Good Deal????
 

One of my good friends is getting rid of all his mustang crap and he has some stuff I really want. He has a set of gt40 heads that are ported, I am not sure to what extent, but they do also have bigger valves in them as well. He then has a nice cobra upper and lower, a 65mm edelbrock tb, and 1.6 scorpion roller rockers, everything is used. How much power would that stuff make on a 331 shortblock with 10.5:1 comp.? I remember this stuff being on a stock shortblock and it ran pretty decent. His dad told me to make him an offer, but I dont know about how much to offer seeing as its all used stuff and I can get it pretty cheap being that Im good friends with the guy and all. Let me know what you guys think, Thanks
John

The heads and intake would definitely hurt the 331's performance. You should get some AFR 185's and a shorter runner intake for the 331. Everything your friend has is nice on a 302, but not for anything bigger than that. Hope this helps. Good Luck.

-Billy

I wish I could go with afr's and a new intake but I am in college, therefore have no money. I know I can get this stuff for real cheap, so I am even thinking about putting it on the stock motor
that is in my car now. You dont think the gt40's with the cobra intake would flow enough for just a mild combo? I am not looking for a rea kickass motor anymore, seeing as how I drive 160 miles to school and have little money. Plus. I have damn aod in my car and I know even a mild combo will probably blow the p.o.s. - John

i would say just put that stuff on your stock motor and you will pick up some (not a lot) power. but hes right about those parts restricting the power of a 331. i wouldnt pay anymore than 500.00 for those parts, but thats your call.

Good call, for $500 I'd probably pick them up, more than that and I'd rather just get my own stuff (I'd rather use TFS).

Why are you going to build a 331 if you can't put some kickass stuff on there? I think I would build a 306 or something, it would be cheaper, and would help your tranny. If you did a 306 then the GT-40 stuff would be a good match. I think you should hold off with the 331 until you can afford it. Then you could put a good tranny behind it and have good heads, cam and intake. A 331 sounds cool, but SUCKS if you can't build it right. It needs good heads and intake, backed by a good tranny. I say wait until you get out of college to do the 331. Gives you time to see more combo's and more decission time. Hope this helps man. Good Luck. Take it easy.

-Billy

Yeah I guess Ill probably just wait to build it. If I put the gt40 heads and cobra intake on my stock motor, along with the 65mm throttle body, will I get a noticable increase in power? Would I have to go with a different cam to get the most out of it? I am not too familiar with the gt40 irons, or how much they flow or anything. I have heard that the cobra intake only flows a slight amount less then the gt40 intake. But anyway, thanks for the input - John

Hey notch, i do think that a good set of afr, canfield, of trick flow heads will build more power but for the price you cannot go wrong. I would make an offer lower than what you are willing to pay and go up from there. Start with 400 and go up from there.

Those parts are really going to be better that stock and will still give you a lot of power especially down low, it should feel real good. Just my .02

Yeah, Five0 is right, you will notice a good increase of power with that combo. I think I would get a custom cam ground for it, but if you would perfer not to do something like that than Steeda #18 cam works, Crane cam 2030 and 2031 work well too. Hope this helps. Good Luck man.

-Billy

Ok that sounds good. Ill just put the 331 off for now. Would you guys recommend that I get a different torque converter with even a mild cam. I have long tube headers on right now, and they are way too big. They killed my low end. Thanks, John

Notch, What tranny do you have and do you already have the parts to build the 331 or are you thinking about buying it.

If you are going to build a new motor I think it would be a good idea to build the 331, I mean why build a 306 and then build a 331 later. It is not that much more to do the 331 and it will have more power than a 306.

The long tube headers will help when you get a good set of heads and a good cam, the extra cubic inches won't hurt either.

I think you should have a converter around a 2400 to 3000 rpm stall, Do not get too carryed away with the stall speed though or you will not like driving it on the street much. I went with a 3400 stall and I wish I had chosen a little lower stall. If it is an aod you might get away with a little more also.

I have all the parts to build a 331 shortblock. Everything is forged, I spent alot of money on it. Then came the time to go to school, and then there was no money. I always wanted either the systemax kit for it or tfs heads and intake, but i didnt have the 1500 - 2000 to drop on that stuff at the time. Now that Im off for the summer I might be able to get away with spending a little bit. Thats why I was considering that cobra intake and the other stuff, but if it isnt enough for the 331 I might as well not bother with it.

Oh, Ive got the dreaded AOD, so theres my other problem. Im afraid to build the motor too strong. I definitely dont have the money to pay for a new tranny.

If you want my opinion I would build the 331 and buy the stuff from your friend and go from there. I think it will work better than you think. It will feel a lot better than what you have, the aod will probably hold up as long as you don't rip on it too hard all the time.

I would probably go with around a 3000 to 3400 rpm stall with the aod.

I guess if you have got the money to put the engine together and get the stuff from your friend then it would be worth it. You will not believe the power when you actually do get heads, cam, and intake for it though. Like Five0 said the tranny should hold up because it isn't going to make a crazy amount of power, until you get the good stuff. A stall of 3000 should be good with that combo. Remember you will have a lot more torque down low. Good luck with everything.

-Billy

Yeah I am definitely looking for that low end. I just got another job yesterday so between two jobs I should be able to sneak some cash out of the money I have to save for next semester. Ill let you guys know how much i get it for. - John