514 Stroker too much for a muscle car?

[JTann]

Hello everyone of Club Cobra, I am brand new to your club. This seems to be a great source of information; so here goes.

I am in the very early stages of R&D for a Mustang project. I know this is a Cobra Forum, but thought some of you wouldn't mind shedding some light on a 67 Fastback project.

I am planning on redoing a GT and replacing the original 390 FE. The 514 stroker seems to be a lot of bang for the buck, but my question is. Is 600+hp/tq to much for a street bound muscle car? The cost and power of this engine make it very attractive, seeing how I don't want to break the bank on the engine alone, but also do not want to sacrifice fire breathing power.

So is this engine too over the top for an everyday street bound muscle car?

Thanks for listening; I look forward to your replies.

JTann
St. Paul, MN

[Rwillia4]

"Is 600+hp/tq to much for a street bound muscle car?"

Can't wait to see the responses to this. I don't think you will see and negative responses to extra HP. But folks will start the never ending talk of: is it worth the weight...

I'm all for the extra HP.

[Excaliber]

It's simple, the NUMBER ONE thing to do with a high horse power street car is throw away the Goodrich T/A's!

TIRES, thats the first thing to consider. Number two would be "gear ratio". With tons of torque I would recommend a fairly high rear ratio and some sticky tires. Unless you like driving backward because the a$$ end just came around on you AGAIN!

[scootter]

I am all for the extra HP. Just whatch what you get. I just rebuilt mine at 13k. 2700 lbs car with Goodyear F1, and it hooks up well.
You must be fast!
Cause you were hauling a$$ when I passed you.

[JTann]

I agree with the traction factor.
But how is the torque curve of the 514 crate motor? Seeing how it is a high RPM set up, will it still produce torque and HP under 3500 RPM?

[Excaliber]

Torque,,, but where is it? Good question on the torque curve, researching the basic specs on the motor should reveal where the cam starts to work and when it's done.

I went from a 4000 to 7200 rpm range cam down to a 2000 to 6200 range cam. I ALWAYS had plenty of torque before, but with the new cam, WOW. I really DO have a serious traction problem now!

[xlr8or]

The first problem you will have is traction. The second problem is all that torque is going to try to twist that unibody stang into a pretzel. Get some frame stiffeners or what ever you want to call them and tie the front of the car to the back to improve overall stiffness.

The saying here is "too much is just enough"

[mannyjoe]

There is a new system of frame stiffeners for the early Mustangs that I read about in one of the car magazines. It looked like a double plate tied into the frame rails, rocker panels and torque boxes. You should definately look into it or some type of frame reinforcement for this application, especially with the price of these fastbacks going up all the time. Sorry I couldn't find the reference for you, maybe someone else here knows about it.
mannyjoe

[JTann]

"Two Much is Just Enough" I love it... I knew this was my kind of place!

At any rate the unibody of this early Mustang is definately something that I will need to addres, thank you for bringing that to my attention xlr8or.

I will have to look into finding the frame reinforcement kit that mannyjoe mentioned, thanks guys!

[Russ Dickey]

What? Bandit 1 hasn't settled this yet??

[cobrashoch]

Jtann- they are called sub frame connectors. Get the type that ties both sides of the frame rails together back and forth and sideways. On this type usially you will have to run some bolts up through the floorboards. Just tying the front to rear rail together helps a drag launch only. The type that connects side to side will help (considerably but not totally) prevent the roof from warping from torque wrap. The side connecting type also will help your cars torsional stiffness for road or street work. I would also use polygraphite bushings ($200) and give Eaton spring, custom racing spring division a call, to make you a set of custom springs that will bolt right up to that Mustang, that can take the horsepower.($300) All good money spent if you are going to play with that thing using a 385 engine. The weld up type of connectors are the best type, but the bolt up type will work too. The type that has you drilling holes in the subframes can promote rusting in the holes and weaken the subframes slightly too boot.
cobrashock

[JTann]

cobrashock,
Thanks for the info- this will be very helpfull in getting this old pony back to the street!