Intake for a 5.0

I think I have a bad head gasket on an 89 5.0. I had posted to this
group a while ago asking for diagnosis tips, and a pep talk on doing
it myself. I got lots of good tips, but I guess I'm still chicken.
I'm probably going to break down and have it done. While the shop has
the intake off, what better time to put it back together with a new
intake? :-)

I'm looking for recommendations, and I figured this group would have
plenty of 'em. This car will be an occasional fun driver, never
seeing the track, and never stoplight racing, so I'd like to make sure
to keep daily driveability with no drastic shifts to the powerband.
If anything, I'd like to build up that 'invisible push' on your chest
when you accelerate out of a stop or on a downshift on the road. I
like Edelbrock, because of their affordability and trust in the brand
name, but I'm open to others.

It seems like their Performer is more for a track car, and last time I
looked, I remember leaning towards their Performer RPM or Performer
Jr.

I already have in-fender cold air, 73mm mass air meter, 70mm throttle
body, and MSD distributor and rotors.

Thoughts?

"Jim C" > wrote in message
...
>I think I have a bad head gasket on an 89 5.0. I had posted to this
> group a while ago asking for diagnosis tips, and a pep talk on doing
> it myself. I got lots of good tips, but I guess I'm still chicken.
> I'm probably going to break down and have it done. While the shop has
> the intake off, what better time to put it back together with a new
> intake? :-)
>
> I'm looking for recommendations, and I figured this group would have
> plenty of 'em. This car will be an occasional fun driver, never
> seeing the track, and never stoplight racing, so I'd like to make sure
> to keep daily driveability with no drastic shifts to the powerband.
> If anything, I'd like to build up that 'invisible push' on your chest
> when you accelerate out of a stop or on a downshift on the road. I
> like Edelbrock, because of their affordability and trust in the brand
> name, but I'm open to others.
>
> It seems like their Performer is more for a track car, and last time I
> looked, I remember leaning towards their Performer RPM or Performer
> Jr.
>
> I already have in-fender cold air, 73mm mass air meter, 70mm throttle
> body, and MSD distributor and rotors.
>
> Thoughts?


There is the upper intake, lower intake, then the heads.
new heads will make a real difference but cost $$ (I would put a blower on
it before new heads)

If you like low end torque, get upper/lower intake with long runners, not
the short box like racing style ones as they developed peaky power in the
upper RPM range and the lower torque is almost gone.

On Apr 9, 4:02 pm, "Mary" > wrote:
> "Jim C" > wrote in message
>
> ...
>
>
>
> >I think I have a bad head gasket on an 89 5.0. I had posted to this
> > group a while ago asking for diagnosis tips, and a pep talk on doing
> > it myself. I got lots of good tips, but I guess I'm still chicken.
> > I'm probably going to break down and have it done. While the shop has
> > the intake off, what better time to put it back together with a new
> > intake? :-)
>
> > I'm looking for recommendations, and I figured this group would have
> > plenty of 'em. This car will be an occasional fun driver, never
> > seeing the track, and never stoplight racing, so I'd like to make sure
> > to keep daily driveability with no drastic shifts to the powerband.
> > If anything, I'd like to build up that 'invisible push' on your chest
> > when you accelerate out of a stop or on a downshift on the road. I
> > like Edelbrock, because of their affordability and trust in the brand
> > name, but I'm open to others.
>
> > It seems like their Performer is more for a track car, and last time I
> > looked, I remember leaning towards their Performer RPM or Performer
> > Jr.
>
> > I already have in-fender cold air, 73mm mass air meter, 70mm throttle
> > body, and MSD distributor and rotors.
>
> > Thoughts?
>
> There is the upper intake, lower intake, then the heads.
> new heads will make a real difference but cost $$ (I would put a blower on
> it before new heads)
>
> If you like low end torque, get upper/lower intake with long runners, not
> the short box like racing style ones as they developed peaky power in the
> upper RPM range and the lower torque is almost gone.

Thanks Mary, for the tips. I've looked a little bit more into it, and
it seems like the Performer (long runners, power from idle - 5500)
might be just the one. I'm also seeing suggestions that to really
feel the difference is to do the Heads / Cams / Intake all at the same
time, but 1700 for a matched set is a lot all at once. I don't have
the knowledge to piece together my own kit, so I'd probably go with a
matched set from one manufacturer, like Edelbrock or Holley, but I'll
probably just do the intake (better by itself than stock), and leave
the heads and cam on my someday list.

Any other long runner recommendations, anyone? It seems like when I'm
**NOT** looking for it, every magazine has a head to head comparison,
but I can't find a single one now...

Jim C wrote:
> I think I have a bad head gasket on an 89 5.0. I had posted to this
> group a while ago asking for diagnosis tips, and a pep talk on doing
> it myself. I got lots of good tips, but I guess I'm still chicken.
> I'm probably going to break down and have it done. While the shop has
> the intake off, what better time to put it back together with a new
> intake? :-)

I think you might want to see what needs to be done to the existing
heads before buying any new parts. It isn't very common for a basically
stock N/A 5.0L to blow a heads gasket. You should get the heads
thoroughly checked and if they OK then have them rebuilt. Depending on
your budget it may make more sense to buy the new heads and intake than
spend the money and have nothing but stock heads to show for it.

> I'm looking for recommendations, and I figured this group would have
> plenty of 'em. This car will be an occasional fun driver, never
> seeing the track, and never stoplight racing, so I'd like to make sure
> to keep daily driveability with no drastic shifts to the powerband.
> If anything, I'd like to build up that 'invisible push' on your chest
> when you accelerate out of a stop or on a downshift on the road. I
> like Edelbrock, because of their affordability and trust in the brand
> name, but I'm open to others.

You are going to be disappointed from just installing an intake (upper
and lower) while keeping the stock heads. You might get an additional
15 horsepower if you are lucky. It will be barely noticeable from a
driver's perspective. IMO, there are other things that can get you more
horsepower/torque to the rear wheels for the money. These include: port
matching the stock intake and heads while they are off the car; having
the heads and intake ported to some degree; installing a high flow 2.5"
exhaust along with 1-5/8" mandrel bent headers; under drive pulleys;
rear end gears (THE BEST bang-for-the-buck modification you can make);
subframe connectors (they tighten up the chassis and put more power to
the rear wheels instead of using it flexing the body of the car); get a
custom tune using a dyno.

> It seems like their Performer is more for a track car, and last time I
> looked, I remember leaning towards their Performer RPM or Performer
> Jr.
>
> I already have in-fender cold air, 73mm mass air meter, 70mm throttle
> body, and MSD distributor and rotors.
>
> Thoughts?

I have wasted more money modifying my '89 LX than I care to admit by not
making a plan in the beginning and sticking with it. My advice is to
determine where you want the car to be at the end of the process and
then work toward that goal. IMO, it isn't worth just doing an intake,
especially if it will just be the upper portion. If you have the stock
gears then install a set of 3.55s or 3.73s and I guarantee they will
make a performance difference you can definitely feel. Also, a high
flow exhaust from the headers to the tail pipes will make a difference
over the stock system. These parts also fit in well when, and if, you
do more serious modifications like a supercharger or heads/intake/cam.
I have gone way down the road you are fixing to take and without a good
solid plan for modifying the car to be what you want at the end of that
road you will be twisting in the wind and wasting a pile of money in the
process. I have a garage full of speed parts to prove it.

Jim C wrote:
> On Apr 9, 4:02 pm, "Mary" > wrote:

> Any other long runner recommendations, anyone? It seems like when I'm
> **NOT** looking for it, every magazine has a head to head comparison,
> but I can't find a single one now...

Unless something better has emerged the best 5.0 street intake is
the one from Summit. Number 2 was the long runner Edelbrock.


--


"Number ****ing three? You *******, I demand to be #1. Pleace to publish
teh lits, doucheweasel. " -- Cujo DeSockpuppet

Save your money, in a Manifold Shootout held some time ago, (in 5.0 Mustang
I think) it was shown that the manifold that gave the engine the most torque
at the lowest RPM was the one it came with from the factory. I also
remember another article where the goal was to bolt on 85 HP, after
replacing everything that could possibly be replaced the testers were only a
little more than half the way to their intended goal. They did eventually
reach it but that was after extensive machining of all those brand new
parts. The lesson I took away from that test was that there is about 40 or
more real horsepower still in the stock engine just waiting for you to
massage it out. In the 20 years I've owned my GT the only time it gets
modified is when the stock parts wear out. (I'm just about to roll over for
the third time, so I'm pretty sure my philosophy is valid).


"Jim C" > wrote in message
...
> I think I have a bad head gasket on an 89 5.0. I had posted to this
> group a while ago asking for diagnosis tips, and a pep talk on doing
> it myself. I got lots of good tips, but I guess I'm still chicken.
> I'm probably going to break down and have it done. While the shop has
> the intake off, what better time to put it back together with a new
> intake? :-)
>
> I'm looking for recommendations, and I figured this group would have
> plenty of 'em. This car will be an occasional fun driver, never
> seeing the track, and never stoplight racing, so I'd like to make sure
> to keep daily driveability with no drastic shifts to the powerband.
> If anything, I'd like to build up that 'invisible push' on your chest
> when you accelerate out of a stop or on a downshift on the road. I
> like Edelbrock, because of their affordability and trust in the brand
> name, but I'm open to others.
>
> It seems like their Performer is more for a track car, and last time I
> looked, I remember leaning towards their Performer RPM or Performer
> Jr.
>
> I already have in-fender cold air, 73mm mass air meter, 70mm throttle
> body, and MSD distributor and rotors.
>
> Thoughts?

yep, the heads has most to gain.
better to put a blower on it.

"Ironrod" > wrote in message
...
> Save your money, in a Manifold Shootout held some time ago, (in 5.0
> Mustang
> I think) it was shown that the manifold that gave the engine the most
> torque
> at the lowest RPM was the one it came with from the factory. I also
> remember another article where the goal was to bolt on 85 HP, after
> replacing everything that could possibly be replaced the testers were only
> a
> little more than half the way to their intended goal. They did eventually
> reach it but that was after extensive machining of all those brand new
> parts. The lesson I took away from that test was that there is about 40
> or
> more real horsepower still in the stock engine just waiting for you to
> massage it out. In the 20 years I've owned my GT the only time it gets
> modified is when the stock parts wear out. (I'm just about to roll over
> for
> the third time, so I'm pretty sure my philosophy is valid).
>
>
> "Jim C" > wrote in message
> ...
>> I think I have a bad head gasket on an 89 5.0. I had posted to this
>> group a while ago asking for diagnosis tips, and a pep talk on doing
>> it myself. I got lots of good tips, but I guess I'm still chicken.
>> I'm probably going to break down and have it done. While the shop has
>> the intake off, what better time to put it back together with a new
>> intake? :-)
>>
>> I'm looking for recommendations, and I figured this group would have
>> plenty of 'em. This car will be an occasional fun driver, never
>> seeing the track, and never stoplight racing, so I'd like to make sure
>> to keep daily driveability with no drastic shifts to the powerband.
>> If anything, I'd like to build up that 'invisible push' on your chest
>> when you accelerate out of a stop or on a downshift on the road. I
>> like Edelbrock, because of their affordability and trust in the brand
>> name, but I'm open to others.
>>
>> It seems like their Performer is more for a track car, and last time I
>> looked, I remember leaning towards their Performer RPM or Performer
>> Jr.
>>
>> I already have in-fender cold air, 73mm mass air meter, 70mm throttle
>> body, and MSD distributor and rotors.
>>
>> Thoughts?
>
>