Stroking a Late Model Mustang

Good.

Hey, welcome again to the horsepower shop. Unless you've been parked on another planet recently, you've probably noticed there are a ton of aftermarket goodies for these late model mustangs. Many to make more power. Well, today we're going to have some fun with this OSE and see what happens when we stroke the modular motor

with this Stroker kit, you essentially turn a 4 6 L into a 5 L. It comes complete from Eagle with a cash crank Ford piston and H beam rod. But enough about this for now, we need to get on the dyno Jet and make a pull to see what kind of numbers we're going to start out with

265 horsepower, 295 ft pounds of torque. That's right where we thought it was gonna be at the rear wheel. Now, we need to get the mustang off the

dyno on our two post lift and start pulling the motor

and that's because the motor has to come out from the bottom, but it's not gonna be as difficult as you might imagine, or at least we don't think so.

Now, after disconnecting the battery and draining the coolant. We start on top here by disconnecting all the electrical plug ins.

Then the air intake tube

followed by the upper intake manifold.

And next, the heater hose can go

along with the alternator.

Now, we need to get the car up in the air on our lift so we can un boat the ac compressor, but we don't disconnect the lines that would cause us to lose our charges.

And with the power steering also loosened, we can now get this pipe out

there. It is.

Now we can disconnect the drive shaft from the transmission

and loosen the steering shaft

with the car lower down a little bit. I'm gonna go ahead and remove the wheel, the caliper and the sway bar in links, then we'll lower it down to the ground, unbolt the strut from the top of the car and then we're only a couple of steps away from dropping the motor and transmission out of the bottom

there. We told you it wouldn't be that hard right now, we have to do is separate the trans from the motor, the motor from the cradle down here. And we'll basically get this thing down to a bare block so we can take the block and cylinder heads to a nearby machine shop

in this case, a place called Huntsville Engine and Performance.

Now, they are the guys who handled the engine work for such proven competitors as outlaw 10 5 racers and rainwater.

In fact, all these engines are about to head out the door to race teams around the country. So we knew we could trust these guys with the next phase of our new Mustang Stroker project.

And that first involves checking to see how or if any clearance would be required on the block. Luckily, in this particular situation, we didn't have to do any rotating clearance. That was the thing we feared the most.

So after making sure there was enough crank clearance, it was time to attack the heads

after we get them flowed. The first time we actually go through and do some port work on the intake, the exhaust and in the combustion chamber

and the result,

we picked them up around 30 CFM per hole which

on the race track or on the street,

a big difference.

This will make a big difference when we finally run the motor machining the heads for a three angle valve job.

Then another technician did some bore honing to make room for our new aftermarket pistons.

Finally,

we were ready to pack up the parts and head to the horsepower shop

and get ready to bear down on the build up of our first ever Stroker thing.

Hey, we're back and so is the block and heads from our Ose

Mustang. Soon to be a Stroker sting. Thanks to an eagle rotating assembly and a bunch of other parts we're going to throw at it later on.

Just joined us, check out what we've done so far. We pulled the motor out of the car from the bottom, then took the heads and bear block to hunt

engine and performance.

That's where the block was bored for larger pistons and the heads were ported and polished

the seats. They were cut for a three angle valve job. But now with everything back in the shop, we can start installing our rotating assembly beginning with these bearings we got from Speed Pro. Here's an interesting tip for you.

These bearing sizes will vary depending on where the engine was put together.

So better wait till you get to the machine shop before you order yours.

This cast eagle crankshaft is internally balanced with a center counterweight to control harmonics at high RPM. S

but now we can install the main calves.

Then we're ready for our rods and pistons. Now these eagle H beams are a two piece forging and that makes for extra strength.

These dish shaped pistons came from a

and they're made from strong 2618 aluminum.

Oh, by the way, no clearance was needed for the rods because the big end is smaller in diameter

to fit the Honda size rod journals on the crank.

Next with the oil pump reinstalled along with the windage tray. We can bolt the rear cover back on

along with the oil pan.

That's it for the bottom end before the heads though we want to lay down new head gaskets over these A RP studs.

And while Joe reinstalls the water pump, I'm torquing, the head bolts down to a RP specs

stroking that mod motor requires a camshaft upgrade. So it reaches its power of potential crane cams has the Z CAMS that are specially made for the three valve Ford motor. They measure 264 on the intake, 284 in the exhaust and that's set up at 50 thousands lift

that's compared to 199 and 222 for the stock cams. Also, these are made from a steel billet bar which is superior to the oe process of press and powdered metal tubes and to a steel tube.

Now, we can reinstall the Mustang's timing chains and bolt the timing cover back on.

Hey, while those cam swaps are mandatory with the Stroker project. Here's an option

that'll free up 10 to 15 horsepower for you.

It's an underdrive pulley kit from BBK water pump pulley and check this balancer and crank pulley integrated into one CNC machine piece

since the accessories run faster than they need to, these will reduce the amount of engine power it takes to drive them and free up more power for the drive train.

Well, next, the three idler pulley can go back on

along with the belt tensioner

and then the valve covers

before we put the engine back in the car, we're going to install these BBK headers. Now, these are an inch and five eights, optimum length long tube with a polished chrome coating.

They come with a one piece flan to make for a good seal against the cylinder head and they come with heat shielded 02 extensions, gaskets and all the hardware you need to install them.

A lot of power is going to be riding on this engine's mount a lot more. We hope

so. With that in mind, we're upgrading to these bullet mounts from pro

what they do is sandwich polyurethane between plates of billet aluminum for a piece that'll handle all kinds of extra horsepower.

For the next step, we need to get the motor off the engine stand and back onto the original K

member.

We're not trusting the factory clutch to handle the extra power. So we stepped up to this new D two series from Zoom. Now, this is a twin disk setup that uses this modular iron friction ring with heavy duty straps to eliminate any vibration or chatter. We had them complete our set up with an eight bolt flywheel to go with our new crank shaft.

The kid also comes with an alignment tool to make installation a lot easier.

So with the trans vol to back up to the motor, we can reinstall them pretty much the way they came out.

Now, as we mentioned earlier, stroking a late model Mustang is pretty much new stuff for all of us while the machining and cams are pretty much necessary for this project. We're adding a bunch of other boltons just to see what happens. In fact, we'll finish up this Stroker thing next show. Meanwhile, stay tuned. Something for you. Chevy guys is coming right up.

Imagine it's about 1947 and a high-performance pioneer named Vic Edelbrock senior has just developed this hot new cylinder head for the Ford flathead.

Well, today, almost seven decades later, as you're about to see

cylinder head technology has come a long way,

but that passion for performance is still the same.

It's a company that's gone on to build a vast array of performance parts that keeps growing.

And like in the beginning, creating better performing cylinder heads is a top priority.

Well, here's what happens when a new cylinder head idea is about ready for reality.

We need to come up with uh some decisions on this new project that we're considering and I think it's very, very important. The project is an improved, better performing head for the popular Chevy Ls one.

I mean, we can tout this as being able to be used with nitrous or blowers or things like that when you can't do that with the, with the stock head. If we can give him the performance at a, at

a,

uh a good value.

I, I think that'll be,

that'll be great.

OK. The management team has done its homework and the Edelbrock LS one project is a go

we'll take it from here. Thanks. A million guys

and gal

make something a guy can bolt on.

Use the factory computer. Right.

Yeah. Yeah.

Yeah. And you know, we're, we're looking at it. We talked in, in our kickoff meeting there that we 425 maybe

we think we can make 450.

And that'd be 100 horsepower

time for Rick to run with the ball. Now, using his pro engineering software to create a 3D model,

but the process goes much deeper

here. He's created an exhaust port model using colors to show airflow and velocity.

Well, we've got an area down here around the valve seat where we've got this real deep blue that tells me that flow is just screaming off the edge of that valve seat. But we've got other areas over there where we don't see that kind of velocity. So

that concerns me a little bit

so I can change the shape of the port. And before we ever go to the flow bench, we've covered a lot of ground and learned a lot about sensitivity in this port. Today, we've lined up the intake port that uh

Rick is prototyped here

and he's made some final minor changes to it. He's done those by hand

and we're gonna fire this up and test them for him.

Good news. After a series of flow inch tests, the modified prototype is consistently flowing 15% better than stock

in the Ed

Rock dyno room. The new heads are run on an LS

one using factory electronics and only a camshaft upgrade

directed horsepower

450

that's 100 Overstock

before casting, precise patterns have to be made for the head's internal passages.

The intake and exhaust ports are computer generated sl a patterns.

However, the water jacket pattern is cut from mahogany wood, well, much like in the old days.

So after the planning, the extensive design and redesign,

prototype testing for airflow

dyno

testing for proven performance

and the development of patterns.

Our next destination is the boundary

for the next phase of how it's made.

It all started with plenty of planning hours of design, redesign testing for flow and power gains plus the making of sl a patterns. So now what

I think I know a pilot that can get us to the foundry.

Yeah, I think I do.

Let's do it.

Being a pilot comes in handy for a guy like Vic

Edelbrock

who takes his Gulf stream Turboprop on frequent trips to his foundry.

That's the fun part of going on the foundry

that

it's a high tech 117,000 square foot complex with 21 core machines.

Now, for our new LS one head, the process starts with this 356 T six aluminum

ingots,

those

ingots get melted in a 1300 degree furnace.

But before pouring any of that metal samples have to go to the foundry lab for testing.

We take a sample out of our furnace. We put it in a vacuum chamber, we cut it, we polish it,

we put it on the microscope and we're looking for the amount of process

that may be

in the furnace or in the gas that we use before we pour the castings

back inside the foundry. This cold set machine turns out bait sand shell cores to exact specs of the patterns you saw earlier.

This one's for the water jacket.

If this isn't made right,

the head won't cool. Right.

You'll have hot spots in it

and it won't run right.

So this slab core is like a jig

and they all go in

and they can't move, they can't shift, it just goes in

when it all gets done,

it's ready to pour.

The bottom half of the mold is called a drag

and it's filled with black sand and packed before the completed slab cord goes into place.

The top half of the mole is called the coat

and it gets grilled for a filling hole and also a riser

with two halves joined a ladle full of hot. Aluminum is robotically poured in

and after the aluminum solidifies, the flask goes to the shakedown station

where the now loosened core sand gets dumped out.

The final step is a sawing and deburring station to get the freshly casted LS one head ready for a trip to Torrance.

The foundry can produce over 3000 castings. A day. But to keep up with the growing demands, a new facility is already broken ground next door.

And Joey, as you can see over here, this is again, our total commitment to the made

in USA quality jobs in America and support of the local community.

Back in Torrance, the newly cast heads are treated to the first phase of CNC machine.

All right, big difference.

You bet, you bet this is the first off Joe and probably one of the most important because we have machined the deck of the cylinder head to the combustion chamber so that we have number one, the correct CCS very important for your compression ratio.

Well, next, the head goes into this five axis CNC machine with a 12,000 RPM spindle speed

several times a day. During a production run, heads are pulled for a thorough high tech inspection in the quality control room.

This coordinate measuring machine checks not only for deck flatness, but also make sure each machine hole is the correct width and depth. What did we ever do without it? Right. I don't know. What did you do? Micrometers and yardsticks.

After the CNC work, a technician uses a 30 machine to cut valve seats in the heads

before they go on to this assembly room.

This is where the better flowing heads. Now with 64 CC combustion chambers get larger valves

and bronze bushings.

A

lot of little things that add up to more power

and this is the end of the road for our new improved LS one head that is until it's installed and appreciated for its proven made in America performance.

How would you like to make over 600 horsepower in your 502 big block with parts that are performance matched to work together

with this

Brock power package top in kit comes with the Victor Junior intake manifold set of Victor Junior cylinder heads, hydraulic cam timing set, even the boats and gaskets to put it all together. Of course, they make them for several small block Ford and Chevy applications with prices still

at

just over $1500. If you're geared up to go drag racing, then Royal Purple's got the perfect race proven fluid for your automatic transmission.

It's the racing a TF that delivers up to 300% more wear protection than traditional type F fluids. Now it's got a formula that delivers consistent performance every pass down the track while doubling or tripling the life of your tranny. It comes in this five gallon container for a price of just over 100 and 30 bucks.

Here's a good way to be on the ball when you spiff up your street machine.

It's a buff and polish ball from Flits with hundreds of tiny fingers that can get to those hard to reach places. It fits any 38 inch drill and buffs. It speeds up to 2500 RPM

plus it'll work on just about any surface imaginable. Now, for flat areas you might want to go with their bluff and wax ball. But either way

you'll save a ton of time and elbow grease when you put a shine on your ride.

Well, time for us to ride out of here. We'll be back next week with more horsepower. Please join us.