One option that is slightly "hack" but would largely go unnoticed would be a few 1" -1 1/2" holesaw holes with a tin shield under the hood, open on the ends to deflect water? Love the build by the way! Lorne

 

I had this combo running pretty well, 12 PSI of boost and it would spin the tires clear up to 50 MPH (its not that impressive, the tires are 14 years old), I was very happy with the power and working on other aspects of the truck. A few months back I was tinkering on this project, and forgot to plug the wastegate signal back in. I took it for a quick run and as soon as I layed into it I hit 19 PSI, it was more air than I had fuel for and a big bang happened. I let out of it as quickly as I could and I thought everything might be ok. Unfortunately as soon as I stopped I could see oil smoke pluming from the breathers. That was it for a while an the truck has been parked. I watched craigslist for a long time hoping someone would get rid of a built shortblock but any that popped up were well out of my price range. One day I found a 1988 efi motor that had a questionable background but the price was right so I met up with the guy and took it home. #ad




I was pretty surprised on tear down, I had very little hope for this rusty monster and assumed it would be a full rebuild if the block would pass the machinists inspection. I found the bearings all looked nearly new and the cylinder walls were fresh 0.030 over, quality parts had even been used, whoever rebuilt it in the late 90's cared. I decided I would stick the engine in the truck as is, but I didn't have time to mess with it before I left for Europe. A six week vacation changes priorities and I spent a lot less than I expected to, so yesterday I ordered new H beam rods and forged pistons, along with all the accouterments for installation. Once they get here I will compare the weights then probably take the block in for hot tank and inspection, if it checks out a simple rehatch on the cylinder walls should get me in business. I will update with more pics as I go along.

 

Its a shame I've seen accidental over-boosting take out a lot of engines. A "pop off" valve set slightly above boost pressure is good insurance. You'd also think FI-tech would have some sort of fuel safety cutoff? The MS3 has both. If my boost goes over "X" it drops ignition. Same with AFR. If it starts to go lean... drops spark.

Good luck, sounds like this one might take a little more abuse!

 

I never thought about a safety valve, I will have to look into it. Really its my fault... who builds a turbo big block then caps the fuel at 600hp? I think even if I would have had the fuel to handle it something would have broken, that stock 1973 bottom end was not long for this world and was in sorry shape. The s480 on the 429 was like a light switch and that was a violent experience, 3 psi to 19 happened in an instant, wheels snapped loose instantly, the noise was incredible and it was totally unexpected. Hopefully it will be a little more linear in the 460, though I am contemplating a cam change. Current cam is 210/210 @0.050 w/ .509/.509 valve lift.

 

Do a custom cam!

 

Some parts came in. I won't be using the rods, I overlooked them being floating and the pistons requiring press fit. tbird and I had a conversation about the stock rods and it should be alright #ad
Garage rebuild here I come!

 

I'm getting close to having this thing ready to go in.
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I made a decision to keep the boost fairly low on this and do some other things to hit my power goals. I completely rebuilt a set of 69 heads including a porting job based on the RHP guide, I didn't open things up as much as they recommended because its still a heavy truck and it needs good manners off boost. I did a little valve unshrouding and softened the chambers some. I installed all new valve springs and seals. I cut the guides down to allow up to .650 lift, that way if I decide I want something crazy in the future its already setup.
For now I selected a lunati cam with 219/227 duration at 0.050" and .540/.552 lift (-1°overlap @0.050").I am hoping it runs well. I would like to make around 550hp @ 7-9 psi. The configuration should be about 9.2:1 compression, the old engines have been about 7.8:1 compression and at my altitude it just sucked off boost. Its already got water meth so I will just set it up to start spraying at 4psi, nice and safe. I will try to keep it tame if the engine survives initial break in... its going to have a fresh engine, fresh c6, fresh np203, mostly fresh suspension system, all new brakes including hydroboost, I am ready to just drive it a while and stop changing engines every 50 miles.

 

Changes are coming.

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Heck yeah they are!

 

Now you're talking!!!

 

Looking forward to seeing what you do with this Ben, should be a blast. Do tell your plans!

 

So the most recent 460 was pretty good, ran well off boost and would smoke the tires from a dig well into the turbo spool. Unfortunately I made a mistake when I was assembling the engine, one of the wrist pins was much too tight and due to my limited facilities, skills, knowledge I figure it would be good enough and just put the engine together anyway. It ran well for a while then started to make some bad noises. I considered ordering a new rotating assembly and rebuilding the motor again, I considered selling the truck, I considered building an NA 460 for it and just breaking free of the turbo plan for a while.

In the meantime I was finally able to realize the dream of supercharging my 3v mustang. I found someone selling a used, fully ported, freshly rebuilt Whipple unit with the Steeda belt drive and an assortment of pullies. It came with big injectors, oversized heat exchangers and reservoir, injectors... all the good stuff except for tuning. I decided to tune it myself using HPtuners, its taken months but the car finally drives like stock, except with a whole lot more power in reserve. It has been a great experience building the car up, even if frustrating at times. All that's left on tuning is put it on a dyno and see what kind of power its actually making. There isn't a lot of support for the 3V units, HPT sort of came along after their hayday.

Life has been in the way of this truck too, I recently traded my ecoboost in on a gen 1 raptor, I love the truck... its special, garners a lot of attention, rides like a Cadillac on any terrain and will do 100+mph on any surface... Its just pure fun. It drained the finances and I've been spending a lot of time with it, including a 3 day trail run in Wyoming that was complete blast and an excellent driving experience. I recently finished my bachelors and started a new job which has been both a time suck and an incredible drain on my brain reserves, its rewarding though and I like every day at work.

So, back to the truck. I took some steps back and decided what I really wanted out of it. I need it to be a comfortable, reliable driver. The mustang is an incredible thing to drive, its got full suspension, koni, steeda, BMR and whiteline and brembo brakes. It has sparco seats dropped as low as they can be so I can fit in the car with a helmet on; its really set up for road racing. It will take a corner at simply irresponsible speeds and with fat sticky tires its a monster in a straight line as well, its a ton of fun to scythe through traffic in... But its really tough to daily drive especially in traffic. The Raptor is an awesome truck, tons of character, nice to be in, quiet with all the amenities, I would have no reluctance picking up a girl for a date in it. It would make a perfect daily driver, unfortunately my new job takes me into the heart of Denver every day, its a lot of miles to put on what to me is a pretty expensive somewhat exotic vehicle. People drive like madmen, and like lost children when the weather turns, so this ranger with the patina and body damage is the perfect platform. I couldn't care less about door dings, its unassuming so every frat boy in daddy's diesel wont be trying to race me, I've already done a bunch of soundproofing and suspension work and I love the character.

I wanted overdrive, and decent fuel economy. The big block and C6 weren't cutting it, I considered a lot of angle's: gear vendors for overdrive, built E4OD, manual swap, I just couldn't seem to get the trans configuration where I wanted it to be on paper. The big blocks have been a curse for me, the original 400 could have its consumption rated in MPQ, as in quarts of oil, it was burning better than a quart per 100 miles.... not that I blame it, my granddad kept exceptional care of the motor, 356k miles is an awful lot for a chunk of smog era pig iron that was worked like a farm implement its whole life. The first 460 (472) came with cracked cylinder walls (thanks craigslist), the 429 should have been a great engine until I saw oil puffing out of the breather like smoke out of Willie Nelson, 2 of the cylinder walls had significant gouging. The most recent 460 was completely my fault, I could have left the stock reciprocating assembly in it and it would probably have been fine. I'm just sick of dealing with the search for good, used 50 year old engines. I am sure they are out there. The only 460 guru machinist in my area closed his doors last winter and finding a good machinist who I trust has been a real struggle. I already have a ton of parts tied up in the engine, forged pistons, big pushrods, roller rockers, fully ported 69 musclecar heads, cam, intake, a turbo that seems to match perfectly blah blah blah, so its tough to walk away from it. But its time, I felt like anything I did on that platform was futile and I didn't see getting double digit fuel economy in it... ever, most of the time it was 5-6mpg.

Having purchased the raptor I looked hard at the 6.2l engines for this truck, it would be really nice to have similar platforms to where I could borrow parts for diagnostics. But the aftermarket and tuning support isn't there, and I felt like I would be putting myself into the same rabbit hole as the 460 with a slightly different dressing. In a way they are an unknown, not that many people are really leaning on them and finding the breaking points. I really loved the idea of the 6r80, its a robust trans, gear ratios are excellent and double overdrive is extra delicious.

It was time to go mainstream, a known ingredient if you will. The coyote. I found a 2016 truck engine with 8k miles on it, trans, convertor, wiring harness and all the accessories except the alternator. I was going to build engine mounts myself, but Fat Fender garage had a complete engine and trans mount kit. Easy button, no worries about setting angles or smashing myself to death sticking the engine in and pulling it out a dozen times getting everything perfect. I ordered all 4 mustang cams for it and found a base gen 2 control pack tune. I think between HPtuners and FORSCAN I can get the thing running with no other factory parts, just like the control pack... since the control pack is around $1700.

I also found a set of king ranch seats out of a 2014 f150 that are in great shape, and got a vintage air kit for it, comfort increase!

What I need to figure out now is what injectors to go with, I am thinking DEKA 80s, I loved the fitech but I really longed for some overhead and I think the 80's will provide that. I need to decide on the turbo, I am looking to make 550-600 hp out of the thing. The s480 I have looks like a good match, but I am afraid the 96mm 1.32 exhaust housing is going to be lazy, I am looking for reasonably quick spool, but I am going to run the engine out to 7200RPM so I need to make sure I am not choking it. I am thinking about twin s257's, but they would eat the remaining budget for the project.

This will be sort of a middle of the road build, no chinesium but not a lot of custom high end parts either. I want it to be fun, reliable and worry free. I will focus funds where I think they will make the biggest impact, open to suggestions, especially from people that have experience with these engines.

Oh, and I did order a second precision 46mm gate... I am not dealing with uncontrollable boost any more.

 

I also need to determine if I can flip the manifolds side to side, and if they are cast steel or iron. I would prefer to just weld V bands on them than deal with turbo manifolds or the stock exhaust connections.

 

Look in my turbo coyote coupe thread, I flipped them for a guy and took pics. Why do you need mustang cams on both? 11 to 14 intake cams were different but not exhaust, not sure on your year. That hot side is a little big, probably spool 4kish on the yote, but not too shabby with the right converter, but will way exceed your power goals. Good luck great build. I just started a new job 2 weeks ago. Good luck with yours.

 

They changed the firing order on the trucks in 15, so you have to swap both cams. Crank is the same. I wanted a gen 2 because they have the better rods and better heads, variable runner intake manifold that's compatible to gen 3, trucks and mustangs both got the same upgraded oil pump gears. Plus low mile ones are available. I didn't want to deal with the dual injection of a gen 3, they are more expensive and I prefer the 6r80 to the 10r80.

Congrats on the new job!

 

Good info to know. Thank you. Yes, thegen 2 heads make substantially more power. Rods are the boss rods too from what I undrrstand.

 

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Are you going to lock out the cams or play with the Ti-Vct?
I was going to turbo my 2011 f150 but went old school.
When I was looking into it I came across Holley’s setup and they claimed huge torque increase at lower rpms, there must be something to it but I have yet to see anybody work with the Ti-Vct. I have a set of the Ford performance cast exhaust manifolds for swaps, but for the 11 to 14 5.0
They look like they would be good to mod into a v band setup. The did sell them for the gen 2 coyote also.

 

I will be keeping Ti VCT, it's responsible for a lot of good drivability aspects. With the HPT software i can start off with the base control pack tune, which utilizes all of the OEM tech. There are some people on the hpt forum who have messed with the tivct in the tune, ghost cams, different ramp rates etc. It's a well supported and documented ecm over there.

I'll spark test the manifolds in the next few days.

 

No dice on the stock manifold flip, I am disappointed. AC compressor and timing cover get in the way. The manifolds seem to be cast steel based on spark test. I haven't decided to build something from scratch or try to modify these. #ad
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