not sure which engines contained forged internals

derickatm

Registered User
hey everyone,

i believe this is my first post here(im from 3.8 mustang.com). i joined this site b/c i bought a bare 98 3.8 v6 mustang block and am building it up from scratch............all forged and stroked to a 4.2.

ive been told that super coupes are the best cars get used parts out of.............specifically, im looking for a forged crankshaft right now.

anyways, i found a guy parting out a 1989 thunderbird 3.8 v6 and he doesn't know if the internals are forged or not. i have a pic of the engine.......is there anyway i can tell if the crankshaft is forged or not?

sorry for asking such a "noob" question, but i know nothing about super coupes. im learning though and ill say that im very impressed with your guys cars................they beat the hell out of mustang.

ill attach a couple pics so you guy can help me figure this out

thanks alot
 

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That NA engine does not have a forged crank. All of the SC motors (except a couple 100 early 89s) have a forged crank.
 
thanks a lot.

the guy selling the motor might know less about sc's than i do.

whats the simplest way for him to identify if this engine has forged internals?
 
Hes rigth som if them are duracast, still stronger than the stock 3.8 though. Do a search and youll find it. So are you planning on boostin that engine? I have a stang built with an sc engine if you have questions.
 

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that stinks............so this engine is one of the couple hundred that didn't come with forged internals.

oh well. im really just trying to find a forged crankshaft. im in the middle of building a 4.2 liter stoker from scratch.

i bought a bare 1998 3.8 liter mustang block and i want to stroke it to a 4.2. of course i want everything to be forged so i can throw on a procharger in the future.
 
To be honest with you youd do better to buy SC parts than use that engine, they are built to handle over 300ftlbs of torque stock that you will not get out of that engine with out lots of cash.
 
lessonintorque said:
To be honest with you youd do better to buy SC parts than use that engine, they are built to handle over 300ftlbs of torque stock that you will not get out of that engine with out lots of cash.

sc parts is my plan................no way i'd buy that engine.

the guy actually has as an ebay auction for parting that motor out.
 
that stinks............so this engine is one of the couple hundred that didn't come with forged internals.

No I don't think you get it. That was NOT an SC motor that was n/a eveyday 3.8 that they put in the n/a thunderbirds, taurses, ect. You need to find a SC motor for sale look in the parts for sale forum.
 
Iron Raven is correct! The real problem with the motor in your picture is that it is not an SC engine. It is unlikely that even if you get an 89 SC motor it will have the Duracast crank.

SC heads can be identified by the SC stamped in one corner and an SC block has SC cast in the back.
 
i understand that its not an sc motor...............i have no clue which t birds came with forged internals...........for all i know a stock bottom of the line t bird could be forged.

not a big deal b/c i think all i need is a crankshaft now..........i don't think theres' anything else i need off a t bird. i've got 01 stang split port upper and lower intakes.........and split port heads right now. i m down to just the block.....if i was building a 3.8, i would buy a bunch of t bird parts. but the 4.2 is making this build kinda difficult
 
You can rest easy. No stock NA 3.8 motor has a forged crank. Only the SC motor got that crank. One journal is even a different size on the forged crank.
 
Derick, are you going to use forced induction on the motor you plan, either turbo or supercharged? If so you would be well advised to start with a SC engine to begin with. SC has a much stronger block. There have been a few people here that have built 4.3 or 4.2 strokers (Dr. Fred for one) but weren't successful over the long haul under 12+ lbs of boost because a stock cast 4.2 crank just won't hold up. The successful alternative is a custom forged crank = DOLLARS. As George has said be aware that SC engines have a crank that has the rear main journal turned .010 undersize. I'm not sure if there is a bearing available to compensate for this (haven't heard of one). Probable just easiest to turn down any non SC crank you use. Good luck, John
 
AnnivSpeCpe said:
Derick, are you going to use forced induction on the motor you plan, either turbo or supercharged? If so you would be well advised to start with a SC engine to begin with. SC has a much stronger block. There have been a few people here that have built 4.3 or 4.2 strokers (Dr. Fred for one) but weren't successful over the long haul under 12+ lbs of boost because a stock cast 4.2 crank just won't hold up. The successful alternative is a custom forged crank = DOLLARS. As George has said be aware that SC engines have a crank that has the rear main journal turned .010 undersize. I'm not sure if there is a bearing available to compensate for this (haven't heard of one). Probable just easiest to turn down any non SC crank you use. Good luck, John

i plan on supercharging it eventuall............procharger kit most likely.

but that will have to wait another year b/c i should pay the car off before i invest that kinda $$$
 
derickatm said:
i plan on supercharging it eventuall............procharger kit most likely.

but that will have to wait another year b/c i should pay the car off before i invest that kinda $$$
ill recomend you to re read the posts, and analize the info theyre trying to give you , just for kicks ill resume it.


the SC block is far stronger than you 00 stang block.
the SC crank is stronger. wich means!!! get a SC engine and swap your heads intake and everything to it......so when you stroke it to 4.2 you will have a stronger engine........
 
turbospeed said:
ill recomend you to re read the posts, and analize the info theyre trying to give you , just for kicks ill resume it.

my super charger statement somehow imply that i can't analyze their info?

your response confuses me.............not mechanically.

in case anyone is wondering.........i am capable of build an engine from scratch by myself, and was just curious as to the stock parts from an sc
 
no im referring to your previous posts , thewy told you almost from the start that that wasnt a SC engine, then you again asked if it was one one the 100's SC engines with the early crank. not trying to offend anyone were a friendly board, just trying to help.
 
turbospeed said:
no im referring to your previous posts , thewy told you almost from the start that that wasnt a SC engine, then you again asked if it was one one the 100's SC engines with the early crank. not trying to offend anyone were a friendly board, just trying to help.

im not offended...........i write these responses very quickly and sometimes stuff comes out wrong.

sorry i acted offended
 
Here's something to throw you a totally new curve.

1. Forget about a 4.2 stroker if you plan to use a forged SC crank. The Sc crank is surface hardened and it is not recommended to offset grind this crank. Welding and building up the journals will more than likely prove fatal in the end. The 4.2 strokers that you hear about are all 4.2 truck cranks which are duracast.

2. To run a centrifugal blower you do not necessarily need a forged crank. They do not build boost at low rpm and therefore do not generate the internal stress that a roots blower does. People have made over 400rwhp on the duracast 3.8/4.2 cranks.

3. In naturally aspirated form the SC crank is going to be a dog. It is much heavier than the other cranks due to the additional counterweights and so without the help of the supercharger, the extra 20lbs or so of rotating mass kills your rpm capability.

4. The extra .4L of displacement achieved with a stroker combination would more than easily be made up with the stronger parts of a 3.8 producing a couple extra pounds of boost.

Good luck with it whatever you do!

David
 
Just trying to clarify something for myself but isn't the 94-95 blocks / cranks the best 3.8 blocks you can get? If anyone knows FOR SURE... please respond.
 
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