How to SuperCharge a 5.0L

tony63

Registered User
Does anyone have a link or a Idea on what needs to be done to Supercharge a 5.0.L?
I have a '91 Thundbird that needs the Eng rebuilt but I would like th Supercarge it. Any Ideas???

Thx
tony
 
The SCCOA actually focuses more on the 3.8L SC Supercoupe Thunderbird.. though it is a good place to find a multitude of technical knowledge for various things.

Even in this instance, I think you may stand to benefit by also posting over at the Thunderbird & Cougar Club of America; tccoa.com.

Goodluck; I know there are numerous people who have very successfully done what you are inquiring about now.
 
I got a feelings you aren't up to this financially or mechanically. Otherwise you probably wouldn't have to ask.

If you are serious...then start flaming. At which point I'll apologize and then get serious.

Micah
 
Digitalchaos
I know it is a SC forum -I use it for my '90 SC- And there is a wealth of information and some pretty smart guys that read this board- All I wanted was info.. I was going to post at the tccoa.com but I have always gotten good honest answers here, Untill today. (not you, read on).


Micahdogg,
I am serious about my 91 t-bird- Just because someone WORKS and doesn't have the money or would rather do the work himself and not pay someone to do it for him, Is no reason for your comments. I never pay ANYONE to do something I can do myself..

Tony
 
Theres probally no one on this board that knows anything about supercharging 5.0L thunderbirds. But if you go to www.tccoa.com they know whats goin on when it comes to supercharging and anything else that has to do with v8 'birds.

Please dont kill me for saying there website I love sccoa boards and id never go to tccoa. :p
 
Thx 35th Annv 5 sp,
That is the kind of help I was looking for.. that and other forums that have been suggested..
And I may e-mail ya- I plan on rebuilding the eng in the spring. If I Supercharge it I will let you know..

Tony
 
aitkenstyle said:
Theres probally no one on this board that knows anything about supercharging 5.0L thunderbirds. But if you go to www.tccoa.com they know whats goin on when it comes to supercharging and anything else that has to do with v8 'birds.

I resent that comment.

Anyway, there are not any kits that you can use to "easily" put a supercharger on your 5.0 bird, but you can "make" some work. The easiest route would be to use a Kenne Bell blower. That takes the least amount of modification. If you want a cetrifugal, you will need to work a lot harder. If you do happen to go to the TCCoA, search in the 5.0 forum for a guy named Blown306 (I think), he has a Kenne Bell Blowzilla on his car. He listed the modifications he had to make to fit it on.

Good Luck.
 
You are looking at probably a $5000-$6000 job.

I would start by yanking the engine, tearing it down, and rebuilding it with forged internals. This will probably cost a couple grand depending on how good of a job you want to do (arp stuff, upgraded timing chain/gears, etc...). Of course your exhaust needs opened up (headers + custom exhaust = $500), and you need an injector upgrade of at least 24#/hr and 255lph in tank fuel pump = $350ish?

I would probably buy a Holley Systemax II head/intake + cam package as well (not sure if you can specify compression ratio).....cause it would pain me to put stock heads/cam back in when you are this far down. But, you don't have to.

Then I would probably piece together some form of a Vortech S-Trim kit. You can probably dig up the parts for $1500 on Ebay + $500 in custom parts (discharge tube plus any clearance issues with brackets, etc...). And hood clearance will most likely be an issue. So you can either upgrade hoods ($500 easy) or do more fabrication to get everything to clear.

It's a big deal, and you need to know how to yank the engine, rebuild it, and fabricate stuff. Plus the tools required. I'm not sure how much it would cost to forge a 5.0L, but I would start by hanging out on www.corral.net, surfing their classified ads for parts, and buying a MM&FF for $6 cause they have like 200 pages of parts vendors.

IF all you want is to buy a supercharger kit...........you will most likely NOT find a used one, which means you pay $3500+ for a kit to fit your application. And if you have mileage on the motor (I'm guessing 100K?) then you can't pulley it for much boost without sacrificing the durability of the motor. A centrifugal blower vs. a Kenny Bell, Magnacharger, or other roots blower will probably be friendlier to long engine life as long as you aren't revving to 7000 rpm all the time. But any blower that will add significant power will just put a timer on your engine until it starts goes to crap. If you run the blower easy enough to not hurt the engine, then it's not worth your trouble. You can get performance like that from gears, shift kit and other bolt ons. If you actually push the blower then the engine won't last long unless you build it for that application.

And don't forget that your AOD trans probably won't appreciate the much higher torque. So look for it to show signs of fatigue as well. It's the whole package that you need to look at. If you are going to do it.......do it right!

So what do you think?

Micah

P.S. If I were you, I would rebuild the engine wtih the Holley Systemax II package only. It cosists of a Vortech-like upper/lower intake, head/cam package, new timing gear/chain, and ARP stuff. You won't need forged internals which will make your engine rebuild cheaper........and all you will need is a MAC intake + C&L 73mm MAF ($250), 24# injectors, 255lph pump, headers and exhaust. And you'll see 350HP, 350ft-lbs torque.

Install a build AOD, matched stall, and 3.73 gears and you'll have blast. BTW, the Holley Systemax II kit costs $1900 BRAND NEW!
 
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Micah,
Thx for the reply.. I was looking at spending around $4000 for the eng rebuild and SC. I didn't even think about the Trans. I know the AOD's are not the best but I totally overlooked it..

Thx for the replys guys.. :)

Tony
 
Meh, if you really want to break down costs...

He'll need larger injectors than just 24's, 42's will do fine. He will need a MAF and tune. The Systemax kit is great, but do not expect it to put out 350 hp, it'll be more like 280 at the wheels. And, while we're at it, do not get the Systemax intake becuase you're going to want more low end torque, so you will want longer runners in your upper intake. The Systemax is not "generally" know for that. The Cobra intake and the Edelbrock Performer RPM I and II are all known for making decent torque down low. The new Edelbrock Performer RPM II is good for both low end torque and decent HP up top.

Next, to rebuild the engine correctly for boost, you'll probably have to spend at least $3,000. By that time, it would be more cost effective for you just to buy a stroker and make decent power without messing with piecing together a supercharger kit.

Needless to say, you have A LOT of research ahead of you. Good Luck.
 
Yeah, even better yet. If you have it all apart. A 347 would do just fine by itself.

And lets meet in the middle....36 should be good to go. I would not upgrade any bigger than you need to. And if you don't have resources for a tune, eec tuner tweaking, chip, etc.... a used C&L and tube will work. IT just won't be as desirable as a good tune.

Micah
 
If he's going stoker, 36's would be ok, but 42's better. If he's going forced induction 42 or higher. :) Also, I wouldn't run any "new" motor with just a C&L and a tube. I'd definitely get a tune. :D
 
explorer express makes a kit for the 5.0's ... yes it is made for the explorer and adds about 85hp to the 5.0 .... this might be the best blower for your application, i have one on my 2000 explorer and it now does 15.80 in an all wheel drive vehicle, which is about 1.2 seconds faster than stock .... maybe you can find an explorer engine, the 5.0 exploers come with gt-40 heads, 65mm tb, bacisally a cobra upper and lower manifold and 1 sorry cam with about 410 lift .... i know this site is for sc .... i do have an sc blower on my bronco2, the info that i have recieved so far has been more than i could image ... thanks to all that have contributed to the countless posts
 
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