alright so I want a 4.2 in the future (1-2 years) and I know of 2 ways of getting that. 1 is from an f150 the other is doing a .060 over on a 3.8 (I would go with a 99+ so it's already split port)

now the 3.8s run $400 to $600 I've seen lower but at any given time you can get them in this range.

The 4.2 f150 can be had from $800 to $1000 I haven't yet seen any lower than that but I assume it's possible

Now I have a couple of questions.
1. What would having a 3.8 bored .060 cost me (ballpark it)

2. Are there benifits or negatives to a bored out 3.8 as opposed to a 4.2 or the other way around either way i'd be getting a forged 4.2l rotating assembly from ssms and probably the stage 2 power pack from them aswell

3. If I get one from and f150 what year is the right year

Thanks for you help in advance guys

 

i don't know the actual price, but i'm pretty sure that this build requires you to do the new crank and piston heads as well as bore out the cylinder. i think you may be getting a little confused, because the engine displacement is measured in liters and the diameter enlargement is measured in inches. yeah, if you add (0.060)*6+3.8 you'll get 4.16, but thats not liters...

to properly stroke the engine to this displacement you'll need to get a new crankshaft that has a longer stroke, which brings the piston further down in the cylinder... but it also carrys the piston further up. to prevent the piston from crashing into the heads you need to replace it with smaller pistons. the same connecting rods can be used.

something to keep in mind is your compression ratio. now, if you want to stay naturally aspirated you could go with a 10:1 if you plan on staying naturally aspirated. if you eventually want to do some kind of forced induction i recommend 8.7:1 ratio, however it won't be as powerful without a blower.


something else to consider... how many miles are on you original block?? it might be worth it to just drive around in it for a little while longer, buy a whole new 4.2L FI engine from SuperSix and have it dropped into your car. an old block with a lot of miles may not last long with all this extra power.

 

what are you looking to accomplish with all this time, effort, and money?

this is not a put down, i just do not see the point of building a 6cyl., even if you go forced induction you will be spending a lot of money for so-so performance gains.

 

4.2l can be made to put out 500rwhp thats not so-so but I'd like to keep mine NA I've heard a 4.2 can get 240 to the wheels NA and that will walk a stock gt but that's also not what I'm interested in.

What I want is a hobby car (cause I've got time) that has enough power to get moving but not enough to get me in loads of trouble at the autoX the 6 is lighter than an 8 and being light is better than having power when you are turning a corner especially if that weight is in front of you. The main this is I want a project that not alot of people have cause I could sell my 6 and save for an 8 but where would the fun be

As for how many miles are on the block i have about 130k but I plan on getting a motor from a different car and building it while I drive mine and when I'm done with the new motor i will put it in

 

In all, that's a pretty nice idea. Like you said the 6 will be a whole lot faster than the 8 due to the weight difference and to me, the fact of just having something totally original makes it worth it to me. Although, I've heard bad things about dropping in a f-150 motor, I've only heard the horror stories but from what I've heard it's not worth it. In the end all the people I've talked to have just ended up boring out the 3.8 like you said. I wish you the best of luck on the build though man. I'd like to see it when it's done.

 

Well if you do reuse your motor you are going to have to find split port intake and heads where as you can grab a 4.2 have those heads and intake all ready and have the CI that you want also. Then all you need to do is get a better set of rods,pistons,bearings, and you are ready for some boost. Thats the way I would go.

This might be something you want to look threw:
http://www.v6power.net/vb/showthread...plit+port+swap

 

Thanks spike

 

500hp is nothing to sleep on....but like i said that would need some sort of power adder. I was notrying to get into v/8 vs. v/6 debate either. my question was a money and time issue, and to wonder if the time and money would accomplish your goals, or in the end would you always be wanting more.

pull your motor
have it rebuilt by a local shop that has a solid reputation......make the bottom end bullet proof and have the intake plumbed for a direct port nitrous system. there are countless electronic aids to progressively control the hit, enough so that you could even use it on an auto X course....

you want somethiung different, then step completely out of the box....displcement is nice but is way to old school. costs way too much for what you get. Do not fear the nitrous, there are tons of racers, street guys allover the country using it safely.

 

I'll admit I've considered nitrous but thats a finish mod if you have other things planned I could put a 100+ shot on my 3.8 and be fine or I could put a 100+ shot on a 4.2 and be even further what I want right now is a motor that I can dink around with and make into somthing special while I wait for the one I have to push the odometer to it's last mile or untill my hobby motor is done and then I just drop it in nitrous is a big possability down the road

 

look up J on the v6 forums. he had a built and turboed 96-98 cobra. now he has a built turboed v6 and he explains it isnt any harder to do one or the other.

he is making 611rwhp @ 16psi on his twin setup on 93oct street tune. another guy is making 660rwhp @ 17psi on a single setup on race gas. It loves boost.

J's last track run at 3900+ race weight was 10.6@133mph launching at 1500rpm with no trans brake or stall.

 

yeah, but if you build a bottom end that can handle 500hp....you can inject 300hp of nitrous.

the reason i love nitrous is that you can make any amount of HP you want, when you want. i have driven 500hp blower cars on the street, and its alot of work...but a 500hp nitrous car drives like a mildly built stocker....until you arm the system, and then it can become a monster.

yeah,

 

cant do that big of a shot on these engines even when forged. ill have to find out why but i do remember this.

and the 4.2L forged stock block has handled so far 660rwhp. which is almost, if not 800hp at the crank.

 

please find....i am curious. why would an engine handle 660hp from a turbo, but not be able to handle 300 from nitrous.

 

Because it can only suck in so much nitrous into the cylinders on its own were as a turbo can force more air in it. Same thing for the 4.6, cant do a whole lot more then a 250hit on it. There was some experimenting with it and I results started to fall off once you got to a 275shot.

 

i can see that as a problem....but the original statement was "cant do that big of a shot on these engines even when forged" which lend me to believe it had to do with the motor not staying together. my bad, i mis-understood the statement.

 

No replacement for displacment

 

ya these motors are one of the toughest ive seen in awhile. SSM is trying to get a 250 shot to work with their setup i think. Im not quite sure the problems that occur, but i think they are what spike was talking about.

never could find the thread about why.

 

You can mess with the cam profiles to get more in, but at a certain point you can only get so much into the cylinders.

 

Seeing as how you have a 3.8L maybe you can help me with this. I have an '02 Roush stage 1 v6 and I am also trying to have some fun and make a 6 as fast as I can. As of now I have a BBK CAI and a 65mm BBK throttle body and the Roush suspension/exhaust installed so far, just started the mods.

Now my question, with the Roush dual side exhaust installed I want to get some headers for it. Which ones would you say I should use? I would like the long tubes but I have an auto trans and have heard that you cannot put the long tube headers on that. Is this true, and if it is what would you suggest I put on there?

 

I don't know alot about headers and exhaust but I think that long tubes may not work with the side exit but I could be wrong. If long tubes don't work shortys are not worth your money and I would go for somthing like a head intake and cam upgrade but that will be more expensive than headers but you will like the results better

or for just slightly more than the headers you can have youself a nitrous system and really enjoy yourself

 

how much would that run me and where could I go to get that done? I am also from michigan, metro detroit area so wherever you know of would work for me.

thanks

 

Well for the nitrous it would run you between 500-600 plus install but I've heard it's stupidly easy to do yourself

the heads intake and cam you can get as a kit from www.supersixmotorsports.com and for a stage 2 set up it will run you about 1900 and I don't know what a shop would cost to do the installation but I know it takes awhile so you could be looking at 2500+ all said and done that would give you about 80 hp all the time

nitrous is always the most bang for your buck cause if you buy everything have it installed and have it dyno tuned you can get or 100 hp to the wheels for just slightly over 1000 dollars but I'm not sure what you budget is the only down side of nitrous is having to refill the tanks but it's cool cause you only use it when you want to

 

never heard of that.

MAC longtubes IMO. you can get them from MAC directly.

best things to do to get good gains out of a bolt-on car is.

-High ratio Roller rockers
-CAI
-25% udp

these will do the most.

 

what kind of work would I have to do for that nitrous shot tho? I dont exactly want to melt anything lol.

 

this is a direct bolt on....and should be safe for a stock motor.

 

ive heard good things about Zex and it being one of the easiest to install.

a 75 shot is perfectly safe for a stock motor. just get a good tune.

 

A 100 shot can be run safely on stock internals or so I have heard and with a tune that equals about 100 hp at the wheels you can probably do a 150 shot on stock without to much trouble but I don't know for sure