CRS Cobra engine upgrades

[Superarnie]

Hi to everyone, I'm new to using this forum, but from what I have read so far, this is an excellent site with plenty of information and advice- which I desperately need! Just to give you a brief overview of my situation, I have a part built AC Superblower. The car was made by AC in 2001 but was never finished (ACSB 7020). I subsequently bought the part built car and am now in the process of sourcing all the parts to finish it. Most of the parts have come from John Owen at the AC facility in Malta, however the engine parts are coming from different sources. I have a 1994 Ford 5.0 block. I have striped the block. It has been crack tested and pressure tested and has been bored/honed to 30 thou over size due to damage in the bores. I have bought new forged -15cc dished pistons, forged 'I' beam rods, gt-40 intake system (tubular),edelbrock timing gear set and plan to buy either AFR 185 or Ford Z-304 heads. The engine will be completed with a Vortech or Paxton supercharger with low boost pulleys. I know this is not as 'per stock' but what I hope to end up with is an excellent quality engine which will be acceptible as a daily driver but would also be capable of performing if I decide to enter occasional track days. I have read above entries with interest, about emmisions problems with regard to UK emmission regulations and am now a little worried about my car ever passing them! I am aware about making modifications to the 1994 engine (which I have effectively already done) and how the EEC doesn't adjust to these type of modifications- for this reason I have been giving some serious thought to the Ford Extreme Performance Engine Control (EPEC) system. Does anyone have any knowledge or advice relating to this system. I hear it is far superior to the stock EEC and is quite user friendly. I'd appreciate any help or advice.
   Many thanks
   Gary

[Max Allan]

I think you probably already know more about EEC's – I for one hadn't heard of Ford's EPEC system. Have you tried posting a question on www.corral.net - Forums. There are some very knowledgeable guys out there and have picked up very useful info as well as some good contacts over time. Another useful contact might be www.randomtechnology.com who make high flow cats. They're expensive, but are genuine HIGH FLOW. I bought a couple last year, but have yet to fit them. The intention was to incorporate them in a 2 ½  inch bore system, which I've yet to have made. But more important, difficulty with the last emission test has left me nervous about making changes that might worsen the situation. However chatting with one of the technical guys at Random Tech this week he assured me fitting the cats would lower emissions – not raise them – and I could do away with the second pair of cat currently fitted.
   
   Regarding the choice of heads I would suggest AFR's. They, and Trickflow Twisted Wedge, are currently considered the best flowing heads by our American cousins. And from all the flow charts I've unearthed AFR's flow pretty much the best – both inlet and exhaust. Personally, I went for 165's. 185 heads, as I recall, bias power towards the top end to the detriment of mid range - OK for racing, but not so good for practical road use. Also the 5.0L is not, in my opinion, a sweet revving engine. Take a look at the valve gear - its HEAVY compared to European engineering - and above 5,000 rpm it becomes audible making the engine sound harsh. (Contentious stuff I know!) Useful power gains are to had ensuring the upper and lower manifold align, same with the lower manifold to head ports. The lower manifold in particular was a poor fit and I spent a lot of time "porting" them, and even went to the extent of making thinner manifold gaskets so the ports still aligned correctly with the manifold fully tightened
   
   None of the above helps particularly with your original question, but may be some interest. The answer is probably a twEEcer coupled with someone brilliant on computers who can advise how to set it up, interpret the jargon and datalog results.
   Cheers
   Max
   
   PS Which Edelbrock timing gears did you go for – the silent or noisy?

[Superarnie]

Hi Max
   Thanks for going to the trouble of providing that information, I will have a look at those sites you recommended.
   
   The AFR heads are reputed to be excellent quality heads with superb flow numbers. The AFR 185's are comparable (flow wise) to the Ford Z-304 heads. To my knowledge, no other emissions legal heads come close.
   
   I have bought the Edelbrock Accu-drive timing set. I think it is rather noisy as it windes up!!