1st... r3d I got your pic and am looking around for a scrap housing to work with

2nd... I didn't make it to the parentals house today so you'll have to wait one more day for pics

3rd I can't wait to finish up my engine build now!!! Lol!!!

4th for everyone who's struggling to keep your builds going don't give up yet your almost ther!

 

My throttle body is set up to rotate the other way. It pulls back (referenced from the top of the throttle wheel) to open. Looks like yours rotates forward. I wonder how much shorter a lightning cable is... might just work for me. You think? I'm fixin'a set up the bracket to go from the front bolt on the EGR mount to the inlet bolt that's just up and a bit to the front of it. No cruise control is going on it so it's just the one cable and the spring.

I'm a little concerned the regular F150 cable won't work set up like that. I'll have to look at the throttle cable setups for various cars and spec it from there.

Got my 2nd intercooler heat exchanger. I now have a 30 row 11x9x2 and a 16 row 11x5x2. It's a bit over 300ci of HE volume and the fin density is good. Stock termy HE's are around 2/3 the size. They're going to mount smack in the middle of the radiator so they get as much air as possible. Need to make brackets for that too. I'm going to put the pump in the passenger side fender well since the res sits where the stock airbox would go. Then I'll just need to get a pump and another hundred bucks in hose ends to finish that up.

 

wow this thread is outta control people when i first checked it out there where like 80pages i thought that was nuts. i didnt have enough fluff money then but i do now to do the swap. so i was flippin threw an read the redneck was out! but its good to see ya still around. so whats new??
any new intakes?, tricks, tips, advice, things to look out for and avoid? anyone got an intake for sale?

also im in the phoenix area for work again about to get laid off for the winter and i need somthing to do so... cant think of a better reason to do the swap now!! but was there anyone in the area or remotly close i could detour throgh california on my way back to Kansas City, MO to check some ones ride out and give me some inspiration and motivation to get my butt in gear with this swap??? let me know shoot me a pm or somthing.

 

well i still have the lightning cable i paid 65.00 for it from ford i will sell it to you for 20bucks if you are in need of the cable,also if you need that alternator plug i have access to a few of them, i tried like 4 cables ,then i found that f150 one to be the best for my needs,but i also modded my throttle body a bit to.

 

the12: deal on both. Send me details on payment. Paypal?

Merlin, long time no see. If you're happening to pass up around the SF area you can gimme a call. PM me and I'll shoot my digits across.

I keep getting frustrated and broke. I just want to drive it for a while but with new training being given to the local PD it'll be hard to get it on the freeway without risking an emissions ticket. Anymore I only care that it gets done and runs. After that I'll have to figure out what to do with it.

I talked to the guy at Alkycontrol today and he told me a better way to get voltage signal to my methanol kit... tap the signal wire off the MAF, then I don't need to bother with a MAP at all. This is good since roots blowers don't have a linear boost curve... they start near full boost and add a little then plateau. Makes getting the methanol injection curve hard to dial in with a MAP sensor. Using the MAF signal we'll know it's in boost by air flow. However, I was thinking wouldn't it be better for me to do it off of the TPS voltage? The boost curve is more affected by throttle position than anything thanks to the boost bypass actuator. When I go past probably 30-40% throttle I'll start getting into enough boost to hit the enrichment threshold. Thoughts?

I like the idea of stealing signal from the TPS or the MAF though. Those are stupid easy to roll in. It's easier to test and tune the TPS setting without the car running though. Thank god I can get rid of that ****** MAP sensor. Damn GM sensors are a bitch sometimes.

Anyone got any spare -8 hose ends?

 

so heres some pics

 

and more

 

I used a 2002 F-150 cable and it works great( Same Cable )
Yours is a bit bulky for my taste but it still looks good.
But i still haven't hooked up a return spring and i dont run a CC Cable...

Here is how mine is done...

 

Hey merlin when will you be back to KC. im down in pittsburg and need to make a trip up to supertune anyway to have my 5.4 tuned in and everything.

 

yea i chose to route it that way cause i wanted all the function of the stock setup but wanted to make sure the tstat housing came off without any probs,really wasnt big on the egr bracket mount . plus the interstate is so nice when you hit the cruise button lol

 

Red i would love to come by is the beast running sorry im not up to date. i used to live in San Carlos/redwood city like 18 years ago
.
Jhonny Dude i love supertune! the last time i was in there they were swapin a 03 cobra setup into a s197 an havin a helluva time with the PS. lol like tryin to fit a square peg into a round hole... kinda tough till you whittle way the edges to make it fit. yeah Supertune is one of my weekend spots cars line the street its awesome. when you takin up there? id love to come watch shoot me a pm

 

ill be up there sometime over the winter. im gonna wait a bit because i wanna send my intake off and have the runners shortened and i also want my heads ported and polished and dont want to have it retuned after doing all that haha. im gonna shoot for low 12's at the track n/a with dragradials and and maybe some suspension work. but ya ill let ya know when i decide to come up there. hows your swap comin? have you found an engine yet?

 

found lots of engines just need to decide what way i want to take it 2v hps intake or 4v sullivan intake. theres a 2v longblock for $700 here and a 4v longblock for $550 here in phoenix but not sure what i wanna do.Anything new in the last 6months that might help me decide? but i know i wanna get EVERYTHING together and do it all at once in like a day and have a designated camera person to take pics of everything and then we can make a how-to step by step with pictures. hows that sound.

 

<looks in crystal ball> 2v, tfs heads, hot cams in your future

Gotta go with the crystal ball. 2v is easier to deal with if you're starting 2v. If you're starting v6 then I'd do a 4v if you got the dough. 4v is more expensive for pretty much everything.

 

+1. i did mine fairly cheap. i got my shortblock brand new for 900. and my intake done for 700 and then 200 for the timing stuff. and then you've got head gaskets and headbolts and all the little stuff so all in all im at about 2300-2500. which to me isnt bad for a new engine.

but on a side note 4v parts are expensive. i want cams bad but dont wanna drop a grand or more on them. and now that i have more displacement i might as well get some custom sticks made for my setup.

so i would stay 2v if thats what you are already you'll be more than happy with the turnout regardless.


R3D, you know your suspension stuff so this ?'s for you. what shocks and struts should i use with my H&R springs to help me at the track? also what upper and lower control arms do you suggest i go with.? i know your gonna say go coilover but i cant afford it haha.

 

depends on which H&R springs... for most cases one of the MM bilstein valvings is usually the easiest to deal with on a street/autox car. For a drag oriented car you'll want something adjustable like Tokico Illumina's or Koni DA's.

For hard parts like control arms, only Maximum Motorsports has lived up to my demands of quality and service.

Don't worry, you can work up to coil over. You'll thank me when you do.

 

TPS wires are extended. Got the 2nd intercooler put in and fabbed a bracket system to mount the whole works. Got my thermostat neck put on (no thermostat for now). I'm going to get the TPS sensor wire hooked into the methanol kit and see about extending the MAF wires today. All I have now is the IC pump, fuel pump and the upper radiator hose. Down to all little ****.

I hooked one of my gauges up to the intake so I'll have an idea of IAT's after the blower. Pics shortly

a 30 plate and a 16 plate intercooler. Neato.


Another view of them.


these used to be the supports for the arms of an office chair. I had 2 sets and figured they'd make good brackets.


5 pop rivets and a hammer got the holder bracket built. It's bolted on to each core x2


Here's how it looks mounted. I re-used as many stock mounting holes as I could. This will require the hood to be held on with hood pins. Heavy sigh.


Here's a pic of the L balancer and the flange.

 

I Need a Price Range?

If i were to sell everything you need to do a Lightning Swap and Some.
What would it be worth?

Lightning Supercharger Setup w/40k
Lightning Pulley Bridge
Lightning Alternator
Lightning lower intake
Lightning Mid intake w/Intercooler
Lightning Plenum
Lightning Throttle body
Lightning Crank Pulley
Lightning Upper Radiator Hose
New SIS 45 DEG Intake Elbow
03/04 Cobra Heat Extractor
03/04 Cobra Intercooler Pump
Moroso Aluminum Supercharger Tank
Autometer Z Series Boost Gauge

 

what about the XTUNE shorty headers on ebay anybody know if they will fit a 5.4 swap

 

What is the 45 degree elbow?? Do you mean to go on the throttle body?? I am torn with the throttle body elbow and all the room it takes up. I don't want to cut up a hood (stock or aftermarket) and would like something that is packaged a little better.

 

Almost... Wiring is down to piddly stuff, like 2-3 wires, NBD. All that's really left is the intercooler pump, fuel pump, upper radiator hose and the throttle and clutch cable setups. I'm putting a firewall adjuster and quadrant on. After all that, just gotta get a tune on it and dial in the methanol delivery.

The methanol kit will be tied to the TPS. The range is perfect. Starts off around .9v and goes to 5 at WOT. So I'll have it kick in just as the blades open enough to start building boost. I'm figuring that'll be somewhere around 2.8-3.2v

Without knowing more I can tell you similar setups go for 1200. 02-03 blower kits get a slight premium due to a few fixes in the in-mainfold intercooler.


Nope but I'll take a look and let you know my eyeball guestimate on em'.

That's called a tork-tek kit. They catalog a 5.4 2v spacer setup that won't sit so tall and uses a side inlet. It'll probably still need a little butch job on the hood to clear the snout since their standard 4.6 kit doesn't entirely clear the hood as it is.

Terminator blower based manifold kit 1900
http://shop.torktech.com/99-04gtsupe...ablower-1.aspx

spacers 200
http://shop.torktech.com/spacerstoad...nginepair.aspx

You'll need a few things with the kit:
# Larger fuel injectors to meet what ever HP/TQ level you achieve. We expect most who use this kit will easily achieve 350 to 400 HP, depending upon boost level so TTI suggests at least 42# injectors. 200
# Upgraded in-tank fuel pump. 100
# Front mount air to water heat exchanger. 100-400
# intercooler pump to transfer coolant between the intercooler core and the heat exchanger. 100
# Intercooler fluid reservoir (pressure safe degas bottle, 2L) 100
# Coolant lines, hose clamps, engine belts, etc. 100
# Complete intake assembly: such as a throttle body (200), couplers (50) , intake snorkel $ ?, MAF (100), and filter (50).
# Custom computer tune $ ?
# Terminator Blower 400

All that lands you around 3800 bucks.

 

That's well and good, but I am trying to do this on a budget. I already have the L setup, and I'm brainstorming on how to modify this. The tork tech kit is 2G when I looked at it PLUS you have to source all the other parts to make it work. If I could just get rid of that big honkin inlet elbow on top somehow..........

 

Horsey... I'm working on that. It'll end up requiring the blower to be machined a little but you're gunna dig the shiznit out of it if it ever comes to fruition.

Twin Turbo: I don't want to certify **** but in looking at the design of the Xtune headers and the space available (from the pics I had of my header fab) I'm pretty sure those xtunes will work. There are a couple turns in the pipes that are not optimal and the collectors such as they are are poor but they're cheap. If you hadn't assumed it yet, I would caution you about buying chinese headers off ebay in any case.

 

My Lightning swap progress. Notice the "custom" returnless lightning fuel rail. LOL. I'll try it for the minimal investment. If have have to do something else later, I will.

 

k thanks what about the upr shortys that are 199.99 right now they look just like ford racing headers?

 

there's no reason those wouldn't work but they're not a much better than stock really.

no longtubes for ya?

 

R3d what up! Yeah the whole machining the rear housing looks do-able. I caught a glimpse of another car with something kinda what we talked about. Next week the manegement shouldn't be at work so ill get a little more accomplished on n/a intake. I figure I'm going to need a r&d car to work with so I'm going to finish my 04gt w a 2v. And use the rest of what I have been gathering up on something to work off of. I got to talk to a lot of ppl there and they all agree the industry needs something more tuned toward the swap. Ill be in touch

 

NVM Don't pay no mind to me was haveing thoughts of going 4V and selling off all my stuff but i don't think i want to start such a big project again lol ill just stick with this and try and get my other short block together so i can turn up the boost

 

lightning guys i have a jlp lower crank pulley that came off my l motor when i bought it, im not sure its either a 4lb or 5lb pulley,i was gonna put it on my supercharged harley truck but i think im gonna keep it stock 75 bucks and its sold

 

Still trying to find some 99-00 PI heads...turning into more a hassle!