Hey ya'll, quick question. Guy just called me and told me a friend of his has an '86 5.0 he wants to get rid of. It's either out of a mustang or a bronco. Do you think it's a roller cam engine? If it is, I am gonna jump on it- it ran good when he bought it, (was gonna put it in a Bronco, but found another motor with everything basically how he wanted it.) Any answer would be welcome, and Thanks, Preston
5.0 Yes, 1982 and newer 302/5.0 motors are roller motors. The only diffrence you might find will be the HO motor with reliefs cut into the pistons or the standard 5.0 with flat top pistons. 1986 Mustang GT had this "flat top motor" and small heart shaped chambers.:bananaman
From our experience, some are rollers and some are not. If its a Mustang engine, you can count on it being a roller for sure.
Well, I just hope it is a roller cam. If the pistons and heads are the only thing that makes a 5.0 HO different from just a regular old roller cam 5.0, then it's no biggie. Nothing will be reused except the block which will be punched out .030". Thanks guys! Preston
My block is an 86 5.0 from a mustang. It is a roller block. If the intake is off the block you want look for the spiders to hold the lifters in(inside the lifter valley). Best thing to do is to look under the intake manifold to know for sure. 86 is the only year for flat top pistons. you have to change they out or cut releifs if you want to replace the cam with a bigger one. I used stock 89 ford pistons. The heads also dont flow over 4500rpm (E6 heads) I put ported E7's on. E6 heads would be good if you kept rpm down.
motor I hate to say this but a Bronco I had for a number of years did not have a roller motor it was a 86 may have been because it was a early modal year just thought I would let you know
Here we go..... 1982 was the re-introductory year of the 5.0 (302),nothing too special about it in 1982,I think just a 2bbl carb. 1983-84 5.0 HO as used in the Mustang had the HO/351w cam/firing order,aluminum intake,and Holley 4bbl carb,however,this was for the manual transmission cars only,the automatic cars used a throttle body fuel injection system.Also late 1983 introduced the T-5 tranny,replacing the sloppy SROD. 1985 5.0 HO as used in the Mustang was mostly a carryover from `83-`84,with the exception of a roller cam,roller timing chain,and tubular exhaust manifolds,along with dual exhaust. 1986 5.0 HO,was the first year for Sequential Electronic Fuel Injection used on both manual and automatic cars.the motor recieved TRW forged flattop pistons and E6TE truck heads,which aren`t the best,but stock `86 Stang`s are actually fairly quick,the head/piston combo however severely limit the cam and head choice,and makes this an unfavored motor to build. 1987 5.0 HO,same injection setup,however,it recieved fly-cut TRW forged pistons and better E7TE truck heads for a favored head combo,accepting cam changes,although idle problems may occur. 1988 5.0 HO,carryover from `87. 1989 5.0 HO,carryover except for the introduction of a Mass Air Flow System,making modifications and tuning a breeze. 1990-1991 5.0 HO,carryover from 1989. 1992-1995 5.0 HO,replaced the forged TRW pistons with lesser,but still good,Hypereutectic pistons,forged is favored though,and some appearence changes for the SN95 1994/95 cars,mostly the intake elbow and accessories. 1993-95 5.0 HO Cobra,GT-40 heads,Cobra upper/lower intake,Crane roller rockers,Motorsports cam,and more I can`t think of right now. Starting in the late `80`s some passenger cars recieved the roller cam,but that was it,and truck 5.8`s towrards `94-`95 did too I believe. Annd the 1993-1996 5.9 Lightning with the GT-40 heads,GT-40 upper/lower intake,Motorsports cam,and much more. I`m tired and tired of typing and may have left some details out.
One change I might suggest is I believe in 1988, Mustangs came with the MAF for California cars only. In 1989 it was standard on all Mustangs. I know it doesn't affect a lot of you guys, but it affects those of us in cali.
Wow, some good info. here! Thanks ya'll. So if I am understanding right, even if it is from a truck/bronco and does not have a roller cam installed, all I will have to do is install the cam/lifters etc. and we are good to go? What I mean is, no machining (?spelling? ) in order to make it a roller cam. As for the other items, pistons/heads/(everything else) I am really not concerned because I will be going with all forged components and aftermarket heads. (Gonna be a stroker) I just really want to use a roller cam and this sounds like the perfect candidate. Thanks again folks!!!! Preston
Okay Fearmont80, I'm thimking about ordering a Mustang motor from Ford Racing. I was thinking about the 225 hp HO short block & build the rest. I'm going to change the cam, AFR 165 or 185 heads, topped with 650. Is this a nice short block to start with?
