1988 lx 4cyl..what can i get for power???

[rtaylor15]

I just got a 1988 lx 4cyl 5 speed. What would be the best bang for the buck for power with this car?? This will be the first time I work on a domestic car.....so anything will help. what kind of power can i get out of just the 4cyl?? Or do i have to go v6 or v8 to get real numbers??

[zigzagg321]

turbo.

nitrous.

or both. The turbo will get you the most power.

[rtaylor15]

I got a 88 lx 5speed 4cyl. What is going to give me the best power for the money?? Is a v6 or v8 swap the way to go or just beef up to 4cyl?? Can you even beef up the 4cyl?? my first project car. Anything will help thankz

[rtaylor15]

turbo on the 4cyl??what kind of power would that produce?

[Dream]

go with teh v8 swap if ya can. bang for yer buck atleast. friend had a v4 mustang and he had like a HUGE hp on it.....like ide say, maybe 80 hp:P

if you gotta stick with the 4cyl then ide agree with him and say turbo is ur best bet.

welcome to the boards

[Dream]

Originally Posted by rtaylor15

turbo on the 4cyl??what kind of power would that produce?

not much.

[rtaylor15]

so the v4 with a turbo vs a v8. what would be difference in price/power??

[rtaylor15]

sry for all the questions, new at this. thankz alot again

[zigzagg321]

Originally Posted by Dream

not much.

20lbs of boost and I bet he'd be 300hp at least.

[rtaylor15]

Originally Posted by zigzagg321

20lbs of boost and I bet he'd be 300hp at least.

on the v4???

[Dream]

i duno bout 300 hp....kinda givin it a lil much. ide say maybe if ur lucky around 250 with 20lbs.

not a turbo person so i couldnt tell you the pricing.
as for the v8. get urself a nice block=about 1.5k maybe a bit more. then u gotta switch ur rear end and then ur plumbing. in total ide say just shy of 3.5k labor included

[Dream]

swap takes quite a bit of money. in the long run.........v8 wins. just go buy a v8 it will b cheaper then swapin it

[rtaylor15]

do you know roughly what the v8 would push out for power?? also would the turbo be as far as i could go with the v4 or could i do more after that for more power??

[spike_africa]

Not true on the foxes you can do the swap for not alot of money. 302 are plentiful and easily found in many junkyards and online swap meets etc.. I start reseaching all the parts needed now so you get a better of idea of what your gonna need money wise. ANd i personly wouldnt bother with the 2.3L unless it was an SVO car then i would play with the 2.3L.

You can read up on the 4 cyc in that car at http://www.turboford.net/index.shtml they have alot of info on swapping out the stock 2.3 to a turbo 2.3 or adding turbo kits to the 2.3 etc... if you want to go that way.

[rtaylor15]

so a 302 would prolly be the best option overall?? money and power wise??

[zigzagg321]

Originally Posted by rtaylor15

on the v4???

its not a v4, its an I-4, as in Inline four. if you threw a stock 5.0 in there, you would have about 215 to the crank supposedly. not worth it. buy a crate motor like a 351.

[zigzagg321]

Originally Posted by Dream

i duno bout 300 hp....kinda givin it a lil much. ide say maybe if ur lucky around 250 with 20lbs.

not a turbo person so i couldnt tell you the pricing.
as for the v8. get urself a nice block=about 1.5k maybe a bit more. then u gotta switch ur rear end and then ur plumbing. in total ide say just shy of 3.5k labor included

yeah that is a tad high I agree. but with the right tune and stuff he could do it. but yeah, I'd be swappin a 351 in there if it were my car.

[rtaylor15]

so a 351 would be my best bet then?? how much would that push out??what would that cost and what else would i have to replace to be able to handle the power?? thankz alot for your guys help again!!

[spike_africa]

you dont need to start 4 different threads on the same topic. I have merged them together for you into one thread.

Depending on the money you have to spend a stock 302 might be all you can afford at the time. However its a good base to work off of. Or you can build up a 302/351 or buy one online aswell. You have alot of options and you need to figure out what you want to do first.

[rtaylor15]

sry didnt relize i had more then one thread...still learning the site. well what is the price different in putting a 302 in it vs a 351?? and what will the power difference be?? i have about 5000 to dump into it right now.

[817bigtex]

With 5k you can do the V8 swap,Hell I got a complete V8 306 from a 91GT if you insrested its bored .30.

[rtaylor15]

how much?? where is it?

[Dave04Mustang]

no offense but it seems like your all over the place. Someone says throw a turbo your like alright, someone says get a v8, 351... ect and your agreeing. When doing a big modification like this you NEED to do research and understand what your going to be doing and what you looking to get out of the swap. Instead of just hearing something and going out to buy an engine the next day

[rtaylor15]

thats the thing i dont know what i can get outta it at all....always have own'd imports...never done anything with any power so have no idea. looking for options. i want to have around 300-400 hp after it's done?? hope im not way out there on that number??

[JackThe Ripper]

Originally Posted by zigzagg321

its not a v4, its an I-4, as in Inline four. if you threw a stock 5.0 in there, you would have about 215 to the crank supposedly. not worth it. buy a crate motor like a 351.

eh.. you can buy a 302 and tranny used for roughly 600-700.
gt40 heads used are 200-300
used trickflow intake or another equivelant maybe 400
do a cam swap..

if yer budget orientated you could get up to 300 at the wheels for maybe 2-3 grand if you go with budget stuff

crate engines are great, but pricey

[rtaylor15]

thankz alot!! would that include instal or no??