First Race Motor Build. Need Experienced Opinions

Hello All,

I have been into drag racing since I was 8 years old. I am now 33 and am looking at possibly being able to finally build my dream bracket car starting next summer. Being a Mustang/Ford lover, I never considered building anything other than a Ford. Here are my goals with my build:

This will be a dedicated race motor.
It will go into a back-halved 1999-2004 Mustang. It will have a 4-Link, narrowed Ford 9" with a spool and 35 Spline axles, and 15" slicks.
It should weigh 3200lbs with me when I am done with it. I will lighted it up later when needed.
I initially want to go 10.1's, but the car will be built to cert to 8.50 right from the start. I plan on stepping up at a later date. Who knows, I may want to go Top Sportsman racing eventually.( I know a 8.49 and faster cage will be required at that point)
I want this motor/tranny combo to be almost bullet proof at the start. I will push the motor a little harder when I step up.
I am wanting this to be a deadly consistant bracket car.
I want to be able to run NHRA Super Street also.
I want this combo to be nitrous friendly so I dont have to buy a bunch of new stuff to go 7's.
Is nitrous easier on the motor vs higher compression, more cubes, and higher RPM?

Here is what I am thinking:
532ci BBF
I am thinking A460 block bored 4.440
Ohio Crankshaft Forged 4.3 stroke crank
Scat forged 6.8in H-Beam Rods
Diamond Flat Top Pistons
1050 Dominator with throttle stop- Will this be to small, do I need to go to 1150cfm? I would rather have to jet it down than have to buy a bigger carb when I step up
Solid Roller Cam and Lifters
Roller Rockers with Girdle
Aluminum Intake
I figure that I can go 10.1's easily, shifting early to keep RPM's down to increase durability. This should keep the motor alive for a long time, then all I have to do to get to the mid 9's is winding it up higher. Then to go 7's, all I need is a new rotating assembly and a bigger bore. ( and maybe a little giggle juice)
Electric Water Pump - No Alternator
Twin Battery Setup - Should I go with 12v or 16v?

Here is where I need the advice:

I dont want to spend $3-4k on heads if I dont have to. Is it best to just bite the bullet and get A heads, or will something different work great? My Options:
FRPP SCJ 72cc Chamber
Edelbrock Performer RPM CJ 75cc Chamber
Edelbrock Victor Jr 75cc Chamber
TFS Powerport 325 80cc Chamber
TFS A460 84-85cc
If I go cheaper, will I spend more than the difference on CNC to get the same results as the out of the box A heads? Remember I may want to go 7's eventually.

What transmission should I use? I was thinking C-6 for duribility, but I can get less power robbing from a PG. Is the PG just as durable? Can I get one that will handle the HP of 7's eventually without spending $5-6K? Remember I am building it right straight from the get go. I dont want to have to spend thousands upon thousands to go faster.

What kind of camshaft specs should I be looking at at first? (to go 10.1's)

I know the motor size is overkill to go 10.1's, but like I said, I want to build it right to step up over time and take it easy on the motor until then.

Any other advice would be greatfully accepted. Thanks in advance.

The A460 style heads have the most potential of the heads you listed........the 87cc chamber is the better one. Use a dome piston with the A460 heads. Bigger than 1050 carb. i.m.o.

The A heads are some great heads, and well worth it as an investment to start with. As far as starting out small, why not just get it done out to a 4.6 bore and 4.5 crank right away and then you will only have to spend money on pistons one time.

And switch out the Scat rods for Olivers, you'll be better off


-John

schmitty wrote:The A heads are some great heads, and well worth it as an investment to start with. As far as starting out small, why not just get it done out to a 4.6 bore and 4.5 crank right away and then you will only have to spend money on pistons one time.

Good point.......with the A460 block there is no reason not to install a 4.5" crank....unless rules.

Lem Evans wrote:The A460 style heads have the most potential of the heads you listed........the 87cc chamber is the better one. Use a dome piston with the A460 heads. Bigger than 1050 carb. i.m.o.

That will yield about 13.8 to 1 compression. I was trying to stay at 100 octane to start. I know there is a big difference between static and dynamic compression, but your suggestion would lead me to belive I would want to run 110 octane. Are there any issues with the 87cc A head with a flat top piston? That way when I do my over bore to 4.6 (my third bore setup), I will go to the dome piston when the motor is a 598ci.

schmitty wrote:The A heads are some great heads, and well worth it as an investment to start with. As far as starting out small, why not just get it done out to a 4.6 bore and 4.5 crank right away and then you will only have to spend money on pistons one time.

I want plenty of room to do a couple over bores. My idea is to go to 4.5 bore when it is due for a rebuild with the 4.5 stroke (buying the new crank and pistons), then the next rebuild, going to the 4.6 bore yielding 598ci, only needing to change the pistons. If I go straight to a 598ci motor, I am pushing it when it needs an over bore. I know I am playing it safe, I just want to have the block for a long time. If I am spending half of my motor budget on the block and heads, I only want to do it once...

jjmstang wrote:And switch out the Scat rods for Olivers, you'll be better off
-John

Why? What is the cost difference vs the reliability between the Oliver I-Beams and the Scat H-Beams?

Olivers are stronger and made in the USA. Price wise...no idea
Lem Evans sells them, he could tell you the price.

I think my Scat H beams are the cheapest part in my motor lol.

I'd say if your starting from scratch get the Olivers, if you get the Scat and them want to upgrade later the balance will be different.

You could build a super street motor pretty cheap, while your saving up for the top sportsman motor. To do it right, it will be two totally different builds. I spent 2-1/2 years putting my lastest motor together to get the performance I wanted.

richter69 wrote:I think my Scat H beams are the cheapest part in my motor lol.

I'd say if your starting from scratch get the Olivers, if you get the Scat and them want to upgrade later the balance will be different.

I have them in my 557 also, when I do the upgrade in 2-3 years Olivers will be going in.

Sounds like you have a pretty good game plan. If I can offer some advice on your car, don't plan on building the thing to weigh 3200 lbs. especially if you have apirations of being quick enough for T/S racing. If you are going to backhalf it, it will be much easier to build a light car now, than to try and lighten it up later. You could easily end up with a 27-2800 lb. car w/driver. Go ahead and put 40 spline axles in it, they aren't that much more money. Make sure you do the backhalf with enough tire clearance to put at least a 16x33 tire under it.

My $.02, A good glide is plenty durable enough and not terribly expensive. You can upgrade easily as you increase HP.

Just try and plan ahead enough so that you spend your money one time instead of having to spend it twice redoing or replacing subpar parts and work. I've seen it happen too many times!

BigDave65 wrote:Sounds like you have a pretty good game plan. If I can offer some advice on your car, don't plan on building the thing to weigh 3200 lbs. especially if you have apirations of being quick enough for T/S racing. If you are going to backhalf it, it will be much easier to build a light car now, than to try and lighten it up later. You could easily end up with a 27-2800 lb. car w/driver. Go ahead and put 40 spline axles in it, they aren't that much more money. Make sure you do the backhalf with enough tire clearance to put at least a 16x33 tire under it.

My $.02, A good glide is plenty durable enough and not terribly expensive. You can upgrade easily as you increase HP.

Just try and plan ahead enough so that you spend your money one time instead of having to spend it twice redoing or replacing subpar parts and work. I've seen it happen too many times!

Good advise on the 40 spline axles. I think I will do that. When I said 3200lbs, I wasnt talking about building it to that weight, that is just what I estimated it would weigh without changing the factory glass to lexan, changing the front clip from the steel to fiberglass, cutting a bunch of excess metal from the car...etc.
I will definitely make sure I can fit the 33x16 slick under it. It weighs 3480lbs with me right now with the spare tire and a bunch of stuff in the trunk. I just figured that 3200lbs was a safe guess as to what it would weigh after the cage and the removal of weight from the changing of suspension, fiberglass hood, 15 gal fuel tank to a 5 gal fuel cell, removal of the electric motors for the wipers, windows, etc. Heck, it might even be lighter than the 3200lbs at that point.
Thanks for the input.

Also, obviously I cant afford to buy the trailer, tow rig, motor and car at the same time. What order should I buy this stuff?
I am thinking:

Car
Motor
Truck
Trailer

Any thoughts?

Buy a cheapo used trailer for now and build the car. It is pretty hard to have a dedicated race car with no trailer....unless you just want to look at in your garage when your buddies come over.

IMO Ford SCJ's will fit your need just fine.

If its a race car don't limit yourself on the fuel and compression 13-14:1 is a good range to be in for 110-112 oct The A460 Block is a great choice and will serve you very well.

Same with the crank go with a 4.5 Scat Forged unit and the scat Hbeams will be a good part too, if you can afford the Olivers get them but the money will be better spent elsewhere at the level you are expecting.

a 572" Flat Top Motor with a Solid Roller and SCJ heads will go alot faster than 10.00's......

But honestly for your goals you are way over building, a Stock Block Flat top 466 with some good heads and a little work will go 10.00 @ 3200 all day long for a very modest budget.