FR500TT Big Bore Boss-Stroked and Boosted w/Ethanol!

[raslobra98]

well yah you don't need alky with e85, but it wont be around for long. I haven't seen it anywhere here in TX...

[Turbo98]

Originally Posted by raslobra98

well yah you don't need alky with e85, but it wont be around for long. I haven't seen it anywhere here in TX...

Well, if we had to, we would definitely run alky injection.

[Turbo98]

Well, after much consideration, we’ve selected the intake manifold. We looked at several options which include:
• Sheet metal intake from MMR
• Modified 4.6L Sullivan
• Modified ‘99/’01 Cobra intake
• Use some adapter plates with the ‘99/’01 intake or the Sullivan
• 100% custom piece.

We ruled out the MMR intake mainly due to the short runners. Combined with the large intake port volume, we would lose some pretty good low/mid range power. Since we are only revving to 7K or so, this option didn’t fit the combination. The modified Sullivan could be made to work but it would require some pretty extensive modification. Even if done properly, again, the runners are way too short for our goals. We looked at modifying the ‘99/’01 and it was thought it might not turn out as nice as we would like. The intake would have to also be cut, ported, and welded. It could prove to be restrictive. Plus I do not particularly like the looks of it. The adapter plate route would allow the 4.6L C-headed intakes to bolt right up, but by looking at the plates, the air would have a torturous path. Additionally, the injector location and angle would possibly be compromised which could affect driveability.. The custom intakes are very expensive and since I’m not an intake designer, it’s best this one be left alone too. So…… What other option is there other than the one shown here in a short clip that Jim at Turbo Connection put together:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UlQ-u40wrWI

[Turbo98]

This is the Ford FR500C Racing intake. I got one of these a while back and we decided that this just might work really well for a turbo application. The intake is designed for the 5.0 “Cammer” Grand Am Cup Series cars. Throwing a little boost at it could be interesting! This intake is pretty wild as you can see in the video. I’ll post some pictures too. There are two different length air horns or trumpets that bolt onto the runner entrance. The total length of the runners are 13” and 14” with the longer 4” trumpets installed on the center runners. The runners are nearly 2” in diameter at the entrance and are tapered. After doing some extensive research, it is unclear as to why Ford designed it this way with the two longer trumpets on the center runners. One thing is for sure. Swapping injectors should be a breeze! lol. The intake is a bare casting and looks a little rough but I will have it powder coated to match the valve covers, etc after modifying it to fit the application. The main reason we chose it are:
 The intake was designed to work with the FordGT heads
 It was designed to be used with the big bore displacement
 The runners are rather long with a large cross-sectional area and we can tune it by installing different length trumpets
 The intake was designed to be used with shorter duration cams
 From the data I’ve received, on the Cammer car, the power band is pretty broad and peaks between 5K and 6K and holds flat all the way to 7K. We believe this will work very well under boost with the turbos we have.
 Ford designed it for a race application so we figured they know what they are doing
 The injector placement should enhance power as it is moved up towards the plenum
 It looks cool
 It’s descriptive of the project name FR500TT!

Overall, we believe this intake will enhance the flow of the heads and perform very well.

[raslobra98]

That's a pretty darn cool intake! How'd you get your hands on that? I want one.
That 5.0 cammer motor is high dollar! Ford is proud of that one

Special cams too it seems.

Nice progress

Robert

[Turbo98]

Originally Posted by raslobra98

That's a pretty darn cool intake! How'd you get your hands on that? I want one.
That 5.0 cammer motor is high dollar! Ford is proud of that one

Special cams too it seems.

Nice progress

Robert

Thanks Robert! Yeah, I got the intake from Ford Racing a while back. I've seen them on Ebay.

[Turbo98]

Here are a few pics of the intake/engine:








The Accufab throttle body:

[Turbo98]

The fuel rail/injector set-up:

[Turbo98]

Jim timed in the cams. The adjustable gears made it easier but it is still a lot of work to get them just right. Here are some pics of the process:


The 12mm ARP cam bolts are torqued to 120 ft-lbs. We don't want any slippage!




Now it’s time to get the front cover and main stud girdle on and button it up!

[Turbo98]

One more. Followers are all in also:

[lincobra]

very nice combo, i really like how you're doing this build

[Turbo98]

Originally Posted by lincobra

very nice combo, i really like how you're doing this build

Hey thanks! I really appreciate that.

[raslobra98]

dude....I want it.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/MUSTA...Q5fCarQ5fParts

wish I had ford gt heads

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/FORD-...Q5fAccessories

dude that's 4g's

I would but It would have to gain me like 200 ponies...

[Turbo98]

Here are a few pics with the front cover, water pump, idler pulleys, and balancer mounted. Followers are in too. The nice chrome alternator is kind of hidden now, lol. It doesn't clear the intake by much. It was one of the things I was concerned about. Now we have to deal with the coolant crossover tube as the '96-'98 probably won't work.

[Droptop Snake]

N v.

[bcastro]

Very nice!

[Turbo98]

Originally Posted by bcastro

Very nice!

Thanks man!

[Turbo98]

Here are a few more pics of the intake:

Intake with the trumpets installed (this isn’t my intake but a representative sample pic)


Installed on the Cammer engine (again, not my engine):


Injector bosses:


Plenum boxes:

[Turbo98]

Trumpet inlet:


Runner diameter:


Plenum block-off/divider plate in place (left of the first runner). This is said to broaden the torque curve so we’ll have to see how it affects performance:


I hope everybody doesn't mind me posting all these pictures.

[Johnny O]

Awesome build! It sucks you had all that trouble at the beginning. I cant wait to see the dyno #s

[raslobra98]

Pictures I's what makes threads good. Keep em coming .

That fuel injector and rail placement is amazing. Way more convenient!

That would be fun to tune
Are you tuning it yourself?

How does a programmable maf work.. Not used to that, does that mean you don't have to calibrate the maf transfer function ?


.

[Turbo98]

Here’s a shot of the injector placement. It looks pretty good. The injectors are 5” above the port entrance of the head. I’m expecting some frost on the runner legs with the E85!

[raslobra98]

I just noticed the factory oil filter adapter on there... Go with an adapter plate and dual filters... A cooler even , will help with those turbos, and plumbing, and clearance

[Turbo98]

Originally Posted by raslobra98

Pictures I's what makes threads good. Keep em coming .

That fuel injector and rail placement is amazing. Way more convenient!

That would be fun to tune
Are you tuning it yourself?

How does a programmable maf work.. Not used to that, does that mean you don't have to calibrate the maf transfer function ?


.

Well, Jim at Turbo Connection is tuning it with SCT. The meter is an Abaco MAF and basically you plug a USB cable into it from a laptop. Then you can download the calibrations from their web site and input them into the MAF for whatever injector size you have. You can custom write the chart too. I know he tweaked it when he tuned it.

Good point about the tuning. Yeah, it will be different tuning this beast. As you know, typically the injectors are mounted so they spray directly on the back of the intake valve(s). So we'll see how this works.

[Turbo98]

Originally Posted by Johnny O

Awesome build! It sucks you had all that trouble at the beginning. I cant wait to see the dyno #s

Thanks! Yeah, I just had to move forward beyond the issues. Hopefully it will be worth it in the end.

[Turbo98]

Originally Posted by raslobra98

I just noticed the factory oil filter adapter on there... Go with an adapter plate and dual filters... A cooler even , will help with those turbos, and plumbing, and clearance

Hmm. Interesting thought...

[Turbo98]

Here are a few more pics:

[raslobra98]

Is that a girdle and oil pan studs? Man, I hope you don't have the issues I had with sealing oil at the oilpan/ gasket area. I spent 3 months chasing oil leaks and when I replaced the mmr studs and arp side cap bolts with factory bolts all my oil leaks were gone.

Crazy but may be my luck

Not sure on the iron blocks but I'd definitely use factory side cap bolts on a teksid...the head/washer is one piece and is designed to seal.

[Turbo98]

Yes, that is a main stud girdle with special ARP main studs. It ties in with the oil pan rails. We didn't have any sealing issues as it was on the previous engine. Jim uses the serious gray silicone and it was bone dry. When he took the pan/girdle off the other engine, he said he could probably lift the engine by the pan if he wanted after removing the bolts, lol. We should be good.

[raslobra98]

Originally Posted by Turbo98

Yes, that is a main stud girdle with special ARP main studs. It ties in with the oil pan rails. We didn't have any sealing issues as it was on the previous engine. Jim uses the serious gray silicone and it was bone dry. When he took the pan/girdle off the other engine, he said he could probably lift the engine by the pan if he wanted after removing the bolts, lol. We should be good.

Oh, see I used the factory gasket (a new one) and not silicone, maybe where I went wrong

[Turbo98]

Here are a couple pics of the engine now in the car. Please keep in mind these are preliminary pictures. It will look MUCH better once everything else is in place and it is cleaned up, etc. But I still think they look cool.

[raslobra98]

Coming along, what are you doing about pcv valve, egr, smog, iac, attachments etc , does this intake accommodate those ? Or are you deleting most? Is that going to fit under the stock hood?

[Turbo98]

The intake does not have a provision for EGR. I had mine blocked off on my '98 intake. We might have to make a provision for the PCV as I don't there is a hole/fitting. It should be no big deal. There is one large threaded hole in the back and two smaller ones on top for vacuum line fittings I believe. The IAC motor attached to the right front once the plenum boxes are bolted on so there is provision for that. It should be a short hose to the inlet pipe. All of this is one reason I didn't get the intake powder coated yet (as much as I wanted to) so it looks a little rough. I will do that once this stuff is done.

I have a Cobra R hood so hood clearance should not be an issue. I am not sure if this would fit under a stock hood or not.

[Turbo98]

As I mentioned earlier, the intake runners are 13/14” long not including the head port length. This is with the supplied 3” and 4” trumpets installed. It’s still unknown as to why they designed it with longer 4” trumpets on the center runners. So in order to find out, I managed to obtained 4 more of the 3” Ford Racing trumpets so we can experiment and see if installing all 3” will make any difference or improvement, etc.

In addition, we wanted more flexibility in case the runners are too long and power starts choking off up top. So I had some shorter trumpets made up. They turned out real nice. Here are a couple pictures.

From left to right: 1 ½”, 2”, 3”, and 4”. The 1 ½” and 2” are the new ones I had made:


My entire trumpet collection, LOL:


We are kind of in unchartered waters with this intake but now at least we are armed and dangerous with the capability of runners as short as 11 ½”. We’ll see I guess…..

[Turbo98]

Jim disassembled the valve covers, cleaned them, reassembled with Loctite and got them installed. We also removed the coils from the firewall panel because one interfered with the intake. He reinstalled the panel and fuel regulator, etc, and detailed the engine bay. It’s looking pretty good:


We mocked up the Ford Racing spark plug covers to see how they look. We also installed polished stainless valve cover bolts and washers. I think these look better than the brass colored factory ones:




Couple more pics of the engine compartment: