I have 88gt, I am not sure if the engine in there is 88 or not. I disassembled the engine and the pistons in there are flat top with no notches cut out for the valves. I am looking for a rebuild kit and there are 2 different ones 86-88 and 89-93. What's the difference between the 2? My last engine that I rebuilt was 89 and pistons had notches cut out for valves, but this one doesn't. is this normal for factory 88 engine? My plans are to replace rings/bearings, gaskets, pretty much stock rebuild.

 

86 is supposed to be the only year of the flat top with no valve notches. Are the pistons baked and could it be possible that the pistons need to be cleaned in order for you to see the notches? 87 - 94 5.0 HO engines should ALL have notched pistons.

If not,.. then it is possible the engine is not an HO or the shortblock is sourced from another vehicle. Not uncommon. Rarely effect performance as long as stock or better heads and cam were used.

If your just buying a gasket kit any 86 - 93 kit should suffice.

To my knowledge the only physical difference between 86 HO and 87 - 93 HO are notched pistons. Also 93 were cast pistons where 86 - 92 were forged. But for a basic rebuild should not matter.

86 - 88 were Air Density (Except California cars had MAF in 88 ) and 89 - 94 are all MAF cars (They have a Mass Air Flow Meter). Mechanically the long blocks are all identical with the exception of the pistons in 86 models.

 

How can I identify my heads and cam? the heads read: 6D18 on one and 6E19 on the other head. The upper intake is gt40 explorer intake and I am not sure about the lower intake, it does have mass air. I looked at the computer it says A9L, is the computer HO specific or was it used on other vehicles as well? I am not sure about the cam.

 

All SBF head castings start with a letter. 6D18 and 6E19 sound like date codes. Cast on April 18th and May 19th during the 6th year of a decade. The casting ID will give the decade.

Fox body V8 head casting numbers are as follows.
1979 - 84 = C94E-6049-AA
1985 = E5AE-6049-CA
1986 = E6AE-6049-AA
1987 - 93 = E7TE-6049-AB
1994 - 95 = E7TE-6049-AB
1993 original GT40 castings = F3ZE-6049-AA

If none of these match,.. then the heads did not originally come from a Fox body Mustang.

The first 4 chars of the casting ID determine the year and origin of the head.

For example,
E7TE: E = 1980's, 7 = 1987, T = Truck, E = Engine.
F3ZE: F = 90's, 3 = 1993, Z = Mustang, E = Engine.



E7 does not necessarily mean it was cast in 87 or was specifically in a 87 Mustang. Only that its the 1987 casting. E7TE were in all 87 - 93 5.0 LX and GT Mustangs. E7TE could also be found in F150 trucks and Crown Vics as well. They were nothing more than corporate heads.


The block ID can be found above the oil pan behind the starter.




HO and non HO difference is primarily just the firing order. The cam will determine the firing order. A non HO roller 302 can be converted to HO firing order by swapping in an HO cam and rewiring the distributor accordingly. 302 HO has the same firing order as a 351. A none HO has a regular 302 firing order. I recently swapped in an E-303 HO cam into a 1986 Country Squire wagon for a friend of my father inlaw.
5.0 HO = 1-3-7-2-6-5-4-8
5.0 Non HO = 1-5-4-2-6-3-7-8

A9L is a MAF computer. Since 88 was a non MAF year,.. the EFI has been converted to MAF from Air density. A very simple 30 minute procedure. Does not mean much other than it was converted and the original ECU replaced with the A9L. A9L is one of the most popular ECU's. It has the latest 92/93 programming which made it more friendly for aftermarket bolts ons, cams and headers as well as working well with larger heads. Most tuners prefer the A9L over any other ECU. A9L was for manuals and the automatic equivalent was the A3M which can be substituted for an A9L in a 5 speed car. Both have the same programming as far as tuning goes,.. the A3M has extra tuning for use with the AOD tranny.





Hurst

 

Thanks, great info. The heads and block have E6SE numbers stamped on them.I did some research and found that it is 1986 model year and that those heads really suck along with true flat top pistons that went with them. Also from reading articles, I can't run any type of cam either. I have the option of getting a mark VII complete 5.0 engine for $400, should I do that instead of messing with this miss-matched engine? Also the my car has AOD and the ECM is for manual car, is that a big problem?

 

While we're at it, I will be building a 302 here shortly with GT40 heads. I'm looking for a single 4bbl dual plane manifold and carb, and I'm really looking for an HEI distributor with mechanical only advance. Any suggestions?

 

The Performer RPM has always been great for street use. The Performer 289 isnt bad either,.. but if you need a few more usable RPM,.. the RPM is the better choice. 600cfm carb is all you need. I ran 12.20's @110 with nothing more than a 600 4150 double pumper on a Vic Jr intake. Not advisable for daily street use as the intake kills low rpm torq.

As for the dizzy,.. I dunno. The Proform uses vacuum advance. But the top half is all GM HEI. So in my opinion converting it to mechanical would be cake. I'll swear by the Proform HEI for SBF. I used one on my old 306 and spun it to 6500 on a regular basis at the track and never a misfire or any issues. I convinced my father inlaws buddy to buy one for his motor that I converted to carb in the 86 Country Squire and he is tickled as can be with it. Daily drives the car. Its been problem free for almost 6 months now. Also,.. I just used a 600cfm vacuum secondary Holley Avenger carb. $250 through Summit brand new.

Hurst

 

That motor is more than likely from a 86 Truck or Full size car.
The flat top pistons will indeed limit cam choice.

I honestly dont know if the A9L will be a problem or not with the AOD. Try it and if you have any issues it should not be difficult to trade the A9L for an A3M.

I dont want to suggest any used motor over another. Though the Mark7 was to my knowledge identical with the exception of a lower profile intake to what was in the 5.0 Mustang. Its doubtful that you would see much performance with the Mark7 motor over what you have now even if you swap to a better cam. The E7TE heads will be marginally better than the E6SE heads. Personally I would contact Scarface or Harold here in Ford Tech and see if they can score an Explorer V8 for you. With an E-303 or F-303 cam they will provide a nice seat of the pants boost in performance over what you have now and should not cost much more than $400 - $500 to get in your car. I built one for my son's 90 LX hatch and was very impressed with the results.

Hurst

 

Hurst is right,if your looking for a used engine,buy a explorer motor.Get all the goodies right off the bat.Better heads,intake and pistons with valve reliefs.

 

Can I run E303 cam with my 1986 engine? I looked at the description and notes on the cam and all it says is that it should not be used with speed density. I don't have speed density, so would this cam work with flat top pistons and e6se heads?