do a rear gear 3.73-4.10
stall convertor
drop some weight off the car
underdrive pullies
light weight skinnies up front
light weight rims and sticky tires on back
off road pipe
electric fan
any of the common bolt ons as a start

 

In an effort to get the Crown Vic down the track quicker, you have to start somewhere... These things are all great choices. They're all relatively cheap too (except maybe the converter/wheels). I vote heavily for the 4.10 gears. With a car that weighs as much as yours, it needs more torque to get it moving. The gears directly multiply the torque your engine produces, making it easier for the motor to push the car down the track.
The nice thing about fixing up a car is that you don't have to buy everything at once. You can do one thing at a time, realize your gains....and preserve your funds

 

put a 351 in it an spray the hell out of it.

 

ok well how fast will what I have so far get me and there will be a 3.55 posi and dual high flow exhuast

 

What your planning is gonna net you a high 14sec boat. Your gonna need a higher gear(4.10)and lots of weight reduction to hit 13 on top of what you have planned

 

You need to take it out and run it now to have some idea of where you may end up. It's going to take a lot more work than you think to get that 4000 lb. brick into the 13's with only 300 cubes and a lazy sedan automatic tranny.

 

Drop all the MSD crap. It wont give you any more power, might just be a little more efficient. Take the money you were gonna spend on that and find a set of GT40 or GT40p heads and a bigger cam to match the heads/intake. That'll get you a lot closer than wasting your money on MSD stuff.

 

IMO, you'll just be wasting time and alot of money for little gain in a big boat like that. To me, that doesn't make sense.
I've seen many younger guys who own a car (maybe it was free or close) and so now, they just want to go FAST.
One's better off to sell the car that's basically hopeless (as far as fast cars are concerned) and buy a car with real potential, like one that either IS fast or could be with a little work.

 

Geez some people dare to be different, lets tell them what we'd do. This has been done already man. I'm a "panther" body enthusiast (Crown Victoria, Grand marquis, Town Car) there is a '86 NA Grand Marquis in the mid 11's as of now and several other panther body cars in the 13's and 12's Check out GrandMarq(dot)net - Great bunch of guys and more up with the older 5.0l technology. Their is also Crownvic (dot) net but they are more into the newer 92+ Modular Engine cars. You'll be surprised what has been done with these cars, including a auto crossing Wagon and a road racing sedan that will surprise you with the way they perform.

 

so why say crap like that

1, bet that I'm right in that the car wasn't acquired with HP, speed in mind in the first place and 2, just trying to be realistic and save the guy a TON of money trying to make it faster yet never being satisfied. It's kinda like ricers who buy a slow car, a Honda and want to then make it fast, spend lots of time and money only to eventually give up and sell it for a truely fast car someday. Happens all the time.

The '86 CV has a stock 302. I remember driving many large late 60s, early 70s cars with big blocks and even then, due to the weight of the vehicle, it still wasn't going to be truely fast compared to a car that was light and made to be fast in the first place.

Sure, with enough time and money, anything's possible but there are easier and far more affordable ways to get a truely fast car in the first place, IF that's the goal.

 

I think it's a noble endeavor. I always love seeing land yachts at the track running respectable times.
I too would delete the MSD stuff from your list. Get a new parts store cap & rotor and call it a day.
My number one ,have to have, mod in this situation would be a 4:10 gear. Secondly, weight reduction is free.

 

Well, first things first, u cant use the cam u listed due to the fact that its a flat tappet and the '86 uses a roller cam so in that case I'd tell ya to go to a E-303 or something. And yes this HAS been done. By me! Lol I had an '89 Crown Vic with a mild 351W and a C4 that ran 13.12 with a 2.73 rear end and Fleet Farm tires so don't let these guys tell ya it can't be done. I also had it completely gutted, 3500 lbs with me in it, so that freed up a lil bit but the 2.73 hurt it BAD! It was a dirt track oval car and I ran 1st all the time and kept the R's at 5500 or so, so thats the reason for the gearing. But it dyno'd 360 hp at the flywheel, just cheap hyper pistons, a crappy port job on D0OE Iron heads, and a cast iron intake with a motorcraft 600 carb. Without rules, that car coulda gone mid 12's with a different intake and carb and some gears. Anyways, its entirely possible. I'd go with that E-303, GT-40 intake, and port the heck outta those E7's or better yet step up to GT-40's. Long tubes, the transpak, and a 3.73 gear or 4.10 if it's gonna live at the track, and shed as much weight as possible, remove all the smog crap, and get some sticky tires you should be damn close to 13's i'd think. Low 14's for sure

 

Lower gears,ditch any un-needed weight,and put it on the bottle!

 

I'd go junkyarding for a 351W or at least a 91-92 T-bird, cougar, or 91 town car 5.0L. That way you'll at least have forged pistons with valve reliefs and the roller hardware from the factory. Or even better, a late 90's explorer motor. This way, you can build the motor up on a stand rather than you bending over the radiator support trying to do a heads/cam swap.
If you're willing to put the time and research in, another method could be a junkyard turbo setup. With the proliferation of diesel pickups and the meathead's tendency to crash these beasts, there are plenty of decent sized used turbos roaming ebay and local message boards. The torque curve of a turbocharged motor would be a huge step towards running the times you're looking for.
As for gears, do not go less than 4.10's. I'd recommend 4.30's as you'll need lots of torque multiplication to get that car moving.
I admire you making something different fast as I'm currently considering trying to build something out of my 2002 4.6L explorer, it's the same motor as the mustang and being awd, it could be kinda cool...

 

Towncars never got a forged piston 5.0, they were all lopo 302s, no difference. Also, 1991 Towncar was not a 5.0, it got a 4.6.


best bet, start with a 351 if you want to go that fast. A bare bones base model Vic weighs around 3500 lbs, loaded models are up to around 3800.

 

The first of the 1991 cars had the 302 HO. I've pulled 2 engines out of the local pick-a-part lot from 1991 towncars and they had the E7ZE pistons with TRW stamped on the underside. Once the 1992 Crown Victoria was released and the engine program was online, they switched to the 4.6L. The car mags all preferred the 5.0L power but the 4.6 was much smoother and better suited lincolns in general.

 

No they did not. The 1990 Towncar was the last 5.0 Townie ever made, and there has never been a 5.0 HO Towncar factory produced. The 1991 Towncar had a 4.6, and the 1992+ Vic/Marq got a 4.6 as well. The only Lincoln to ever get an HO was the Mark VII. All 1988-1992 Mark VII had that engine. Thats probably what you're thinking of since they were a roughly similar shape.

 

Perhaps it's a Canada only thing but they did have them and I have pulled motors from them. Either that or some people who manage to write these cars off have went a long way to swap it in. They had the throttle body pointing to the passenger side just like the mustang and had the HO on the intake manifold plate. As I said, the 4.6L program had a few hiccups and as a result, several 91 towncars had the HO 302.
If I knew this was going to start a cyber argument, I would have brought my camera to the junkyard but seeing as we are not helping with the subject, please disregard my original post and only look for HO 5.0's from mustangs, mark VII's, 91-92 cougars, and 91-92 T-birds

 

Ditch the EFI. Thumper ported E7s, Edelbrock Performer RPM dual plane intake, 650 double pumper, Comp Cams 281HR cam, long tube headers into 2.5" exhaust, C4 trans with a shift kit and 2800 stall convertor, 4.30 gears out back, slicks, slapper bars, some weight reduction (150lbs wont be too hard) and that will definitely get you into the low 14s. Getting into the 13s will require either more cubes, more power, or spray. Easiest and cheapest is a 351W with a C4 and 4.10s on slicks. Your problem is the weight, and you need TORQUE to overcome that.
SS

 

13s can be done with a full size car and a 302, it doesn't even take all *that* much. I know a guy who runs 13.95 with a Grand Marq station wagon, and a fairly mild 302 with ported D0OE heads. Car weighs 4030 lbs too, and its all motor.

http://www.grandmarq.net/vb/showpost.php?p=197836&postcount=21

is the setup on the car. Feel free to drop by if you want some Panther-specific info.

 

try this forum http://www.grandmarq.net/vb/index.php

 

I would seriously consider a junkyard twin turbo setup.

If you really want to, you can keep your budget low. Use turbos from t-bird turbo coupes. Best ones are the early manual trans ones but even the 87-88 IHI turbos will do the trick (this is what I run on my notch). You can expect to see about 500 ft-lb of torque at lowish rpm. That will move out that vic like a big block without the weight.

Thumbs up for chosing the vic to go fast in! If you want superlight and fast, buy a motorcycle.
Erich

 

Easiest way. 4.10's and 100 shot and gut the cats with a highflow muffler.

 

19lb lb injectors would be plenty for your setup. You will need to convert to MAF as your current MAP setup will not be able to deal with a different cam.


Best bang for the buck is a rear gear change. If you drive on the street all he time then 3.55 is for you; some track use 3.73, all track either 3.9 or 4.1. Get some nice 2-1/2" exhaust, go cat-less if you can. GT40 intake with appropriate spacers and TB, delete the EGR. Run a true cold air intake, do not shove a K&N filter on a piece of PVC directly over your headers, you will lose power. There are many good examples of CAI setups on GMN. Get the under drive pulley for our cars, it's worth it's weight in gold, as our stock crank pulley is an overdrive pulley. Rebuild the trans and continue with the shift kit, a 2800 stall converter that retains lockup for the street would be the best street or street/track converter. Then finish it off with a full tune-up on top of the engine. Make sure the things like the water pump and timing cover aren't leaking and maybe get an auxiliary oil and especially trans cooler.


As far as weight goes.
Converting to manual windows and ditching a lot of the unnecessary accessories can save a ton of weight, but for a street car this isn't an option. My car still has A/C even, but since it's a base model without tons of trim, electric windows or seats, my configuration with a spare tire in the trunk is only 3760lbs. If my exhaust wasn't made of damn 10lb/ft tubing it would weigh about 20-30lbs less (but hey total cost was under $100). You can also cut a lot of the bumper support behind the chrome pieces out to save another 80lbs or so. Ditching the A/C and smog stuff, and all of its components will save a good 75+lbs. Not to mention that's two devices that your engine doesn't have to run anymore, freeing up some more ponies.

 

Just as an update... I have gotten gt40 intakes with a 65mm tb and I just purchased World windsor sr heads with 1.73 roller rockers and I plan on running ho cam so how do you think that will work out for me?

 

I would send your GT40 intake out to TMoss, someone local or do it yourself and have the upper and lower ported.

I think those heads will work well for you, but I don't think that cam is going to be enough.

Also, I would go with an aluminum radiator, MK8 electric fan, a C4 trans, 4.30 gears, aluminum driveshaft, comp 281HR Cam, Long Tube headers, 2.5" exhaust with an X Pipe.

Your also going to need to do some work on the suspention, at least box the stock upper and lowers and install new bushings.

 

wow this is an older post

everyone here has already stressed the need for converter and gears, beleive it!

what are you doing for exhaust?

 

I am planning on 3.73 i think now if I can get them. I also plan on 2400 stall or 2800. Exhuast is tru dual 2.25 with shorty headers. Yeah old post I just didnt feel like making a new one.

 

I still stick by my two year old reply. 4.10's, wieght reduction and 100 shot. Only thing I would add would be a 2800 RPM converter and shift kit.

Really I would do the converter and shift kit first, those will drop your times the most. No use trying to put power through a sloppy shifting dog of a transmission.

 

definately at least 2800, 2400 will just be a kick in the balls and a dissappointment

I would do converter over gears also