I've just dropped a 5.0 EFI motor into my Maverick. I have the factory power disc brakes & haven't installed the brake booster , mastercylinder or the shock tower to firewall brace yet. The brace is the factory one that incircles the mastercylinder. It appears all or part of this brake setup will not clear the upper intake. Anybody know if it's only the brace that won't clear? What did some of you do to resolve? Any imput would be appreciated...
Sorry but you can't use a power booster with the right facing EFI upper plenm. New brace bars need to be made for both sides. I made them from 1" square tubing with custom flat stock ends to bolt to the stock location on the fire wall and to the shock mounts bolts. Painted them black wrinkle finish. The left bar will come very close to the manifold. If your motor mounts allow a lot of engine roll it may still contact the bar. You can adjust the bar mounting when makeing them to account for this. There are other ways to get power assist but can be costly unless someone has been able to do it with other parts like a remote system. Be very carefull, the more you change things , the more you have to be sure what you do ends up being safe.
Just out of curiosity, what type of intake manifold did you use? I know that the stock '94-95's sit a little lower.... Just curious
It is possible to turn the upper intake around which may allow the booster to clear. In any case you will need different braces. Turning it around will require a little extra wiring, vacuum hose re-route and throttle cable adjustment.
I'm using a 89 Mustang upper & lower intake & it's pretty obvious that the brace will not clear, but it looks like the booster is very close to clearing. Isn't there another upper intake available that has radiused corners? It seems as though I have seen them somewhere before. Does antbody know if that's a workable alternative?Is turning the upper intake around a feasible alternative? Or would I be better off looking at other intake alternatives? Thanks again for your responses.
There are after market type that are smaller and may get the clearence. The smaller upper manifold will loose lower end torque in favor of some hi end gain in the 5 to 5500 rpm range. No, the right facing stock unit cannot be turned around. You need to get an upper from one of the bigger Ford or Merc cars that used the left facing unit..
K. Merring, question??? K. Merring, what about turning the intake around doesn't work? The reason I ask is because we did it on a 69 EFI bronco. The throttle is probably the biggest problem. Just wanted to hear your opinion as to why switching isn't possible. Also, to gsjohnson, the non HO motors have 50mm throttle bodies and smaller upper intakes when compared to the 58mm stock mustang throttle body.
Turning manifold around; The ports on the bottom won't match with the lower half. The truck port shapes are quite different.
K. we used the mustang motor. The truck intakes are very different, more like the holley systemax intakes. The non GT intakes are inline. We just turned it around and found that it bolts up. We flipped the gasket in all directions and it still fits. The 69 bronco I referred to runs but it has problems. Maybe that is it. If you turn the intake around you may need to flip the EGR spacer. Does that cause a problem? Again, I think the biggest problem is with the throttle opening in the opposite direction. Just a thought. I know the companies that provide wiring harnesses ask which way the intake will be installed. I think we need to get to the bottom of this as this may be the problem with the bronco
The GT HO intakes can be turned around just like the Crown Vic intakes. Infact they are basically the same intake.
Okay, here's the latest thought on the booster to upper intake clearance problem. It appears that I could possibly cut or grind off the side/corner of the intake to achieve the needed clearance. This source has told me that there is pleanty of excess material on the intake to remove to cure this problem. Your guys thoughts???
intakes Charlie, the crown vic intake has a 50mm throttle body and throttle body opening whereas the mustang has a 58 tb and opening. Big difference in performance. Mathematically, that change would result in a 25% increase in flow volume. That is why I don't recommend using a crown vic or non HO donor for this swap unless you are keeping things stock. Otherwise it is a bit like breathing through a straw. Also, the firing order is different and the computer is calibrated differently!
In the plenum area there IS a lot of excess material, i have seen them ported quite a bit, but as to exactly how much, i couldn't tell you! The problem is that even if you take off, say, 1/4" and it just barely clears, that motor is going to shake and that's when you're going to run into the real clearance problems. Still doesn't fix the brace problem, either... Aftermarket: You could run the Edelbrock Performer RPM, i'm sure that's an easy fit, there's also the oddballs like the BXR ($$!) and the old Roush intakes, otherwise your could possibly consider the '94-95 intake as i know it sits lower, that's what they use on the early mustangs for EFI swaps....but will it fit? Not sure, the other guys will have to help you there. Would be cheap on ebay though! Good luck!
Wow i hope someone can answer this problem ... I have a 5.0 that i was hoping to drop in my son's mav ... It has power discs .. Never even thought about the clearance prob's with the booster ...
