car also has the Suspension Techniques 1.125" sway bar in front and 7/8" in rear. I tried the combination with the rear sway bar attached, and the car easily spun the inside tire. I disabled the rear sway bar, and the rear traction improved dramatically; however, the car now has a slight push. My next step is going to be to go stiffer on the rear springs, and leave the rear sway bar disabled. This is what I suggest for cars with an open diff: 250# rear springs 175# front springs 1.125" front sway bar no rear sway bar

I am running in the Florida State Autocross Championships this weekend. At my local region, I run in Street Mod(SM). At the FSAC this weekend, I'll have to run E Mod(EM). EM is an all out race class. I'm going to get anihilated by the competition, but it should be fun. The course is set-up on the Gainesville Raceway Road course, and has some long straights and sweepers(for an autocross at least). In a few weeks, I hope to run a road course with some guys from the local Porsche club.

I am using the 2800 series calipers up front. I drilled the original holes on the strut and heli-coiled them for 5/16 x 20 bolts. I am using the stage II kit offered by Mike Gibson(scca) on the front of my car. The kit includes 11.5 x 0.81 vented rotors, 2800 series Outlaw calipers(1.75 in piston), and Hawk pads. If you go this route specify Hawk HP-Plus pads and not HPS. The HPS pads fade easily. I have also put 2800 series caliper on the back of the car. On the back, I use 1.38 " pistons). I use a 1985 maxima front rotor on the back. It is 10.75 x 0.875 in(cut down to 0.81). I remove the stock proportioning valve and use a wilwood adjustable unit.

The Pro-stocks may be limited in some aspects, but they are to be admired for the times they run given the rules they must obey. The pro-stockers are limited to 500 cubic inches and no power-adders, yet they run 6.80s at 200+ (consistently). The cars at the World Street Nationals were very impressive because of the variety and horsepower. Most of the cars had in excess of 600 cubic inches and some sort of power adder. The turbo cars were phenomenal. One car had four turbos. The fastest only ran slightly faster than a Pro-stock. The Japanese turbo-cars are impressive but should not be compared to Pro-stocks. There are plenty of NHRA and IHRA classes that are comparable. IHRA Pro-Mod comes to mind.

I have a 1974 260Z with a stock Mustang 5.0L and T5 tranny. The car only runs 13.20s at 104 in the quarter. My times are slow compared to many of the more modified cars on this site. But, a 13.20 quarter mile equates to a 4.6 sec 0 to 60. This speaks volumes about the capabilities of the Z car with even a modest V8.

1974 260Z 1989 5.0L mustang engine and T-5 transmission Stock 5.0 fuel injection Tilton hydraulic throw-out bearing Tilton clutch master C&L 73mm MAF 24# injectors 1.72 roller rockers dynomax block-hugger header dual 2.5" exhaust w/ 2 chamber Flowmaster RCI 16 gallon fuel cell centerline 15x8 (5in backspace wheels) Dunlop 245/50/15 tires GroundControl coilover springs(200#/175# R/F) Koni single adjustable struts Suspension Tecniques sway bars polyurethane everything 11.5 x.81 rotors w/ outlaw 2800 series calipers on front Maxima 10.75 x .81 rotors and outlaw 2800 series calipers on back. adjustable proportioining valve Soon to install Edelbrock Aluminum Heads, Crower cam, Cobra Intake.

I know for certain that the 1987 - 1989 5.0 engine came with TRW forged pistons. They are four valve relief with a small dish. They were rated at 9.2 to 1 compression when used with 60 cc combustion chamber heads. I have these pistons in my 1989 5.0.

I know that he doesn't have any 3x2 or 2x4 intakes for a 351W. He has both for a 289 / 302. As for the adapter, It should be easy to design / fabricate.

By the way, I have a friend who hoards old Ford parts (289 Hi-po, Boss 302, etc...). Let me know if you need something.

Terry, Here's what I tell my wife," insert spouse name, the insert part nameis worn and needs to be replaced. I priced the stock unit and aftermarket, and the aftermarket piece (which is much better than stock) is only X dollars more. Wouldn't it be smart to buy the better part when it so reasonably priced and of so much better quality.

I had a simialr problem when I last assembled an L6. I had valve from a 280 installed in my 260 head. The machinist didn't take the time to verify that all the valve were installed to the same height. When I went to adjust the valves, all the valves need different thickness lash pads. I was pissed. I removed the haed and had the machinist redo it. The moral of the story is that the installed height of the valves is important, and the all of the valves should be the same or you'll never get the valve geometry correct.

I am assuming that your present car is rusty. If that is the case, lose the current car and find one that is rust-free or as close to rust-free as possible. Any effort to find a clean car will pay off in the long run. Even if you have to spend 2000.00 more for the car, you will be money ahead in the end.

I am using the MSD P/N 2225 EFI fuel pump. I got mine new for $105.00. It flows 48gph at 39psi(enough to support about 400 hp). This pump is small, relatively quiet, and has work flawlessly for 1.5 years so far. I tried an Ford F250 pump before using the MSD, and only got 25 psi. The Ford pump requires a low pressure pusher pump ahead of the high pressure boost pump. The MSD pump stands alone, and mounts inline. Be sure to mount your inline fuel pump so that the inlet is lower than the outlet of your fuel tank. Also mount the pump as far back as possible. Electric fuel pumps push fuel well but are lousy at pulling fuel.

Mike(scca), Rather than notch the cross-member, I moved the drain-plug on the front sump from the front to the bottom. It was very easy to do. Drill out two spot welds, remove the threaded insert. Weld up the old hole. Drill new hole and spot weld the insert in place.

My 1974 260 has a 5.0L and T5. The engine is mounted as far back as physically possible. The upper intake (fuel injected) is less than 1/8" from the hood latch. The front sum is 1/8" behind the front crossmember. The engine is centered between the frame rails. In use dynomax block-hugger headers, and they clear the T/C mounts by less than 1/8". I had to install a u-joint in the steering shaft to clear the headers. The u-joint was no big deal. The engine sits as low as I dared. The centerline of the crank is even with the top of the frome rails. The engine sits in the car 2.5 degrees nose up, and the angle of the differential has been adjusted to match. The placement of the engine allow the shifter to come throgh the stock hole in the floor and console. I use a full size oil filter in the stock location, and the full size Ford clutch fan. I would not mount the engine further forward because the shifter will not be in the right location. I would not mount the engine higher because the upper intake will not clear the hood. I would not mount the engine at a large angle because the fan will not clear the hood. A possibility is to go further back. This would require removing the stock hood latch, and clearancing the tunnel for bellhosing clearance. Even with the removal of the latch and clearancing the tunnel, the engine would only be moved 1.5 inches further back before the firewall would need to be altered. I believe that Mike (scca) has his engine placed the same as mine although he used different mounts. Good Luck, Dan McGrath

I had a similar experience about ten years ago. I was at the drag strip sitting in the staging lanes. I reached into the car to kick over the engine. My car started and immediately took off. There were people sitting on the car in front of mine. I lunged into the window and slammed it into park. The transmission clicked, and the car stopped inches from killing someone.

Another silly question. You do have the firing order as 13726548, and not 15426378. Right. The modern 5.0 has a different firing order than the old ones.

I have a 5.0L powered 260 with 245/50/15 tire all around. The car has a slight smaller diameter steering wheel, and no power steering. For normal driving, the lack of power steering is not a problem. For auto-X racing, which I have started doing, power steering would be a plus. It's a pain to muscle around 180 degree slow turns.

Hey BLKMGK, Do you have any other Hipo 5.0 parts on the shelf that you might part with . Thanks, Dan McGrath

I'm sure you've checked, but what is the condition of your PCV valve and hose. A bad PCV valve will produce a bad vacuum leak. Have you tried plugging the PCV line at the carb? Another possibility is that you have a leak under the intake in the lifter gallery. This can happen if the intake and or heads have been milled. Have you checked the vacuum with the engine running. The engine should make 15-18 in H20 of vaccuum on the engine side of the closed throttle plates at idle. The vacuum indication should be steady. One other thing that came to mind. Make certain the valves are adjusted properly. If sufficient clearance is not provided the valves will not seal properly, and the engine will act as if it has a vacuum leak. Further, the problem will get worse as the engine warmes up. I nearly ended up in that situation when I installed 1.7 rollers on my engine. I tightened the rockers down on their pedestals, and noticed that the valves were opening with the cam on the base circle. (Not good) To fix this I installed shim under the pedestals to correct the geometry. The shims come in a prepackaged kit from Crane. The kit includes two set of shims at different thicknesses and cost $13.00. I would almost bet that this is your problem, especially if the heads have been milled at all.

I have a fuel injected 5.0L / T5 in mine. I've been driving it for over a year. It's not a GT40, but will soon exceed the GT-40 in power. I just ordered a cam, and Edelbrock aluminum heads. I already have 1.7 roller rockers, 73mm MAF, 24 lb/hr injectors, dual 2.5 inch exhaust. I have visions of a supercharger / turbos in the future, but who knows. Good Luck, Dan McGrath

Over the christmas holiday I plan to put some Edelbrock aluminum heads(P/N 6037), and a new cam in my engine. I'm trying to decide which cam to get. The engine is fuel injected, and has a stock 1989 bottom end. I don't want to touch the bottom end(no machining of valve reliefs. I want a cam that will pull all the way to the 6250 rev limiter but not kill the bottom end. The E303, F303, and B303 cams are the most popular cams I've seen for these engines. Competition Cams has some interesting grinds but they may be too large. How much lift and duration can I use before clearancing the pistons? What cams have you tried? What is your opinion of the cams that you tried? Thanks, Dan McGrath

This site has a java applet that suggests which turbo and trim to use based on engine size, max rpm, number of turbos, etc... Ray Hall Turbocharging. I am just beginning to explore the world of supercharging, so I can't vouch for the validity of the answers the applet provides.

I have seen 460 lbs as the published weight of the late model 5.0L(302). I have never found the weight of the L-6 published anywhere. The late model 5.0L mustang engines are rates at 225hp (1989-1991), 215hp(1992-1993), 205hp(1987-1988). The late model 280Z engine were rated at 168 Hp(I believe) 168 +.2*168 = 201hp earlier 1975 - 1986 302 were rated at less than 200 HP, and all can easily be modified to over 300 HP. If you know the weight of the L-6, please post it.