Crown Vic. 4.6L
 

I have a 97 Crown Vic and I want to add about 100-150 hp. What will fit this motor what will work best as far as engine mods and where should I start. I have an Art Carr interceptor 4r70w tranny coming so I think that should handle my future hp. Any help I can get would be greatly appreciated.

Supercharge it.

Nitrous. :cool:

Most of the stuff that works on Mustangs will work on the Panthers. If your engine is a stock 97 engine, first step is a PI head swap (and for more grunt, if you have the cash, get the PI heads ported), cams, PI intake (or aftermarket intake for PI heads), tune for all the parts, and duel exhaust, if it doesn't have it already. All of that should give you a significant portion of your goal, w/ headers, different cam, and modified tune bringing you to about a 100 hp gain (and if you didn't get the heads ported, get them ported).

heads/cams/intake/supercharger. Done. Or, swap in a 5.4 and go NA. It'll bolt right in.

Boo...this is just personal opinion but I think nitrous is a waste. You keep spending money for a new bottle, with a supercharger, that thing is always on and working (unless it breaks). It's a one time deal. Nitrous is effective, but not worth it in my mind. It's also illegal to use in my town, so I've got that against it too.

I Completely Agree With KING

nitrous can be turned off or completely removed very quickly. a blower can't.

Which is why... NA FTW.

a supercharger costs alot more then a nitrous kit and filling a bottle only costs 28-40bucks depending on where you live. You don't have to run 93 all the time so when you don't need it, you don't use it. Nitrous as far as I have ever seen is legal as long as the bottle is closed on the street.

IDK abit u guys but i Like having all that power all the time
and once its in then its in

You dont need it all the time, and when you do its there. Unless your lazy and cant keep your bottle filled.

I was thinking of stage2 Patriot heads a very mild comp cam and hooker headers going back to a 2 1/4 inch dual exhaust. As far as intake and throttle bodies I'm not real sure. I was thinking of Mallory electric upgrades. I was thinking of a supercharger later would I need to upgrade pistons,connecting rods,and fuel delivery to do this? I am not a fan of nitrous,I want to hit it and it perform I really dont want to worry about bottles and valves and that sort of stuff. I really appreciate the help so far...lets keep this going and we can all build this car into a real 4door import killer. Thanks ya'll !!!

Beautiful Stang babe!!!! I am planning to get either a 03 cobra or a new gt/cs ! I love mustangs but this crown vic I bought new and will never get rid of her.

You would want to run 2.5" pipes not 2 1/4" that's too small. With a non PI headed motor like yours when you add PI heads you not only get a nice jump in power from a better set of heads and intake, but also the compression ratio moves up to around 10:1 which is good for nitrous not boost.

But a the PI heads, intake manifold,cams,headers, and exhaust with some other simple bolt on's will make some good power for a daily driver. After that I would do a higher stall converter do some valve body mods to make it shift faster/firmer, and add a set of 4.10 gears. Would be a great daily driver that would own many cars on the road. Of course I would spray it with a 125/150 hit but I'm not scared of the bottle.

Some guy at a muffler shop said 2 1/2 would not fit but I really see where 1/4 inch could make it not fit. Ok 2 1/2 inch it is. Do you know anything about patriot heads? Are there any better ones out there? What about a intake manifold Where should I look. Also should I go with a 70mm BBK throttle body and plenum. The Art Carr transmission I just bought and should receive in 4 weeks is totally tricked out. Check out his web site its really nice. I got the hardened shaft upgraded torque converter and powder coated with large pan and super cooler.

Leave the ignition alone, stock is good enough. As for heads, Patriot is junk. Their own castings (not portings) make less power than stock heads (their SBC vs. Vortec heads, for example). Look to Total Engine Airflow, Steen Racing, Fox Lake, etc. For intake, stock PI or HPS are great, unless you want to push the powerband up. As for headers, I was under the impression that no one made headers for Panther cars. However, yes, go w/ a 2.5" exhaust system since 2.25" is good for stock, but no more. However, if you really want to make an import killer, swap in a 5.4. The 4.6 is kind of small for the Mustang, never mind a heavy Crown Vic. The torque from the 5.4 will make all the difference, and thanks to the room in the Crown Vic, a 4V 5.4 fits in nicely...

I will check out the other head makers, ford racing said that some of there headers would fit this car but would be tight. Where should I look for the 5.4L Ford racing has a few and would it atch up the 4r70w tranny I just bought? I love the 03 Cobra motor. I could throw a Kenny Bell charger on it and it should just about sling the tires off of it. Great suggestion I will dig a little deeper.

5.4 and 4.6 are the same engine, just the 5.4 has a taller deck height. Almost everything that fits on the 4.6, fits on the 5.4 (except for the parts affected by the increase in deck height). As for where to get one, look at the Ford trucks and SUVs. You can get a good deal on a minimally used one at a junk yard. However, if you want to go w/ a blown 4.6, just get 4V heads and slap them on, no need to buy a new engine if all you need is heads and the blower. However, the 5.4 would be more at home because of the gobs of low end torque making the Crown Vic seem lighter than it is. But if the swap isn't theseable due to cash, what's been suggested should give you a nice car.

5.4 swap is one of the cheaper options. You can infact just buy cobra1923's complete 5.4 for 500 bucks and toss it in. Add a HPS intake and cams for best results. You could do that in your driveway for a couple grand.

TEA, Fox lake and livernois currently have the best flowing heads and best reputations.

A lot of choices...
 

On one hand I could leave in my motor and install the new heads and cam then throw on a nice typhoon intake with a throttle body all on an engine with 138,000 miles or buy a new 5.4 L and do a few things to it . The new engine would definatly cost more but in my opinion would be the best route to go. I'm just affraid that it would not fit or be off in some way. I have about a 10,000 $ budget for this car so I am kinda on the fence now...Thanks for the help guys any other ideas would be great...thanks again

we know it fits.

typhoon intake is t3h sukz. Motor is beyond a good point for hot rodding. new 4.6 or new 5.4, either way is better than just a HCI job on such an old motor.

thats what I thought...by the time I rebuild this motor and add the mods with all the labor I will have bought a new 5.4 L are you sure that big ole thing will fit? Will the dohc cobra motor fit and bolt up? Thats what I would like . Thanks again buddy!