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I was wondering if someone could enlighten me on possible newer alternative engine setups out there that might be more suitable for daily city use, namely engines with improved fuel economy, emission standards, and which would have no problem meeting legal db limits.
I realize the absurdity of this question, but for me streetability would be the essential factor in determining whether I would purchase a GT40 down the road. Don't get me wrong, I love the sound of a howling 302 much as the next person, but I am by no means a mechanic, and I would consider it a shame for such a nice car to be collecting dust in anyone's garage, let alone my own.
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First of all, if you use a stock fuel injected 5.0 H.O. from a mustang, there is no reason that it should be collecting dust in your garage, have poor fuel economy or pollute the air.
The people with maintenence issues are running very wild combinations and make a lot of power. Every engine built is a collection of compromises, a stock 5.0 compromises power for low end torque and durability. Race engines compromise the other way.
With that out of the way, here are a couple possibilities. The 3.8 liter engine used in the 2004 mustang is pretty sophisticated for an OHV v6, I think it has the same bellhousing pattern as a 5.0. It's a shorter engine, but I don't think that should cause too many problems. It was also available with a supercharger in the T-bird SC.
If you want the least ammount of assembly difficulty, Ford made some small bore v8 blocks in the early 80's. If you combine one of those blocks with a 289 crank, you will get a very small displacement v8 that should bolt right in to a GT40. I think you would need a set of custom pistons to make that work and the low end torque would be pretty weak.
The ford Modular motors have been done, so you would not have to reinvent the wheel. I don't know if the 4 cam engines were used. These engines never had a solid advantage over the 5.0 in the mustang. They are bigger, they have less parts available for them, they are harder to work on, and it's harder to make power with them. The 4 valve motors made good power, but a 5.0 with aftermarket heads, intake and cam is right there with it. Ford suposedly dropped the 5.0 for emissions reasons, but with the smog pump and cats, they run very clean.
I was wondering if someone could enlighten me on possible newer alternative engine setups out there that might be more suitable for daily city use, namely engines with improved fuel economy, emission standards, and which would have no problem meeting legal db limits.
I realize the absurdity of this question, but for me streetability would be the essential factor in determining whether I would purchase a GT40 down the road. Don't get me wrong, I love the sound of a howling 302 much as the next person, but I am by no means a mechanic, and I would consider it a shame for such a nice car to be collecting dust in anyone's garage, let alone my own.
[/ QUOTE ]
First of all, if you use a stock fuel injected 5.0 H.O. from a mustang, there is no reason that it should be collecting dust in your garage, have poor fuel economy or pollute the air.
The people with maintenence issues are running very wild combinations and make a lot of power. Every engine built is a collection of compromises, a stock 5.0 compromises power for low end torque and durability. Race engines compromise the other way.
With that out of the way, here are a couple possibilities. The 3.8 liter engine used in the 2004 mustang is pretty sophisticated for an OHV v6, I think it has the same bellhousing pattern as a 5.0. It's a shorter engine, but I don't think that should cause too many problems. It was also available with a supercharger in the T-bird SC.
If you want the least ammount of assembly difficulty, Ford made some small bore v8 blocks in the early 80's. If you combine one of those blocks with a 289 crank, you will get a very small displacement v8 that should bolt right in to a GT40. I think you would need a set of custom pistons to make that work and the low end torque would be pretty weak.
The ford Modular motors have been done, so you would not have to reinvent the wheel. I don't know if the 4 cam engines were used. These engines never had a solid advantage over the 5.0 in the mustang. They are bigger, they have less parts available for them, they are harder to work on, and it's harder to make power with them. The 4 valve motors made good power, but a 5.0 with aftermarket heads, intake and cam is right there with it. Ford suposedly dropped the 5.0 for emissions reasons, but with the smog pump and cats, they run very clean.
