Here's my plan for my 90 SC

Scott Long

Registered User
I know its not gonna be cheap, but it sure beats the hell out of a car payment for the next 4-5 years for a car that I don't really want and won't perform to my liking.

David Neibert and some of the other guys probably have spent 3x what it will cost me to build this, since they bought the parts, had to replace them as they got faster, and so on. Now with the AutoRotor and parts available to us I think it would be a good time to start building a serious Super Coupe. I thank all the members who have led the way to high performance I know it wasn't cheap. But I think if I start buying the parts now and building the engine myself, I can spend the money once and do it right.

As some of you may know I have a 3rd SC in storage. It has a longblock in it but the radiator, SC, tubes, ic, intake, have been removed. It has an AOD, stock gears, and a custom exhaust. I am going to use the car itself for a 460 swap and I already have the 460 just need a C6 but that is going to take a lot of custom work and is a long term project. I only want the 3.8L long block out of it to use as my buildup for a bulletproof 3.8L. I'm not sure what I'll do with the AOD, keep it as a spare, sell it, have it beefed up....

Anyhow the engine is good, except the balancer broke so I will pull the motor and put it on a stand and see if the bolt is broken in the crank, or if the balancer has a chunk stuck on the snout of the crank. Worst case scenario I buy another crank and have it polished and speced, maybe cut it .010" if it needs to be cut.

The stock rods and pistons I won't need. I'll probably list them on EBAY. The cam I'll use as a core for a regrind.

I will work on getting the long block built first, once I get the rotating assembly balanced it won't take long to put it together, maybe an afternoon or two on the stand. The most money is going to be machine costs and head work.

I can upgrade the gears and suspension in the car and keep driving it because I don't want to be without the car until I go to swap engines in it. Even so after the swap it may have to run an M90 on it for a while until I can get the AutoRotor kit. Injectors can be swapped at the time of the AR, MAF, and fuel rails. Then its gonna need a tune. I'd rather only pay for dyno tuning once or twice so it may run on stock maf, injectors, and blower until the time comes to swap on the new blower and stuff and get it on the dyno.

Anyways here's the list of stuff, feel free to offer suggestions, thats why I'm posting this here.

1. get block decked and align bored
2. new cam bearings and freeze plugs
3. bore cylinders .030” over
4. polish crank
5. bhj balancer machined to fit crank
6. clevite 77 main and rod bearings
7. eagle 351-w H-beam forged rods
8. ross racing forged pistons 9.0:1 compression
9. total seal piston rings
10. arp main, rod, and head studs
11. balance rotating assembly
12. 94 timing cover
13. melling high volume oil pump
14. 94 windage tray
15. custom grind cam
16. comp cams roller lifters
17. ported and polished heads
18. 2.02” and 1.60” titanium valves w/ bronze guides
19. comp cams beehive springs
20. titanium retainers
21. chromoly pushrods
22. Scorpion 1.7 ratio roller rockers
23. kooks long tube ceramic headers
24. 2.5” downtubes w/o catalytic convertors
25. dual 2.5” in / 3.5” out center muffler
26. 92+ gas tank
27. 3.5” pipe from center muffler to a y-pipe
28. 2.5” from y-pipe to 2 chamber mufflers
29. 60 lb/hr injectors
30. remote mounted fuel pressure regulator
31. 255 lph forced induction fuel pump
32. custom made billet fuel rail
33. ported and polished and extrude honed intake manifold
34. AutoRotor 1.7L twin screw supercharger
35. ASP underdrive pullies
36. 5% overdrive jackshaft pulley 8-rib
37. front mount intercooler custom made w/ twin puller fans
38. custom made aluminum ic tubes (eventually get them either plated or painted, don’t need the bling to go fast)
39. custom made SC top w/ front exit
40. 180 degree t-stat
41. Griffin aluminum radiator w/ high flow fan
42. possibly a remote mounted electric water pump w/ a blockoff plate for the timing cover and two heater hose fittings.
43. trunk mounted battery kit w/ optima dry cell battery
44. Magnum Powers 85mm Throttle Body
45. Pro-M 87mm MAF
46. Magnum Powers 3.5” fresh air intake system
47. custom 3.5” pipe going to front bumper area w/ 9” K&N cone filter or pull the headlight at the track and have a heat shield to keep hot air away from filter if underhood.
48. fiberglass cobra r cowl induction hood
49. solid motor mounts and solid transmission mount
50. alcohol injection kit
51. shorter a/c condenser
52. gatorback belts
53. Lentech 10” non locking 3000 rpm convertor
54. Lentech Street Terminator Plus AOD transmission w/ stage 2 valve body
55. Lentech deep pan w/ drain plug
56. biggest trans cooler I can find w/ small fan (50k gvw?)
57. rebalance driveshaft
58. brute force u-joints
59. polyurethane differential bushings
60. 4.10:1 gears, rebuild trac-lok w/ F-150 spring
61. eibach springs, koni adjustable shocks, air bags in rear springs, new shock mounts up front.
62. new tie rods, lower ball joints, upper c-arms, and strut rod bushings
63. convert to manual power brakes (crown vic master, tbird booster) and install line locks in front for heating slicks at the track.
64. new wheel bearings and mustang cobra hubs front and rear
65. 03 Cobra wheels for street use w/ NT555R extreme drags in rear
66. Weld Pro-Star 15x3’s up front w/ ET Fronts and 15x8’s in rear w/ 26x10.5x15 ET Streets for track, if needed 28x10.5x15 need to see if I run out of gear or not at the track.
67. reclining adjustable lightweight racing seats for front, will pull passenger and rear seats at track
68. maybe a set of fiberglass doors to cut some more weight

If I’m still not happy with it, maybe a manual valve body w/ trans brake, and an MSD ignition w/ 2 step rev limiter for really aggressive launches. Could also install a 150 hp wet nitrous kit and either twin 255 lph intank pumps or a separate external pump to feed the fuel to the nitrous system. Might install a fuel cell but I want the car to be stock looking and fully streetable even though I won’t drive it everyday.
 
That list is stuff I came up with off the top of my head while I was brainstorming earlier. If you notice the engine is similar to the Chris Wise engines that he built (for himself and Dave) but I'm not wanting to offset grind the crank and make a stroker. The ross pistons I am not dead set on, but since they go custom to your order I think I can get them how I want in an oversize of .030" and in 9.0:1 compression (seems to work good for Kevin L.)

The rear end rebuild with the F-150 spring I picked up the idea from Kurt K.

The cam I'll probably get in touch with XR7 Dave about to help spec it out since I'm not sure what will work best with the AR and I don't want to change cams 2x. I want to build this thing once and build it right the first time. It's less expensive to do it that way.

One question though, if I get a set of Eagle forged 351-W rods, and Ross custom pistons, what do I do about wrist pins? Do I get them from Ross when I order the pistons and tell them to make them fit a 351-W rod?

I'm also not 100% sure on a 10" convertor w/ 3000 rpm setting. I want 1.4-1.5 second 60 fts. at the track on the slicks.

Dave N's car seems to be doing good with 9.5" and 2700 stall, but I he's running 3.73's and I want to run 4.10's. Does this convertor choice seem ok?
 
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Oh yeah I heard about that....

So either I have to choose a C@L Meter that will support the power level or a 90mm Lightning MAF, problem is don't you have to rewire the connector of the LMAF to fit the SC's harness? What does that entail and also can the car be tuned well with LMAF's? I remember for a while the LMAF was all the rage, but I haven't heard much about them in a while.

My intercooler idea came from your car Micah, but I want to try and keep my air condition, personal preference. I wonder if I could still make use of the NPR intercooler?

Your car made some nice power and a fast run for a stock short block and stock valved heads.
 
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Holy crap that's one hell of a shopping list!!! Is this really a for sure thing?
One question, why go with titainum valves? Weight, strength etc...?
That SC is going to be a beast when you're done.:eek:
 
strength more than anything, in case I decide to spray nitrous on it.

Its a for sure thing, but not an overnight thing. I plan to keep an SC forever even if its not my current ones. I have always wanted a 35th anniversary. When I get the engine built I'll decide if its worth putting into my car or if I should look for another SC to put it in that is in better shape.
 
I highly doubt you'll get a 1.4x 60ft with a 10" 3K non-locker especially not without a trans-brake. Personally I would do a C4 and a 8" 5K lock up converter. Sounds steep, but once again, the converter is locked up the whole time while cruising so it doesn't affect driveability.

I'm sure that 1.94 is the biggest valve you can fit in the head.

Thats a hella list. Plan on hittin the lottery?
 
Scott Long said:
Oh yeah I heard about that....

So either I have to choose a C@L Meter that will support the power level or a 90mm Lightning MAF, problem is don't you have to rewire the connector of the LMAF to fit the SC's harness? What does that entail and also can the car be tuned well with LMAF's? I remember for a while the LMAF was all the rage, but I haven't heard much about them in a while.

My intercooler idea came from your car Micah, but I want to try and keep my air condition, personal preference. I wonder if I could still make use of the NPR intercooler?

Your car made some nice power and a fast run for a stock short block and stock valved heads.

I remember reading a post, I think was from Dave N. that the LMAF wasnt that big of a deal after the cost of getting the adaptor and the rewire plug. I bought the 80mm from a Mark 8 and was going to do the same but decided to go the C&L route.
 
As long as I can get it tuned properly and it won't restrict airflow I'll be happy with a C&L.

I wish I could just snap my fingers and have all this stuff but its gonna take a while. I've picked up a lot here on this site since 1999 when I joined and I think now is a good time to start building a bad ~~~ SC. The parts are available now for an 11 second street car. It know its not gonna be cheap, but its cheaper than buying a new slow econobox so thats another reason I want to do it.
 
I hope it goes faster than high 12's, because for the money in parts alone I think you could have a brand new SRT-4 sitting in your driveway, with the appropriate mods in place for 12 second performance.

Micah
 
CMac89 said:
I highly doubt you'll get a 1.4x 60ft with a 10" 3K non-locker especially not without a trans-brake. Personally I would do a C4 and a 8" 5K lock up converter. Sounds steep, but once again, the converter is locked up the whole time while cruising so it doesn't affect driveability.

I'm sure that 1.94 is the biggest valve you can fit in the head.

Thats a hella list. Plan on hittin the lottery?

You guys are both smoking some really funny stuff.

Scott - you'll never get a 1.4x anything 60 ft with an SC. What are you smoking anyway? The best recorded 60 ft on any SC that I know of is around 1.50 and even Coy's 10.85 run netted a 1.60. Big dreams are good that is just ridiculous.

Casey - where do you get a 5000rpm stall 8" lock-up converter for a C4? :confused:
 
Try parking a car with a 5,000 stall lock up or not lmao.

Scott I waited a long time to build an SC as well so I wouldnt have to spend $$$ experiemnting. Now that I have the money and I dont have to experiemnt it was a perfect time. I'm into my SC with the price of the car included for well under $15,000. I'm thinking with new paint I'll hit that mark.

Now is definitely a great time to build one!!!!

I'd reccomend getting a new grind rather then a regrind. I'd also rather get a main stud girdle then a 94/95 windage tray setup. You can always get your crank coated to shed oil.

Pro M as you call it is out however the people working there took it over. Forgot the name but its close to that

Also I would say no to solid mounts unless you mean rubber solid. A true solid mount may trip your knock sensor. It sure does with my DFI setup in my cougar. Use solid rubber mounts and strap the motor down during race days. NYLON buckle type straps. Works great.

I'd say do a strong longblock and tranny first, get it running then build and replace around that.

Thats what I;d do:O)
 
Well even a 1.6 60 ft. is still really good for a street driven car. Micah I have no doubt in my mind it will run faster than high 12's. It's an AOD car not a stick. If I can get it to throw down around 390-400 at the tires I'll be very happy.

Damon, I thought of you when I wrote that, I know you've been stock piling parts like crazy. I didn't have the money to buy every new part that came out that claims to add hp. Some of the guys here have been getting all the new parts everytime something new comes out and I can't imagine how much money they've sank into their cars. I am not gonna cheap out on the short block. I might have to do without welded exhaust ports in the heads since no one is doing that and I can't do it myself. As for valves I want to be able to move some serious air through this engine so I guess I'll use the biggest I can fit in the heads.

I'm not worried about the blower since I know a 1.7L AutoRotor will be plenty for my goal. Also the car has to stay streetable so I can't stick a 5k stall in it. It's going to run a non locker and I guess I'll have to stay around 3000 rpms with it. With a transbrake I should be able to get some nice 60 fts. Chris Wise had some good launches off the foot brake, and Kevin L's SC seems to jump off the line good too. I am going to use a street terminator plus but if i need the brake I can always buy the manual valve body w/ brake. That kind of takes away from the street worthiness of the car though. How are you supposed to eat a cheeseburger and drive if you have to downshift it at every red light. Thats why I like the automatic, since I'm lazy, and they are more consistant.

For the cost to buy the neon around $15-18k used, plus the upgrades, I'm in for over $20 large. I own the car free and clear. I paid $3000 for it when I was 18 years old. So if I put $3500 into my short block, $2000 into the heads, $3500? into the blower, $2500 into trans/convertor, $2000 for misc. mods, $600 for the rear end rebuild and gears, and $1000 in tires and wheels for the track. I'm still at $5k less than the neon (not counting buying the SC years ago) and I have a faster, less known car. Oh and I won't have torque steer, and I'll have better 60 fts. and.... well you know. I actually like the SRT-4 and depending on how good of gas mileage they get I could actually see myself in one. As long as its faster than my SC's I'd not even want to drive the SC's.

So it looks like its still not cheap to go fast in an SC. I guess I could pull an XR7 Dave and do all the bolt ons and run a stock shortblock, but I'd feel safer knowing the bottom end was sturdy because I want to run some nitrous.
 
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Scott Long said:
Well even a 1.6 60 ft. is still really good for a street driven car. Micah I have no doubt in my mind it will run faster than high 12's. It's an AOD car not a stick. If I can get it to throw down around 390-400 at the tires I'll be very happy.

Damon, I thought of you when I wrote that, I know you've been stock piling parts like crazy. I didn't have the money to buy every new part that came out that claims to add hp. Some of the guys here have been getting all the new parts everytime something new comes out and I can't imagine how much money they've sank into their cars. I am not gonna cheap out on the short block. I might have to do without welded exhaust ports in the heads since no one is doing that and I can't do it myself. As for valves I want to be able to move some serious air through this engine so I guess I'll use the biggest I can fit in the heads.

I'm not worried about the blower since I know a 1.7L AutoRotor will be plenty for my goal. Also the car has to stay streetable so I can't stick a 5k stall in it. It's going to run a non locker and I guess I'll have to stay around 3000 rpms with it. With a transbrake I should be able to get some nice 60 fts. Chris Wise had some good launches off the foot brake, and Kevin L's SC seems to jump off the line good too. I am going to use a street terminator plus but if i need the brake I can always buy the manual valve body w/ brake. That kind of takes away from the street worthiness of the car though. How are you supposed to eat a cheeseburger and drive if you have to downshift it at every red light. Thats why I like the automatic, since I'm lazy, and they are more consistant.

For the cost to buy the neon around $15-18k used, plus the upgrades, I'm in for over $20 large. I own the car free and clear. I paid $3000 for it when I was 18 years old. So if I put $3500 into my short block, $2000 into the heads, $3500? into the blower, $2500 into trans/convertor, $2000 for misc. mods, $600 for the rear end rebuild and gears, and $1000 in tires and wheels for the track. I'm still at $5k less than the neon (not counting buying the SC years ago) and I have a faster, less known car. Oh and I won't have torque steer, and I'll have better 60 fts. and.... well you know. I actually like the SRT-4 and depending on how good of gas mileage they get I could actually see myself in one. As long as its faster than my SC's I'd not even want to drive the SC's.

So it looks like its still not cheap to go fast in an SC. I guess I could pull an XR7 Dave and do all the bolt ons and run a stock shortblock, but I'd feel safer knowing the bottom end was sturdy because I want to run some nitrous.


With the time and money you have set your goal to. Why run nitrous. The plan alone should do well without it.
 
XR7 Dave said:
Casey - where do you get a 5000rpm stall 8" lock-up converter for a C4? :confused:
My trannie guy makes them. I'm sure Coan, Rossler, etc.. can also.

I don't know if you mean an SC can't run a 1.4x 60ft. because of the lack of power needed to or just driveline durability. I'm sure Moser would have something that would work with some modification whether it being a solid axle rearend or IRS.

Damon, all I run is high stall converters around 6200 and I've never had or even heard of problems with parking because of them. That's what parking pins are for.

You really should build a strong bottom end. It will benefit you in the future. Just take your time doing it.

BTW, The alternative to Pro M is "Granatelli."
 
This is your golden opportunity Scott.....you gotta pick this stuff up as I'm sure you won't be able to buy the stuff this cheap again!!!! Good luck.

Micah
 
I talked with Steve Webb quite a bit as he always was recommending King rod bearings. So since he sold me on them, I'll throw it out there as well.

Try to go with King Rod bearings and either King or Felpro main bearings.
 
Dahoopd said:
With the time and money you have set your goal to. Why run nitrous. The plan alone should do well without it.

I am going to want to go faster, its in my genetic makeup. Never satisfied.

No doubt it should run in the 11's on motor alone. Dave N's car went 11.505 with an AutoRotor, MPFMIC, and a similar bottom end. I want to go with what works. His car is a full interior street car with Air Conditioning. My ultimate goal is to build a car very similar. I have been watching Dave, Tony, Kurt, Micah, XR7Dave, Rodney, and Chris Wise for the past couple of years and seeing what works on their cars. As much as I would have liked to be out there buying all the latest and greatest parts and then seeing which ones do or don't make any worthwhile gains, it would put a hurt on the finances and I can't afford a hit like that. By being able to assemble the engine myself, install the tranny, rear diff, and engine, the only thing I'm going to have to pay for is the tuning. I can order the parts and install them myself. I will have to pay a shop to set up the rear end, but I can just bring them the carrier.

One major factor of this is that I will have a place to work on it. Right now I live in an apartment and I don't have a garage. I can use the garage at my mom's house which is in the same town, but if I get stationed overseas I'm not exactly going to want to ship my car and an engine and all this stuff overseas. I am going to be looking to either rent or buy a house with a garage or if I get a townhouse or condo I'll have to rent a storage garage where I can stock pile my parts until I'm ready to drop the engine in the car.
 
Thanks I'll look into King bearings. Fel-pro mains I hear have an oil channel cut into them so I will probably use them since they offer better oiling and less of a chace to damage the crank.
 
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