Having recently got a 5.0L 97 EL Fairmont Ghia and reading all different threads on getting more KWs, I would like to know what the stock equipment on the engine is?
Which manifold is it? (ie explorer etc)
What are the heads? (ie gt40 etc)
So I can work out whether its better to port them or get better parts like an Edlebrock Victor manifold/ AUIII XR8 heads.

I would be looking at spending no more than $4000 on the engine that would include;
Extractors/3" single exhaust
1.72 yella terra rockers (valve clearance still ok?)
75mm Pro-M MAF
75mm SVO throttle body.

So whats best in regards to the stock heads and manifold?

I will not be changing ECU or adding piggy back so the stock ECU will have to control it all.
Cheers

Hiya Timmeh.

Well, first up - i'd bet the bank on the fact that you currently have:

Intake manifold - called the HO manifold. Have a look in my user gallery - if you have this intake manifold then yes - it's a dirty HO.

Heads - like to be the E7TE cast iron heads. I couldnt tell you how to visually verify this but its a fairly safe bet.

Both of these items are bottom of the barrel.

Regarding porting the E7TEs, i have read that you can port these and have similar flow to stock GT40s.... but the labour involved would probably have a similar cost to upgrading the heads, with replacement items having greater potential through port work of them...

At this point the intake manifold would become a restirction....

Pro-M MAF a great idea. If you're going 75mm then maybe look at a 70mm TB.

AFAIK 1.72 rrs will maintain sufficient clearance with a stock cam. But then, seek some advice on how this works with aftermarket/gt40 heads.

All of these mods should be OK with standard EEC, particularly if going with a Pro-M MAF.

Well, there's a start

Cheers 4.9 EF Futura
Yeah I've spotted the HO on the manifold and you say its bottom of the barrell stuff. E7TE heads I guess are a fairly safe bet like you say.
You reckon get some GT40 heads and an explorer manifold? how much would that set me back?
Cheers.

G'day Timmeh.....

I also have the same car as you but am still in the process of reading many posts before deciding what to invest in.

I can tell you for sure that your car doesn't have the explorer manifold, as it's just the standard HO manifold (don't know if it has another name). The only cars that got the explorer manifold were the FBT and EL GT in the EL's. The standard heads on these motors aren't the GT40 heads, as these came out in the above mentioned cars and on the AU. I have read that porting these heads is an option that a few have done, but if your after some better flow going aftermarke like some quality AFR heads will outflow the ported GT40's.
In terms of manifold people seem to leaning towards the Edelbrock rather than Trickflow, which indicates to me that the Victor or the Performer in the Edelbrock series are a good manifold. I can't put my experiences in as i am yet to see what they do.
The 1:72 roller rockers look as though they will nicely compliment the manifold and head combo with the upgrade of throttle body and MAF a must to get the best out of the other mods.

The only upgrade that you will benefit from significantly from that you haven't mentioned is a bigger cam.

There will be some others on this forum who will get more into the nitty gritty such as fuel rail clearanec and valve clearance and can share their comments on what works well, but as far as i'm concerned you look to be headed in the right direction.

Hope this answers some of the more basic questions!!!!

Cheers

Yeah it takes a bit of sleuthing to track these parts down - for obvious reasons there's fairly high demand.

Second hand explorer manifolds usually around $600-$800. Personally i wouldnt buy one new - go afternm

As far as aftermarket manifolds go, plenty to choose from... interesting new one around:

http://www.jegs.com/cgi-bin/ncommerce3/ ... rmenbr=361

Heads.... probably around the $1000 mark complete (2nd hand).

If you enjoy swingin the odd spanner could probably do these mods yourself and save a fair bit on labour.

Thanks offyaguts and 4.9 EF Futura.

I'll see if I can get some second hand gt40 heads and have a go at fitting 1.72 yella terra rockers while they are off (may as well have a go).

What Edlebrock manifold would suit the engine I have? Consider that I would get the GT 40 heads for it. I'll skip the Explorer and go straight for Edlebrock.

Will the manifold ports match the head ports exactly or is that something a workshop sorts out for you on installation? I've seen an article where they were about 50 thou out so they port them more for better match up and better flow.

Cheers
I'm learning a fair bit

Based on:

http://www.edelbrock.com/automotive/man_ford_5l.html

It seems they recommend the manifold based on power range. Victor looks like a real short runner manifold which would likely kill a bit of torque - probably why recommended to 4000-8000rpm.

I'd probably recommend the performer. Perf RPM would prolly be OK, anything more than that seems like they're for fairly warm engines. RPM II looks way cool

Not sure if ports will match. Wouldnt be a huge problem but would see significant gains in making sure they are well matched on a N/A application.

Well I reckon the Edelbrock Street Performer 5.0 would be a good start....

There are two types of heads, the GT40's and GT40P's, not sure of the difference, but as a guess I take it the GT40P's are probably better flowing or a newer version.

If you go pacemaker or genie extractors they will fit both these headers, but if you have the GT40P's you will need 90 degree spark plug leads.

As far as the manifold ports matching up with the head ports....I have no idea, sorry.

Give Shane a message (MrLandau), he'll more than likely know and be able to head you in the right direction

Cheers

Thats an awesome site thanks 4.9 EF Futura.

Got some good info there.

My performer II is here, but still havent fitted it, looks real trick, bolts straight up to the factory heads, GT40 and AFR's. I am looking at either AFR185's for the heads$2930 from high performance world in sydney or even the matching edelbrock heads, not sure yet
The pro M is definitely worth it, but i would go a 65mm throttlebody, I got mine from MR landau and it works perfectly. As a side not, on the weekend, went out west for a cruise and returned 8.9l/100km according to the trip computer with all my mods, this is down from 13-15 per 100.
Around town am averaging 23-30 but mostly stop start driving.
Good luck
Brett

Yeah good call. Also alloy GT40s (Xs and Zs?!?) which i believe featured on the tickford strokers.

WHAT is that 23 to 30 litres or something else i failed to pick up on?

Nope you read it right 23-30l/100k around town. Lucky to get 250 out of a tank around town

Yeah stick with the Performer 5L, the RPM and above will loose too much low torque on a 5L and should really only be used on stroker or wild 5L engines.

Still if you can find a cheap explorer intake, they will more than cope with most modified 5L engines. Check on the other ford forums around, you can find some cheap manifolds and heads.

I've just read an article in the latest Perth Street Car mag and there is an EF XR8 engine that had an Edlebrock Victor manifold put on and they needed to make custom fuel rails for it to fit.
I'm not going to have that problem with the Edlebrock Performer manifold am I? It does say on the Edlebrock site it is for stock replacement so I'm guessing it should be fine.