Supercharged LX

89lxBird

Registered User
I recently was given a 1989 t-bird LX for free with a blown headgasket (damn head gaskets...) and i originally planned on a 5.0 swap. However, after realizing all the problems i would run into and the money i would have to spend, i decided to do other modifications. My friend is porting the heads for me and i am going to put in a bigger cam and i want to supercharge it. I know there were some modifications made to the SC 3.8 that werent given to the LX 3.8 and i was wondering if it is possible to supercharge it without those modifications. if i adjust the boost accordingly i think it may work. Also, anyone know the compression ratio for an 89 LX? i think it is 8.2:1, but i am not positive. Any help would be greatly appreciated, thanks!
 
You might actualy get away with using a Vortech supercharger on that engine. Since the Vortech wouldnt put boost to the engine until alittle higher engine RPM compaired to the M90.
That route may be better for you NA guy's.:)
 
inverted works on na 3.8

my setup puts the blower drive on other side of motor so it dont interfere with your distributor,
and if you use a pulley from gm pontiac , it limits bootst to 8 lbs and no intercooler is needed, ala pontiac .
 

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While the Vortech's work, after having lived with one I don't know that I'd do it again. They just aren't all that reliable in the long term. Always something, blower bearings, blower pulley drive key, belt, tensioner bearing, blah,blah,blah. Hell, it probably doesn't have 30K on it. MY Cougar OTOH has knocked down a 120K for me and nary a peep from anything to do with the blower.

If you're not going to copy a TBird SC, then I'd suggest going turbo. Copy a Grand National for the general design of the system. This may be a better idea for you anyway as turbos are not as hard on the engine as SC's

As for copying a SC, Ford found it necessary to use a forged crank. They tried with some sort of improved casting first and it didn't last, so by extension we can surmise that a regular 3.8 crank won't last long either. Ford changed the rear main on the SC crank so that a regular crank won't fit in the SC engine. The rear journal is smaller than the regular 3.8 so that if a standard crank is used it will seize when the main cap is tightened down. This would force someone to find the mistake and correct it. I don't know if you can put an SC crank in a N/A block with the SC bearings or not.

It has been mentioned that the SC block is strengthened over the N/A version. Specifics have not been mentioned. It is known that SC blocks are marked SC whereas N/A blocks are not marked. Logic would suggest that there is a reason for the SC marking.

Heads are much the same as the block. Marked differently and said to be strengthened, but no specifics on where the differences lie that I've heard.

Hypereutectic vs cast pistons.

I seem to recall SC rods as different. A Search would confirm I suppose.
 
Have a look HERE for all the differences, good article by longtime SC owner Duffy Floyd.



cheers
Ed Nicholson
SCCoO
 
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