rkulp89

With a 7K budget for the entire build, what engine would you put? I was thinking about an LQ4 but not sure if the extra $$ and weight is worth it.

EastTnZ28

iTrader: (20)

5.3 for the money.

Project GatTagO

iTrader: (7)

The logical question is what kind of power do you want to make?

Andrew

rkulp89

Well I certainly don't want to put a limit on it. I would like to get as much power out of the vehicle without going over budget and also keeping it as reliable and streetable as possible. This isn't going to be a DD or a track car, just something fun unless it develops into something more.

I see a lot of foxes with either the 5.3 or 6.0. I know the 5.3 is the cheaper way to go but do you consider it a better value than the 6.0?

Project GatTagO

iTrader: (7)

The engine in my Cougar is a LH8...gen IV aluminum block with 799 heads, no AFM or VVT. It's probably the best 5.3L variant. I installed springs, a ASA cam, and my crazy Holley Hi-Ram...It made 325rwhp through a T56 and Ford 9" rear...

The engine wasn't cheap, but only had 386 miles on it.

If you're open to doing a turbo down the road, then you can score a cheap 4.8L for now.

For reference, the L92 (basically a LS3 now) in my GTO with a LS7 cam put down about 420RWHP.

There are a lot of answers to your question and I am simply giving you first hand examples. I am sure others will share their experience.

Andrew

rkulp89

I appreciated the input. Regardless of what block I decide, I will want to take it to a machine shop to get decked & honed.

If going with a 5.3 block, I assume it would be worth it to bore out to 5.7 while getting worked?

booboo37

iTrader: (43)

All 5.3 motors need a power adder to have any fun......its like putting a 302 back in the car...

Look for a 6.0 or 6.2 and do a few tricks over time and camshaft. and run 9's on motor with pump gas....

Gen-IV's can't go to 3.898 bore......... There were a few Gen III aluminum 5.3's that could, but no GenIV"s..

Project GatTagO

iTrader: (7)

Can I get some actual tech on this?

Andrew

Project GatTagO

iTrader: (7)

Getting a bunch of machine work done is expensive and not necessary. You'll blow your budget fast doing that. I've see high mileage engines where the cylinder walls still have the hone marks.

If you want to stay NA, then bigger displacement is better. Choose a 6.0 or 6.2L that you can afford.

Andrew

JoeNova

I have less than 7k in my ~850+ HP aluminum 5.3 swap.
If you have that kind of budget just go turbo. Its almost insane not to.

rkulp89

I feel like if I'm buying an engine that I don't know the history of I'd rather pay the money to get it check out and machine by a professional than complete a build and run into issues.

It should be well under 1k to have this work done, right? Thats worth it to me. I would go over budget just to ensure this is done. Maybe unnecessary but I'm just too OCD not to do it.

Lsxnafox

iTrader: (2)

Get a gen4 5.3 with the good rods, ARP head bolts, cam and spray 300 shot done. Only thing I would do as far as machine work is the heads. Get a good set of valve springs in them. Save the money you would spend on machine shop for other things on the project since your on a budget. Total cost on my build was around 4 grand, thats including purchase of the car.

rkulp89

I'm kind of thinking to go NA 6.0 for now and then later down the road i can turbo it. This will be my first build so I'd like to keep it as simple as possible too.

Why would it be insane not to go your route? Am I missing something?

408GT

iTrader: (2)

If it's your first build and you want to keep it simple, I wouldn't take it to a machine shop.

If eventually you are wanting to go turbo, just go ahead and start going that direction. Look at Denmah's builds and youtube videos. The motor is really the cheapest part of the equation, no sense wasting the budget on it to start out with.

JoeNova

You have a 7k budget, and want to do it wrong the first time.

If you go N/A, you'll likely spend money on headers, intake, cam, and a bunch of other stuff that will be irrelevant with a turbo. In all honestly, the price difference is negligible in most circumstances, and in a LOT of cases, N/A ends up being more expensive for far less power, worse MPG, and poor street manners.

The problem with 'later down the road' is that its a LONG *** road. Don't screw yourself out of the opportunity right in front of you.

JoeNova

If you could talk to some of the people that I did turbo setups for after they originally told me they just wanted to do the swap with a stock engine for now and turbo later, they would all tell you the same thing. "WTF was I thinking?". Zero regrets from any of them.

Don't be one of the few that wanted turbo later, and 3 years down the road are still saying "later".

dpaqu

If you have been spending years reading in magazines and dreaming about a vehicle build you need to pay attention to what these guys are saying. It's been a readjustment for me at least. The advent of cheap but incredibly well made junkyard engines and cheap fuel injection control has been a potent combination.

You might need to ditch that idea that your going to build it once and be done. The idea of a low maintenance $7k 400hp fox project car is something of a pipe dream. Be ready to have to mess with it at any point. If you have tons of experience building and maintaining cars then never-mind. For the rest of us hobbyist realistic expectations can be hard.

As to the OP question: Gen 4 4.8 go for about the same as gen III 5.3 with more miles. (At least in my area.) Gen4 4.8 don't have the DOD stuff to be removed so If I was going turbo I'd get the 4.8 gen 4.

Molonlabemike

iTrader: (1)

NA 6.0 or 5.3 with nitrous is your best bet. I'm horrible with money and I'm into my LS turbo fox for $20k and I already had the motor and trans.

Builds like this will come down to how fast you want to go and how flexible you are with your budget. The small parts add up quick

rkulp89

The budget is somewhat flexible. I figured with a 7k budget I'll probably end up around the 10 mark if all goes well. I really don't want to spend the money on spray because it mainly going to be a street car. I want to build for consistent speed.

I really appreciate everyone commenting but all the different suggestions are making the decision even harder lol

if I did go with a smaller block, what would be the advantage of the 4.8 over 5.3?

Molonlabemike

iTrader: (1)

At this point a NA build I would find a good running 6.0, throw some long tubes, cam, intake, and tune and call it good. My 5.3 with 220 cam, headers, TBSS manifold, and e85 made 350 on the Dyno.

A 6.0 should make 40-60 more hp with that same combo. Start with a bigger motor vs building up a smaller one.