I have an 88 5.0 that was neglected very badly by the previous owner. I'm in the process of cleaning it up and finding all the issues but I am also looking into upgrading some of the stock parts. It is in dire need of a tune up and was wondering if anyone has any suggestions. As soon as I get everything sorted out and cleaned up I am planning on doing an HO cam swap with rods and pistons, headers, intake, and exhaust. If anyone has any input or suggestions as far as mods or manufacturers it would be appreciated.

 

Well for my last tune up I went with ford racing wires and a MSD coil, I can't remember what the spark plugs are but just get good ones. You will notice a world of difference, and for the cam I don't know, I'm trying to decide for myself too

 

I was looking at doing MSD wires and distributor and possibly ignition as well. As far as cams go, I was looking at mustang parts. The only difference between the 5.0's are the firing order and rods really.

 

Do NOT go with Mustang parts. Especially the camshaft. Your truck will be a turd.

 

I would go after torque, more than hp. Espically if your truck is more then a 2 wd single cab,

 

It is a 2wd but I don't haul or pull anything with it and if I do it amounts to some beer and chairs. I am looking to up the hp and tq and mpg but not make it into a racing machine.

 

Take a look at my autosignature. I tow a bit more than beer and chairs lol, but that was my goal. My truck is a 2wd as well. Also, my truck is Speed Density as is yours, so my camshaft is compatible with your setup. If you can go with a set of Trick Flow 170 heads, you'll have a pretty good build.

Others on here that have notable builds to look at (that immediately come to mind) are Loco Laptop and Flareside302.

 

As far as your exhaust is concerned, go with a 3" single exhaust. That'll get you more of the torque you need.

 

3" sounds a little too big, I was thinking on going no bigger than 2.5" but do you know about how many hp and tq you have on your truck? I'm not looking at boring at all unless I do a rebuild which is not my interest at the moment but thanks and I will check out those signatures too.

 

Doubt me now on 3" and thank me later. 3" is the way to go. Get a standard mandrel bent Y pipe cat setup from Magnaflow or Bosal and go with a 3" catback setup. You'll see needed torque.

With the GT40 heads, I estimate 260 to 280 at the flywheel.

With Trick Flow 170s or AFR 165, it would probably be in the 280-300 range.

The factory 19lb injectors on your setup are only good up to the low 300 range.