supercharge the 5.0

so after looking around to see prices of performance mods for the 86 i also am seeing a basic vortec sc'er setup for 5-6 psi (non innercooled). considering the price of exhaust, heads, all the bolt-ons. why not just skip it all and go with something like this.
http://www.summitracing.com/parts/VOR-4FA218-010L/?rtype=10

the real question is how much will my bone stock engine take. assuming i at least get a set of shorty headers and o/r midpipe. i'm also thinking it would probably be a good time to refresh the engine. would it be okay to just do all the seals & gaskets. check the compression. the stock 5.0 has about 260k on the odometer

Some opinions can be found here

http://www.fordmuscleforums.com/all-ford-techboard/456453-5-0-roller-block-limits.html

This guy has a pretty good opinion on the 5.0 build

http://tomak3.tripod.com/page9.html

i really like the idea of just a very low psi sc'er. was also looking at the on3 turbo kit, but i like that vortec is a well proven brand.

my biggest thing is the mileage on my engine. how would i check to see if it really needs a complete rebuild vs. a gasket/seal kit

the best part is my wife is all about doing this.

I am getting to ready to purchase a new car this weekend. 95 5.0 and I'm going to put a supercharger on it. I'm only planning onakimg 6 pounds of boost to hopefully get around the three hundred mark in whp. Heard they are capable of more but I don't want to test it. This engine has 130k on it. I'm going o replace the head gaskets with fine fel pro race gaskets and arp head bolts. On just a stock engine I could not imagine needing to do much more..

Hope I didn't thread jack?? Mb

Psycho Bob wrote:i really like the idea of just a very low psi sc'er. was also looking at the on3 turbo kit, but i like that vortec is a well proven brand.

my biggest thing is the mileage on my engine. how would i check to see if it really needs a complete rebuild vs. a gasket/seal kit

the best part is my wife is all about doing this.

I'd do a compression test. But if it were me I'd ditch those stock heads and put a 87-93 E7TE cast head on it at the very least. Those pre-87 heads are very restrictive. If compression/leakdown is good then a fresh set of heads (rebuilt E7TE or GT40P) would be a very good cheap upgrade to get the most from a FI setup.

i'm not so worried about the heads. i'm truely not looking for alot of hp, but i know i don't want to put any money into heads that might even have a chance of being replaced anyway.

maybe the arp head bolts are a good idea though while i'm doing the gasket set.

Definately new head gaskets and bolts. The stock bolts are pretty much a one time thing unless you want to take the chance of them not getting tight enough. Check your compression. While the heads are off Id check to see if they need machined. Since youre not running a lot of boost there shouldnt be a problem. Just run a colder plug and get your timing right and you should be fine. Depending on your setup you may need to mess with the fuel system. Might get a 155 fuel pump for some peace of mind. The stock fuel pump sucks. The 155 is usually good for well over 300rwhp and you can find them cheap.

thanks for the info john. if i go this way i'll be doing all the gaskets for sure since it does leak some oil from a few places.